It is no wonder that companies around the world, the size of Nike, Coca-Cola, Google and Apple are so concerned with this aspect in their products and services.
The good news is that it’s not just the big conglomerates and trade giants that can use design to their advantage. Your small business can (and should) do that, too.
But how to use what you don’t understand? So we are going to explain today two of the most important concepts you need to learn: UI and UX design. If you’ve heard of both and always thought it was all the same, let’s fix that mistake now.
Is ready? So come on!
What is UX design?
The term UX comes from User Experience. It is basically about how a person feels while using any digital product or service that your company offers.
UX is also about how that person feels after using your product. This includes your website and blog, even if your business is not 100% digital, such as an online system or application.
What is the role of UX design in Digital Marketing?
Imagine the following: when accessing your website, a potential customer wants to know how to contact a seller.
He looks for a long time until he finds a link to the contact page, but the form is defective and he needs 3 attempts to complete the quote request.
What kind of experience did this user have? While searching, it is likely that he was frustrated. When facing a defect in the form, you may have become angry or discouraged.
The truth is that in such a case, most users would not even bother to try three times, as in our example. But the point is: even those who do this will not be willing to continue the conversation after receiving contact from the seller.
In other words, a good user experience can help generate more sales opportunities and close more deals. The opposite is also true.
What is UI design?
The expression UI comes from User Interface, which means User Interface. The idea of the UI is to guide the user through his application during the time he uses it.
Let’s use the same example that we just saw to facilitate the explanation.
As soon as a person enters your site, there are some specific actions that you want them to take.
A good job of UI design guides users through navigation, and leads them to take such actions naturally.
If the objective is that the person asks for the contact of a seller, everything on the page (contents, navigation menus, CTAs, images, etc.) must collaborate so that he feels this need.
What is the role of UI design in a digital strategy?
If your site does not guide users correctly through the interface, they are unlikely to take the right actions. As a result, this sales channel will fail in business objectives.
Have you ever visited confusing websites, which did not clearly communicate the value proposition, or which made it difficult to find the necessary information? They are examples of poorly done UI.
And poorly done UI is very expensive, because the almost immediate reaction of visitors is to go back to Google and look for a competitor that offers a better experience.
But wait… better experience? Isn’t that UX’s role? Keep the following in mind: UI directly affects UX. If your website navigation is poor, it is much more difficult to make the experience good.
But that does not mean that the two concepts are the same. To make this clear, let’s look at 3 clear differences between them.
3 fundamental differences between UX and UI design
There are some important differences between UX and UI that need to be considered in order to fully understand what each of them does. See now 3 of the main ones:
1. UI only exists with a visual interface, UX does not
As the name says, UI is all about the visual interfaces of your website or application. Without a screen, there is no UI. But we cannot say the same for UX. Why?
Because, in many cases, the user’s feeling about the browsing experience is not about a screen itself.
It is quite possible that this experience will be even more pleasant if the designer can eliminate some steps in the process of using the product, which means fewer screens to interact with.
2. UI guides the user, while UX makes browsing worthwhile
We have already talked about this a little, but it is worth emphasizing that the role of UI and UX design are essentially different, although they complement each other.
While the UI guides what the user should do while using the website / app, the role of UX is to make browsing a pleasant one.
UI makes navigation easy to understand and actions simple to perform.
But even the most pleasant site in the world will not make visitors happy if it doesn’t have the information it expects, the way it wants to consume it.
3. UI is about reason, UX is about emotion
What is the easiest way to navigate through a website or app? There are good practices in this regard, it is a very rational process.
In the West, people usually read from top to bottom, from left to right, not to mention the various systems in place.
UX is more complex than that, because how to evoke a positive emotion in the user? It depends on who your user is, what the situation is when they use your application and a number of other factors.
4 benefits of using UX and UI design together
You may have already realized that both UI and UX design have great value for the success of your digital strategy. So, it is natural to ask yourself: which one should I use?
But the answer is: both. There is no reason to choose just one of them, or to think that they somehow compete with each other. As we mentioned above, UI and UX complement each other.
Separately, each one can bring good results for your company. But just by using the two together you will have the following benefits:
1. Generating high value for the public
With a well-designed interface and in-depth knowledge of how your persona behaves, it is possible to generate far more value for the audience than it would be if only one of the elements were in use in your strategy.
And generating value for the public never hurts. After all, even if not all visitors are ready to take immediate action, they are likely to return if the UI and UX work is done well.
2. High chances of retaining and delighting users
Many websites and applications have time spent as one of their main success metrics. This indicator is used when engagement is important to the success of the project.
If this is the case, there is nothing more valuable than the union of a good interface with a positive experience of use.
This pair is responsible for retaining and delighting users, which generates traffic and more engagement from recommendations.
3. Brand strengthening
Brands that are concerned with the complete experience that customers have in their digital channels are greatly strengthened in relation to competitors.
In the digital world everything is shared, which includes the joys and frustrations of people with their favorite brands.
One way or another, people will comment on your brand. The quality of the UI and UX work is what determines whether this will be good or bad news for you.
4. Increase in conversions
In the end, nothing is more important than conversions to a digital strategy.
That is why any company invests in Digital Marketing, and the design of the interfaces, as well as the complete experience, is what guarantees return on this investment.
The best thing is that even after seeing positive results, it is possible to continue optimizing efforts and achieve even greater goals on a regular basis.
Now that you know UX and UI design, you know that they are closely linked, but they are not the same thing. Still, the secret is to use the two together to strengthen your digital strategy.
After all, the better your audience feels, the more conversions you will have.
Did you like to know a little more about the universe of UX and UI design?
So take the opportunity to also check out these contents that we have separated for you about web design and its importance for digital strategies:
