Running a business in today’s increasingly digital world requires investing in your web presence. The modern consumer relies on the internet to inform most of their purchasing decisions. That said, reaching your customers online is not as easy as simply creating a website and running a couple of social media accounts.
Because people have so many options at their fingertips now, competition has become even fiercer. Cyberspace is the new frontier, and the battle for online attention is won with the smallest of details. This is also why effective website design services are highly sought-after.
User experience is one of the major focuses of web design—and for a good reason. As much as 70 percent of failed online enterprises credit their demise to bad user experience.
When user experience is discussed, user interface is never far behind. It is one of the most impactful
factors to user experience. It directly affects how the user views and interacts with web pages.
So, how can the user interface serve the user experience well? Read on to find out.
User Experience (UX)
In the simplest terms, UX is concerned with how well or poorly a person’s experience is when using the
website. In technical web design, developers use data analytics and logic to inform design, usability, navigation, and even content. Web designers create plans for how a user goes from one page to another in the website to try to anticipate their needs and impressions.
Investing in UX results in improvements to sales and recommendation numbers and a decrease in the
website’s bounce rate. It also influences the website’s ranking on search engines.
User Interface (UI)
UI can be described as all the parts of the website that the user directly interacts with or has the potential
to interact with. In the simplest terms, UI elements are what visitors use to navigate through the website. These include buttons, tabs, and menus.
The user interface determines what a visitor can do on the website and how they can do it. In a
broader sense, all other elements in the page, like text and images, are also part of the UI.
Aside from benefiting the user experience, investing in the user interface also helps website owners build a
strong brand identity. Through design, you can maintain a consistent visual representation of your brand. By keeping visual elements and other characteristics of UI consistent across all touchpoints, you encourage brand recognition and build trust among your customers.
UX and UI Together
The following are the three critical actions to take if you want your UX and UI to work together well on your
website:
- Let users take control. The modern consumer is well-versed in internet-speak. They know how to navigate websites. That said, they rely on a certain degree of intuitive predictability when they access your pages. Give this to them in the form of familiar icons, readable text, and straightforward buttons.
- Reduce cognitive overload. There is such a thing as mental processing overload when using a website. This can be due to overwhelming blocks of text and disorganized images. Introduce information in an orderly and well-managed manner. It also helps when navigation is streamlined.
- Make everything consistent. Finally, make sure that the elements of the UI are consistent throughout. This includes everything from colors and typefaces to shapes and overall design. This consistency should extend to the actions of the users when using the website.
Learn more about web design and how it can help you achieve your marketing goals when you get in touch with the Synapse Research Ltd. team. Fill out the form on our contact page, and we’ll reach out to you as soon as possible.