What is User Experience (UX)

User Experience (UX) and Its Application on Websites

User Experience (UX) refers to the overall experience a person has when interacting with a product, system, or service. It encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction, including their emotions, attitudes, and perceptions before, during, and after use. The goal of UX is to create products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users, ensuring that they are easy to use, efficient, and enjoyable. In the context of websites, UX plays a crucial role in determining how users perceive and interact with the site, which can significantly impact user engagement, satisfaction, and overall success.

In this article, we will cover the following topics:

What is User Experience (UX)?
Scientific definition of User Experience
Scientific definition of User Experience
Various elements that make up the UX of a product
The history of User Experience from the beginning to today
Who is a User Experience Designer, and what do they do?
Different skills of User Experience Designers
Misconceptions about User Experience
The future of the User Experience field

What is User Experience (UX)?

In the first part of this comprehensive article, you will get acquainted with the following topics, which are the foundation of understanding the UX field:

What does UX mean and entail?
What does UX stand for?
What does UX and User Experience in simple terms include?

To put it simply, when you interact with a product (whether physical like a bottle of mineral water or digital like a website or an application) and use it, the result of your interaction with that product is a series of pleasant or unpleasant experiences. You and the product interact, and the result of this interaction is a set of experiences that unconsciously form in you as the “user” of that product. All these experiences that arise from interacting with a product are called the User Experience or UX of the product.

When you use a product, a set of experiences is created for you. For example:

Using a product can be easy or difficult.
You may enjoy using an application or detest it.
Finding a page among many pages of a website can be easy or hard.
Some websites or applications you use repeatedly, but others you close within a few seconds and never return to.
In one application, you use its services without any problem, but in another, you constantly encounter various errors.
All these are user experiences from working and interacting with different products, which we call the product’s UX or User Experience.

Important Note: The User Experience or UX of a product encompasses all interactions of the user with the product, from initial interactions such as whether the product is efficient and useful for the user, to aspects like ease of use and enjoyment from using it.

Consider this example: You see two cans of food in the picture below, one with a key and the other regular or without a key. Which one provides a better User Experience? Certainly, using the can with a key is easier, and in this parameter (ease of use), the can with a key is the winner. However, we must also consider the content of the can; if the quality of the food in the can with a key is poor, it certainly does not provide a good User Experience.

Scientific Definition of User Experience (UX)

The precise definition of User Experience (UX), provided by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), is as follows: “User Experience (UX) encompasses all the user’s perceptions and responses that result from the use and anticipated use of a product, system, or service.

In simpler terms, User Experience is the feeling that is created in you when interacting with a product. Any feeling, whether positive or negative, that you have when working with a product is the User Experience of that product or service. It is crucial to note that User Experience includes the emotions resulting from the user’s interaction with a product. Therefore, this product can be an application, website, teapot, faucet, or bed. Hence, when we talk about User Experience, we should not only think about digital products.

The User Experience (UX) of a product is comprised of various aspects. Therefore, the UX of a product can be considered a set of factors that we will discuss further. For example, confusing usability with user experience (UX) is a common mistake. You may have heard someone say that your product’s UX is problematic because its forms are long, the steps are complex, or something is not accessible. These issues, however, relate to usability, which is just one of the important aspects of user experience.

Elements of a Product’s UX
One of the models that illustrate the various aspects and elements comprising a product’s UX is the UX Honeycomb model, proposed by Peter Morville. This model outlines seven aspects that collectively determine the quality of a product’s UX. The UX Honeycomb and the elements that make up the user experience of different products can be seen in the image below, and we will get to know each aspect in more detail.
According to this model, a product with a good user experience should possess these seven characteristics, and to create an excellent user experience, you need to incorporate these features into your product.

A product with good UX will have the following features:

By understanding and adhering to these elements, you can provide a better user experience for your products.
Characteristics of a Product with Good User Experience
For a product to provide a good user experience, it must have the following characteristics:

1. Usable

One of the fundamental needs of good UX is that users can easily perform the tasks for which the product is designed. If users cannot use the product, it not only fails to provide a good user experience but is entirely useless. If you find it difficult to work with a product and using it is complex, it means that the product has performed poorly in the usability parameter.

2. Findable

Finding the necessary information in a product is very important. Is the website menu understandable for users? Is the search bar located where users expect it to be? Can users easily find the site’s registration button? If users have to search excessively for something, it means your product’s UX has a problem. Functions, products, content, and anything offered by your product should be easily discoverable for users.

3. Useful

A product may be beautifully designed and easy to use, but if it does not help meet the user’s needs, users will not spend time on a product they do not need. A product should be effective for the user.

4. Desirable

If a product’s design is understandable and enjoyable, the user will be inclined to use it. However, even the most useful and usable products can provide a poor user experience if they are boring and lack motivation for use.

