The easiest way to conceptualize your target market is to create user personas. Whether for an app or a real physical product, you will need to create a persona that tells a few things about the intended user of your product at a single glance.

All people involved in the process of developing a product’s image should know how to use the persona template you have created to ease the course of their work, be it in marketing or user experience design.

Keep reading more about this topic in this article created by our team at Amelia (our WordPress booking plugin) and find more information about what a user persona is and how user persona templates can help you.

What Is a User Persona?

Before explaining why you would need user personas, let’s first define the term itself. User personas are conceptual representations (i.e. models) of who your ideal customer is. Designing user personas requires a lot of research and analysis of your audience’s goals, behavior, desires, and more.

Regularly, the following criteria are analyzed:

• The goals of your audience
• The background in which your audience lives
• Your audience’s age and gender
• The behavior and habits of your audience
• The pain points and needs

Besides the obvious benefit that you will get to know your ideal customer better so that you will be able to launch products that are more suitable to their needs, you can also build a user persona that works to boost sales on existing products.

Research is important in all given situations when you own a business, so you really can’t skip this step regardless of what your purpose is. Even if it doesn’t help you with an already low-performing product, it will at least help you make wiser marketing and design decisions in the future.

Why Do People Need User Personas?

You may ask yourself why anyone would need a user persona to begin with, especially professional designers or marketers who already understand their audience pretty well.

The fact is, in today’s world of hyper-relevance, simply knowing ‘just enough’ about a particular target audience doesn’t cut it anymore.

Instead, you need to focus on highly-relevant, human-centered content and design that will resonate with specific groups of users and their particular use cases, else your products run the risk of falling flat for everyone for uses them.

If you have no idea where to start, you can use a persona template that suits your business specifics. The main goal of using one is to make people who visit your website feel something and get engaged with your content and website. The content needs to fully appeal to the user’s needs and be relevant from start to finish.

The more specific your user persona is, the better chance you have to turn visitors into actual clients. As such, you need a persona template that suits your business and which convinces your audience that your brand is the best in the niche.

Ultimately, your user persona will help you establish an emotional connection between your business and the target audience.

What Should Your User Persona Design Include?

If you don’t know many things about user persona design, you should first focus on target audience research to draw out your audience’s needs, desires, goals, and frustrations.

Simply put, you have to tell a story using your brand, a story that is meant to touch the users emotionally and make them feel like your product was made just for them. Your user persona will express your users’ own traits, goals, and dreams.

Those who will use the user persona in crafting relevant content or outstanding user experiences need to feel like your user persona is an actual character that plays the main role in a very complex story.

Below you will find a list of user persona templates that should inspire you, regardless of the domain of your business. Find one that suits your needs best and feel free to customize it based on what you yourself have learned about each persona and how they relate to your products.

Once your persona (or personas) has been shared among all stakeholders (e.g. designers, marketers, content creators, etc.) your business will change for the better in an instant.

Keep in mind that without target audience research, you won’t be able to meet the expectations of your users, so remember to put in some legwork here and add your own insights accordingly.

User Persona Template Examples You Can’t Miss

The Coach

The Coach template from WPPortfolio is an excellent example of a contemporary design designed for one persona and could easily be customized to suit others. It’s a relaxed but professional template ideal for finance, real estate, enterprise and a range of other coaches.

This persona is presented as a professional coach with a relaxed blue color that oozes cool authority. The template includes all the page elements a typical coach would use and can be fully customized however you like.

UX Designer

The list starts with this user persona template of a UX designer which illustrates the basic concept of a user persona extremely well. This user persona template contains information related to the target audience based on age, personality, goals, motivations, frustrations, and other details.

As for aesthetics, we can notice a very colorful photograph that rapidly stands out from the rest of the design, which demonstrates a vigorous personality and a certain type of lifestyle. Thus, even a single image can tell you a lot about this kind of user.

In this example particularly, the motivations are placed in the center of the page, to guide the reader towards understanding the goals and behaviors that the ideal user adopts. The motivations are a map to the aspirations of the created persona and are useful in understanding what this kind of user cares about more generally. 

The Researcher

Referral Saasquatch is a user persona template that shows the kind of user who loves to do their homework before taking action. This user persona sums up the characteristics of a wise decision-maker that seeks out the full story on any matter.

This is a one-page template where content is separated into columns. This template is less desirable because the content is more difficult to read.

Regardless, the style of this template is nicely representative of the target user as a whole.

The Manager

Even though it might seem quite crowded, the Fake Crow user persona template is exactly what you need if you want an impactful user persona for managers. This persona template is attention-grabbing and aesthetically pleasing while speaking to the confident personality of a team leader.

You get everything combined beautifully and in the right order –listed goals, frustrations, and motivations. The graphical representations of each of the points presented in this template make it easier for the reader to understand this type of user at a glance.

The Health Advocate

This free user persona template is pretty straight-forward. You can easily tell that the person who is represented there is a middle-aged woman, the proud mother of two children. What is even more evident is that this user persona focuses a lot on food – healthy food, to be precise. Without even reading the text, the viewer can tell where the story is going.

The short quote included in the template reinforces the core objective of this user persona – encouraging mothers to adopt a healthier diet for their kids. This persona template presents a modern character that likes to adapt to changes and become a fashionable consumer.

