Did you know that an ordinary user spends more than 3 hours online every day? The internet offers us hundreds of entertainment, education, shopping, and even dating opportunities. More than 1 trillion web pages are competing for our attention. Some of them are successful and boast huge traffic, while others hardly bring any profit to their creators. But what’s the tick here? Well, we are more than sure that the key secret here is a well-thought-out UX. Let us shed some light on the key UI/UX principles that will help you launch a unique digital publishing platform that stands out from the crowd.
Center Website Design on User Experience
People might not always remember the facts that are provided to them, but they do remember how they feel. Advertisers target our emotions, so why shouldn’t you? “[It] is not the information itself that is important,” writes Geoffrey James in the Inc.com article, “but the emotional effect that the information has on your audience.” This is why User Experience Design (UX) has become such an important aspect of a digital publishing platform. It should properly weave together text, visuals, layout, and interactive aspects to provide users with an experience rather than information.Go for Simplicity and Clarity
It takes no more than 0.5 seconds for users to decide if they are interested in a website or not. That’s why it is strongly recommended to be clear about what you want users to do. “Preferred actions” in today’s interfaces are to be as straightforward as possible. Users should not spend their time thinking about what you want them to do. You should do that for your audience by:- Mapping a user journey;
- Using prominent visual elements;
- Smartly using CTAs;
- Not overloading pages with a copy.
Think About a Responsive Design
Creating a website with a fluid interface that adapts to different device sizes has become popular in recent years. If you haven’t already jumped on the responsive design bandwagon, then we strongly recommend that you do so. But does it actually make a difference? It definitely does. People use a variety of devices with different screen sizes, so you naturally want your site to look and perform well regardless of the gadget it is open on, right? This is where responsive design comes into play. Therefore, when building a website, prepare different design variations and layouts:- For desktop
- Also, For tablet
- For mobile
Put Usability First
Usability should always go first — this is a well-known UI/UX principle. There are various reasons why designers are so concerned about usability. It’s literally a life-or-death scenario. A product’s usability is a pillar. In the great scheme of things, creating a useful environment is the best thing you can do for your customers. This includes ensuring that users can do jobs easily, that the product performs effectively, and that your product achieves its objectives. If the usability fails, the product is likely to fail as well. Usability, in broad strokes, guarantees that people can readily utilize the product.Do Not Neglect Visual Hierarchy
A successful visual hierarchy makes the interface organized and easy to scan by highlighting the most important aspects first. It helps users to effectively engage with the content and navigate to the target webpage (information) with minimum effort. A visually balanced hierarchy is both aesthetically appealing and useful. The following tricks will help you achieve the desired result:- Maintain the header and navigation menu at the top of the page since they include the most significant choices and categories;
- According to standard reading patterns, the text should flow from top to bottom and left to right;
- Use clear labels, headers, and subheadings to divide the content into parts and make skimming easier;
- To organize relevant components, use boxes, backgrounds, and white space. However, excessive grouping might cause the page to become cluttered.