The Elements of UX Design and Creating a Memorable User Experience

There are four main pillars of user experiences on the web: usability, desirability, adoptability, and value. These vary depending on the type of website you are developing, how your website will be used, who will be using it, and why they are there to use it.

Knowing and understanding the specific preference differences between your users is where it gets a bit muddy. To get started, you must break down each of the elements of UX design and understand how they are prioritized by your website visitors.

Usability

Reliability is a key factor in developing the perfect user experience. Now some websites are inherently expected to be more reliable than others. The mere thought of a Google Docs outage can send businesses of all sizes into a panic, but Facebook may not have as big of an impact, and vice versa. The point is, usability is crucial to building and engaging customers but if your website is not the type of website that is based around community building than it may have less of a priority. In order to establish a process around how your usability is managed, you should review your website visitors’ behavior on your site, and do a bit of research on your buyer personas. If there is one thing that makes a difference in a digital experience, it’s your ability to promise the exact same experience—or a better one—next time.

Desirability

Having a site that is a desirable destination is the goal for any business in any industry. This is also true in the digital world. If you website is slow-moving, outdated, non-responsive, and full of broken links, how could you possibly expect to resonate a welcoming tone? Because your website is the hardest working employee you have, it is a must to keep it maintained. Keeping your interface modern and clean is crucial, but navigation trumps all. Think of your website as an escort through your sales process. It should provide valuable and effortless information at each stop. The closer you can get to this seamless sales and marketing cycle, the better off you will be when it comes to designing a desirable user experience.

Adoptability

Much like usability, adoptability requires in-depth research into the user interface (UI), the individuals who are interacting with the site, and their ability to grow as your website grows. If you are maintaining your website and growing at the same time, you have to keep the best interest of both new and returning website visitors. If there are big changes, new technologies, or software features introduced, it should be done in a manner that is user-friendly, intuitive, and adaptable. This is particularly the case if you are working with a product or service that has a target market who is generally not tech savvy or quick on the digital uptake.

Value

Possibly one of the most important elements of business site UX design is the value it provides. It is about being transparent, building community, providing support, and developing content that assists your website visitors, leads, and customers in their buyer’s journey. Develop a system that focuses on building transparency and helping your sales team to communicate the brand messaging your marketing team has worked so hard to develop. When someone stops by your website, they should always leave feeling like they are taking something with them: a bit of knowledge, thought leadership, product specs or information, an eBook or case study—something that will provide value to decisions they make in the future.

Each of the four elements of user experience play a part in how you should approach website development, marketing, and even sales. Creating the perfect customer service experience is deep rooted in developing an enjoyable user experience.