The Influencer

Another perfect example of a buyer persona template, Universe User Personas makes great use of color and contrast to emphasize the dynamic yet cool-and-trendy personality type involved.

The persona is presented visually, using a bold photograph that is meant to transmit the idea of a strong personality, a voice that can be heard at any given moment – the influencer.

The Mom

A very basic template example for a family-focused persona, Rachael the Stay at Home Mom is minimal in terms of content. In this case, Rachel is presented in the simplest manner possible, emphasizing the plain and simple needs of a person who wants stability and simplicity.

She has the basic problems that any mother would face at some point in her journey – the lack of time, financial problems, stress, etc. All she needs is a simple, trusted solution to help her cope with everything easier – nothing fancy required.

The Designer

Xtensio’s Interior Designer user persona template deserves a place in this list because of its boldness and clarity. This is a neat, well-designed template that makes great use of contrast and loud colors.

This persona template is all about grabbing attention fast and keeping it for as long as needed, clearly demonstrating the creative designer mindset.

Generic Persona

Finally, if you have no idea where to start and what kind of user persona template to use, you can follow this great example given by Piktochart. This template demonstrates the essentials of a user persona and briefly describes why each section is included in the template itself.

FAQs about user persona templates

1. What is a user persona template, and how is it used?

A user persona template is a design and marketing tool for illustrating the traits, tendencies, and requirements of a particular user group. It enables companies to develop goods and services that better satisfy the needs of their target market.

2. How do I create a user persona template, and what information should I include?

Finding the user group you wish to target should be your first step in creating a user persona template. Next, compile data on demographics, objectives, problems, actions, and preferences. Compile this data into a profile that accurately depicts your target audience.

3. How many user personas should I create, and how should I prioritize them?

The size of your company and the variety of your target market will determine how many user personas you should develop. Based on their significance and relevance to your business goals, order your user personas.

4. What are some common mistakes to avoid when creating a user persona template?

Using assumptions instead of data, building too many personas, and failing to test the correctness of the information are all common faults made while developing a user persona template.

5. How do I validate the accuracy of my user persona template?

By doing user research, surveys, or interviews, you can ensure that the information in your user persona template is accurate and that it accurately reflects the requirements and behaviors of your target audience.

6. How often should I update my user persona template, and what factors should I consider when doing so?

It’s crucial to regularly update your user persona template to account for shifts in your target market or market trends. Updates should take into account variables like shifting demographics, behaviors, or needs.

7. Can user persona templates be used in both B2B and B2C contexts, or are they specific to one type of business?

Both B2B and B2C situations can benefit from the adoption of user persona templates. However, depending on the kind of business and the intended audience, different information may be included in the template.

8. How can I use user persona templates to improve my marketing strategies and target my ideal customers?

User persona templates can be used to enhance marketing campaigns by assisting companies in customizing their messaging and focusing on the particular requirements of their potential clients.

Businesses can design more effective and pertinent marketing efforts by understanding the attitudes and preferences of their target market.

Incorporating these insights into your product strategy frameworks can further refine your approach to meet customer needs.

9. How can I ensure that my user persona template is inclusive and representative of all potential customers?

Consider acquiring data from a variety of sources and consulting with people from various backgrounds and viewpoints to make sure your user persona template is inclusive and representative of all possible customers.

10. How can I effectively communicate and share my user persona template with other members of my team or organization?

Consider making a poster with poster templates or infographic as a visual depiction to help your team or business understand your user persona template. The template can also be used as guidance for your company’s customer support, product development, and other areas.

Ending thoughts on these persona templates

You can either choose to follow the examples of persona templates from the ones presented above or create your own from scratch.

Either way, use the inspiration you’ve gained from these excellent template examples and combine your own audience research and insights to craft something you can share with your team. It might take some work, but your colleagues and your users will thank you for it.

If you enjoyed reading this article on persona templates, you should check out this one about UAT testing.

We also wrote about a few related subjects like User Interface design principles, web usability, affordance, how to become a UX designer and UX designer portfolio.

The post User Persona Template Examples to Make Your Life Easier appeared first on Amelia WordPress Booking Plugin.

You might know this testing phase as beta testing, app testing, or end-user testing. Regardless of the name you know, UAT testing refers to a set of testing steps taken right before making a software product available for sale.

During this phase, the product can be available for free as a beta version, or it can be tested in-house. This article will discuss the meaning and importance of UAT testing, as well as the steps involved in the UAT testing process.

Defining UAT Testing

Many new developers have heard about UAT testing but don’t know much about the process itself. Fortunately, the full form of the acronym, User Acceptance Testing, is self-explanatory and refers to testing a pre-release product to see if it is acceptable for end users.

Other people call it beta testing because it is the final phase in the process of developing a software product, and the version being tested is usually called a beta release.

To elaborate on the question of “what UAT is”, it represents a somewhat well-defined series of test procedures that can be applied either by people who are selected as part of the target audience to which the software product will be sold or by in-house teams of software testers.

The UAT phase essentially helps to detect unexpected errors, bugs, and other barriers to a smooth user experience so that the development team can correct them before the official launch.

