Today, many factors determine whether users visit a website just once or return again and again. A positive UX can help make visitors feel comfortable, enable intuitive usability and allow them to quickly find the information they need. And with the amount of media and content we all consume every day, it's even more crucial to stand out from the crowd. What is easy to recognize is hard to define and not so easy to create. And for this reason, let's take a look at the basics. 

What is UX again? 

UX stands for "user experience", i.e. the user experience. It describes how users experience a product, a service or a system and what experiences are made in the process. The "system" can be a digital product or a website, an app or similar within the digital world.  It is not just about pure usability, but about the overall feeling that users have during the interaction. In short: how you liked something you came into contact with online. 

The aim of UX is to design products in such a way that they are intuitive, pleasant and efficient for users to use. Many factors play a role here, such as user-friendliness, accessibility, aesthetics, interactivity and the emotional reaction to what is seen or experienced. Various methods and tools are used to achieve a positive user experience, such as usability tests, user research, information architecture, interaction design and the development of personas.

Overall, UX is a central part of the design process that ensures that the needs, expectations and satisfaction of the user are at the center.

So when we design a new website for our customers, this is also part of our job. After all, in addition to the speed of websites, the experience is also a decisive factor in whether or not users return to the site. 

UX versus UI design

There are so many terms in this sector that we want to clarify things here. 

In UX design, the focus is on the interaction between the user and the product. The central questions in the design process are: 

• How do users use the application? 

• What experiences do they have? 

• What barriers need to be removed? 

• What does "intuitive" mean for the respective target group? 

The central goal is to put the user at the center and make the product (or website) as user-friendly, efficient and pleasant as possible. 

In contrast, UI design focuses on the visual appearance and interactive elements of an application or product. "UI" stands for "user interface" and refers to the actual visual appearance of a website, for example. Functionality must meet aesthetics and go hand in hand with all criteria from the UX design process. Although UI design is closely linked to UX design, it plays an independent and important role in the design of the overall user experience.

Criteria for "good" UX 

Of course, there are always a few criteria that you can use as a guide. So here is an overview: 

• Usable: "Usable" describes the simple and uncomplicated interaction with a product. The interface is designed to be user-friendly so that the purpose of the product is clear and understandable for users. Intuitive usability should already be considered in the design phase, as it is a fundamental prerequisite for good UX design. We note: Usable equals "usable".

• Equitable: "Equitable" means that a product is designed in such a way that it is accessible and usable for people with different abilities and backgrounds. During development, factors such as gender, age, cultural background or possible limitations in the areas of vision, hearing and interaction should be taken into account, depending on the target group. We note: Equitable equals "fair" or also "barrier-free". 

• Enjoyable: An outstanding UX design ensures that the product is a pleasure to use. "Enjoyable" means that users develop positive associations with the product. This can be achieved through unique functionality that solves a specific problem and makes the user's everyday life easier. An appealing interface design can also reinforce this positive connection. Ideally, both elements are combined, whereby usability as the basis for a good user experience should always be at the forefront. We realize: It should be fun. 

• Useful: "Useful" means that a product offers a concrete benefit and solves a specific problem for the user. It is important to understand that "Useful" and "Usable" have different meanings. A useful product does not necessarily have to be user-friendly, and a user-friendly product is not necessarily useful. We realize: There should be added value. (Or several)

Further terminology

If you dive into the world of user experience, you will stumble across a few more terms and it is much easier to find your way around if it is clear what each term stands for. So here are a few more terms that are important. 

• Customer experience or CX: Customer experience (CX) refers to the totality of impressions that customers gather over the course of their entire relationship with a company. It includes all individual perceptions and interactions that can take place at various touchpoints with the company, such as customer service, product packaging, delivery speed, pricing, website, branding, marketing and much more.

• UX research: How do you know what the ZG likes? Research is carried out in advance. Before the design process starts, studies are carried out to find out whether the product idea actually solves a relevant problem for users in a certain area and which features the product should possibly contain. Existing competitor products are also analyzed to identify gaps in the market. In addition, researchers test prototypes and conduct usability studies to gather feedback from users and optimize the product before it goes into actual development.

• Visual design: Visual design is most similar to what is usually referred to as UI design (user interface). Visual designers focus on designing the user interface of a digital product. They are responsible for making icons, fonts, illustrations, colors and other design elements as well as other elements harmonious and visually appealing.

• Interaction design: In this area, the focus is on ensuring user-friendliness. These designers take the user's perspective to create flows (or task sequences) that feel as intuitive and simple as possible for the user.

• Motion design: Motion design is a highly specialized area of UX design, as it involves, for example, smooth transitions between pages on a website, creative loading animations or other animated visual effects. Although a product can offer a good user experience even without motion design, there are many practical examples that illustrate the importance of motion design (e.g. from Apple). 

Some areas merge and this is also important: a good UX result for users should be seamlessly integrated. 

Summary 

In today's digital era, UX plays a crucial role in the long-term success of a product, website or service. Users have high expectations of the user-friendliness and overall experience of an application. If you want to not only attract users once, but also retain them in the long term, you need to offer a well thought-out and carefully designed user experience. 

But before getting into the design process, it is essential to familiarize yourself with the different areas of design. Understanding the differences between UX, UI, visual design, interaction design and motion design is crucial to creating a seamless result. Because what is easy to recognize is not easy to create. 

You can find more blog articles here: F7 Blog of Curiosities.