Hexwhale Technologies
We are a Bangalore based web development company, established in the year 2011 we have people with over 13 years of experience in the said field. Over the years we have gathered extensive experience and expertise in our Domain.
User Experience(UX) design plays a decisive role in the success of any website. If users cannot find what they are looking for or unable to easily work, then they are likely to exit such websites immediately. User Experience(UX) design for a website is the process of escalating user satisfaction by enhancing the usability, accessibility & efficiency of user interaction with websites. We would like to share some of the best pro design tips for every UX designer:
*Contrast & Color *
One of the time-consuming, however, the vital stages in UX creation is color choice. Colour contrast is the key part of any visual composition. It brings individuality for each UX element thereby making all elements noticeable. User Experiences containing shades from the same color family have fewer chances of drawing the audience’s attention. A well-planned color palette can elevate a design from “good” to “great” while, a mediocre color palette can detract from a user’s entire experience and interfere with their ability to use a website or mobile app.
Scrolling
Humans are scanners by nature. Scanning requires less mental effort than reading through an entire page. So, humans scan the text until they reach something that seems important to them. But, in web design, we break up the scanning by using the scrolling points. Scrolling is often underrated but is an essential aspect of User Experience (UX). Infinite or long, scrolling has become a standard navigation pattern. This navigation structure lends itself well to all sorts of sites (commerce, social media, etc.) and has some clear user experience benefits.
User Flow
User flow is a visualization of interactions a user should take to complete a specific task on a website or mobile app. It can have different looks depending on where you are in the design process. Instead of using text & illustrative images, wireframes can be employed to create the flowchart. This implies that important elements are included & available for improvement at the same time as the flow develops. The four reasons why user flow is important in the design process are: communication, focus on user experience, documentation, and collaboration.
*Loading *
A website’s loading speed is quite important. Slow sites have usability and SEO issues because users dislike waiting for web pages to load and Google utilizes site speed as a criterion for its search rankings. Website speed must be the top priority if we want to build an exceptionally good website. Having a slow website will bear a negative impact on SEO, conversion rates, usability, and UX. Identifying errors and discovering a solution to increase your site’s speed should be a high priority.
Mobile UX
Mobile UX is important because mobile devices are a growing technology as it is easy, fast and readily available compared to laptops/desktops. Users engage with their mobile devices at crucial moments and only for a short span of time. Mobile UX focuses strongly on efficiency, discoverability & services that are streamlined to serve user needs instantly. So, their experiences should be efficient and interesting to keep them engaged. Hence, web developers should be ready to accommodate mobile users because the amount of browsing, interacting and buying over phones will continue to increase.
Navigation
Website navigation is the principal feature that contributes to the overall user experience. It can make or break the chances of visitors getting converting to leads. Keeping your website simple & obvious will keep website visitors happy and coming back for more. Navigation is key to the performance of a website but it also affects other factors from retaining visitors to converting them into leads. Ensure that your visitors are able to locate the necessary information that they are after before a Call-to-Action can be made.
WebForms
User Experience applies to every part of a website, including web forms in regards to accessibility, ease of use, and convenience. The objective of a web form is to collect certain personal information from website visitors, maybe an email address or their shipping & payment details. If your form incorporates all these factors, then you are likely to see a rise in the number of conversions. Webform UX counts because you want to leave behind a good, lasting impression, creating a positive experience for them while on your site, and convert them into leads.
Content
To deliver the best user experience possible, users should be given what they want: information. Unique and good content is what sets your site apart from the masses and furnishes the right message to your valuable customers. All other components of your website like design, visuals, videos, etc. provide a secondary support role. The dominant factor to a successful website is having a relevant and keyword-rich content offering a clear message with power and conviction. The content on your website should target your audience, engage them and compel them to take action.
*Readability *
The tone and flow of content define your brand’s voice while the visual UX/UI design makes it approachable. The content needs to be readable, legible, and comprehensive in order for visitors to stick around for a while. Well-written and content can’t convert visitors if there are UX readability issues. So, getting the message across is more challenging when you have less on-screen real estate to work with. Thus, finding the right balance between visual appeal and practical application is crucial.
Excellent website design is the most crucial part of any product/service and is the key to establish a successful brand. At Hexwhale, one of the best UI UX design companies in Bangalore we go the extra mile to create an elegant, innovative and unique website to suit our customer’s requirements.
The average time users spend on any product website is approximately about 15 seconds. What is the difference between a website that loses its visitors in the first 15 seconds & a website that retains its users until they have achieved their purpose? Yes!! It is the difference in the User Experience(UX).
