What is UX Design?

UX design is user-experience design. And it’s the process by which a design is created with the user’s experience in mind. It’s all about enhancing user satisfaction and enjoyment through thoughtful design. And the best place to utilize a superb user experience to help you in your marketing efforts is on your website.

UX design is vital to the success of any marketing strategy. Without a smooth user experience, visitors to your website will exit your website before they find the information they were looking for or before they’re convinced to purchase from you.

What Does a Good UX Design Look Like?

Good UX is focused. When a visitor arrives at your website, they must have clear options of what to do when they arrive. If the visitor is there to find your contact information, then finding your contact info should be a super simple, 3-second process. If the visitor wants to learn more about you and your company, again they should not have to search for it and think about where to go.

And if a visitor comes to your website without a specific need, the flow of the website design itself should lead them in a natural direction to learn more about what it is you do, the benefit your service or product offers them, and what to do next to learn more.

Similarly, the design should be a visual representation of what it is you offer. Setting the right tone or environment for your brand (for example, blue and clean for medical fields, bright and airy for an event planner) will affect the user in a couple of ways, one of which always happens while the other is sometimes not the goal or the desire: It will sometimes wow them, and it will result in a subconscious judgment, influencing their impression of your brand.

If a picture is worth a million words, then your website design is worth billions. It will speak for your brand.

Bad UX Design

How do you know if your website offers a superior user experience, or a terrible one? There are a few things you can do to find out. First, take a look at this website. Take note of a few things, such as:

• Clarity — It’s immediately clear what this website is about.
• Direction — Options to learn more about the organization and other points of interest are clear and available.
• Tone — The design is a clear reflection of the brand’s tone.
• Ease of use — You don’t have to wade through confusing graphics, buttons, or an overwhelming amount of text to use the website.

Now take a look at your website. Is there a natural flow of information that leads the user from one point to the next without overwhelming them? Is the navigation simple and straightforward, allowing them to create their own user experience if they so choose? Does the tone of your website match the tone of your business? Is your website simple to use?

Now do it all again from your smartphone. Evaluate the same points. What did you find?

If a user arrives to a website and they are overwhelmed by buttons, text, menu options, or colors, they’ll likely navigate away before learning more. If a user arrives and they are not sure where to look first, they’ll likely navigate away. If a user arrives and they don’t know how to find the information they’re looking for in 7 seconds or less — they’ll navigate away.

Off-Center Designs with User Experience in Mind

Because Off-Center takes a team approach to building websites, the result is the best possible user experience. The website copy and design are integrated and manipulated to produce a smooth user experience so your visitors will stick around longer, leading them to the information they need to choose you or your product. The development of the website (all the code and functionality) is produced to create a quick website, which is essential to keeping visitors happy. And happy visitors are visitors who stay on your website longer, increasing your conversion rates.

There are a few key principles to creating a positive UX design. Those principles include:

• Mobile-responsiveness
• Speed
• High-quality and inviting imagery
• A streamlined presentation of information
• Credibility
• Accounting for human behavior

People are using mobile devices more now than ever. So designing a website that offers a superb user experience on both desktop and mobile is a must.