UX Design

Accessibility / 24 May 2021

8 Ways to Design Clever Error Messages

Question: What happens when someone gets lost on your website or when someone stumbles upon a bad link or missing content?

Answer: They get to see your 404 page.

Now here’s the real question: Is that 404 page a well-designed Easter egg that will help users on their journey or did you forget to add design or informational elements?

Clever error messages and 404 pages are a website design art form. Some designers sneak these little nuggets in, to surprise and delight users. One thing is common, good error microcopy and design can actually help users connect with the content when they might otherwise bounce, making it important to use this element to your advantage.

UX Design / 18 May 2021

What Is Rapid Prototyping & Why Use It? (+ 5 Best Tools)

Rapid prototyping is one of the most important segments of the product development process. It’s what ultimately decides how your product will perform and how it will be received by the end-user.

Whether you’re working on a mobile app or website design, rapid prototyping should be part of your project. It will help you avoid catastrophic product launches as well as avoid the embarrassment of delivering a broken design to your clients.

In this guide, we take a quick look at what rapid prototyping is all about and how it can be beneficial for your projects. We’ll also suggest a few great rapid prototyping tools for you to use.

UX Design / 17 May 2021

7 Elements of a Highly Usable Landing Page

A highly usable landing page design is one that compels visitors to act in some way.

Sounds pretty simple, right?

Many websites include multiple landing pages for different audiences with different conversion goals. Here are seven elements that almost every successful landing page includes.

Just for fun, we are using examples of landing pages from different music streaming services for you to compare.

UX Design / 22 Apr 2021

7 Ways to Use Emotion in Web & Graphic Design Projects

The first impression a user has of your design can make or break their experience and determine if they continue interactions. According to WebFX data, 94% of first impressions relate to the design, making the visual and emotional connection you create of utmost importance.

Further, 75 percent of your business, brand, and website credibility comes from the design. And it all connects to the emotional response from a user. The visuals tell them what to think and feel to establish a relationship with you, making it vital to use emotion well in your website and graphic design projects.

Here’s a primer on how to do it successfully.

UX Design / 20 Apr 2021

The First Fold: A Story About Tact

The battle for user attention happens in the first fold of a website. It’s no secret anymore – user attention is getting shorter and flakier.

What was a 20-minute video earlier has become a 6 second Tik Tok today. Content is getting shorter, snappier and there is so much more content out there to fight for our time. Making the choice to where to spend our time is getting increasingly challenging, and more often than not – we choose the path of least resistance.

As a result of this, content on the internet is using all their might to make sure their resources are as easily digestible as possible.

Accessibility / 6 Apr 2021

Love, Hate & Pop-Ups: How to Use Them Well

The first response you’ll hear from others about using pop-ups on your website is a long sigh.

Many people discount the idea before it really gets off the ground, but when done well, pop-ups are a valuable conversion tool for websites. (Note the phrase “when done well.”)

They get a bad reputation because so many people use them poorly or implement pop-ups with dark patterns that trick and annoy users.

A good pop-up is actually helpful and helps users on their website journey. Let’s dive in and learn how you can still use these well.

UX Design / 1 Apr 2021

10+ UX Design Courses, Tutorials & Tips for Web Designers

As a web designer, it’s your job to design websites that users can explore without getting lost or frustrated. To accomplish this goal, you need to understand how users behave and design systems that offer the best experience.

That’s why you should learn about User Experience Design (UXD). In fact, we believe everyone should have at least a basic understanding of user experience design. Because it’s all around us and it’s part of our lives.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a web designer, graphic designer, or someone working on a PowerPoint presentation, you should learn about UX design. Our handpicked collection of UXD courses and free tutorials will help you get started.

UX Design / 18 Feb 2021

SEO for UX Designers: Ideas to Incorporate Into Every Project

Almost everyone you talk to is interested in search engine optimization. And for good reason: You want as many people to see your website as possible and find it in relevant search results.

But did you know that user experience can be one of the most important factors that contribute to SEO and overall search rank? So, you have to start thinking about it at the design and development level or you’ll never get ahead of the SEO game.

Here, we’ve got a few ideas that UX designers can incorporate into every project to help boost search.

UX Design / 1 Feb 2021

Microinteractions Are Growing Up: How to Design Them in 2021

Microinteractions aren’t a new concept in UX design, but they keep getting more impressive. We’ve been talking about microinteractions here at Design Shack for a while because they are so vital to the overall success of web projects.

Microinteractions are those tiny details that turn an ordinary user experience into something more memorable and engaging. The little things that surprise and delight, adding a layer of enjoyable UX to your app or website.

Here’s a look at how designers are using microinteractions in 2021 with examples of how this design technique has grown up.

UX Design / 26 Jan 2021

How to Use Website Personalization (Without the Creep Factor)

Website personalization can help you create more amazing user experiences or turn into a total creep-fest. It’s all about how you use data, cookies, and other useful information to design something that’s of greater value to the person who sees it.

There’s a very fine line between outstanding and out of bounds, and most of it comes down to respecting your visitor’s privacy and expectations.

Here are a few ways to use website personalization and delight users without being (too) creepy.

UX Design / 7 Jan 2021

How to Design With User Privacy in Mind (Tips and Best Practices)

When it comes to UX, how often do you connect it to privacy?

It’s a big part of the design process. From connected apps to e-commerce to forms, data collection is happening all the time. Users are accustomed to it and generally ok with these practices unless something goes wrong.

It’s your job to include privacy checkpoints and best practices in the design architecture of every website project. Not only will these protections help users, but they can help you feel better about the digital products and services you provide.

UX Design / 3 Dec 2020

11 Tips for Creating a Usable Website Contact Page

Peek at the analytics. Chances are that your contact page is among the most visited on our website.

It’s for good reason. Visitors will seek out a contact page to get additional information about your company or business, find your location, or get in touch.

Now the bad news. This is an often-neglected part of the website design. Too many websites don’t take care of the contact page, resulting in missed opportunities and conversions.

You can remedy that right now with these tips for creating a usable contact page.