Why Usability is Essential to UX Design

Research shows that a key factor behind the success of e-commerce leader Amazon is that they invested a lot in the usability of a design in their initial stages, even more than what they invested in marketing! 

Usability plays a crucial role in increasing ROI. It helps to identify user issues, increase user engagement, and save costs. The well-known security software company McAfee saved 90% in support expense costs when they integrated usability testing into their design process.

How profound is the influence of usability in UX design? Let us see how usability comes into action in the design of a product or service.

• Increases conversion rate

Implementing the right usability strategies helps to increase business. In a website or apps, call to action buttons are the drivers of conversion. When the users are able to find the CTA buttons easily, it increases the chances of them performing the desired action. In contrast, when users cannot find a CTA button, they will abandon the journey as they see no way to proceed further. 

Designers should make use of UX psychological principles to understand user behavior. Placing CTA buttons at locations that are accessible to users at all times, designing them in colors that will attract attention, using the right copy that will encourage users to click- these are some of the usability steps that will help to increase conversion rates.

• Improves accessibility

The best design is the one that is accessible to all. Accessibility plays a huge role in the acceptance of design these days. It is becoming essential that designs include people with diverse abilities and enable them all to use the product or service efficiently. Brands have to keep in mind a variety of users like speech-impaired people, color blind people, etc., to create an impact and be accepted by all.

Features like voice recognition software, screen readers, magnifiers, etc., help take accessibility to the desired level. Implementing the best accessibility practices will help a design reach a wider audience and be inclusive of all types of users.

• Creates a better brand image

Poor accessibility can negatively affect the brand image of an organization. When a product or service does not maintain the necessary usability standards, then no matter how exceptional features it might have, users will find it challenging to put their trust in the brand. The design will not meet the standards that users have in mind if it has outdated aesthetics. 

To uplift the overall brand image, it is essential to take a good look at the usability of a design. It is important to create an ideal UI vs. UX balance to provide the best user service. The images should be of high quality and relevant, and the content should be precise, engaging, and readable. This will help brands to make a mark among the users.

• Delivers better customer experience

Usability and customer experience go hand in hand. When efforts are made to improve usability, it directly reflects on the customer experience. There are several best UX research methods that can be used to make a design more usable. Some of them are usability testing, user persona development, and A/B testing. 

The usability strategies will vary from design to design, depending on the specific goals and target audience of each. The key idea remains to perform a journey from the shoes of the user to find areas of confusion and improvement and optimize them for a better user experience. 

There is no doubt about the fact that if a product is not usable, then it is not going to make a mark in the market. There are five E’s of usability. They are Effectiveness, Efficiency, Ease of learning, Error tolerance, and Engagement. When a design takes care of these five factors, we can say that it is truly usable. 

Usability ensures user satisfaction with a product, sees that the design goals are met, makes sure your design will stand out among the competitors and allows a design to better from the real user inputs.