UX vs UI: What’s The Difference?
User experience design (UX) and user interface design (UI) are both important for any product or system. UX and UI work together to create functionality, but the two aren’t the same. In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at the difference between UX vs UI, why they’re important, and how they work together.
What is UX Design?
UX design, or user experience design, is the process of designing a product or system that provides a great experience for its users from start to finish. UX also encompasses how a user feels when interacting with a system. The Nielsen Norman Group defines user experience as: “User experience” encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products.” In short, the user experience is how people interact with any product, physical or digital, and UX design is how you design your product with the user in mind.
Why is UX Design Important?
An important part of UX design is meeting the exact needs of your user. You want your users to have an outstanding experience with your product or service, and UX is crucial. If your customers have a great experience with your brand, they’re going to be more likely to use your product or service, again and again, building customer loyalty. As important as it is for your users to have a great experience, UX is also essential for business success. Good UX can clearly define your customers’ journey and lead them on a path that results in conversions for your business. If you want to learn more about setting up a UX design process, check out this guide.
What is UI Design?
UI design, or user interface design, is specifically focused on a product’s or system’s interactive elements. For example, UI includes buttons, text, images, sliders, text entry fields, screen layouts, navigation bars, etc. Anything a user interacts with must be designed, and that’s where UI design comes in.
Why is UI Design Important
UI is critical for the success of your website, system, or product. Specifically for websites, UI design maximizes responsiveness, efficiency, and accessibility of any site. Your site’s interface is how users interact with and navigate through your site to find what they’re looking for. Having great UI design is important because it facilitates interactions between your site and your users, which turns visitors into buyers. Additionally, UI is a major way to increase your site traffic and conversion rates.
Key Differences between UX vs UI Design
UX and UI may seem similar and are often mixed up or lumped together. Here’s the fundamental difference between the two:
- UI is made up of the elements that come together to form the way something looks
- UX is a process that creates how something works.
Good UX will focus on the interactive aspect of the product. UI will focus on the visual part of a website. For example: On a website, UX designers will build the entire site’s architecture and the page’s physical layout. On the same website, UI designers will be focused on things like how the buttons are displayed, how images slide in, and where a user is most likely to click.
To create a product or system that offers a great experience for users, you need both UX and UI. Next, let’s look at how UX and UI work together.
How UX and UI Work Together in Design
UX and UI work together to create a product that works and functions. If UX and UI are done right, your users are presented with an intuitive, beautiful, functional product that meets their needs and leaves them satisfied with the experience.
Both UI and UX are crucial to creating this beautiful and functional product. Here’s a quote by Helga Moreno, a renowned designer, and expert in the field of UX and UI:
”Something that looks great but is difficult to use is exemplary of great UI and poor UX. While Something very usable that looks terrible is exemplary of great UX and poor UI.”
Neither one is more important than the other. You need to get both UX and UI right in today’s market, especially in eCommerce.
Why User Experience Matters in eCommerce
User experience and user interface design are especially important for eCommerce brands. Your customers must be able to easily navigate your website, find what they’re looking for, and make a purchase. Good UX and UI also increase web traffic, build customer loyalty, and increase conversion rates. Here are some stats to demonstrate the importance of UX/UI in e-commerce:
- 88% of online shoppers say they wouldn’t return to a website after having a bad user experience.
- 91% of unsatisfied customers who don’t complain simply leave.
- Better UI could raise your website’s conversion rate by 200%, and better UX design could yield up to 400% conversion rates.
- Only 1% of users say e-commerce websites meet their expectations every time.
Despite these staggering stats, Only 55% of companies currently conduct UX testing. This means that eCommerce brands have a huge opportunity to level up their user experience and thus grow their brand.
Ux vs UI Conclusion
Both UX and UI are crucial for any eCommerce brand. UX is going to determine how well your site functions, while UI defines how your site looks. If you have a great user experience and user interface, you’re going to see big results and happier customers.
Find this article helpful? To find more tips on building and scaling your eCommerce site, check out more blogs from Anatta.
Sources
Definition of User Experience | Nielson Normal Group
A Literature Review: Website Design and User Engagement | NCBI
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