The world of technology can be overwhelming. When it comes to starting a business, it is often the area that feels the most daunting. You have a product you want to sell. You’ve figured out your market. You’ve developed your sales pitch. Now you want to put the product online to reach your customers. So why is everyone talking about UX and UI?
Everything is UX and UI
Every modern brand necessarily develops an online presence now. Whether it’s a brochure website, an e-commerce site, social media profiles or online marketing. Having and managing your online presence is essential to the success of any business. The development of UX and UI design to describe how users move through your online presence is where things get complicated.
UX design is your ‘User Experience’ and refers to a journey that should provide meaningful and relevant information to your users. This is relevant no matter where they engage with you online. UI is the more technical component of the puzzle. Referring to ‘User Interface’, it describes the creation of a user friendly and attractive interface that can lead to generating traffic and ultimately making sales.
These terms can feel weighty, especially for start-ups and small brands who don’t have a large tech or marketing budget. Regardless, they are truly something that every business and business owner should be thinking about.
Why care about UX?
Understanding your product
It’s useful to understand your UX as being every point at which your customer or prospective customer comes into contact with your brand online. When you think of it that way, it’s clear that a good UX can help customers to really understand your brand or your product. To see quickly and clearly what it is you’re selling or telling them. And to move through the information you offer in an intuitive way. When your goal is to sell your product or service, this type of positive experience is fundamental.
Attract the customers you want
It’s widely recognised that a good UX/ UI can help to attract and retain customers. With improved conversions of around 30%, it’s clear that maximising the experience your users have online can make a clear and notable impact on your success. The easier your site is to navigate, the more intuitive your toolbar, your calls to action or your sign-up is, the more likely you will be to convert visitors to customers.
Lay the foundations for success
Not all success is immediate. Online it’s important to do the right thing at the outset in order to lay better foundations for long term success. Setting up your website or online presence with a strong purpose, clarity, and with beautiful imagery, all of these things will help build your brand in the long term. Building your brand reputation, increasing traffic to your profiles, and encouraging repeat visitors has a strong impact on your future growth.
Reduce friction
The less problems your users experience the better. Every time a customer has a problem with your sign-up form, you risk losing them or having a customer service issue. Carefully planning and designing your UX means less friction, fewer pain points in the online journey. Ultimately this means increased conversions and less pressure on your customer service and admin resources.
How to achieve better UX/ UI?
What are some things you can do to either plan a successful UX/UI? Or if you already have an online presence, to improve it?
Style and tone
Take time to figure out the voice of your brand. What is your mission? Who are you talking to?What is the style and voice of the brand, products or solutions you are offering? Be clear on the language you want to use, the image or impression you want to leave. In addition, clarify any language you don’t want included. Or indeed anything that should be excluded from your content. Once you have a Style Sheet figured out, apply it to all aspects of your communications from customer emails to social media posts, online content to product packaging. A coherent and strong brand is invaluable.
Know your customer
Understanding your target audience is key to creating a positive user experience for them. Who are your customers? Where do they engage online? What are your customers interested in. What problems are they looking to solve? Who influences them. What is it about your product offering that is relevant? Flesh out your customer groups in as much detail as you can. Establish as much as you can about who you are talking to. From there you can craft your online presence to speak exactly to those individuals. That way you’ve found a powerful way to answer your customer’s questions before they even realise they have them.
Keep things simple and authentic
Online content should be simple, intuitive and authentic. Keep your language clear across all websites. Have clear calls to action and make sure your navigation makes sense. Gimmicky sites are just that. It’s better to create a website that your users can identify with your brand and values. A site that they can navigate easily and that answers the needs they have in a simple and clear way.
Calls to action
Make sure you are inviting your users to engage. Clear calls to action are essential and should be revisited and edited frequently. Find out what is working for your users by checking your analytics. Where are users engaging? Where are they leaving your site? Edit your calls to action to speak to these behaviours and don’t be passive. Calls to action should be updated regularly.
Optimise
Check your site and online presence for optimisation potential. Is the site mobile friendly? What is the loading time? Can that be improved? Are you loading so many images and videos on your homepage that users can’t access the site? There are often small technical improvements that can be made to ensure your site is optimised and will better serve your users.
While technicalities may feel beyond many of us, the process of the evaluation and design of user experience is something that every business should be owning. We all engage with brands endlessly each day and recognise the power of a beautiful and functional website. Taking the time to really understand your audience and your product mission is key. Being able to translate that into a strong and healthy customer experience online is even more crucial to the success of any modern brand.
Whatever stage of business launch, growth or development you’re at, Go For It can help you. For guidance from our professional advisors to help creating and acting on your business plan, get in touch to start your successful business journey.