When building a website, you want it to represent your company and brand well. That is why User Interface & User Experience are essential to creating the perfect website.

UI and UX Design

UI Design is the process of preparing a graphic structure for software or websites. UX design is how that interface will react to and encourage reaction from the end-user.

The most important factor in user-interface design is the ease of use. “I always like to think of whether or not non-tech grandma would be able to use the sites I design (especially the e-commerce sites),” Nate Brown, our Graphic Designer, said. To make this possible, you must keep it simple and have no surprises.

Why is UI/UX Design Important?

We want users to feel like they’re moving seamlessly through the sites we create. We never want someone to get lost or have to question the credibility of a website, especially when there’s credit card data or personal info involved.

So how do designers and engineers create a smooth experience for their users? Here are a few ways:

• Feedback: Let users know you’re home. When someone does something on your website, there needs to be some reaction/response to let them know. Change the color of a button when they hover over it. Turn a box green when a form is successfully submitted. Users need to know when they do things right or wrong. Making sure your site is talking back to the users builds trust.
• Color: Clients want to see their brand colors used throughout their website. It’s essential to maintain consistency in color usage to keep users on track. If a blue button does something on one page, the blue button on the next page should do the same thing. Much like street signs, we learn to associate behaviors with colors, so keep behaviors consistent.
• Simple Layout: When a user comes to your site, you don’t want them clicking through all the pages to find what they need. Keep your site organized and straightforward. Categorize and label all of the different places and tabs. Make sure anyone can find what they need. “Users have become familiar with interface elements acting in a certain way, so try to be consistent and predictable in your choices and their layout.”

Things To Consider

It’s important to consider the desired path for users when designing a site. Brown says, “I like to know the clients’ end goal and try to make it so that a user can achieve that goal without ever having to guess which buttons to click as they move through the site.”

Designing a website is like designing a soda can. You want people to know it’s a soda can and know how to open it and get the soda, but you also want it to stand out on the shelf with all the other soda. We want things that are fun to look at but easy to use. That’s why learning from the big companies and seeing what they do can be helpful. They spend a lot of money researching the best UI/UX practices to ensure their brand stands out, and people enjoy their website. In an article on TreeHouse, they talk about you should pay attention to patterns. “There is no need to reinvent the wheel. [Popular] interfaces may solve some of the same problems that users perceive within the one you create. By using familiar UI patterns, you will help your users feel at home.”

So when you decide your company needs a website or if you’re looking to redo yours, talk to us at jWeb Media. Our graphic designer and team of engineers will create the best website for you. To see other websites or projects we have completed, visit our website at www.jwebmedia.com.