5. Valuable

One of the most important principles of UX design is that a product’s design should be based on user needs. You should always ask what value this product offers to the user to make them use it. If a product does not provide some value to the user’s life, they are unlikely to use it for long. Does this product save the user’s time or money? Does it help the user achieve specific goals?

6. Credible

The credibility of a product is very important. If a user does not trust a website, they will not make any purchases from it.

7. Accessible

If a user cannot reach their desired destination, they cannot use the goods or services provided. This aspect of UX reminds designers to consider the needs of users with specific requirements so that the product is accessible to a broader range of users. The accessibility parameter has led designers to adapt their products for use by people with disabilities or various impairments such as blindness, deafness, color blindness, etc.

Example

To illustrate this point, imagine purchasing an airplane ticket online. The website is beautiful, flights are easily searchable, and prices are clearly displayed. You were able to easily find what you needed and had a smooth and pleasant experience. Then you try to book your flight. The payment process is cumbersome and confusing, and you encounter various technical errors when entering payment information. You no longer have a positive feeling about this airline.

Conclusion

Each aspect of User Experience (UX) is important and has its own specific characteristics. If you ignore any of these elements, you will move towards creating a bad or unpleasant user experience. All these elements must exist together to provide a good user experience.

The Importance of Consistency in User Experience
However, all these factors together create a good or bad experience. One of the most important points in appropriate UX design is that we should not only focus on the design aspects of the product.

In the example of the airline company, imagine that the website or application is designed in the best possible way, the payment process is smooth, the user trusts the website, but this website only includes a few flight schedules and does not have rich content; it still does not provide a good user experience. To achieve a quality user experience in providing a company’s products, you need to integrate various aspects such as technical issues, marketing, design and graphics, user interface, content, etc.

The Rise of User Experience (UX) in Recent Years
Until a few years ago, when the Internet was not yet widespread, and you could find only one or two cafes on every street, and mobile phones were limited to a few models, and that too with 2G internet, there were limited websites. Mobile applications were limited, and not many uses were expected from them.

In the field of websites, most websites were content websites like downloading movies, software, forums, and chat rooms and generally had similar uses. At that time, due to people’s limited access to the Internet, at least in Iran, the concept of UI and UX could not be understood, because most of the processes related to designing and programming various websites were done by people who called themselves “web designers.”

With the passage of time and the maturity of technology, people’s access to high-speed Internet, the widespread use of mobile Internet, the introduction of iOS and Android operating systems, and events that collectively made people’s access to websites and mobile applications easier, new needs emerged in the field of producing various applications and websites among users. This led to various websites moving away from being content-based and routine and focusing on solving users’ basic needs. In fact, from this point on, the war became the UX of products.

Simultaneously with the maturity of software, websites, and applications, the fields related to the production of these items also became more specialized, and the design field separated from programming-related fields, which was due to the complexities that arose in the design field. Therefore, now in the online business market, specialized professions such as interface and user experience design (UI and UX) have emerged, and professions have moved away from the general state.

Who is a UX Designer and What are Their Responsibilities?
So far, you have become familiar with the concept of UX or User Experience completely and in simple language. Now, we want to talk about a UX Designer and their responsibilities. If you are interested in learning and teaching UX, you can imagine yourself as a UX Designer and read the rest of the article from this perspective.

The Scope of Work of a UX Designer
The scope of work of a UX designer is very wide and diverse and includes many processes. However, all the tasks that a UX designer does revolve around two main axes: “User” and “Product”. A UX designer always considers these two aspects.
If you thought that the task of a UX designer is only to design a beautiful and efficient user interface using design software such as XD or Figma, you are mistaken! The scope of work of UX designers goes far beyond these cases. UX designers perform the following tasks to create an efficient and professional website or application that provides

suitable UX:
1. Collecting Information: The prerequisite for creating a quality product is to know the habits, needs, and behaviors of the target community of that product. UX designers collect various information using various methods such as interviews, questionnaires, field observations, competitor analysis, etc.

2. Data Analysis: UX designers analyze the raw data collected to be able to use them in designing professional products.

3. Information Architecture: UX designers organize and architect various information and prepare a map of the website or application, which includes various pages and their relationships.

4. Wireframing and Prototyping: UX designers design wireframes and prototypes of products. Wireframes are simple and initial designs of the product that play the role of foundation for the next stages of design. Prototypes are also initial examples of the product that are usually used for various tests.

5. Interaction Design: As we mentioned in the definition of user experience, the quality of user interaction with the product plays a key role in evaluating the user experience. Interaction design deals with designing user interactions with the product. This field includes various aspects such as the tone and words present in the product, animations, appearance, and system responses to the user. Everything that plays a role in user-product interaction belongs to the field of interaction design.

