User experience design (UXD, UED, or XD) is the process of enhancing user satisfaction with a product or service, by improving the usability, accessibility, and desirability provided in the interaction with it.
“No product is an island. A product is more than 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. Make them all work together seamlessly.”
Don Norman, inventor of the term “User Experience”
UXD is user-centred and involves the entire journey your customer has in the lead up to purchasing your product or service. Three things must be considered when creating something new:
Tesla cars are not just focused on self drive. They have also given attention to simplifying the typical driving experience. When you sit in drivers seat, and put your foot on the brake. It will both shut the door and turn on... There is no park brake. If the accelerator is not pressed, park is the assumed mode. There are many ways other vehicle manufacturers could copy these enhancements for better user experience
At Website World, we look to support tickets to drive improvements in usability. If more than one person has a similar issue in a given month, we look to see how we can smooth out the rough edges. In a world of endless feature creep and external influences, it's hard to make every process perfect, but that is the goal.
MailChimp has 'humanised' technology and improved their customer's UXD by including visuals when users perform certain actions. The hand and arm of their mascot is used in three different graphics, with each one demonstrating the action you are about to take.
Often complaints are made of trades people and other services not taking calls, or returning calls. Often it is a one person business; the plumber might be crawling under a house with hands in pipes, or the massage therapist in session needing a stress-free atmosphere. These businesses could consider the following website features:
When a customer is satisfied with the experience they have had, they are more likely to come back and recommend your business to others. Increased customer retention means you sell more often, require less paid advertising and have an increased market share within your industry.
Market research company Forrester Research identified that on average, for every $1 that was invested into UX design, there was a return of $100, or a ROI of 9,900%. With those figures, businesses cannot afford not to invest and take note of UXD!
The benefits of having great UXD include:
In conclusion, user experience design is about providing satisfying experiences to those using your products or services. By improving your UXD, you increase your businesses success levels. Improving your website usability also helps increase conversions, and you can learn more about this in our article Website Usability: How Easily Can a Customer User Your Website?
Posted: Friday 24 May 2019