UAT Criteria

Now you know what UAT testing is, it’s time to move on to the criteria that are taken into account when performing this testing phase. Overall, there is a set of requirements that needs to be respected during User Acceptance Testing for the best results.

These requirements are set according to the software product that is being developed, as well as to the conditions set by the business which owns the product. Setting the right criteria for UAT testing ensures the success of the entire operation. Some popular entry criteria are:

• Analyzing the business requirements and if they have been met
• Having developed the application code fully and to all specifications
• Completing unit, integration, and system testing before starting UAT testing
• No major defects present before the final test phase – only cosmetic defects are allowed before UAT
• Completing regression testing with little to no defects
• All defects found before starting the UAT procedure should be fixed
• The System Testing Team has sent approval for starting UAT

Why Is UAT Testing So Important?

The next question would be why do developers need User Acceptance Testing in the first place if the product is basically ready?

Well, the answer is simple. Developers have a very technical way of creating a product and they interpret data and facts from a methodological point of view. Developers know when the software product is completed only when talking about code and functional specifications.

This is where UAT intervenes. A functional product is not necessarily one that meets business standards and requirements. In order to adapt the product to real-life circumstances, it needs to go through the User Acceptance Testing process.

This way, the product is verified by people who would like to work with the product and who will actually use the product on a regular basis.

Whenever UAT testers notice that something is not right, they can send their feedback to the development team that can make further improvements. This is the safest way to improve a product and launch it without errors. The more time is invested in User Acceptance Testing, the better the software product will be in its final version.

Without beta testing, the software product would not be validated and users who purchase it directly will be the ones to discover the errors and downsides of it. Instead of putting a broken software product to market use, it’s best to run UAT procedures and see what can be improved.

Who Is Behind UAT Testing?

Another confusion that is common when discussing UAT has to do with who performs it? User Acceptance Testing, as the name suggests, should generally be performed by regular users.

Professional testers and software testing companies only deal with testing parts of the software product that are more technical. End users, on the other hand, are required to test their experience with the product as a whole.

Product team members won’t have an objective perspective on the product when testing it. This is why UAT testing is performed by people who are outside the development team. Any person who is part of the development process will have a tunnel vision perspective which is not appropriate for testing.

Moreover, developers tend to skip steps in the testing process because they already know how the product works, which is time-saving but very inefficient because unexpected problems can easily arise in non-standard usage.

Secondly, UAT testing requires a genuine user reaction that gives some hints about whether the product is appreciated by the target audience members or not.

UAT Testing Process Steps

Now that you know what User Acceptance Testing is, let’s look at the steps involved in this process. Here’s a list with a short description of each step:

Planning

The planning stage involves outlining the strategy that will be applied during the UAT procedure. There are different strategies that can be used in this direction, but the team has to choose the strategy that aligns with business requirements and timelines.

Test Scenarios

After planning UAT testing, it’s time to identify different test scenarios. These refer to establishing what should happen in each situation and covering all the potential situations that may arise when using the software product. These are used to create test cases.

Test Cases

Test cases heavily rely on live data coming from the UAT process itself. Data is scrambled to avoid privacy issues and to keep the evaluation objective. When running the test cases, all encountered bugs and glitches need to be reported.

For executing the test cases, developers use various Test Management tools.

Business Requirements

Finally, UAT testing analyzes whether the product respects business requirements or not. If the answer is positive, the product can be launched on the market.

If there are still issues that need fixing, another round of UAT will be required after making the needed changes.

UAT Testing Benefits

Even though the investments in UAT are considerable, so are the benefits. UAT testing only requires 5% to 10% of the entire development process and it can save 30% of the time required for making additional fixes and changes. UAT testing is necessary for a good ROI score for such projects. Other benefits include:

• Clients are more satisfied with the final version of the product.
• Clients will know from the very beginning what the target audience thinks, how they react to the product, how the product behaves, and so on.
• The quality of the product is verified through all stages of development.
• Vendor communication is better, as they get information after each testing session.
• The development team has an efficient, well-defined workflow.
• Stakeholders know what the target audience wants through the feedback offered during UAT.

Ending thoughts on UAT Testing

As you may have noticed, UAT cannot be neglected. UAT testing can prevent the development team from making difficult changes or wasting time down the line, and can save the business from embarrassing uncaught mistakes.

The testing process keeps both users and businesses happy, reduces a considerable amount of costs, saves time, and plenty more benefits that are worth considering.

At the end of the day, a software product should never be launched without testing because users will discover bugs and errors. Even though they may be small, they will negatively affect the user experience and – with that – the sales of the company that owns the product.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article on UAT testing created by the team at Amelia (the best booking plugin for WordPress).

You should also check out this one on persona template.

We also wrote about a few related subjects like User Interface design principles, web usability, affordance, how to become a UX designer and UX designer portfolio.

The post What Do You Need to Know About UAT Testing? appeared first on Amelia WordPress Booking Plugin.

To stand out from the smorgasbord of websites that reside on the Internet, you need to focus on web usability. A good experience with a website will make a visitor keep coming back, and this can only happen by meeting people’s expectations, following several laws of UX, and respecting a set of web usability principles. This matter is discussed in detail below by the team at Amelia (our WordPress booking plugin), so, continue reading to find out what web usability is, why it matters, and how can you improve it for your own site.

Why Is Web Usability So Important?