User Interface Design (UI)
A significant portion of user interaction with a product (such as a website or application) occurs through the User Interface or UI of the product. Part of the responsibility of UX designers is related to the design of the user interface and the visual aspects of the product. This is the same perception that most people have, thinking that all the work a UX designer does is designing the user interface and appearance of a website or application.

Working with Content
Content is anything that we can use to convey a message to the audience. The content in a digital product can include words, images, and so on.

UX Designers must be familiar with how to use content correctly to communicate with the audience. Imagine working with an application where the messages in different processes are confusing, and you can’t exactly understand what you’re doing. How would you feel about that product? Or imagine using your online banking and the tone used in different processes is conversational! Would you trust it?

A UX designer is aware of the importance of using content correctly and its key role in conveying a message to the audience, and uses it properly.

Performing Various Tests
Another task of UX designers is planning and conducting various tests in different stages before the final design of the product or before and after the production (programming) of the product. These tests are done to ensure the correctness of the design, the efficiency of the product for users, and the ease of use of the product by users. Tests such as A/B testing, Usability Testing, 5 Second Tests, Card Sorting, Accessibility Testing, and others are among these tests.

Evaluating and Improving the Product
Usually, the work of a UX designer is not finished with delivering a look and UI of a project. A UX designer must constantly evaluate the user experience of the product to identify its strengths and weaknesses and improve its strengths to provide a better user experience to the users of the product’s target community.

Key Points in the Tasks of a UX Designer
Remember, the task of a UX designer is not to create a user experience. Experiences are created when the user uses the product. Therefore, the role of a UX designer is to improve these experiences. Their goal is to make the user’s interaction with the product more enjoyable, easier, and valuable.
In summary, the main task of UX designers is to solve user problems by creating unique and suitable experiences for them.

Essential Skills of a UX Designer
In the previous sections of the article, you became familiar with the concept of UX and the tasks of UX designers. Now, we will focus on the skills that you need to learn or enhance to become a UX designer.
The most important point to enter the world of UX design is that you do not need a relevant university degree. Like any other job, you need to learn the relevant skills professionally. Fortunately, you can learn all the necessary skills using the resources available on the Internet, so don’t worry.

The required skills for a UX designer include:
• Ability to communicate with different people to gather information and conduct tests

• Ability to analyze information and data

• Ability to design wireframes and prototypes

• Familiarity with the principles of visual design and product appearance design

• Ability to empathize with users to produce professional products that meet their needs

• Ability to conduct various tests and analyze their results

• Negotiation skills and strong presentation skills for communication with clients and stakeholders

• Necessary flexibility for teamwork

Misconceptions about User Experience (UX)
Designing UX means designing the appearance of a product The most common misconception about UX is that people think UX is only related to the appearance of a product and its ease of use. While these aspects are only part of the user experience, and UX has broader dimensions, which we have detailed in this article.

User experience is only for digital products Most discussions about UX are related to digital products such as websites and applications. However, the reality is that UX is applicable to any type of product, whether physical or digital. For example, the experience of drinking a hot beverage on a hot summer day is also part of the user experience. However, most people enter the field of UX because of its importance and application in digital products.

UX design for different products is routine Absolutely not! You might think that by learning some principles and rules of UX design, you can design different products routinely. However, if UX design were routine, why is the information gathering section so prominent? Each product is created to offer different solutions and values and requires specific and in-depth design.

UX: The Key to Your Business Success
UX design is a broad and multidimensional world where creativity, technical skills, and a passion for creating exceptional user experiences blend together. UX designers, with mastery of various knowledge and tools, seek to design a visually appealing, intuitive, and enjoyable interface for users.

This dynamic and challenging field provides various job opportunities and high income for creative and enthusiastic individuals. By entering the world of UX, you can play a key role in the success of businesses and help improve the user experience in interacting with various products and services.

Web Vibe Marketing: Your Companion in Creating Exceptional User Experiences
At Web Vibe Marketing, with years of experience and expertise in UX design, we help you create a user interface that meets the needs and goals of your business.

Contact us or fill out the contact form to benefit from our experts’ free consultation.

Benefits of Working with Web Vibe Marketing:

• Experienced and Expert Team: Our experts at Web Vibe Marketing, with their deep and up-to-date knowledge in UX design, will be by your side to provide the best solutions for your business.

• Creativity and Innovation: Relying on creativity and innovation, we design a unique and engaging user interface that will attract users.

• Focus on User Experience: At Web Vibe Marketing, user experience is a top priority. We design a user interface that is easy, enjoyable, and satisfying to use, based on understanding the needs and desires of users.

• Increased Conversion Rate: By designing a user interface that encourages users to take action, increase the conversion rate on your website or application.

• Improved SEO: Proper UX design helps improve your website’s SEO and increase its ranking in search engines.
Contact us today and take a step towards improving user experience and the success of your business.

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