5 min read

The Do’s and Don’ts of Expert UI/UX Design

Published on

July 9, 2024

Woman wearing a stripy top holding finger in the air to show she's having an idea and holding a laptop against a yellow background

Contributors

Leah Camps

Marketing Executive

Table of contents

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UI/UX design stands for User Interface and User Experience design. It encompasses the visual and interactive aspects of a digital product, focusing on creating interfaces that are aesthetically pleasing and easy to use. Essentially, UI/UX design involves thoughtfully crafting the overall look and feel of a website, application, or any digital platform.

So, is UI/UX design just a buzzphrase? Should it be a priority in your team? In this article, we’re delving into the nitty gritty of what UI/UX design entails and giving you some examples of great design that could help boost your conversion rate.

Should UI/UX design be a priority, and when?

Nowadays, when users have endless options at their fingertips, UI/UX design plays a more important role than ever before. A well-designed interface can make or break a user's experience, influencing their willingness to engage with a product, spend time on a website, or make a purchase. Good UI/UX design not only enhances customer satisfaction but also drives business success.

Lower bounce rates and higher conversion rates are goals of businesses of any size, so UI/UX design should be a consideration at every growth stage of a brand. Throughout the evolution of your brand, you want to bear in mind key UI/UX principles that help you create landing pages and interfaces that help boost the conversion rates of the leads you work hard to get.

What are the core principles of UI/UX design?

Knowing the core principles of UI/UX helps you make better choices that drive the goals of your various landing pages. Of course, to become a professional UI/UX designer takes years of experience and training. Understanding the core principles won’t turn you into a pro website designing wizard overnight, but it can help those in other roles like marketing to gain better insights into why certain pages might be performing better than others and to make more impactful design changes.

User-centred design: A fundamental approach

User-centred design lies at the heart of UX design. It involves understanding users' needs and incorporating their perspectives throughout the design process. How can you successfully initiate user-centred design? It all starts with research. You can conduct user research by simply interviewing users if possible, recording interviews conducted via Microsoft teams or Zoom and sharing that with the rest of your team. Alternatively, you could use tools like Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity to review user sessions on your interface. By conducting user research, creating personas, and involving users in usability testing, designers can ensure that the final product aligns with the users' expectations and goals.

The role of usability in UX design

Usability is a critical aspect of UX design, focusing on how easily and efficiently users can accomplish their goals within a product. Designing for usability involves simplifying complex workflows, providing clear instructions and feedback, and minimising cognitive load. By prioritising usability, designers can create intuitive interfaces that users find easy to navigate and use.

Understanding user journey mapping

User journey mapping involves visualising and understanding the various touchpoints and interactions users have with a product. By mapping out the user journey, designers can identify pain points, opportunities for improvement, and moments that matter to users. This insight enables designers to optimise the user experience and create more meaningful interactions.

Inexpensive tools for UI/UX design

If you’re looking for budget-friendly ways to improve your UI/UX design, here are some inexpensive or free tools you could try.

Figma

Figma offers free and paid versions of the platform, with their most expensive plan being £70 a month as of June 2024. The tool allows you to easily collaborate in real-time with team members when working on projects and is cloud-based so accessible anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. The ability to create interactive prototypes and manage design systems on the platform makes it particularly useful for UI/UX design.

Pros:

Real-time collaboration on projects
Cloud-based so accessible anywhere with an internet connection
Can create interactive prototypes
Ability to manage a design system

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Cons:

Free version only allows for 3 collaborative design files
Requires more training to get the most from the tool

Wireframe.cc

Wireframe.cc offers a great freemium version of the tool that allows you to quickly create low-fidelity wireframes to suit a range of different screen sizes. It’s a super simple tool to use, so you can just jump right in and it’s easy to navigate between screen sizes and drag & drop options intuitively. This tool is accessed from your browser and so it’s good for use from anywhere with internet access. You can add notes into wireframes which makes it a good option for more collaborative working to get quick feedback from your team.

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Pros:

Simple to navigate, can navigate intuitively without much training necessary
Accessible from a browser
Easily add notes and comments directly to the wireframe

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Cons:

Premium paid version offers more options and functionality

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So now you’re ready to get going on your UI/UX design improvements, here’s some do’s and don’ts to get you started.

DO: Include icons in lists

Icons in lists are a logical way to help the user more easily understand how to navigate a menu, and also makes the design slightly more engaging than a plain list.

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DO: Align horizontally

Aligning elements horizontally maximises readability and helps the user flow more smoothly through the form.

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DO: Use hamburger menus in mobile

Collapsing navigation into a hamburger menu makes everything clearer and improves navigation for the user.

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DON’T: Use stretched or poor-quality images

Always design and display images according to the intended aspect ratio to avoid stretched, distorted or pixelated images.

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DON’T: Create layouts that don’t fit your screen

Create layouts based on the size of your screen. Any primary content should be easily viewable without having to scroll or zoom in.

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Summary

In this article, we’ve discussed how important UI/UX design is in businesses at any growth stage. We’ve looked at the core principles of UI/UX design including user-centred design, the role of usability and understanding user journey mapping. Armed with inexpensive tools and some do’s and don’ts, we hope this article has helped you get started on improving your UI/UX design with these simple tips.

If you’re looking for professional UI/UX support, which can offer so many benefits to overall conversion and bounce rates, then we can help. Design Cloud provides UI/UX design subscription services to help businesses get reliable support from experienced, professional designers. Working on a subscription-basis with a UI/UX designer offers incredible savings, and gives you the flexibility to get the support as and when you need it. You can have a look at our UI/UX design subscription plans here.

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