Suppose, you visit an online shoe store and you then discover that you can’t filter for the qualities that you are looking for in a shoe. And then, you somehow find the right kind of shoes, but, there aren’t images of the shoe from different angles. At this point, you would be frustrated and the chances that you will proceed to purchase the shoe are slim. All this is due to the poor website design that did not consider User Experience(UX).
What is User Experience(UX) Design?
User experience(UX) refers to the complete, comprehensive experience of users while using your website, across every aspect and facet. UX Design involves analysis of how easy and comfortable your website is for users, by which paths and which elements of your website they find useful and which they ignore.
Creating a great UX involves observing, analyzing, ideating, iterating and testing. It is about turning bad experiences into good ones. UX also counts on usability. Is your website successful in fulfilling users purpose?
User Experience varies from user to user. A well planned and neatly designed website enables a good user experience.
A website that people don’t find very useful or the ones which are not easy to use will not retain users. Every little bump will affect the user experience and the website will see more visitors leaving. However, a website with great user experience will convert visitors to customers.
1. Research
This is primary and essential because at this stage we interact, search and research on concepts, business, competitors and our target audience. It is important to understand what issue the product is trying to solve and to know the user’s perspectives on the kind of solution they are searching for.
We analyze and gather information through questionnaires, in-person meeting, web search, etc. There are innumerable techniques but, the goal is to understand the vision of the website and align it with the needs of the users. This phase focuses on the complexity of the design, the technologies and the platform on which the design will be implemented.
2. Persona Mapping
Persona mapping makes way for developing a more holistic profile of your user groups, by considering the aspects of their behavior, interests, needs, and expectations. So, website developers are able to understand user behavior on a relatively intimate level. This allows them to develop a user experience that addresses different user needs in the most ideal manner possible.
3. Information Architecture
Website information architecture is a visual representation of all the aspects for a given user’s journey through the website. The entire user journey must remain as efficient and seamless as possible that is achieved through research insights and mental model mapping. Even a few basic errors can confuse and prevent users from further proceeding on your website.
To avoid this, prioritize the most essential features of your product and then create clear navigation which is the skeleton of the website. It would be easy for users to find what they are looking for through clear navigation. Ensure to categorize & structure the information as information hierarchy plays a major role in content performance.
4. Sketching
Sketching provides a visual reference to thoughts regarding the look and feel of the product. In the initial stages of user experience design, there are plenty of ideas striking the designer’s mind. In that case, it is not feasible to go about crafting a detailed, high-fidelity system wireframe for each idea. It would be easier to draw out, iterate, and reiterate each unique idea on paper. This enables to decide on one cohesive wireframe.
5. Wireframing
Wireframing is the development of a skeletal user interface structure, without any visual elements. The purpose of a wireframe is to present clients with visual insights into the thoughts or ideas of the designer.
We are already aware of the fact that images & videos are more powerful than words. Each user will have their own perceptions regarding the product. So, visuals will allow them to explore the actual product appearance. Sometimes, designers also provide clients with prototype versions of ideas using the wireframes. This illuminates the comprehensive ability of the client thereby, augmenting their ability to validate the designer’s thoughts in real-time.
6. Evaluation
User testing should be conducted to see how users respond to your website design and observe their behavior. You can test whether your content has the desired effect on your users through techniques like A/B testing.
User Experience focussed website design
Users tend to forget the data and text content, but they will remember the experience they went through on visiting your website. Textual & visual content, layout and interactive elements work synchronously to present the user with a positive experience. UX design is the result of application and web work.
Your website should stand out from the flooded quantity of other websites to create a unique impression for your visitors. Some websites contain more visuals and interactive qualities that set them apart from others in this highly competitive world.
Websites will be scanned, Not Read
Your website should be scannable because, people do not prefer reading websites, rather they would scan them. Infographics and visuals are the best way of conveying instructions/data. Making your webpages scannable will appeal to your audience. Many users would scan your content and then switch to reading when they want to know more.
Clarity and Simplicity
In just half a second, users evaluate the design of any given website. So, you have to decide wisely as to what you want your users to do. They shouldn’t find difficulty in finding action buttons. User Experience(UX) design includes making your website highly usable for the majority of users and allowing extra, hidden features to be displayed only when required.
A clear, consistent website design is simple for users. They will then be aware of when you are reusing colors, behaviors, and aesthetics. When users are familiar with some of the aspects of the design, it makes the process clear and easier to use.
User Experience Qualities
The factors of UX can be represented in the form of a User Experience Honeycomb. At the core is the value that you are providing to the client, surrounded by hexagonal shapes of the following:
Useful – Content should be original and should serve a need.
