User experience vs design

The battle between beauty and functionality. Many times, we believe that 'the more unusual and crazy my website is, the more visitors I will attract,' and while this is not entirely untrue, it always depends on our ultimate goal. I invite you to read this article and draw your own conclusions.

If I am a designer, an artist, or a developer, demonstrating that I can create all sorts of crazy things (animations, transitions, different structures), we are achieving the goal as long as we provide a clear guide to our users that this is our sole purpose. However, if, on the contrary, our goal is to sell, communicate, or become known for other reasons, I am sure that this is not the optimal way to do it. To ensure that a website fulfills its purpose, there is something called UX (User Experience), which I will explain in more detail later.

The first thing we should consider when creating our website or app is, "What is the goal of this?" Is it to entertain, communicate, sell, among other objectives? Once we know this, we must think about who our target audience is: children, adults, senior citizens, or simply anyone who might be interested.

With these points clarified, we can now delve into our design, taking into account usability that aligns with our objectives and target audience.

¿What is UX? (User experience)

In simple terms, User Experience is all about making life easier for people who interact with an environment, software, or device. It's about something we can leverage to help users find, consume the information they're looking for, or take the actions we expect them to.

Returning to the previous topic, it's about ensuring that the website fulfills the purpose for which it was created. If my goal is to sell sports items and the user struggles to find the item they are looking for or if its description and cost are unclear, it will only lead to frustration and a bounce rate in our analytics. This means the user comes to the site, can't find what they're looking for, becomes frustrated, and as a result, leaves the page without making a purchase. Conclusion: It doesn't fulfill my primary objective.

On the other hand, if the user easily finds what they are looking for, has the necessary information to make a decision, and is guided through actions on the page, our website would be fulfilling its objective, and the likelihood of the user making a purchase will depend solely on our products.

On the other hand, we have the design and the colloquial phrase, "you eat with your eyes."

While it is true that "you eat with your eyes," and that symmetry, color, shapes, transitions, and animations play a vital role in our website, creating attraction and emotions for our users, the key is to achieve a perfect balance between beauty and usability.

This even applies beyond the digital realm. Many times, we come across things that are extremely beautiful, but we don't know how to use them, or when we try to use them, we realize they are uncomfortable or do not meet our expectations, among other issues.

Finding the perfect combination

With the previous points clarified, we need to learn to find the balance that allows us to visually satisfy our customers while achieving our objectives. We should seek guidance from experts who know how to achieve digital results. It's important to remember that sometimes less is more, and clean, clear designs can often yield better results.

But does this mean I can't have a spectacular design to attract more customers? Of course, you can have a sophisticated and innovative design, but never lose sight of its usability. You can play with colors, shapes, animations, as long as you have a clear understanding of the "why" and "for what" of your website.

Let's consider this example: there are icons and their typical positions that we are already familiar with, like the "x" that represents closing a pop-up, a menu, a tab, and generally, we also know where to find it, in the upper-right corner, right? If on our website, we want something different and change the "x" or move it to a different position, for a user who already has this in mind, it will be confusing not to find it where it's expected to be. If, in our design, we want to use multiple "x" symbols in different parts of the page, the user may associate them with closing something when that might not be their intended function.

These are basic considerations, such as the structure and design of our website changing depending on the device it's being viewed on. This is known as responsive design because it adapts to the screen it's displayed on, making reading and usage easier. It takes into account the shift from an environment where we interacted with a mouse to one where we use our fingers. If a button is too small, it can be challenging to tap with our finger.

In reality, there are countless things that are already determined, and as users, we have internalized them. So, do things differently, but don't make people need to read a manual before interacting with your site.

Now that you know this, you can draw your own conclusions about what you will give more importance to.

We're giving you some tips to make your digital product more usable:

• Have a clear goal.
• Take care of your texts; ensure that the font, size, and color are legible, and pay attention to the background on which they are displayed.
• Convey your information clearly. Think that the fewer clicks the user needs, the faster they will find the information, and the higher your chances of achieving your goal.
• Create calls to action or direct pathways to the ultimate goal, be it contact, a product, or a sale.
• Don't reinvent the wheel. Even though it may sometimes seem boring and monotonous, use icons and structures that people are familiar with. It will make the user's experience easier and more enriched.
• Remove intermediate steps.
• Give your site a consistent structure that aligns with the content you're presenting.
• Optimize your code for a fast-loading page. This way, users won't get bored, and you'll expedite the process.
• If you have contact forms, request only what is necessary.

We hope this article has been helpful and that we've helped clarify any doubts. If you're ready to dive into the digital world or if you have a site that isn't meeting your goals, feel free to reach out to us. We'll guide you to achieve what you desire.