A UX web designer offers an extra level to standard web design with additional focus on helping the user to achieve their goals with minimal thought and effort.
Also assisting the user to meet a range of specific business goals is often required such as downloading product information signing up for a newsletter etc…
By identifying websites goals, analysing statistics, researching, reviewing and testing results a UX specialist seeks additional information to deliver the most effective, technically achievable solution within a budget.
Getting started
Website assessment
What are the sites goals? how are they performing? are there new or additional targets? What would people like to improve? Business Stakeholders, employees and possibly clients or potential clients are often interviewed to identify actual requirements.
Wireframes
After an initial assessment and report of suggested improvements, a UX designer would typically propose a sitemap and create a number of wireframe designs (basic black, white and grey visual page designs) as a preliminary step in a User Interface (UI) design. Wireframes provide stakeholders with a recommended structure and map how users are guided through the content to meet the sites objectives. This includes page and content layout and functionality if appropriate.
To establish the best foundations of a site, wireframes would be reviewed, tested and refined (this varies based on the evaluation and time constraints).
Being able to justify and explain why certain options should or shouldn’t be used is important, just because a new technique is introduced on other sites doesn’t make it fit for use in all situations.
Testing multiple options may be required generally with a mix of the initial interviewees and some new. Wireframes would be amended and maybe reviewed again until a proposed structure is signed off.
This is a typical wireframe layout prior to website interface design.
Visual Layer – User Interface (UI) Design
Once the wireframes are confirmed, a visual layer will be designed, this with the wireframe is the UI and is designed around the business brand, preferred style and audience.
Introducing colour, extending design elements and adding some personality is an important stage but the key to a successful UX design is not to over design the site. Pay attention to the details but focus on the message, most of the sites personality should come out in the content (copywriting, images, video, etc..) and the site should support that elegantly.
Frontend – UI Development
After designs are signed off, a UX designer will start developing the UI front-end (HTML, CSS, jQuery) either as a template for a Content Management System (CMS) or as a working prototype to be integrated by back-end developers / programmers into other systems.