UI Vs UX: How Do They Dually Function in Web Design?

10 Nov 2021
Eclick Softwares and Solutions

As a digital portfolio of businesses, a website speaks about the business you are running and where, the values and views of your company, and what are your products and services. In fact, websites earn 75% more credibility with effect of good website designs. So, you need to understand the basics of UX and UI design to figure out how are they working in tandem for your website to drive business goals. By no means should there be any room for website design errors since it hinders sales.

So, let us be clear with these two acronyms and how are they related to your business website.

UX is User Experience – Combined critical analysis and logic in web design enables the web designers to understand and plan a method for the users to interact with the products, services and systems. It comprises design, usability, navigation and impressions – everything that creates a great web design. UX design is the blueprint wherein the details are planned to guide the users and navigate from one position to the next.

UI is User Experience – The meeting place between the users and the computer program, that is the website is the User Experience. The set of commands and menus making an interface helps users in communicating with the program. Through UI design, the users' easy and intuitive access to your website is determined. UI design is the furnishing painting the mood-evoking details.

UI and UX are both design disciplines having a similar product targeting to create a great end-product. While UX and UI are the complementary aspects of web design, one is only complete with the other.

At the same time, UI and UX have their own share of differences being disciplines with separate organizational roles. UX is the data-driven projection of how should a consumer feel when he/she is visiting and navigating your website. On the other hand, UI is more concerned about the design patterns along with the minutest details.

Also, UI design is about creating an enjoyable and delightful layout, while UX design deals with ease of usage. With UX being more of a concept, that is feeling promises the website's overall premise, seamlessness and responsiveness. But UI includes the tools, elements, technical appetizers and digital interface associated directly with the design process.

How Do the UI and UX Designers Work Together?

To be precise, the tasks of the UX and UI designers make up the differences between UI and UX. Based on the business, the UX designers work on optimizing the products to enhance their effective and contented use. The UI designers focus on the products' look and feel, presentation and interactivity.

When more than two UI designers are handling this role, then communication and collaboration are their keys since they own the product's final presentation that impacts the user experience. At the same time, the UX and UI designers work in a closer collaboration for ensuring efforts are targeted in the same direction to meet the user's goals and needs while addressing all the key areas in the user's journey. To assist with this collaboration, a style guide is the existing powerful tool the UX and UI designers look up to.

The Style Guide – Key to UI and UX Collaboration

The style guide leads to improving the overall consistency, functionality, and look and feel of the website to make it real and solid. Thus, a style guide is a foundation for the UI and UX designers, helping them to work together and create effective, delightful, inclusive and efficient products and experiences.

It typically states the reasons for the decisions agreed upon at the time of the design process. The design is controlled, least no functional changes, inconsistent with the remaining project are made. Thanks to the style guide, the UI and UX designers maintain a high consistency level for conveying branding with a stronger voice, by working together to create an exclusive web design.

The Main Reasons for Investing in UX Designs

The prospective visitors and customers are attentive to the user-friendly websites. Moreover, the recent algorithm updates of Google highly focus on UX design ranking signals. Even the user experience of your website will officially impact your rank in the search results. Hence, you have five valid reasons for investing in UX design.

1. For Improving Customer Experiences

The right UX design anticipates all the users' needs and wants, and finally helps them to easily move through your website towards meeting the ultimate goal. With the excellent UX design, the users are encouraged to enter into extensive interaction with your business, following the recommended next steps by using the call to action (CTA) buttons, signing up for the newsletters and surveys.

2. For Decreasing the Bounce Rates

When a strong UX design inspires immediate landing on your website with the motive to find out the relevant information, then the visitors will be spending time on your website. So, it indicates a lower bounce rate.

3. Driving e-Commerce Sales

A strong UX design for e-Commerce websites results in lesser card abandonment instances and more purchase count. A customer-centric and responsive UX design thrusts up conversions and sales figures much higher. You can build up a high-quality e-Commerce website with the help of a web design agency, who will be using Shopify, Wix or Magento so the design can be flexibly customized, and sales boosted.

4. Reducing Customer Service Costs

When the users are able to receive answers to their questions easily, then it is due to the efficient UX layout that saves a huge amount of money on extra customer service. An interactive and easy to use the website is the platform to find self-explanatory information and processes.

