Understanding User Experience & Why you need it

UX is all about enhancing the experience that people have while interacting with your website, product or service, and making sure they find value in what you're providing. 

The end result is seamless, engaging, and captivating experiences, enhanced customer satisfaction and increased loyalty. 

Stop chasing the problem. UX is the solution.  

• Did you ever grab a horizontal bar on a public entrance door (like a hotel or restaurant) and push it, only to find that the door actually needed to be pulled open? 
• Have you ever seen an error message on an app with options that left you feeling confused about what to choose or worse, worried about what would happen if you chose either option? 

Those are classic examples of bad UX. And the worst part is that people often feel like they are the ones that made the mistake when it was really bad design.

Good design doesn't require instructions; UX design done well is virtually invisible. 

UX is an umbrella term (of course). UX creates and describes our relationship with a company and its products and services. Everything about our experience and interactions with business is created by UX. 

If you're thinking "yea, but it's just me - I'm too small for all that."  Let me say it this way: Even for small (or very small) businesses, UX design is the fulfillment of your brand's promise. 

 UX designers help businesses:

• define better solutions by embracing user-centered design. 
• solve problems through empathy.  

Empathy is often defined as walking in someone else’s shoes. But you cannot walk in someone else’s shoes until you take off your own. 

So, empathy really is taking off your shoes and putting on someone else’s. Daniel Pink said "Empathy is about standing in someone else's shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes.” Empathy is what makes the world a better place.

How does this connect with your target audience on an emotional level? Well, when someone interacts with your website, or your product or service, and they find it intuitive, easy to use, and tailored to their needs, they feel understood and valued. This positive experience fosters trust and loyalty, and promotes a deeper emotional connection with your brand.

Research has consistently shown that companies that invest in UX see a lower cost of customer acquisition, higher customer retention, and increased market share. A study by the Design Management Institute found that, over ten years, design-led companies maintained a significant stock market advantage, outperforming the S&P by an extraordinary 228%. This shows that good design isn’t just good for users; it’s good for business.

(Stats from UX Design Institute's blog article entitled "The Value of UX Design") 

• On average, every $1 invested in UX brings a return of $100. That’s an impressive ROI of 9,900% (Source: Spiralytics)
• A well-designed user interface can increase the conversion rate of your website by up to 200% (Source: Forrester Research)
• Improving the UX design of a website can enable a business to achieve a conversion rate as high as 400% (Source: Forrester Research)
• 66% of customers are willing to pay more for a great experience (Source: Salesforce)
• 84% of customers say the overall experience a company provides is just as important as its products and services (Source: Salesforce)
• 72% of customers will tell 6 other people about a good user experience they had. This is excellent for brand reputation and winning new customers (Source: Spiralytics)

What happens when companies fail to invest in UX design?

(Stats from UX Design Institute's blog article entitled "The Value of UX Design") 

• 70% of ecommerce customers abandon purchases because of bad UX (Source: Spiralytics)
• 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a website after a bad user experience (Source: Toptal)
• 90% of users reported that they stopped using an app altogether due to a poor user experience (Source: Toptal)
• An eye-watering 70% of online businesses fail because of bad usability and UX (Source: Uxeria)
• Of those who encounter a bad user experience, 13% will tell 15 or more other people about it. That’s extremely damaging for business (Source: Spiralytics)

"The value of UX design can be felt in how we experience the world around us." - UX Design Institute

"Empathy is about standing in someone else's shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes." - Daniel Pink

"Then there’s the matter of inclusivity and accessibility. UX design determines whether or not products are accessible to and inclusive of all users, regardless of who they are and what different needs, requirements and disabilities they may have. 

The value of UX isn’t just about creating nice websites and boosting a company’s revenue. It’s about designing a world which is enjoyable, inclusive, accessible and usable for everybody." - UX Design Institute

"Good customer experience minimizes friction, maximizes speed and efficiency and leaves consumers feeling heard, seen and appreciated. It has a tangible impact that can be measured in dollars and cents."  PWC: Experience is Everything: Get it right