One of the most important factors of web and mobile app development is design since it shapes the user’s first impression. Technology is growing at a rapid pace and the competition increases as well. To increase the engagement of visitors with digital products, it is important to give the products a pleasing appearance and an easy-to-use interface. A website’s user experience is not just one of its essential attributes, but also the most important factor for converting users. As stated in the report, businesses with improved customer experience have more satisfied consumers, 40% report increased retention, and 32% experience increased revenue. However, there are times when UX design challenges arise, and designers effortlessly crack UX codes when faced with them.
In turn, this places a lot of control and load on the designers of GenX. In addition to the upsides offered by a career in UX, there are some obvious downsides.
What is User Experience (UX) Design?
UX design is a process that entails developing (digital or physical) products that are usable, easy to use, and pleasant to interact with. People need to feel they are getting value from the interactions with your product, and you need to enhance the experience they have while interacting with it.
Fundamentally, user experience is an iterative, non-linear process that focuses on the user. Having a strong ability to collaborate and handle complementing functions is inherent to the multidisciplinary nature of this field.
To help you along your design journey, we’ve collected some common UX design challenges and their solutions. Here is a breakdown of each.
1. Bridging The Gap Between Design And Development-
Designers and developers play equal roles in product development. Design without development is meaningless, while development without design is useless. The process of handoff between design and development can be challenging. UX designers don’t use the same problem-solving approach as developers. The developers are concerned with what’s technically feasible while you’re worrying about the user’s journey.
If designers and developers are not aligned, both product and process suffer. Knowledge gaps and communication gap issues often arise, including excessive feedback loops, different interpretations of the same objectives, and unexpected issues with the quality assurance process. Here’s how to fix them:
Solution
Communication between development and design is the key to preventing discord between the two. Get developers involved immediately, which will help them see every potential problem.
The following is the choice of the designer, i.e. Abode is developing software that can automatically adjust the colors, graphics, and sizes of web pages without the need for human intervention. Eliminating time-consuming tasks will definitely save up the designers’ manual hours.
2. Research Time & Budget Constraints
The timeline is a very important factor to keep in mind when starting a new project. Putting a number on something that requires research and estimating changes can be a challenge for designers. For a UX designer, research is a critical component of the project. In this way, assumptions are eliminated and the actual user is addressed.
Nevertheless, budget cuts are also an important reality check. Getting superiors to understand why research requires money and time is not easy. In an environment of tight budgets and deadlines, how can we cope?
Solution
Designers club members share the same sentiment on this issue. Budget-friendly research can be effective with a few tricks. The first step is streamlining the process and finding the most resources from wherever you can. Even a little bit of research is better than nothing.
3. Users As Priority
There is no direct connection between the design and the end-user. Before the design reaches a user, it passes through a series of buyers. How can we figure out if the product will be accessible to the end-users? Knowing that the product is initially bought and implemented by a company, we can experiment with some hit-and-trial ideas. Yet its main concerns remain unaddressed.
Solution
It is outdated now to isolate the designer from all aspects of the product delivery. We need to include everyone in the process and make sure that everyone feels involved. Make sure that everyone gets heard and that the product team is able to produce a collaborative product at the end.
4. A/B Testing Inaccuracies-
A/B testing is mostly designers’ strategy for comparing ideas and designs, but it is limited and woefully ineffective. Studies report that 80% of A/B tests yield inaccurate results. Due to the fact that several systems can analyze two variants at the same time, there might not always be a clear winner between the subjects. In addition, neither of these options are the best, and it takes months of A/B testing before the best option is identified.
Solution-
By using artificial intelligence and machine learning, this task can be made much easier and more precise. The traditional A/B test compares two elements simultaneously. Machine learning algorithms can analyze massive amounts of data quickly. The tools enable a rapid comparison of thousands of variants. As an example, online shopping stores use artificial intelligence for design testing. Within three weeks, it could test several hundred changes, and their redesign resulted in an increase of 38% in conversions.
5. Android Fragmentation-
Numerous Android devices are now running different versions of the Android OS. Different smartphone makers want to differentiate their versions of Android OS. Each smartphone has a different display resolution and some details that differ. Designing and developing Android apps is a little bit more challenging than iOS development.
Solution-
It’s easy to fix by following Google’s instructions and focusing on the latest Android updates and models. Android designs take longer to complete than other platforms. The possibility of making design preferences that would otherwise not be possible on the iOS platform is also available to designers in certain cases.
6. Product Showcasing-
Online product sales have the drawback that you cannot know what you are getting until it arrives. There are several online sales options, so brands must build confidence and communicate why consumers must use their products. It may not be enough to just rely on product images and customer ratings, especially since all retailers utilize these strategies.
Solution-
For the virtual shopping experience, online retailers are creating 3D models of products using virtual and augmented reality tools. The best part is that customers can use their smartphones to see exactly what a sofa will look like in their living room. It makes online shopping more realistic. Researchers found that 40% of people are willing to spend more on a product if they can test it out in Virtual Reality and 71% of buyers will buy more from a business that offers it.
Conclusion
The most difficult challenge you will face depends on your team’s strengths, weaknesses, and strategies. Nevertheless, keeping these six challenges in mind will help you make the best decisions to minimize the challenges you will encounter down the road.