How To Build An Intuitive User Interface

Some people may think that the user interface (UI) doesn’t matter as long as your website functions well.

But did you know that having an intuitive user interface can make a difference to your website’s success?

Besides, it’s useless to have a user interface design that isn’t user-friendly and meaningless. 

Fortunately, there are various ways to build an intuitive user interface.

It is a user-friendly UI without getting confused, lost, experimenting, guessing, or even asking others.

To achieve this, you should know what is rapid prototyping.

In a nutshell, it’s making iterations of whatever it is you’re building and testing successive versions with real users to fix or quickly uncover issues detected, allowing you to have a pixel-perfect final design. 

Below are the other things to know how to build an intuitive user interface:

Keep Your Users In Mind

User interface

When running a business, you often practice empathy in a professional environment.

It enables you to see things from other people’s points of view, and it’s your best asset in creating an intuitive UI and a logo design

It may seem obvious, but not all developers put themselves in their user’s shoes.

For this reason, it’s crucial to put yourself in your target user’s shoes when browsing your website.

Check how your website works and what changes are necessary.

Once you have listed the things to change, take some time to consider your user’s needs or preferences to create an intuitive user interface.

Be Consistent

When building an intuitive user interface, one can’t focus enough on the aspect of consistency. While designing a website, there’s a need to have consistency between pages.

There’s an expectation of how things on the website work.

If such things change from one page to another, it creates confusion and frustration. 

Flipping between using the top navigation bar for another page while using a sidebar with links on the other page is a primary example of how to cause frustrations and distractions that will drive your visitors away.

So, to avoid this, make sure to be consistent with your navigation bars, as it’s critical in building an intuitive user interface.

Improve Your Website Loading Time

Your customers only have a few seconds to wait for your website to load. When it takes too long, don’t expect your users will hold off and stay.

If you want to achieve an intuitive user interface, you need to improve your website’s loading time.

For heavy web pages, it’s advisable to display a part of a loading bar or content to keep your users on the page.

Remember To Prioritize Mobile First

If your website is inaccessible via mobile browsers, it might be offline as well.

Nowadays, mobile traffic is an essential factor that can break or make a website. 

When creating an intuitive user interface, you need to improve your website’s mobile responsiveness.

To do this, check your website using mobile devices first.

If you’re not seeing parity between desktop and mobile experiences, it’s wise to make necessary changes.

Besides, mobile UI is as essential as desktop UI. 

Scalability is still crucial whether or not you’re using a mobile app instead of a mobile website.

Make sure to include a link to your app on your homepage if one isn’t already present.

Ensure that your user interface isn’t cluttered since low-quality images and too many words can scare your users away.

Use Images Only When Necessary

When building an intuitive user interface, it’s tempting to incorporate plenty of icons or photos.

However, it’s never a good idea, and it’s a common mistake to avoid when designing a website. 

Although it’s tempting, it’s an easy way to harm your website.

Keep in mind that your website is a visual medium, but it’s not acceptable to use a lot of graphics and photos.

Therefore, it’s vital to know the correct use of images for your website.

For instance, your company’s logo should be on your homepage, located at the top left corner, as it’s the area where most users’ eyes gravitate first.

Don’t Forget About Colors

In terms of interface design, color draws attention and adds visual cues to key actions that users can take.

When using colors for your intuitive user interface, you need to follow these rules:

  • Keep accessibility in mind as it ensures that many users can use your product. For instance, white text on a bright yellow color can be difficult to read, particularly for those who have visual impairments. As a solution, use a color-contrast checker to ensure that your combinations pass the test.
  • Consistency is the key. Having the same color for every button can help users find clickable links.
  • Use three colors only. It allows you to prioritize colors within a design and helps you avoid variation. Your primary color must be your bright and most prominent color.
  • Consider using color perceptions to your advantage. For example, even if it’s not included in your color palette, using red typically implies an error or an alert.

Get Feedback Before You Launch

Like any other creative task, getting extra pairs of eyes to look over your work is advantageous.

Even if you think your user interface is perfect, you need the feedback of others to ensure they can easily navigate your UI design. 

The best thing about getting feedback is that it’s easy to do.

Depending on your preferences, you may need at least five users for usability testing of your intuitive user interface.

It allows you to determine the possible issues that users may stumble upon when using your website. 

During the testing, ask your users about their experience when navigating your website.

If they have some issues, make sure to do your best to resolve them before you launch your new UI.

Remember that great user interface design must be accessible by anybody, so the more feedback you can get, the better user experience for your target audience.

Conclusion

An intuitive user interface creates happy users.

Although it takes effort to build one, doing so can increase your website’s efficiency and reduce your frustrations about low traffic or high bounce rates.

To achieve satisfactory results, ensure to keep the above strategies in mind and never hesitate to hire professionals to help you.