Users feel important when the website they visit is focused on their needs and meets their expectations. To achieve that, all business owners must analyze what their target audience wants and adapt the web usability level to their requirements and desires. Prospective clients need to value the user experience in order to interact with the website and generate profit for you.

Web usability is the one element that makes the difference between an effective website and one that is disregarded without a second thought. All visitors need to have a pleasurable experience on a website to continue to interact with it, and good web design is the key to achieving this. Every little detail present on a website, including buttons or forms, can affect how a visitor feels when they access a site. Without gathering significant insight into your potential visitors’ minds, you won’t be able to reach a website usability level that will generate positive results in the long run.

Don’t Skip Testing

Web usability is all about testing your site often and noticing what can be improved. Dealing with web design only once is not possible when you own a website that you want to propel to the top.

Some new trends in web design appear almost every month, and you won’t be able to keep up with all of them, but you’ll have to keep the user experience engaging and interactive. That won’t happen unless you test the website regularly and find mistakes that can be fixed or aspects that can be upgraded.

Skipping this step will only throw you in a loop of not knowing what to improve and may result in you making changes that hurt usability, not enhance it. Staying informed about the latest trends in web design can also help you stay ahead of the curve and ensure your website remains relevant and competitive.

Web Usability Principles to Follow

These are some web usability principles to get you started with improving your site. Choose the one that suits your case the best:

7 +/- 2

George A. Miller concluded a while ago – people are not able to retain all the information they see. Short-term memory can only retain around five out of nine things that a person sees at one time.

This is a biological limitation of the brain that was proved by science. Keeping this in mind, when dealing with web usability, you need to divide information into five to nine chunks at a time. This simple principle can help you create a good, clean website layout without much effort. It is used in many industries other than design, so you can safely rely on it.

The 2-second rule

Another simple principle that should determine how you design your website is that users are not willing to spend more than 2 seconds waiting for a website to load.

If your website takes forever to load, don’t wonder why you don’t have enough visitors or why the bounce rate (people who exit a website without interacting with it in any way) goes through the roof. Web usability has to do with how quickly the site loads as well, so do your best to improve this aspect.

Accessibility

One of the most basic principles of good design is to be inclusive of as many users as possible, taking into account that not all people are alike. Some of your users may have disabilities or conditions like colorblindness, and care must be taken when choosing color schemes and font weights in light of this fact. Even for able persons, a website that features faint, hard-to-read fonts can be an instant turn-off.

Clarity

The core of web usability is creating clear sites. By cluttering a website and filling it with all sorts of elements that are irrelevant for a user, you only make things worse. Instead of making your site’s visitors confused by adding distractions on the site, try to keep everything clear and guide users towards engaging in specific activities on it. Clarity is the only way to design a website properly and to give people the needed guidelines when navigating it. Stick to this principle no matter what other rules you choose to respect.

Learnability

People are pleased when they interact with a website that is traditionally built. Since all users learn from their past experiences, they generate certain expectations in their heads. Try to keep your website as intuitive as possible. Web usability is improved when the website doesn’t require any instructions or when it’s easy to figure out. Learnability refers to making a design intuitive by using elements that people are already familiar with.

Credibility

No one will remain on a website that doesn’t inspire trust. Not all websites look trustworthy and that has to do with web usability as well. If a user encounters a lot of errors and warnings while navigating on your site, it is very unlikely that they will trust your site. To establish credibility, make sure that your website has been built professionally, that the content is well-written and mistake-free, and that no errors or broken links lay around the site unnoticed.

Purpose

Every single page that is part of your website should have a purpose from the very beginning. Because all web designers are limited in space, you need to clarify what the purpose of the site is in the first place. This gives users some direction and you can establish a target audience much easier. All elements included on your site should contribute to perfect web usability, guided by clear goals.

CTAs

As mentioned, giving your visitors some direction is an absolute must in web usability design. Use CTAs (Call-To-Action) for that. CTAs are buttons that contain action verbs that invite a website’s visitors to do something. For instance, eCommerce websites include CTAs such as “Buy Now” or “Contact Us”. Do the same on your own website but try to moderate the use of them. Too many CTAs can make your site look spammy, while little to no CTAs will lead to poor usability.

Conversions

Make a priority out of conversions. All websites should make visitors turn into customers in the shortest time possible. If you don’t know where else to start with your website, focus on increasing the number of conversions that your website generates at the end of the month. It could be a simple change of color on some element or other that does the trick.

In Conclusion

When you put a website together, you need to pay attention to the tiniest details, all of which contribute to an enhanced level of web usability. The better a user feels on a website, the higher the chances of turning them into a regular visitor. By following the nine principles listed above, you can’t fail. Just figure out what the best combo for your own situation is and put it into practice. You will notice a huge difference, even if you implement only some of these principles.

If you enjoyed reading this article on web usability, you should check out this one on User Interface design principles.

We also wrote about a few related subjects like persona templates, UAT testing, affordance, how to become a UX designer and UX designer portfolio. But also an interesting piece with WordPress tables plugin examples.

The post 9 Principles of Web Usability to Follow appeared first on Amelia WordPress Booking Plugin.