Usable – Website should be easy to find.
Desirable – Design elements should bring about emotion and appreciation.
Findable – Content should be easy to locate and navigable both, offsite and onsite.
Accessible – Content should be easily accessible to people.
Credible – Users should believe and trust what you tell.
Over the past few years, the importance of UX has gone from merely creating products to crafting positive consumer journeys. Thus, the concept of UX takes the spotlight. Therefore, the usability and functionality of a website should be designed from a user’s perspective.
Earlier in the 20th century, life was simpler and harder at the same time. We weren’t aware of what else we might want to purchase on Amazon. We were not aware of the most important news/stories of the day. Before the invention of a movie recommendation engine, we had no mechanized assistance to determine which DVD to buy next. Google helps us to think, while Facebook helps us find friends. So, the influential web algorithms that these services embed are actually easing our problems and making our lives stress free.
Also, influential web algorithms do have a huge impact on our unique tastes, buying habits, and decisions regarding our digital lives. When we’re looking for something online, Google’s algorithm is right there to solve our issue of sorting and searching through a number of not very relevant results. On the contrary, these influential web algorithms might trap us in a world where brands and businesses couple behavioral data with website formulas to predict and manipulate what we decide next.
The technical trend towards the more influential web algorithms isn’t confined to situations where consumers seek information about products/services. Businesses are harnessing the power of these web algorithms to boost their efficiency in dealing with inventory control and their efficiency in monitoring behavior. They can also predict what their customer’s next move might be.
Interestingly, the internet is a Candyland of data to model & predict behavior with. Tracking IP addresses across the Net, analyzing what kind of websites people visit and when they visit these websites, counting on clicks – all are much easier with the implementation of influential web algorithms.
Here is a look at some of the amazing influential web algorithms and the interesting ways in which they work:
1. YouTube Up Next
These are a personalized list of videos that a viewer may have an interest in watching next, depending on their previous YouTube activities. These videos appear on the side panel of the YouTube interface or as ‘Watch Next’ if Autoplay is on. One user will not have the same experience as the other on YouTube. However, YouTube aims to serve the most relevant, personalized recommendations to each of its viewers. To achieve this, YouTube first analyzes users viewing history and identifies hundreds of videos that might be relevant to them.
Then, these videos are ranked depending on how well each video engages users, how often each viewer watches videos from each channel or videos relevant to the same topic, and the number of times YouTube has already shown each video to users.
Also, users tend to watch more content when they receive recommendations from a variety of channels.
2. Facebook News Feed
The algorithm behind the Facebook news feed was a rank-based approach called the Edge Rank Algorithm. This algorithm determines the order of posts based on three parameters: Affinity Score, Edge Weight & Time Decay.
Currently, the news feed algorithm has undergone a revamp through a machine learning approach. The algorithm considers more than 10000 weights and focuses on posts that are predicted to promote “active engagement”. The term active engagement means that the algorithm predicts scores by assigning greater weight to parameters that make a post personal & worthy of conversation.
The four parts of this algorithm are as follows:
- Inventory
This comprises of all lined up posts that are yet to be viewed by the end-user. These posts include promotional content, posts from pages followed, etc. A number of such posts must compete with one or the other post each day to be visible to the algorithmic arbiter. In the end, only a few of these make it up to the news feed of the user after they pass through the algorithm’s filter.
- Signals
Signals are all about the content consideration. Each post is analyzed based on the available data such as:
- Predictions
The algorithm attempts to predict based on information available to determine what the users prefer to see on their feed, what they may hide, how probable are they to engage with it actively. If video content is seen to be receiving higher engagement over text content or pictures, such posts are predicted to be preferred by the user.
- Scoring
The predicted posts along with the weights are used to arrive at a relevancy score. The posts are then ordered based on this score in descending order. These posts are then delivered in the determined sequence to the news feed.
The present News Feed Algorithm is thus titled as a “ranking to organize” approach.
3. Google Search Rankings
With the amount of information available on the web, finding what we require would be nearly impossible without some sorting through it. Google ranking algorithms are updated to do the sorting through billions of webpages in our search index. This is done to find the most relevant, useful information in a fraction of a second and present them before us helping us find what we were looking for.
These ranking systems are made up of a whole series of algorithms. Search algorithms consider many factors such as the words of our query, relevance, and usability of web pages, the expertise of sources, our location, and settings. The weight applied to each criterion varies depending on the nature of the query.
To ensure search algorithms satisfy high standards of relevance and quality, a rigorous process is in place that involves both live tests & thousands of trained external Search Quality Raters from around the world. These Quality Raters abide by strict guidelines that define the goals for Search algorithms and are available for anyone to see.
