According to the Interaction Design Foundation, the User Experience (UX) of a product can dictate its success or failure.
A product with a great UX helps users solve problems easily and makes them feel pleased during the process.
It makes users feel that interactions with a product are smooth and effortless.
Making sure products have an outstanding UX has a huge impact on the development of a brand.
That’s why successful businesses look to improve and innovate to create a seamless experience for their potential users.
Let's dive deeper into how to improve User Experience to get the most out of it!
Why is UX Important in Digital Products?
A proper UX has a strong focus on real users' needs and pain points without neglecting business goals.
Investing in improving a product’s UX is a huge opportunity for growth!
Every dollar can yield up to 100$ in return, which represents a 9,900% ROI.
Users who have positive experiences when interacting with a product are way more likely to complete transactions.
That’s why Google’s "Ten things we know to be true” highlights a "focus on the user, and all else will follow."
Many experts comment that most companies don't invest enough in UX.
That can potentially cause a trillion-dollar problem!
Not having a good UX can make you lose opportunities and money.
For instance, easy navigation, a key UX metric, is a priority for around 94% of users.
Lost orders in online shopping in the US due to poor checkout flows can reach over $200 billion.
Elements of Good User Experiences
UX Simplicity
Ensure the design elements and content included in your digital product are easy to understand and don't overwhelm users.
By reducing cognitive load and highlighting visual hierarchy, you can simplify your product.
To achieve this, you can use design systems, such as Google's Material Design.
UX Usability
Good usability implies that users can accomplish their goals.
Usability is an indicator that they can do it with as little frustration as possible.
Pay close attention to the user journey with thorough Usability Testing!
Make sure usability is optimal and check for room for improvement every time you change a feature or add a new one.
One effective way to enhance usability is by leveraging website annotation tools.
These tools play an essential role in improving User Experience by offering real-time confirmation of user actions.
Likewise, they reduce uncertainty and guide users seamlessly in their interactions.
These can transform static interfaces into dynamic environments, where users feel more engaged and confident.
By improving feedback mechanisms these tools ensure that users can complete tasks with greater ease and satisfaction.
That's critical for maintaining high usability and overall brand success!
UX Accessibility
As the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) pointed out, “making web products accessible to everyone benefits businesses, individuals, and society.”
In this context, UX Designers should be familiar with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Designing accessible products for people with different physical abilities is not just a moral obligation but a legal requirement.
UX Responsiveness
Pay attention to the way they arrange images and other elements based on the device they target.
62% of businesses have reported increased sales as a result of responsive websites.
Other studies show that reducing 0.1 seconds of load time for mobile sites can increase conversion rates by 8%.
This improvement can also and also reduce bounce rates by 8% simultaneously.
As a rule of thumb, consider the seven UX factors coined by the UX expert Peter Morville.
Morville states that products must be Useful, Usable, Findable, Credible, Desirable, Accessible, and Valuable.
In other words, products must be easy to use and navigate, solve real problems, and convey trust.
Moreover, all product features must be available to people regardless of disabilities.
Important features must be very easy to identify and encourage repeated use.
3 Tips to Improve User Experience (UX)
1. Testing and Iteration
Conducting thorough user research and understanding user needs during the entire process is just not enough.
User Experience Testing will help you validate your assumptions and ensure user satisfaction.
It also helps businesses future-proof a product idea with a usable prototype before investing in expensive software development.
Product Designers can leverage insights to refine a product and make sure it resonates with its intended audience.
The thing is, testing may be the final phase of the Product Design process.
Yet, lots of things can happen after you launch your Minimum Viable Product or a new feature of an existing product.
User behavior (needs and expectations) can shift and evolve quite fast.
You should continuously test the efficacy of your product, as there will always be room for improvement.
Some of the most effective testing methods include A/B testing, card sorting and usability testing.
End User Experience Monitoring Tools
Digital products' user experiences also involve technical aspects.
To name a few, there's site availability, loading speed, responsiveness, security and accessibility.
All these elements must work together to ensure optimal UX!
Yet, manually checking that features properly work can be hard.
That's why End-User Experience Tools are highly recommended!
User Guidance
Regardless of how simple and easy-to-use your product is, guiding is key to ensure customer satisfaction.
Educating users on how to use your product or service and how to get the most out of it will pay off.
There are countless examples of successful businesses that have made excellent learning resources for their users.
Popular Design tools like Figma and Adobe have extensive learning resources and documentation available.
Other tools, like Webflow and Hubspot, have even created their learning platforms, including video tutorials and courses.
You must also be aware of how important it is to educate your users on how to use your product or service.
Apart from learning resources, you must aim to provide impeccable customer service and support.
Conclusion
There are several things to pay attention to if you want to improve your product's User Experience Design process.
Often, it's fairly hard or nearly impossible to work on everything that has to be done.
That's why it's crucial to assess your product's performance carefully and prioritize your updates accordingly.
As a UX-driven agency, we've worked with distinguished companies, including Wurrly and Median.
Reach out to improve your User Experiences!