The same goes for user interface design, where looks are just a small part of the process. The interface that a user interacts with is the most important part of a software product, and a poorly designed UI could lead to the failure of the product in its entirety. This is why all designers should follow some user interface design principles. These are several concepts that apply to all projects and could turn a project from a failure to success with only a few small adjustments. Learn below more about this topic in this article created by our team at Amelia (the best booking plugin for WordPress).

What Are the Basics of User Interface Design?

User interface (UI) design refers to creating the interface that people use when they interact with a software product. The aspects that are usually emphasized when creating a user interface are visual-oriented, but the UI design process involves more than just creating an aesthetically pleasing experience for the user. It should also be intuitive to use and highly responsive.

A user interface designer must know from the very beginning what users might want to do on a website and which elements are necessary for smooth interaction. Of course, in order to achieve a satisfactory result, user interface designers need to follow a set of principles regardless of the specific project. Using these principles, they can more easily encourage users to perform various actions within the interface. UI design combines interaction and visual design, along with some principles from information architecture.

The interface elements that designers must come up with include:

• Input controls
• Navigational & informational components
• Containers

A Short List of User Interface Design Principles

Make the interface clear

An interface that looks too complex will only confuse users instead of guiding them through the possibilities they have. This is one of the most important user interface design principles and it applies to every project you will ever work on. Keep everything simple and uncluttered on the user-facing side, even though the project might be large and complex behind-the-scenes. Avoid using elements that are not essential to the current workflow and always use labels to separate and clearly identify every option. Offering users clarity and simplicity is a surefire way to keep users engaged with the interaction process at hand.

Encourage interaction

The one main purpose that interfaces embody is to invite users to interact with them; to use them. Without doing this, an interface is absolutely useless. Make sure to keep elements that are not helping users or not adding any value to the interface away from your design. Instead of only focusing on how the interface looks from the point of view of art and aesthetics, try to make it easy to use (if not a joy to use) as well as beautiful. In short, always strive to find a balance between ‘aesthetic’ and ‘utilitarian’.

Catch and maintain attention

In a world where everything happens on the run, you need to learn how to stir interest and maintain the users’ attention. Inspiring people to invest their time into using an interface can be complicated, but the good news is that if all the principles listed throughout this article are adhered to, maintaining the user’s interest should come naturally. Honor attention by staying away from elements that can be considered distractions.                                                                         

Make it familiar

In software interface design, you should take into account that not all users are as tech-savvy as you may believe. In fact, some of the users that encounter the interface you design might have nothing to do with technology at all. This is why you want to make it intuitive and familiar to as many people as possible, regardless of their background. People who see familiar things are more likely to stay and interact with the interface. Instead of reinventing the wheel, stick with solutions that people are already used to. Use conventional layouts and, if you can’t help but be unique, add your owns park of originality through the visuals instead.

Be efficient with your design

If users start engaging with the interface you designed, and they lose progress, or they encounter some error, they will be disappointed with it and won’t return. User interface design principles rely on efficiency, and if you overlook this factor you won’t have happy users. Figure out what the most repeated action on your interface is and make it as effective as possible. The whole purpose is to make it streamlined and error-free.

Make users feel in control

A good interface should make users feel like they are in control. An interface that seems complicated and gives no sense of mastery to those who use it is a failed one and is a result of not following one of the most basic principles of interface design: the user must feel that they are using the product, instead of the other way round.

Actions should be reversible

As mentioned before, users get frustrated when they lose all the progress they have on an interface. To avoid that, make the actions easy to backtrack. This means that you shouldbe able to revert an action to a previous state. Actions that are easy to undo encourage a sense of exploration and people will thus spend more time on the interface. Not all actions need to be reversible, but the important ones should be.

Cognitive load should be reduced

Cognitive load refers to how much mental processing is required to understand a certain thing;in this case, the user interface. The principles of UI design state that designers need to keep the cognitive load as reduced as possible because,otherwise,users think too hard about what’s happening instead of truly enjoying the experience. In today’s world, users are not willing to spend as much attention ona software product and they are quick to abandon ship when it comes to deciding whether it is worth a second visit or not.

Consistent interfaces are the best

The definition of an intuitive user interface hinges on how consistent it is. Without consistency, your user interface design will fail because people crave stability and order in an interface, not chaos. A consistent interface is one that is easy to learn and remember, and which produces predictable results. To easily apply this user interface design principle, make sure that users can transfer their knowledge about other user interfaces to your own. Some elements and patterns should always stay the same.

Prevent errors at all costs

All designers should think at least two steps in the future to prevent any unexpected errors from appearing down the line. This is particularly true for user interface designers, who need to optimize the overall experience that people have when they use a software product, regardless of its type. Users that stumble upon errors won’t be pleased with the experience, and they are very likely to leave the interface immediately. To avoid that, prevent errors from appearing and learn how to adapt to the unexpected – if an error can be hidden away from the user while the interface figures out what’s wrong and adapts on its own, all the better.

Final remarks on user interface design principles

Considering all of the information listed above, it is rather obvious that user interface design is not easy to handle. To make your users happy (and keep them happy), you will need to follow all these user interface design principles as closely as possible. People nowadays are very picky with the software products they use, and they are not forgiving when a small error, bug, or other stumbling block appears in their path. As a user interface designer, you need to figure out the best way to intertwine all these principles into the best outcome and keep practicing your craft with these factors in mind.