5. Improving Ranking Signals

User experiences did evolve into a crucial ranking signal as Google values mobile-friendly designs and page loading speeds. Hence, UX designs have to be incorporated with priority in SEO as well as business growth strategies.

The Best UX Practices for All the Website Owners

UX design is building an essential platform for content. All details have to be rightly planned before building it. The beginning to website design and even redesign should be with mapping out the contents at hand and the contents needed.

The contents are guidance to the information architecture – a design must be carefully selected and contents must be adequately and relevantly placed. If a website is to be redesigned, then the ideas must be mapped out based on the content flow. So, before you envision a working UX prototype for accurate placement, you need to assess the prevailing and planned contents. The page transitions and the website's overall flow is assured by the content-centric approach.

1. Know Your Users Goals

Be clear about how can you help your users quickly accomplish their goals based on why are they coming to your website and what should they be able to do.
Create a chatbot or phone survey er else create a pop-up survey on your website for interacting with engaged users and for easily collecting their feedback.

2. Create A Positive Outcome That is Flexible Usability

Denounce the superfluous design elements for accommodating speed, ease, and simplicity.
Consider the audience base, as the positive outcome is any UX design's element, so focus on easier decision-making along with faster navigation.

3. Ask For Limited Information In the Lead Forms of Your Website

The fields the users have to enter should give them security for sharing their personal details so you can start with the conversion process.
Minify and simplify the form submissions, Call To Actions and such elements so the users have to do minimum typing.
Ask just the basic details needed for starting conversion with customers.

The Chief Reasons For Investing in the UI Designs

User Interface or UI design stands out as the bridge between the visitors and the website since it is having the basic design elements helping the users in navigating your website to make the purchasing decisions. Here are the chief reasons for investing in UI designs.

1. Building A Brand Identity

UI is the colour choice, typography, and button style – thus a good UI design has a lot to say about your brand. The UI of your website must instantly evoke the tone, culture, values and merits of your company.

2. Converting the Potential Visitors to Prospective and Long Term Customers

Since UI sets the tone, so a good UI will create a mood for the visitors to be converted – they will contact you, download the contents, and even purchase your products and services. Stimulating UI designs of the brands to resonate better with the visitors and bring about higher conversions count.

3. Increasing Customer Retention

A proactive UI design helps your business brand in better client retention along with attracting more customers to the website. A good user interface combines the page elements facilitating a pleasing or else a positive subconscious emotional reaction encouraging repetitive visits.

The Best UI Practices for All the Website Owners

UX might create a home for your content, but UI is everything about designing to fill up the spaces with relevant resources. In this way, UI design builds on the UX plan to make the website aesthetically appealing. Hence, the visits become more welcoming, enjoyable and productive.

1.Clearly Map Out the Steps For Conversions Before Starting With Website Designing or Redesigning

Plan out for easy navigation at all the stages of your user journeys.
Customers should be organically moved down the sales funnel in the e-Commerce and B2B businesses with the effect of enticing content and navigational options.

2. Have A Brand Strategy Along With Brand Identity Guidelines

Create consistent and attractive UI design layouts that extend beyond the landing pages to the blog post templates, interior pages, and more website elements.
Every page should achieve an on-brand look and feel with consistency – the pages could be a primary page, a custom landing page for digital ads or product detail.

3. Plan Out the UI Designs for Shorter Attention Spans

Modern-day users tend to scan the contents with an average of 8 seconds span.
Since major contents are scanned and not much read, so include the simplistic design elements for guiding the readers.
It helps the person scan with intuitive scrolling and clicking options, clearer headlines, minimal interfaces, well-defined Call to Actions and clearer headlines.

4. Create Simplified Videos, Images and Components So The Page Loading Speeds Do Not Slow Down

Simplicity always wins in UI designs and SEO.

5. Limit the Experimental Strategies Unless Brand Should Be Demonstrated

Only for demonstrating your brand to allow your regular visitors and customers to think with a difference, go ahead to readjust the existing set.
Avoid quirky additions or changes so the process is seamless and you can earn a conversion.

UI and UX are highly specialized and have different roles related to website design. UX design is rooted in human psychology and cognitive behaviour since it is more analytical. Alternatively, UI design software focuses more on visuals and creating aesthetically pleasing products.