6 UX principles for Web design

Every day we browse many websites according to our needs, sometimes in just a few minutes we have entered 20 pages and haven't found what we needed. Why? In this article I highlight 6 practices to help the user experience.

Inês Victorino
Jun 22 2020 • 3 min reading
6 UX principles for Web design
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1.Design must come from user experience
Instead of putting all the information at the user's disposal, why not create an experience when browsing the site? Create a story and narrative that can make the website memorable. An unforgettable website must have a perfect harmony between graphic elements, layout, text and interactive elements. When working together present the user with a ‘journey’, and not just information. More and more we see sites with visual and interactive qualities to capture the user's emotion and help them stand out in this highly competitive world.

2. The sites are appreciated, not read
Users do not fully read the content in, but rather browse around the site. Through infographics and visual elements, the website scrolling becomes a visual experience with instructions and data instead of just plain text. Most visitors look for something that catches their attention and only then switch to “reading mode” when they want to find out more.

3. Users want simplicity
In just half a second, users decide whether they want to stay on the page, evaluate all the elements - something very different or not intuitive will make the user frustrated and give up the rest of the navigation. To achieve this simplicity, it must be easy to find buttons and menus, always respecting the general behaviors and processes that we already know on other sites.

4. Take advantage of common elements
The most important thing for the design to stand out is not to create something completely different and unavoidable. The common elements help the user to recognize standard actions that are repeated by everyone else online. We want the design to have a familiar look, in which standard objects, such as links, stand out as links, and access to the login is always located in the upper right corner. There is no need to move these standard components.

5. Know the user
Once you know the target audience of the website, it will be much easier to plan and design the pages. We were able to predict behaviors and difficulties and prevent users from reaching dead ends. The design must respond to the needs and wishes of the users. To get to know your audience better, it is best to analyze your competition, how they present themselves online through, for example, the layout, styles and even colors.

6. Visual hierarchy
Always highlight important elements clearly and in order. Size, color, alignments, distances and repetition make users focus on them and quickly find what they need.

Users need to have an emotional connection to the experience of traveling through the website. If we create only an interface and not an experience, there is little chance that the site will become unforgettable and unique for users. The website layout must be simple to navigate, easy and intuitive to use and respect the colors and fonts appropriate for your audience and brand identity.

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