4. Instagram Feed
The Instagram algorithm helps to surface the best and the most relevant content to each user every-time they check their Instagram feed. The whole point of this algorithm is to serve you the posts that really matter to you.
Instagram offers posts, using Machine Learning, that it thinks users would like and interact with. It is dependent on the user’s historical usage: the type of posts they liked and interacted with in the past as well as on the owner of the post. Also, the six main factors that determine what you see in your Instagram feed are:
5. Youtube Related
Before Youtube generates video recommendations for viewers, the system first determines a set of relevant videos that a user is likely to watch after viewing a seed video. For this, it uses a method called co-visitation/association rule mining to identify pairs of videos watched during a particular session. Then, a relativity score is calculated for these videos. The relevant videos association rules are then combined with a user’s activity on the site, such as videos watched and liked by the user, to create a seed set. Once this is done, the paths of related videos can be traced out from this seed set to generate recommendations.
Once a set of video recommendations have been generated, they are ranked according to certain signals, which can be put into three groups:
6. Instagram Explore
Instagram has been working hard to make the Explore page more personalized to each individual user.
When we view our Instagram Explore page, it looks different than what may show up on other’s explore page. Instagram Explore is a gateway to discover content. And, this gateway is specifically tailor-made to help us find new content relevant to what we would enjoy watching on Instagram.
The Instagram Explore algorithm is constantly observing and analyzing from individual human behaviors of what accounts you follow, what posts you like and comment on & what Instagram stories you love to watch. It then uses this data to create an Instagram Explore page with suggestions of similar content that you might like.
7. Twitter Feed
The primary domain of Twitter’s feed algorithm is the Top Tweets. Top Tweets are visible to you depending on accounts that you interact with, tweets that you engage with, and so on. The essential ranking signals used by the Twitter feed algorithm are:
- Recency:
How recent the tweet is.
- Engagement:
No. of retweets, clicks, favorites, and impressions a tweet received.
A tweet’s audience engagement is relative to other tweets from the same account.
How often people interact with the tweet’s author, through active engagements.
- Rich Media:
The type of content present in a tweet (image, video, GIF) – and even polls.
The type of media users tends to engage with.
- Other factors:
Duration for which a user has been away from the site.
No. of followers an account has.
8. Reddit Popular
Reddit always uses a story algorithm called as the Reddit hot ranking. With the Reddit hot ranking algorithm, the number of votes and link publishing time have the largest effect on the rank of a story.
Reddit implements a logarithm function in its algorithm. Thus, the first votes on a link are more valuable than the later votes on a link. As a link gets older, it’s ranking also will slowly plummet. However, it is also essential to get some initial traction on a submission to give it early visibility.
Reddit ranks a post by calculating the number of votes a link has and then subtracting points based on how old that link is. So, recent links generally rank higher than older links. This updates the front page as well as ensures that links with highest up-votes aren’t on the front page for weeks or months together.
9. Instagram Suggested Follows
The Instagram Suggested Follows algorithm is pretty basic because the suggestions are based on whom you have searched before. It implies that whose account shows up at the top of your suggestions list is someone you would have searched for a number of times. The Instagram suggestion algorithm isn’t solely based on how often you look for a specific account. Even after we delete search suggestions, it will use some similarities that it found before you deleted the Instagram search history to make those accounts reappear in other ways.
10. Google Discover
A summary of your page can be given as a card that will be shown to users in Google Discover. This would be a scrollable list of topics that users can browse on their mobile devices. Tapping a card will direct the users to a page that is the source of the Discover entry.
Discover displays a mix of content to users based on their interactions with content/products on Google that they choose to follow directly. Google Discover is not confined to what is published today. Rather, if a user finds the earlier content interesting, then Discover will show it.
Discover also features videos, sports, entertainment updates, stock prices, and much more. Google Discover is a hub of content pertaining to the user’s interests.
Therefore, each social media websites have their own unique set of technical elements, intricate logic & usage analytics. And, these elements sum up the algorithm that delivers content to its users.
These influential web algorithms are managed by dedicated teams of data scientists, content strategists, and others to surface content & updates on user’s news feeds and search results.
Hexwhale is proud to have leveraged a website for ALSATECH to paint a picture of the future they have been thriving on to create. From wind to solar, ALSATECH is working to create a clean energy future by turning their ideas into game-changing innovations.
We also welcome opportunities to work with innovators to move towards a cleaner energy future.
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We are a Bangalore based web development company, established in the year 2011 we have people with over 13 years of experience in the said field. Over the years we have gathered extensive experienc...
