At its most basic, User Experience (UX) design is exactly what it sounds like. You’re designing and working towards users having the best possible experience using your website or application.
This means they can quickly determine what your website is about, finding the information they’re looking for is a breeze, and accomplishing necessary tasks takes very little mental exertion. At the end of the process, the best UX allows for users to accomplish the primary purpose of your website with as little mental exertion as possible.
This is why one of the greatest books on the topic is called “Don’t Make Me Think“, users don’t want to have to think about what they’re doing. They just want to do it!
Where to start when thinking about UX?
UX design is a great field with many different techniques that can be employed to help in understanding how well users are able to interact with your website or application.
But, as a starting point for most people, the simplest step is to get out of your own head and think about your users – your potential clients.
Particularly if it is your own business, you’ve probably had your mind wrapped up in a lot of things that most clients don’t care about.
For example, you may take great pride in the interesting story behind the founding of your business. However, potential clients looking for your core service may find your story to be a hindrance if it gets in the way of them completing their main objective.
Align your objectives
If you’ve ever had a conversation with us you know we’re big on having a clear, and usually solitary, intention for your website. What do you want to accomplish? What is your objective?
So, when building a website you should have a clear objective. Your site is subsequently designed to meet and promote this clear objective.
So, at its core, I believe a great UX can only exist when the objective you set for your website is aligned to the objective a potential client has when visiting your website.
For a successful website, the two objectives must match.
This can only happen when you first take a step back and think about your user and not your business.