If you enjoyed reading this article on User Interface design principles, you should check out this one on web usability.

We also wrote about a few related subjects like persona templates, UAT testing, affordance, how to become a UX designer and UX designer portfolio.

The post User Interface Design Principles Every Web Designer Should Know appeared first on Amelia WordPress Booking Plugin.

Even though this term can seem a bit technical, it is useful when talking about web design. In website design, terms are often used interchangeably, which leads to confusion.

The correct use of terms can represent the key to obtaining a better user experience. Web designers must use consistent terms to describe their work so that they can communicate with each other properly.

This is the purpose of affordances. They help web designers think of products with affordances to figure out what the outcome should look like.

Nonetheless, understanding the affordances psychology is more and more difficult because the way people use and control objects has changed over the years. Solid knowledge of what an affordance is will help any web designer, as it is an essential and highly useful concept in web design.

What are digital affordances?

The purpose of web design is to improve the user experience. Affordances and metaphors can be used specifically for achieving this goal. At first, digital affordances may seem irrelevant for the process. Some people might even consider them counterintuitive. Digital interfaces can deeply influence the user experience, as the model of interaction changes entirely.

The digital world is full of different types of affordance. For instance, when a person clicks a submit button, they do it because of how the button looks. It has characteristic elements that tell users that it is an interactive element. Simple text, with no effects on it, wouldn’t encourage people to click it in any way.

This is where digital affordances intervene. Making the hyperlink look like an actual button that resembles the item in the real world would help visitors find and use the element.

The whole purpose is to make the digital element look like one encountered in the real world so that visitors can easily associate the characteristics. Learn below more about this topic in this article created by our team at Amelia (probably the best WordPress reservation plugin).

User Interface elements and interactivity

Web designers are the ones responsible for shaping the user interfaces that people get to use. They use elements that are supposed to make visitors interact with them.

This means that all the elements they include on a user interface must-have features that make them look interactive. The way users perceive and use a website is solely the result of how a web designer put together the UI elements. The whole design is focused on encouraging interaction.

The theory of affordances in web design

Once you understand what an affordance is and how it can be used, you will get better at interface design. Using affordances in web design will lead to better usability and more interaction from the users, depending on the purpose of the website. An affordance can influence the conversion or registration rates, for example.

The user behavior on a site can change entirely once affordance theories are applied in web design. Because of the visible impact it has, an affordance should be the main concern of a web designer before starting a process, even though it can seem tricky at first.

Examples of affordances in web design

After web designers learn how to define affordance, it’s time to study aspects related to each type of affordance. They all have the same purpose: setting clear expectations and respecting them until the project is done.

Labels

Labels represent the most common type of affordance. Labels are specific for websites that target a less tech-savvy audience. For websites that have complex interfaces that are difficult to navigate, using labels can rapidly make it easier to use. A label indicates the function of an element, thus letting the user know what it does.

For instance, when a user completes a form, they expect to have details about what they should write in each field. Because all forms are customized for each website, there is no pattern that they could follow in this sense. The second option would be a validation process where visitors would rely on their mistakes to figure out what they should type into the fields. Clearly, that wouldn’t be good interface design.

To organize the functions of a website, the label affordance is used. It is the clearest, most precise method of giving people details about how the form fields work and what they should do in order to interact with the site.

Patterns

People who spend time on different websites will notice patterns between them. These patterns refer to certain actions that are repetitive and they are the same, or at least similar, on every site that people access. For instance, when visualizing pictures in carousel mode, users will know how to use the left and right arrows to browse through the images.

The pattern affordance can be elegantly used on any type of interface to signal actions to the visitors. People are exposed to a myriad of pattern affordances every single day, by browsing various types of websites. This way, they become quicker at recognizing and using them when they stumble upon similar ones.

Metaphorical affordances

The easiest way to add an affordance in web design is to have a real-world reference. This object that is existent in real life represents metaphors for the affordance. Take icons for examples. Most icons are inspired by real-life objects, thus communicating affordance.

Email icons use envelopes as a metaphor. The homepage of a website is often signaled by using a house icon, which transmits the idea of “going home”. Printer icons refer to using the functionality of a printer and so on.

Interestingly, the icon for the save function is a Floppy Disk which is obsolete technology, but designers still use it because it acts as both a metaphorical affordance and a pattern affordance, in that people are accustomed to the association.

When web designers think of ways to convey a message through visual elements, they should use metaphorical affordances. The physical world offers designers the exact inspiration they need to create visual aids that are intuitive to use. It’s important to keep in mind that not all web designers use metaphorical affordances, but they represent the best starting point if you’re out of ideas.

Explicit affordances

These are similar to metaphorical affordances at some level. An explicit affordance relies not only on the physical aspect of a real-life object but also on language. When a person visits a website and a button has “Click Me” written on it, there are two types of affordances combined: the physical appearance of a regular button and the persuasive short phrase.

Explicit affordances are the ones that help web designers guide users through the interface. Whenever a user has to fill a form, they require more information about what information they should insert in that field.

Spelling out direction through an explicit affordance is a foolproof way to design the user interface, but it can also be troubling if it is used excessively. Make sure to give users enough room to make decisions on their own and use their intuition.

