Your app or website won’t be successful unless it has a good user experience (UX). UX design is all about creating an intuitive, pleasurable experience for your users. To do this well, you have to think about every aspect of your app and service that the user can touch, from their first interaction to the moment they stop using it and delete it from their phone or computer. Here are 8 Simple Tips to Improve User Experience
8 Simple Tips to Improve User Experience
Use a prototype to test your ideas
UX design is not a simple endeavor. You can’t just sit down and think it through. Instead, start by building prototypes and testing them out on your target market. Doing so will give you a better sense of how well-suited your product is for its intended audience, along with any potential improvements you may need to make in order to increase usability.
If you don’t have time or money to invest in UX research, at least sketch out some wireframes before diving into development. While these are typically used as a planning tool for UI designers, they also work well as an interactive way to test your ideas early on—and get valuable feedback from others before investing time and resources into coding up a full prototype.
Use feedback loops to constantly improve user experience
Your ui designer’s brain is always working. She may or may not have a user experience design degree, but she can learn to do user testing and research on her own. The key is knowing how to ask questions and collect feedback so you can understand what users want or don’t want from your product. Your UX designer’s attitude is key in getting feedback from people—it’s not about asking what they think; it’s about soliciting their opinion, giving them context for why you’re doing something, then allowing them to talk openly about what they do or don’t like.
Use user feedback to design your interface
Your software might be functional, but if it’s not intuitive for your users—or worse, causes unnecessary confusion—it won’t sell. That’s why you should always seek out user feedback, whether from an unbiased source or from actual customers who have already bought your product. The process of putting a product into someone’s hands is never as simple as handing it over and expecting them to figure it out on their own. If you want to create products that people will love and return to time and again, make sure you design with user feedback in mind at every step of development.
Use motion graphics and graphs to improve user experience
Motion graphics and graphs can help with your user experience by making data more visually appealing, while also communicating important information. If you’re trying to decide between two options, or if there are other variables that could affect your data (i.e., multiple users), charts can help make those decisions much easier for your audience. You can create a simple chart in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets; just be sure that you have all of your information organized beforehand so you know what kind of graph will work best for whatever it is you’re communicating.
Use sound to create a more immersive user experience
A great way to make your website or app more immersive is by using sound. From small beeps that let you know when you’ve successfully clicked on something, to creepy background noises that convey a feeling, adding audio can really bring your user experience to life. If you’re looking for somewhere to start, check out sites like Freesound and Soundbible for inspiration—and royalty-free samples. Many developers also recommend recording your own sounds; doing so gives you much more control over things like volume and pitch (and gives you samples that aren’t generic!). Whatever approach you take, consider adding some sound effects in order to take your user experience up a notch!
Use color to create a more pleasing user experience
People are hardwired for colors. It is one of our most powerful senses and influences decision-making. As a UI designer, it is up to you to use color effectively in order to create a pleasing user experience. The impact of colors on human psychology has been shown by many studies, even across cultures; in fact, two different psychologists were able to develop similar models of how colors affect us without having met each other!
This implies that people are experiencing colors similarly all over the world. Another study showed that children aged between three and seven years old could judge very well if a painting was made by adults or not only based on colors but also on shape compositions and contents like flowers, animals, etc.
Use typography to create a legible user experience
Typography is one of those things people take for granted. When you choose a typeface, you don’t consider how it will be read on-screen as opposed to in print. And yet that makes all the difference when it comes to UX design. Whether it’s through color, form, or size, typography can be used in many ways for different purposes—but one of those is legibility and another is readability. Making sure your typeface is both readable and easily legible will make all your content more usable, thus improving the user experience.
For example, Verdana was designed specifically with low-resolution screens in mind, making it ideal for any kind of website. It even passes these tests! In fact, no matter what you use Verdana on (be it body text or headlines), its thin lines and generous spacing ensure great readability while also maximizing screen space. Other good choices include Open Sans and Arial Narrow—both sans serif fonts with large x-heights (meaning they have high ascenders and descenders). As long as they aren’t too thin (which would result in poor readability), sans serif fonts are usually very easy to read at small sizes due to their open forms and high stroke contrast.
Use design principles to create a consistent and intuitive user experience
In UX, consistency and intuitiveness are two key principles that help improve user experience. Consistency plays a role in helping users learn how things work and interact. For example, you want to make sure your color palette is consistent throughout your website and user interface (UI). You also want consistency with how your site or app handles common actions, like filling out forms.
At each step of a form’s completion process, you should ask yourself if what you’re building will create a sense of intuitive flow for your users. Is it easy for them to find their way through? Are all of their inputs saved correctly? If not, take some time to refine it until everything is as clear as possible for an intuitive UX experience.
