UX/UI design.

What UX and UI are

These are two different things that are usually lumped together under one word. UX is how the interaction is structured: how many steps to an order, whether it's clear what to do next, whether you have to guess. UI is how it looks: fonts, colours, buttons, grid, spacing.

It's useful to separate them because they break in different ways. A site can be beautiful yet inconvenient — then the problem is UX. It can be logical yet look cheap — then it's UI. Both affect the customer's decision, but the first determines whether they get as far as an enquiry, and the second whether they trust you at all.

They work together. A tidy interface without a well-thought-out flow irritates, and a convenient flow in sloppy styling raises doubts about the company.

How design affects money

The link is direct and measurable. Every extra step on the way to an enquiry cuts off some people, every confusing spot cuts off more. A visitor doesn't write to support saying “your form is confusing” — they just close the tab and open a competitor's site.

A good interface does three things: keeps the person longer, helps them find what they need effortlessly and leads them to the target action. That's where the conversion growth comes from — not from beauty as such, but because the obstacles have gone.

The second effect is repeat business. People come back to a convenient service; an inconvenient one is remembered only when there are no alternatives.

What makes up a usable interface

The set is fairly stable and hardly depends on the site's subject.

• Simplicity and predictability. Elements work the way a person expects: the logo leads to the home page, the basket is in the top right corner, links look different from ordinary text.
• Clear navigation. From any page you can see where you are and how to go back.
• Readability. Sufficient font size, contrast between text and background, breathing room between blocks.
• Responsiveness. The site works equally well on a phone, a tablet and a large screen — not just “opens”, but actually works.
• Visible reaction. Something happens immediately when a button is pressed: a highlight, an indicator, a message. Silence after an action makes people press again.

Then there's the first impression. It forms within seconds and on the visual side: if the page looks dated, nobody will study it further.

Where it most often breaks

The most common is the form. Eight fields instead of three, a mandatory middle name, an unclear error on submission. Every extra field costs you part of your enquiries.

The second is the mobile version, built as an afterthought. Tiny buttons, horizontal scrolling, a pop-up that can't be closed with a finger. And this when most visits come from phones.

The third is hidden important information. Price “on request”, delivery terms in a separate section, contacts only in the footer. A person who doesn't find the answer within half a minute goes to look for it elsewhere.

The fourth is styling for styling's sake: animations that slow the page down, unusual navigation you have to figure out, non-standard section names.

How to check your own site

You can start with no budget. Open the site on your phone and try to submit an enquiry as if you were an ordinary visitor. Time how long it took and note where you had to think.

Next — data. Click maps and session recordings show where people click and where they stop. Clicks on elements that aren't clickable are especially useful: they are a direct indication that the person expected a link or a button there.

The third tool is user testing. Ask a few people unfamiliar with the site to complete a specific task while thinking aloud. Five people are enough to see most of the serious problems — and they usually find what the team has stopped noticing.

When you need a redesign and when tweaks will do

A complete rebuild is the most expensive and the riskiest option. It's justified when the site is technically outdated, doesn't adapt to mobile or its structure no longer matches what the company sells today.

In all other cases, targeted changes pay off better: shorten the form, rewrite the headings, move the price higher, simplify the menu. Such tweaks are cheaper, their effect is visible immediately, and each can be checked by comparing before and after.

The danger of a redesign is that solutions that worked are often lost along with the old problems. So before rebuilding, it's worth recording the current metrics — otherwise after launch there will be nothing to compare against.

Frequently asked questions

Can you get by with a ready-made template?

For a simple site — absolutely. A template covers the basics: grid, responsiveness, typography. You'll still have to work on the flows: a template doesn't know how you sell.

How do you tell it's the design and not the traffic?

By conversion. If there are visitors but almost no enquiries, the cause is inside the site. If there are few visitors, deal with the sources first.

How long does a website design last?

There's no fixed term. It's time to update when the site looks noticeably different from how companies in your niche look, or when it gets in the way of adding new things.

Does a small company need user testing?

It does, and it costs almost nothing. Five acquaintances seeing your site for the first time will be more useful than a long checklist report.

What to do next

Take the one action your site exists for — an enquiry, a call, an order — and walk the path to it on your phone, counting the steps. Anything that seemed superfluous or unobvious to you will seem so to a customer too.

We design interfaces and style websites — that's design and branding. Next, you may find our articles on how to check your site's usability and what a company website should be like useful.