CREATING GOOD UI/UX FOR YOUR STARTUP

By Jameel Amir

We see new startups in tech pop up everyday in Iraq, with varying business models and targeted audiences. This growth is certainly promising and is a sign of an active and growing ecosystem. The problem is that a large portion of them (whether apps or websites) can have a user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) that are quite unpleasant to look at & use.

What is meant by “user interface” is the look and style of your app/website, the consistency of it, and how pleasing it looks to the human eye. “User experience” is the general experience a user has with the product. We have to make the distinction between the two, as UI is only one of many contributing factors to a good UX, but its importance can’t be denied.

More often than not, tech entrepreneurs don’t tend to focus on UI/UX as much as other aspects of their products. This definitely comes from a good place as founders are constantly working on what their product could do and spending their time on improving its functionality, not how it looks or the user experience. But few realize that unless the product presented is really groundbreaking, users expect to have a pleasant experience using it and not get confused searching for a button or a page.

THERE ARE A MYRIAD OF REASONS WHY FOUNDERS MAY NOT PUT A HUGE EMPHASIS ON UI/UX: HERE ARE SOME BEST PRACTICES FOR DESIGNING A PLEASANT UI & UX:

„ Founders often prioritize functionality and expect users to do the same.

„ Talented and experienced UI/UX engineers are difficult to find in Iraq and it can be quite costly for startups/ small businesses to have them working as dedicated employees as the process of engineering a good UI/UX requires constantly studying data and communicating with other parts of the team. „ Founders focus on launching the product as soon as possible, dismissing the UI/UX, and making for more inefficient high-maintenance code and design.

Good UI/UX can be extremely beneficial to startups, it can inspire the trust of users, increase conversions, retention rates, user engagement, and brand loyalty; make marketing campaigns more effective and increase ROAS (return on ad spend), and optimize development time and cost in the long run. „ Keep it simple. Avoid unnecessary elements and be clear with language on the labels and the messaging.

In other words, don’t make the user think.

„ Keep it consistent. Use common UI elements, it will help users feel more comfortable and enable them to get things done more quickly. „ Know your users. The UI/UX should cater to your target user and adapt to their needs and preferences. Different use cases might have different design patterns, try to stick to those as much as possible. „ Collect feedback and data. Make it easy for users to share their opinions and suggestions. A user’s feedback can be one of the most valuable sources of insight.

Especially when A/B tests and data measurement tools are correctly utilized to affirm the collected feedback.

Finally, as more startups spring up in Iraq, providing customers with a pleasant experience is ever-increasingly important. UI/UX will be crucial in that process as its role gets amplified by the rapidly-advancing ecosystem of Iraq in the coming years.