Animated affordances

Animated affordances refer to those actions that users are required to do in order to interact with elements on the site. They are also inspired by physical objects and activities. Dragging and dropping is a common interface animation that most users enjoy.

Similar actions such as pulling or swiping are also used by web designers to make the user interface more interactive. The trick is that animated affordances combine the digital world with the physical one because it gives users the feeling that they’re interacting with real, palpable things.

Hidden affordances

A hidden affordance will only appear when certain conditions are present. For instance, making a word clickable only on hover. The affordance is not present until the user discovers it and interacts with it.

Web designers should use hidden affordances for websites that already have a cluttered interface and would like to visually simplify it. The only drawback of a hidden affordance is that the user has to find it on their own, without having any clues that point them to it.

False affordances

False affordances are random mistakes that web designers make and don’t notice. Their effect is not pleasing to the user. Users expect something to happen when they notice an element that has certain characteristics (e.g. a button).

In some cases, because of minor web design mistakes, the element doesn’t do what it is expected to do. Simply put, a button won’t do anything when clicked. These are small details that are sometimes missed during the design process.

An affordance doesn’t exist in the real world, but it has a tremendous impact on the digital world. People spend a lot of their time online, so it’s important to understand the importance of affordances and how they are used in web design to help users interact with and navigate a website.

If you enjoyed reading this article about affordance in web design, you should check out this one on how to become a UX designer.

We also wrote about a few related subjects like persona templates, UAT testing, User Interface design principles, web usability and UX designer portfolio.

The post Affordance in Web Design: What Do You Need to Know About It? appeared first on Amelia WordPress Booking Plugin.

In case you don’t notice any sale boosts or new inquiries once you’ve published your site, you might need to perform a website critique and see what’s the matter with it.

Table of contents

• How to conduct your own website critique
• How do you know you need website critique in the first place?
  
• How to perform a good website critique?

How to conduct your own website critique

In order to step aside from a subjective point of view and perform good website critiques, you need to perceive things with a different pair of eyes. This is something that not all people can do from the very first try, but with the right tips, you will be able to perform your own website critique.

To master this art, you need to develop a logical eye and to do a reason-based analysis of what you can improve on your website. Criticizing the website from a point of view which is not constructive in any way is just a waste of time and resources.

A good website critique can only be obtained if you organize your opinions logically and come up with resourceful feedback regarding your website.

How do you know you need website critique in the first place?

You need some design feedback

If you think that the way your website looks is not appreciated by all people who visit it, then you might need to analyze it more in-depth. The design of your website is the element that catches the attention of your website’s visitors within seconds.

Without an attractive website, you have low chances of generating sales online. Start your website design critique process here and see what you can improve. You can critique a website once you detach yourself completely.

Google ranking is not in your favor

People use search engines to look for what they need. If your website won’t pop up on the first page of results, users are unlikely to reach it.

Google applies certain algorithms that have to do with Search Engine Optimization. Optimize your website to get a better ranking, especially by using keywords. Don’t forget to optimize images as well. A slow loading site will push you at least on page 2 of Google.

Visitors never turn into leads

The purpose of a good website is to turn regular visitors into leads. Noticing that doesn’t happen is a reason why you should start putting your website critique together. What is the issue behind your SEO configuration?

What can you do to improve the user experience and increase user retention? Ask yourself these questions and make the necessary changes. Look for “review my website” for more information in this sense.

Sales go down

It’s time to perform your own website critique if you notice that your business sales went down in the past couple of months. You need to learn how to critique your website from multiple points of view, not design only.

If no one buys products from you, it doesn’t matter how aesthetically pleasing your website is. See if your website looks trustworthy and try to find your competitive advantage.

The bounce rate is high

A good webpage review always includes details related to the bounce rate. If your website seems to have a high bounce rate, it happens because your website lacks direction, it doesn’t look professional or it doesn’t include quality content.

Quality is more important than quantity and this matters quite a lot for good user experience. Read a website critique example if you don’t know where to start with yours.

The traffic numbers are low

Critiquing websites involves numbers too. If you notice that the traffic on your inexplicably went down, you must find the element that made that happen.

See if enough resources were invested in advertising. Any website critique template includes some numbers related to traffic and sales, and you definitely can’t be the exception.

How to perform a good website critique?

Determine if the website is practical

Website critique is all about practicality. The navigation system is the first element you should analyze to determine why people spend the amount of time they spend on your website, be it short or long.

A clean navigation system is always a requirement, as well as including zero distractions in the path of the user. You need to start with this criterion before anything else. Web critique always begins with how practical the website is.

Keep in mind that website critiques are not always negative. Some people simply want to analyze the level of their website, which can be a highly positive one. If that’s your case, congratulations! In case you notice that there are things which can be improved, go ahead and make the necessary changes as fast as possible.

Visuals and the website’s aesthetic

After analyzing the website’s navigation system, you can move the website critique to visuals. The way your website looks will determine whether a person remains on the website or not. The visual impact represents the first impression a user has when he accesses your website.

In order to come up with a good website critique, you should place yourself in the shoes of a visitor. If you are happy with what you see, the website should work just fine. If you notice things that are not pleasing to the eye, change them and see what difference it makes. It is helpful to ask yourself:

• Do your visuals have a direction?
• What is the main focus of the website?
• Is the page layout good for the message your website tries to transmit?
• Are the elements matching?

