Yes, you need to think about UX The acronym UX is being tossed around here and there when it comes to design, specifically app design and web design, and you may be wondering if it’s relevant to you. When you throw an “X” on any acronym, it can seem daunting, technical, and intense, but trust me – it’s not scary at all!
UX, which stands for User Experience, is design that thinks about how the user is actually going to interact with what you’re designing. Think: Where will they click when they enter your page? Where do their eyes go? What makes them leave your page without actually buying their full cart of products? Thanks to UX principles, we can determine the answer to all of this and better design your website and user experiences to suit your customers. Why you should care Having a poorly laid out app or website can be costing you a lot of customers and seriously impact your business. It’s easy to pick a website layout and mimic what your competitors are doing and hope for the best, but you may be missing a key element in your customer journey. UX allows you to do things with intention, equipping you with knowledge of what works and what doesn’t, while also saving you money in the short and long-term by allowing you to test, iterate, and get it right. What can you do? There are a few UX principles worth thinking about. First off, UX allows you to map out where you want your customers to land and where to place the aspects of your website on your page, such as your call to action buttons, images, and links. UX is the act of drawing out your website on good ol’ paper, mapping out the customer journey you intend on creating, and then dishing out the money to design your site. It’s a website done with intention and it can save you serious development bucks. Then, there’s user testing, where you prototype your website or app and let your ideal people interact with it so you can study and see where they’re naturally gravitating and what they’re missing. Is your strongest product being overlooked? Are people getting frustrated on the “purchase” page of your website because it’s confusing? User testing can help you test and learn to quickly adapt before you go all out with a release, saving you time and lost opportunities. Give them what they want! Know your customers Another common practice is creating personas, which are current or ideal customers you want to service with your website. Example: You’re a tea company and you have three target customers, Jane the yoga instructor who wants to buy tea for her studio and read about all the ingredients, Marsha the mom who loves to have a nightly glass of tea but isn’t as internet savvy as Jane and gets easily lost, and you have Mark, the guy just trying to buy a gift for his girlfriend and wants to be on the site as little as possible. How do you make an experience that works for each of these personas? A good website has to cater to all of your target customers, not just one and not for the masses. UX principles provide a basis for exploration and consideration in order to make your website stronger and more usable. Not sure if UX is for you? UX is an easy win if you put in the time and effort to really consider your design and your end goal for your customer. If you’re a business that has a website, you should be thinking about UX, especially if you have an online store. The practice of UX is fun, insightful, and easy with the right people. You can learn a lot about your customers and apply it to other areas of your business, such as your content, marketing, and sales team.
Questions about UX? Contact us to see if it’s a right fit for your company.
