What’s the Difference Between UI and UX?
For many businesses, redesigning their website is an exciting new prospect. As they reenvision the experience they want to create online, they often get mired in the narrowed vision of design - colors and features. However, expanding this vision to include the type of user experience (UX) they want to provide and the necessary user interface (UI) to provide it can create a more robust website that builds stronger brand recognition, better user experiences, and more conversions.
That said, many people find it difficult to differentiate between UX and UI – this likely stems from the fact that they are strongly related. At its most basic, UX is something you should think of at the individual level: When a user comes to my site how is their experience? Are they finding the specific content that they want? Are the pages loading quickly? Is it easy for them to navigate? Can they find help or technical support when they need it? What is their journey from first touch point, to having their needs met, to the conclusion of the interaction? These are critical aspects of your user experience that can determine whether or not a user stays on your site, values the information you have to offer, and continues to interact with your brand.
In contrast, UI is something that impacts the whole site. Think of it as visual components like the buttons, the navigation, search functionality, content placement, even the medium the user is using (touch screen, mobile, computer, etc). As such, the relationship between UI and UX is integral. Great UI is critical to great UX.
However, one of the first mistakes that many companies make during a website redesign, is relying on what they think will create a robust UI and/or UX. This can be problematic; what your company deems as the most important information may not actually be the most important information to the user.
The majority of site redesigns should start with research – evaluating the current site data, performing competitive site analysis, and querying your website users, market audiences, and existing customers to identify what their needs are and how your site should evolve to better meet their needs. Without this information, your site redesign is operating entirely on hypothesis and standardized best practices – which is not a great approach to starting a several-hundred-thousand-dollar investment.
However, this type of research is extensive – it requires surveys, interviews, user personas, card-sorting exercises, and data evaluation. Generally, we recommend approaching this research through a UX/UI researcher who can lead you through the process, identify the relevant information, and help you develop an infrastructure and user flows that will align your business goals with the user’s desires.
For large sites with hundreds or even thousands of pages, it can be tempting to skip this step because it is a large undertaking. However, developing a data-driven infrastructure will help ensure that your site has been designed to maximize your ROI.
Once you have your UI set and have firmly established the right information and user flows to optimize your user’s experience, the next step is working with a UX designer. This is a person who can translate the UI data you’ve collected into a design that brings your UX to life.
A key component to success in this area is ensuring your designer has worked with your content management system (CMS) so they can design your site to the functionality of your CMS. While many designers will be able to create an attractive, interactive, and unique website that takes all your UI data into account – if their design hasn’t been built within the capabilities of your CMS in mind, you are going to be forcing a square peg into a round hole – which can be time-consuming, expensive, and even ineffective.
As you set out to revamp your website and reevaluate your company’s digital presence, taking the time to do it properly rather than quickly can help maximize your ROI in your website. If you have any questions about how UI and UX are related or how to begin your UI/UX research or design on your AEM implementation, please reach out to us.
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