Users have high expectations from your website or mobile app. That’s why it’s so crucial to provide the smoothest user experience possible for them. Here, UX design enters the game. This article will explain everything you need to know about User Experience: why it is so important and how it supports the design process. Let’s dive right into it!
What is User Experience?
Many people have the belief that design is all about visual sensations. They couldn’t be more wrong, says Devlight, who are a UX design consultancy. In today’s world, users want their experience of interacting with digital products to be enjoyable, seamless and hassle-free. And that’s the main focus of User Experience (UX) design.
UX delivers a positive experience from start to finish, making your potential customers more likely to choose your business over your competitors.
UX and UI – is it all the same?
UX and UI are two terms strongly related, yet not precisely synonymous. We can say that User Interface (UI) is a part of UX. How come? UI focuses on the surface of your digital product. That’s why it involves creating a beautiful and intuitive interface for your application or website. So every time you consider choosing a colour palette, fonts or illustrations, etc. – that’s UI.
On the other hand, UX goes much deeper and tries to make your digital product as user-friendly as possible. It is also a much more complex process, as UX consists of market research, information architecture, UX writing or usability testing.
The stages of UX
Like I have mentioned, UX design includes several essential stages which should never be skipped or neglected. These are:
- Market research: at this stage, it is necessary to verify the current state of the market, how your competitors perform and what solutions are implemented.
- UX research: one of the most important UX design elements; at this stage, you conduct in-depth interviews with users, send various surveys, organize workshops – this is all to see what key functionalities your digital product should have and, in general, what your main focus is.
- Wireframes: Before you get down to designing, create wireframes, i.e. a skeleton presentation of your website or mobile application.
- Navigation/information architecture: determine the structure of your digital product: its menu, categories; this is when you organize and label your content.
- UI design: as we have already said, the main focus of UI is to create a visually stunning, functional and intuitive interface.
- User testing: before the release, it’s time for the final stage of the UX design process. Now, you have the opportunity to test whether your digital product is intuitive and meets user needs. This is a great way to gather feedback and find out what still needs improvement.
UX design – why do you need it?
UX design is a great way to captivate users and create a meaningful experience for them. So that they want to keep coming back to your digital product! By fully understanding the user’s needs and expectations, you will provide excellent solutions for them. And that’s the key to your success!