User interface (UI) is one of the most crucial elements of any website. UI refers to the way in which users interact with a website while UX refers to the overall perception of a website, with both of course having a significant impact on overall user experience and overarching business goals. Great UI design can make a website easy to use and enjoyable to navigate, while poor UI design can frustrate users and make them abandon the site altogether. From getting your design team involved with prototyping to incorporating UX strategy and best practices into your website, these various components related to UI strategy should never be overlooked. In this blog post, we will explore how UI strategy impacts every aspect of your website.
Navigation
Navigation is one of the most critical aspects of a website’s UI. It is the way in which users move from one page to another, and it can be the difference between a seamless user-centered experience and a cumbersome, frustrating one. Solid user research that can be incorporated into your wireframing process will help lead to a good UI/UX strategy and will ensure that the navigation is intuitive and easy to use. The menu should be simple, and the links should be labeled clearly so that users know exactly where they are going.
Content
The content on a website is what keeps your target audience engaged and coming back for more. A well-designed UI strategy will ensure that the content is easy to read and understand for all stakeholders. The typography should be legible, and the layout should be visually appealing. The use of images and other multimedia should be strategic, and they should enhance the user experience, rather than distract from it. Consider the strategic use of both short-form and long-form content to find the right balance that will give your end-users the right amount of information at different touchpoints along their journey while reviewing your website.
Responsiveness
With the rise of mobile devices, it is essential that websites are responsive and can be accessed from any device. A good UI design strategy will ensure that your site is responsive and looks good on any screen size. This will not only enhance the user experience, but it will also improve the site’s desirability. In addition, a responsive website will also positively impact search engine rankings as Google considers the overall quality of final web design when prioritizing websites over others.
Branding
A website’s UI can be used to reinforce your brand’s identity. A strong UI strategy will ensure that your site’s design is consistent with your brand’s overall look and feel, and can easily fit into and integrate with all previous graphic design components that also have a digital footprint. This will create a cohesive user experience that reinforces your brand’s identity and values while also creating a consistent design process internally for your team and a united brand identity externally.
Conversion
The ultimate goal of any website is to convert visitors into customers or clients. A good UI strategy with solid UX design incorporated will ensure that the site is designed to facilitate conversions. This includes clear calls to action, easy-to-use and user-centric forms, strong usability practices, and a user-friendly e-commerce checkout process (if applicable) that will give you a competitive advantage. Great UI and UX strategy should always allow you to see continued progress of the user journey you are looking to establish for your customers while positively impacting metrics across your website.
Put a Plan in Place Today
While UI strategy is crucial for the success of any website, it can be cumbersome to piece together all of the ideas, potential changes and updates, and steps that are needed to put it into practice. The advantage of having an outside party take a look at your website to consider user needs in a new light and connect dots to UX design and UX strategy can be an exceptionally useful step to putting a new UX/UI initiative in place. If you’re looking to get started but are unsure of where to begin, reach out to the MAKE Digital Group team today. We’ll be happy to walk you through our UI roadmap process and see how we can best help you on your way to better user experience, improved conversions, and more revenue for your business.
