Today, almost every business tries to develop its online presence to get a higher saturation within the market. The digital space has much to suggest to every type and scale of a business. Some focus on marketing and advertising aspects, while others pay more attention to social media networking. Still, the role of a business website remains of the utmost.
To make your business website work in your favor, you need to focus on multiple things simultaneously. It concerns branding as well as graphic design, web development, and proper strategy and planning. Another crucial component of an excellent online presence is UX design.
Essentially, the user experience of a web platform is determined by how the users interact with it. And the level of satisfaction of that interaction depends on numerous things. Is the experience smooth or fractured? Does navigating the website feel logical or confusing? Do users get comfortable fulfilling their tasks? And UX design is aimed to streamline the process of interaction, improving the usability of a web platform.
However, UX design is not about the interaction experience only. In order to fully realize the power of UX to leverage business performance, UX design needs to be reinforced with big picture thinking, analytical thinking, and business analysis. For that reason, there is another vital aspect of UX design that focuses primarily on the business point of view. And that is UX design consulting.
UX design consultants are professionals that conduct business research before the actual UX design process. Therefore, a UI/UX design agency helps companies to determine the right UX processes and methods that perfectly fit the business objectives. While UX design focuses on how the interface will work, UX consulting takes a step back and examines the whole organization ecosystem. That forms a robust base for future UX processes. Thus, the UX design becomes proven and half-tested at the very initial stage.
Traditionally, UX design requires design skills and some technical knowledge. UX design consultants should also have some analytical and business research skills in conjunction with the previous. In simpler terms, UX designers deal with design problems – while UX design consultants see these problems as the surface of a business problem. Thus, UX design consultants solve design problems with the business in mind. As a result, UX consulting helps companies become more user-centered through the UX.
UX problems typically evolve from the deeper-lying business issues, and UX consulting aims to root out those issues even before they cause UX problems. That makes things concrete and doubles the chances of success. It is especially helpful when it comes to large-scale and complex projects. UX design consultants work more strategically, and the UX design team works more practically. And teaming up to reach one definite goal is the best option for complex projects that require much versatile work and attention to the smallest details. In other words, the design process becomes more organized and structured because every team works with its priorities, not mixing everything in one.
Regardless of the scale of the project, UX consulting is a helpful tool to have:
- It uses surveys, interviews, prototyping, and testing as ways to reach unmet needs or hidden business problems. Such an approach ensures that nothing escapes attention and there are no pitfalls that can significantly impact other processes.
- Of course, you can try to find the problem yourself, but it will take much more time and effort. Also, it doesn’t guarantee that you will save your budget. The wrong decision can cost you even more than a competent UX consulting service.
- UX consulting provides you with a fresh perspective, so the research process becomes more effective. When UX designers work on a project for a long time, they can unintentionally miss some things. But an outside view is always much more attentive and efficient.
- UX consulting helps you to stay at the storefront of the UX trends and innovations. Each time UX design consultants detect a problem, they immediately start seeking ways to solve it. And most of the time, they choose innovative solutions, allowing your website to shine with new ideas.
All in all, UX consulting appears to be an efficient tool for solving UX problems from a business perspective. That helps companies to stay user-centered yet focused on their business objectives as well. Such an all-rounded approach is the best way to boost the online performance of a website and deliver an excellent experience to the users.
