User experience (UX) is the workhorse of web design. Operating beneath the colours, shapes and patterns of the user interface (UI), UX design lays out the paths of user behaviour, guiding visitors to the pages that matter, and providing a smooth and intuitive layout that anybody can navigate. For obvious reasons, those who work in UX consider themselves designers, but this is a simplification. UX is not only about building an experience, but also understanding it. UX teams obsess over measuring user journeys, uncovering moments of friction, and rigorously testing prototypes. Our work is not just visual design, but also design thinking, an entire process of analysis and problem solving.
Problem solving with UX
One way to think of UX design is through the lens of problem solving. Marketing teams hope to generate leads, build engagement, or provide information through their websites. Different design challenges stand in the way of accomplishing this. The job of a UX designer is to identify, measure, and then solve those issues, unlocking a variety of upsides for their client. Of course, there is no “best way” of doing this, it always depends on the underlying function of the website. Want to provide accurate information quickly? A shorter user flow needs to be designed. Looking to win over customers through engaging long form content? An increased dwell time can be developed. A crucial first step is therefore defining the end goal of the project, ideally in a metric that can be tracked at every stage of the process.
UX and data
This brings us to data. A huge chunk of a UX designer’s work (believe me!) consists of trawling through every possible measurement of user activity and website performance. This begins with the existing site, continues through the design process, and occurs at regular intervals following the completed redesign. We measure site traffic (and where it's coming from), the duration of visits, the completion of key actions (say filling out a contact form), and the individual performance of every page. This all feeds back into our understanding of the overall user experience. Our success is also measured in statistical terms, and these always depend on the project at hand. If a client wants leads, for instance, we will benchmark ourselves on the specific metrics associated in the lead-generation process.
The audit: UX without the design
UX can often provide dramatic value to a marketing team before the actual design process even begins. The first step of any project at Kooba is a UX audit, intended to diagnose issues and inefficiencies in a client’s existing site. Sometimes simply by understanding why users are exiting or avoiding their site, a client can make improvements without a full-scale redesign. Of course, a UX team can always fix the problems that they discover, but often just finding them is enough to provide valuable insights. When it comes to dysfunctional websites, sometimes admitting you have a problem really is the first step to solving it. And it's not all doom and gloom. An audit can also uncover opportunities for improvement, allowing clients to convert previously neglected visitors relatively easily.
UX remains the unsung hero of digital design. Ultimately, websites are not works of art, but rather tools intended to deliver an outcome. UX aligns the fundamental design of a site with this outcome, an unglamorous but absolutely essential task. Of course, there’s no issue with a website looking good in the process, but for most clients, it is intelligent and thoughtful UX that drives the metrics that really matter.
