UX and UI design are basically different concepts. However, together they create exactly what no modern website that wants satisfied users should lack. So what is the difference between them, why are they inseparable, and what does it all cover?

What is UX design - User Experience?

UX - User Experience is the experience and impressions that a website or application user gains. They can be positive, negative, but also somewhere in between.

The goal of any online project is to achieve the conversion that the user has set as a goal. This means, for example, buying a new washing machine, reading an article to the end, or clicking on the "contact me" button and leaving your email. However, during the time that the website user moves around the pages, many factors influence him. Can they quickly find the product they want to buy? Do they learn all the necessary information from a short description? Can they solve the order of the washing machine in a few clicks or will they be held up by an incomprehensible form? If there are a lot of obstacles on the web that they have to overcome, the user leaves the page.

UX and UI design, along with the methods and procedures that UX uses, aims to remove these obstacles. They focus precisely on the fact that the user experience is positive in the end and the customer is satisfied with the interaction with the web.

What is UI design - User Interface?

UI - User Interface is all the elements that are on the website and how the user of the page interacts with them. UI design aims to create an environment that users can easily and intuitively use. It deals with specific elements, such as buttons, banners, text fields, or images. It solves their functionality, display, and also their mutual arrangement. In the end, an environment is created in which a person can easily orient themselves, is not disturbed by unnecessary elements or information.

So what is the difference between UX & UI design?

While UX solves the user's impressions, explores their needs and identifies problems that they have on the pages, UI focuses on how to assemble the web visually and functionally so that they do not occur. In other words - UX tunes the overall user experience (usability, user-friendliness, and needs of the website visitor) and UI what the page looks like and works.

Why are UX and UI design so closely related?

On the other hand, it is necessary to say that to achieve the optimal result - a user-tuned web, the cooperation of both is necessary. Because UX and UI design go hand in hand. The ideal procedure is that, within UX, the specialist defines problem areas and finds out where the user of the page runs into problems. Subsequently, in conjunction with the UI designer, he proposes a new, better visual with functional elements that work together like clockwork.

UX and UI are simply like two connected vessels. The visitor of the page will hardly get a positive experience with the web if he is not waiting for a quality user interface.

What does UX design solve and what methods/tools does it use?

For the user experience with the web to be evaluated positively, there are several steps that precede it. If we take an e-shop or a web that already exists, but wants to achieve more conversions, the basis is to find out what state it is currently in. Thanks to a professional UX audit, the web owner will get an overview of where and why customers are leaving the pages and what they should improve in terms of UX.

Part of identifying weaknesses can be UX testing. It is the most effective way that, with the participation of a sample of real web users, can reveal up to 80% of errors and obstacles that lurk for the visitor.

Any new web that is preceded by UX research (mapping the needs of the target customer group) and a proposal for a UI/UX design tailored to measure has paved the way to success.

In what areas does UX focus to make the user experience with the web positive?

Usability of the web

To ensure a positive experience with the website, it must be usable first. In other words, buttons must be linked to the processes they describe (after clicking "buy", the product is added to the cart), the search should display relevant queries, the navigation of the page is easy to understand, and there are no unnecessarily lengthy forms that complicate the order.

Responsiveness of the web

People use different devices to view pages. It is essential that the web can always adapt to the screen or device on which the user is currently viewing the page. Responsive design is a must-have for any web today, but within UX, you can still refine details that will optimize the mobile version compared to the desktop version to the maximum.

Content quality

Not only design but also content, in the sense of graphic and text elements, can significantly affect the impression the website visitor receives. Are the information they provide on the pages understandable? Are the images related to the text? Is the content on the given page relevant? Or does the user get lost, cannot find what they are looking for, or is the page addressed to them in the wrong language?

Web accessibility

Websites are also viewed by people with certain types of disabilities - for example, visual, motor, or hearing. They are also looking for information, want to shop online, or have fun. In order for the web to be accessible to everyone, it is necessary to consider details such as subtitles on videos, alternative text for images, or color schemes that can be read without problems even by people with disabilities.

What does user interface and what are the roles of a UI designer?

A UI designer is a person who designs individual web elements so that they harmonize and complement each other to ensure a positive user experience when interacting with the web. Which areas does user interface solve?

UI design and elements

The UI design includes not only individual elements - buttons, text fields, forms, image parts, banners, and so on, but also a complex layout (page). With an emphasis on clarity and ease of use. A well-designed layout can guide the visitor through the web much more effectively.

Implementation

Part of UI is not only the choice of suitable elements, their placement in the right place, but also their color scheme (color combinations, transitions) and font selection (fonts and size). User interface thus also affects typography and complex visual hierarchy of elements, which should be as user-friendly as possible.

Interaction

In addition to design and functionality, UI also emphasizes how the page visitor can interact with individual parts and elements. This means clicks, scrolling, voice commands, gestures, or keyboard shortcuts.

Animations and effects

The purpose of animations is to draw attention to certain parts of the web or directly to information. The task of UI is to choose them if necessary so that they do not distract and do not create the opposite effect.

Have you managed to capture the difference between UX and UI design and understand why they are so closely related? Without a well-tuned user interface - user interface, the visitor of the web will hardly get a positive user experience - UX. If you would like to know how your web is doing, contact us.