With so many different types of competition out there and so many marketing avenues, having a smooth UX/UI design team is vital for turning users into customers. Although the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, let’s break down what exactly each term means and how they can be used to benefit your company or brand.
What is UX/UI?
UX and UI stand for User Experience and User Interface. Simply put, it’s the process of improving the way consumers interact with all aspects of a company digital assets. UX/UI encompasses not only the product itself, but the website, app, logo, social media, and even advertisements of the company. A skilled design team develops the user experience to be simple, useful, and cohesive so that customers are more likely to stay engaged and keep coming back. For example: How easy is it to navigate the menus? Can users easily find the product they’re looking for? Does this University website make it easy to browse through their programs? If a website or app is difficult to navigate and unpleasant to look at, it reflects poorly on the company. Good UX/UI isn’t just about the way a website looks, it’s about the efficiency and overall feel of the experience for users.
What’s the Difference Between UX and UI?
While UX is about the experience, User Interface design is about the aesthetic presentation used to achieve that experience. Open up any website or app and pay attention to how the information and interaction is mapped out. Look at the buttons, sliders, icons, search bars, logos, borders, typography, and color scheme. All of those various components are part of the UI. A user interface design team creates the visual guide for the user on a given interface to make it as visually pleasing and as easy to navigate as possible. Think back to how it felt surfing the web back in the 90’s. Remember how every page was bloated with information, with clashing colors, hard to read fonts, and pointless links? It was a confusing mess. Compare that experience to how modern websites are clean, visually pleasing, and easy to navigate. That’s a good User Interface.
Why is UX/UI Important for My Business?
What’s the first thing you do when a friend suggests a product, service, or app? If you’re like most people, you look it up online and visit their website. As you browse the website or scroll through the app, you are subconsciously (or depending on the case, very consciously) judging how it looks and how it behaves. Having a good UX/UI is crucial for any business because it’s the very first impression that people have of your company. With attention spans shortening in an increasingly cutthroat marketing landscape, that very first interaction that users have with your brand is what makes all the difference. Even if you make the world’s best electric skateboard at the cheapest price—you won’t get sales if users are turned off by your app or website. The buying process is a race. At the starting line is your potential customer, and reaching the finish line means a sale. Don’t turn the journey into an obstacle course. Make it as smooth as possible for your customer to find the finish line. UX/UI services are designed to make the browsing experience as satisfying as possible, leading to a better perception of your brand, more sales, better customer loyalty, and more growth for your business.
