With a myriad of articles appearing revolving around the theme of usability and user experience, designers have been challenged to look at their websites and creations in a new light. Through this, some have changed their websites, and some have shrugged things off. Still, what remains is that the role of usability and user experience in our designs is important and shouldn’t be overlooked.
Design is a language of its own. In learning its vocabulary through your daily feeds, classes, or discussion with others, we know this is true. Words like usability, focus, palettes, accessibility, and balance plague our day-to-day conversations with others. I mean, how many times have you been explaining design decisions to your clients when they’ve shot back confused looks your way?
Those of us who participate in website design communities hear a lot of talk about the User Experience. What constitutes a usable design? How do you get them to interact with your website the way you want them to? Not only do we have to learn how users think, but also how they adapt to new techniques as they are introduced. Is one method more effective than another? Is the new way really better than the old? The habits of our users are different today than they were last month, and five years ago it was a different ball game entirely. As web development professionals we benefit from paying close attention to usability in our designs.