UX is an approach that allows your users to navigate through your website with ease, providing an enjoyable/ smooth experience along the way. It combines elements of design, psychology, research, technology and business to provide the best experience for the user.

The importance of UX shouldn’t be underestimated. After all, it has been found that good UX design can increase conversion rates by up to 200%. Whether you’re an international business with an established presence or a startup business and you're creating your very first website, UX must be an important factor in your design process.

Here, we’ll take a dive into what UX really is and by the end of the blog you'll have a better understanding of what you need to do in order to provide a good user experience.

What is UX design?

UX is a user’s ability to navigate your website, app or devices—and considers the thoughts, feelings and emotions they have during the experience. It’s very much a human-focused way of designing, led by questions such as: how will people interact with this content? Is it easy to journey through the site? Is it good to look at? Can I find what I want with ease? Does the page load quickly? Is the language easy to read?

Did you know Don Norman, the author of Designing Everyday Things, first coined the term “user experience” back in the 1990s. He famously quoted “A product is more than just the product. It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences. Think through all of the stages of a product or service – from initial intentions through final reflections, from first usage to help, service, and maintenance. [UX designers should] make them all work together seamlessly.”

By designing your website or app strategically, the ultimate goal of UX design is to develop or improve a product so that it provides the best possible experience for your target audiences from start to finish.

What makes a great user experience?

Great UX design can only be accomplished with a deep understanding of what your users want, need and value. The definition of good user experience can’t be pinned down to just one factor/element. Each interaction between user and product represents unique potential, and every design has its own set of goals. We believe the key to good UX design is to anticipate what the user will want, and answer their questions before they ask them.

The principles of user experience

So what are all the qualities that contribute to a good user experience? Let’s discuss some different aspects and look at how they can be applied to website design. The following are seven core principles that outline UX, identified by designer Peter Morville:

• Usable
• Useful
• Findable
• Credible
• Desirable
• Accessible
• Valuable

Usable

A usable website is one that helps users find the information, product and/or service in a timely matter. A website that is easy-to-use, seamless and satisfying for your target audience is how you are going to achieve great UX.

Useful

When designing a website, usefulness is when the website itself will help users accomplish a specific goal; such as making a purchase, acquiring information or signing up for a course. Ask yourself does the product or website serve a purpose? And what is that purpose? Once you've answered these, you're well on your way to making sure you're providing good UX.

Findable

Findability means ensuring audiences can locate and access the information, product and/or service they are looking for. In the case of a website, this would require them to find the content they’re seeking with ease. You need to anticipate what aspects of your site are the most important for your audience and display them in a way that is convenient for all. This could be on the navigation menu, within the website’s header or prominently on the homepage. Make everything easy to find.

Credible

Your audience are expecting a certain quality or encounter with your brand (based on advertisements or word of mouth) and will feel deceived if they aren’t given the experience promised to them. So make sure you create a credible website - one that is updated, functioning and provides a true representation of the brand or business it serves. Do that and your target audience will appreciate it.

Desirable

Making a product desirable relies heavily on authentic and consistent branding through your audience's experience with you. For example, when you're creating a logo, choose distinct brand colours and write enticing copy that draws your audience in. We've said it before, a strong brand can strengthen its impact in the busy market.

Accessible

Accessibility = removing the barriers that will prevent users from using your product. This makes designing a website that can be used by individuals with a wide range of capabilities, and ensuring that they can successfully complete their end goal without any frustration. And while this is a key aspect of user experience that is often overlooked, it can benefit your business altogether by extending your market reach to individuals who seek accessible products. Additionally, when you improve the level of accessibility of your website or product, it will often make it easier to use altogether.

Valuable

Creating value is the ultimate lifeline of the user experience. Value is like the umbrella of all these principles, without value you have nothing. By covering the qualities discussed above, a business is guaranteed to appear valuable to target audiences. Ultimately, value helps brands bring satisfaction to their users and succeed in industries full of options.