Why good UI is so important

Why good UI is so important for your business website

What is good UI? UI or User Interface is the first thing your visitors interact with when they visit your page or open your app. Attract the attention of your visitors and turn them into potential and repeat customers with smart and well thought out UI design.

Your UI should be designed to cater to your audience’s needs so they can clearly see your products or services, easily ask questions and navigate buttons and pages to access what they want.

What is the difference between UI and UX? People often get confused between UI and UX. User experience (UX) and User interface (UI) design are two different elements of the online consumer experience.

UX refers to the User eXperience, which focuses on how something works and how people interact with it and how the overall user journey flows. This will include things like navigation and structure.

UI, or User Interface, focuses on the look, feel and layout of your web page. For example, UI design works on the visual design elements including colours and typography and visually appealing aspects of the page. With good UI your page will feel right and customers will feel at ease and be able to understand your message clearly.

Good UI makes user interaction simple, intuitive, and efficient. This also improves conversion rates on your website. A page that has too many features and content can increase page load times and overwhelm your visitors. They’ll just leave. This in turn will give you a high bounce rate, which can negatively affect your search engine rankings as well. Your UI should deliver the right message to the end-user, meet their needs and satisfy their expectations.

When thinking about your website design, the interface should have a user-centred design to enhance business opportunities while maximising revenues and improve a wide range of business metrics such as user productivity and customer loyalty.

So let's go through...

what makes a good user interface?

1. Clear interface

A clear user interface makes it easy for visitors to navigate through your pages. UI facilitates users interacting with your system or page so it shouldn’t confuse them. They should easily figure out how your page works so they can fully maximise their experience. Create clear and concise labels for buttons and actions. The clearer the labels, the easier it is for users to understand what to do.

It's best not to get too creative or overly artsy. Use familiar names for your navigation. Don’t forget your content too! Long definitions or explanations will only get in the way of the visitor’s experience. It is better to explain features in a brief and concise phrase or words.

2. Consistent design

Make sure that your pages are consistent in the way they look and feel. Consistent UI will allow your users to develop usage patterns. It makes it easier for them to apply previously learned knowledge on how to navigate your system because they don’t have to learn new things to get around. They know what to expect because they have previously experienced it. Consistent UI guarantees pleasant UX and retains engaged visitors.

3. Responsive web design

Users use different devices when they access the internet. Your website design should display the same user-friendliness and consistency across ALL devices. Develop a responsive design that will be suitable for mobile users. Responsive UI also means fast. The interface or the software behind it should work efficiently and adjust smoothly to different screen sizes. Content should load quickly. It saves time and improves UX experience.

At HelpDesk Heroes we find that it is imperative to get both mobile and desktop views right. Whether you do a mobile-first or desktop-first design, the usual automated tools and bootstraps do a good overall job. However, it's advised to perform a final review by an experienced UI and UX designer to ensure that there are no glitches or unexpected behaviour across different screens and devices. Our clients always get attention to detail and the best possible customer experience.

4. Attractive page layout

When your UI is pleasant to look at, people will look forward to using it. If it’s properly designed, your visual design will catch more attention without compromising its function and content. Nice fonts, images and colours makes it enjoyable for users to interact with your system. Provide a pleasant environment for your users. A website is always judged by its appearance, so definitely look smart!

5. Efficient navigation

A well-designed IU will not only consider the UX, but also the business logic and structure flows. Visitors should be able to find what they need instantly without having to scan the page.

It shouldn’t be overly designed and too structured because it might cause performance issues. Keep it lightweight and minimal to keep interaction efficient and easy to maintain. Design and implement a UI that will let your users accomplish what they want and look for what they need easily.

Reap the Benefits of a good user interface

Once you have well designed web pages you should see the benefits with higher engagement, lower bounce rates and more conversions.

1. Customer acquisition

Your UI’s usability will greatly impact your site and sales. A good UI with frictionless navigation will help your customers checkout their orders faster. Fast transactions increase customer satisfaction. Speed helps you scale.

2. Customer retention

A good UI does not only attract new visitors, it also retains old users. Customers care about high quality experience and if you can’t provide that, they might look for something better elsewhere. People will keep coming back and visit your page if they find it easy and efficient to use. To stay on top of your game, provide your users with a flawless experience.

Build trust with your users by providing them exactly what they need. Your UI’s design should cater to your customer’s cycle of demands. A user-friendly UI is a key to building good relationships with your users while getting loyal customers.

3. Increased customer engagement

A good UI provides easy navigation to interactive tools for customer engagement. For example, a feedback widget where customers can leave feedback and reviews of your products, or simple buttons we don’t think of, e.g. Add to Wishlist - when a product is out of stock. You can utilize chatbots too, so you can get direct feedback and responses from customers or visitors.

4. Increased productivity

Creating a user profile in your site or page is a great way to keep your users engaged. It should include their addresses and payment options for faster transactions every time. If you want your brand or site to remain relevant, you have to gain your visitors’ trust and this starts with your website’s UI. It shows them the attention and care you have for their needs. In a world where digital experience moves the world, effective UI design decreases customer dissatisfaction and results in the business being reinforced more positively.

In conclusion

It is essential to have a clear well-structured page layout which adds value to your digital products and experiences. Having an easy to use website will make you visitors feel confident about using your services.

If you are going to give it a go by yourself, there are some great blogs out there about UI design. Visually distorted - when symmetrical UI looks all wrong from the Mobile Spoon blog has some excellent examples. A Guide to list UI design: principles and examples has lots of useful tips. There are a host of great tools and resources available online.

If however, designing your own website is not for you. Find a professional UI designer and work with them to create effective pages for your brand and e-commerce website.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out our Website Launch Checklist

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