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Much of what we're talking about when we refer to usability is going to relate to User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI). Let's define each one to understand the differences and how they work together.
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Much of what we're talking about when we refer to usability
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is going to relate to a couple of concepts that many people
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connect with websites and design.
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I'm talking about user experience, or UX, and user interface, UI.
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So let's define, once and for all, what the differences are
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between usability, UX, and UI,
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and in the end we should have a better idea how to improve all of them.
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A website user experience refers to the set of reactions
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that users have to their interaction with the entire site—
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from the beginning of their visit to the end.
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When the site first appears, the user has a reaction to it—
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do they like it or dislike it?
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Are they confused, or immediately interested?
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As they go through the site, does it work as expected?
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Do all the links go to the right places?
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Does everything appear to be in order, or is the user confused about where things are?
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Is using this site making them happy and satisfied,
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or unhappy and dissatisfied?
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The user experience refers to the reactions to everything—
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from simply looking at the site to interacting with it.
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User interface refers to how users can interact with the site.
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If users are looking for something specific, they may look
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for menus or search boxes, or both to guide their way.
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These elements are part of the interface,
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as well as order forms, carousels, sliders, and other things that you can click,
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drag, and mouse over to produce some kind of response.
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However, the content you produce can also serve as the interface.
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Take a site like Pinterest, where almost the entire view
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is made up of images of content that users are sharing.
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Those images serve as the navigation that you click to find more information.
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We've talked about the experience users have and their interaction with the site,
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well, finally, usability refers to how easy that interaction is.
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Were the menus you built for your site easy to read, understand, and manipulate?
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Was the text easy to read and understand?
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Very often, usability issues can affect how well users find things,
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like products and details, or their ability to
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complete forms to purchase things, or generate content.
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If any one of these interactions is not positive,
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it means that a usability issue exists.
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Understand that the usability of every website is different
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because the design, the content, and the users are all different, as well.
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One size does not fit all when designing sites and apps
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across various industries or for different clients.
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Now, if you can be proactive and do research,
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you'll be prepared to design a usable UI
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that allows those users to succeed.
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Whether it's adding a button with a perfect text link,
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or designing an intuitive form so that users can order your product,
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a nicely designed user interface will contribute to a positive user experience.
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So, UX, UI, and usability aren't all the same thing,
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but they're certainly aspects of the same mission—
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to give users a positive experience
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through great, intuitive, and usable designs.
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