When it comes to business software and apps, the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) are the most important parts of any system. Businesses thrive on bringing in new customers and maintaining relationships with their existing customers. Customers directly interface with the UX and UI of the company's systems, so finding ways of improving both be to better business. Fortunately, there are many different design trends that businesses can rely on to develop their UX and UI design strategies. In this article, we discuss the UX and UI design trends to base your 2021 design strategy on.
Minimal Design is One of the Best Options
Minimalism is having an impact on every industry that involves a design process. The drive to keep designs as minimal as possible is pushing companies to find new ways of redesigning their user interfaces. In the past, adding more features was always considered to be the best option. However, the rise in the prevalence of mobile devices is pushed consumers away from cluttered interfaces. Instead, the simple and uncomplicated user interfaces of minimalist designs offer better performance and better overall user experience on mobile devices.
The importance of mobile devices is especially prominent when it comes to e-commerce and digital marketing. Without a plan to capitalize on this focus on e-commerce, your strategy will likely not deliver the results that you are looking for.
Minimal designs do more than just change the world of your website or app. On mobile devices, the amount of data used is a serious concern for most users. Switching to a minimal design to reduce the amount of data used by mobile devices when they are not connected to Wi-Fi. On top of that, but provides a significant performance improvement since those designs require less computing power to run smoothly. This is pushing more companies toward minimal design so that they can capitalize on the significant increase in mobile device use for e-commerce operations.
AI and Machine Learning Will Be Everywhere
Companies like Google and Microsoft are spending a lot of money to further develop artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies. For businesses, this means that they can integrate those services to improve the overall quality of their online resources. Machine learning technologies are efficient at gathering information about users and helping companies make changes to provide better services to consumers. The best part about combining AI and machine learning services is that they can automate the process.
Many companies are already trying to integrate AI and ML into their systems to maximize their online sales. Having AI and machine learning services integrated into their programs means that those companies can learn the preferences of each individual user and serve them content based on those preferences. For example, e-commerce apps can find out what customers are interested in and serve them ads for related items that the company sells. It is an effective way to retarget ads to consumers that have already been prequalified for specific items.
Going forward, the systems are likely to become more prevalent as they see more widespread adoption. Companies that are working to make significant improvements in their online operations may want to consider finding ways of incorporating AI and machine learning services into their apps or websites.
Voice Controls and Voice Search are the Next Big Things
Something that has become clear in the last few years is that voice controls for smart devices and voice search for search engines will be the next big things. A major increase in performance over the last several years based on revolutionary changes in processors and programming means that smart devices are much stronger than previous generations.
Because of this, they are better able to process voice data making it possible for voice commands to be feasible on most smart devices. This is a big win for people with disabilities or users that need to keep their hands free for other uses. However, many users rely on those commands simply because it is easier than other methods.
The major search engines are also including voice search systems in their newest updates. It lets users use voice commands to search for things online rather than having to type it into a search engine. Because it is much easier to use this type of system, users are adopting it at a rapid pace. Going forward, the best option for businesses is to include local search optimization and voice search optimization in their SEO strategies to take advantage of the increase in voice command and voice search users.
Working with Agencies to Improve Performance
In the past decade, companies began to manage all their online operations in-house as technology became more user-friendly. While this proved beneficial for a time, the trend is beginning to be reversed. Rather than trying to maintain systems on their own, companies are relying on agencies to help them develop online business strategies and the systems that they need to start and maintain e-commerce operations.
At KitelyTech, we work with companies to help them develop their online business operations. Call us at (800) 274 2908 to discuss how we can help you improve the UX and UI of your next project.