Make searching easy

Next, you can start checking out the search options. People want to find the information they are looking for as quickly as possible. This has to do with the navigation system. See if you can easily find the search bar. If not, make it visible immediately.

People always look for a search bar when they want to find something specific on your website. Streamline the entire navigation system to the point you can find anything in a matter of seconds. Anything less effective will make the bounce rate go through the roof. Website critique is all about making your website better, so don’t be greedy when it comes to making changes.

Contact information

Another thing that people instantly look for is represented by your contact information. Performing a website critique should always refer to this element as well.

See if the contact information that you provided is up to date, spelled correctly and generous enough to keep the visitors informed. Take into account that visitors who can’t find contact information rapidly won’t reach out to you any longer.

Content quality

When performing a website critique, you need to review your published content, which is probably the most intricate, time-consuming thing you can do. You can either hire someone to proofread your content or do it yourself with patience.

Correcting all spelling mistakes is just the first part of the task. You will also need to make sure that your website contains enough content to keep visitors informed and entertained. Resourceful content will make users come back.

Coding

Even though you might not have plenty of knowledge in coding, it’s important to perform a website critique from this point of view, too. You should only be familiar with the basic principles of HTML/CSS and go through your lines of code.

If you see anything looking odd, Google it and make sure that it is correct. Some errors are produced because of a mistake in your website’s code. A simple check-up and short research should do the job.

Usability

Finally, the last thing you should consider in the website critique process is represented by usability. If the website is too difficult to figure out, visitors will be tempted to leave very rapidly.

To avoid that, you need to make it easy to access and pleasurable to navigate. Put together all details that make the website easy to use and work on them until everything seems right for you.

Ending thoughts on performing a website critique

Performing a website critique is definitely not easy. The insight you need to invest in this process, as well as the experience and knowledge you need to have to make it more difficult than it seems. Hopefully, the information you found here is a solid starting point that you can use in the future.

If you enjoyed reading this article about how to perform a website critique on your own project, you should check out this one on information architecture.

We also wrote about a few related subjects like loading bar, homepage design, login page and golden ratio in design.

The post How to Perform a Website Critique on Your Own Project appeared first on Amelia WordPress Booking Plugin.

Because it’s pretty difficult to find reliable sources to learn from, you need a solid starting point. This is why you need to get informed about UI designers or UX designers you can learn from and good resources from where you can get your information from.

At Amelia (the best WordPress bookings plugin), we are determined to make sure you get the necessary information about how to become a UX designer. Aside from this, please keep in mind that the Internet has unlimited resources, and joining a UX community can open a lot of doors for you.

Table of contents

• What is UX design?
• The first step in UX design
  
• How to become a UX designer?
• Improving your UX design practices

What is UX design?

When asking yourself what exactly User Experience design means, you need to consider several factors. First of all, you should understand that corporate industries are now using UX as a buzzword, a term that takes part in the trend. The User Experience can be defined as the impression a person has when interacting with a product or a service.

This is the simplest definition of the term that you will be able to find. An official definition was launched by the International Organization for Standardization and it is very similar to the previous definition, only a few terms changed. This definition states that User Experience is represented by “a person’s perceptions and responses resulting from the use or the anticipated use of a product, system or service.”

The characteristics that should define UX design are represented by usefulness, usability, desirability, accessibility, credibility, findability and value. The process of designing UX has to respect several goals, depending on what type of interaction is demanded the respective product or service. How to become a UX designer is not that complicated if you know your data well.

The first step in UX design

The first step in becoming a UI/UX developer is to understand two basic principles. One has to do with knowing that the process of becoming a professional UX/UI designer takes time. You will encounter difficulties and you may feel overwhelmed at times if you just started your path, but the patience and perseverance are both worth it. After understanding how to become a UX designer, the rest will come naturally.

The second principle has to do with not aiming for too much. Even though you feel like you start getting around UX/UI design pretty easily, it’s important to acknowledge the fact that you are a beginner, and you will need some time to get your way around this job. Moreover, professional UX designers actually try to stick with the mind of a beginner designer because it’s easier to handle projects this way – always open to learning more.

How to become a UX designer?

UX design courses

Taking courses is the easiest way to assimilate the needed information to start performing as a UX designer.

If you feel like you can’t find the information you are seeking, and nothing seems to be helpful, a course can send you in a good direction without much effort. You will pay for it, but it’s definitely the easy way to learn some things about UX/UI design.

If you think a course is not worth the price, just think of the actual cost of designing an app: a cost that translates to revenue for you as a UX designer involved in creating the app design.

There are plenty of courses online. Here are two articles that are shortlisting some of those courses:

• Learn UX design: 17 best paid and free UX design courses
• Online UX Courses

Targeted audience

Learning how to become a UX designer is not that easy. You also have to learn how to work with your audience and select it properly. Once you set the purpose of your design, it’s time to reach the audience you consider relevant.

A User Experience designer has to identify the requirements and preferences of the audience he is working with, long before launching the final version of the design. The targeted audience will offer you the exact starting point you need to create something that people enjoy.

Don’t forget that subjectivity may intervene and what you consider suitable for design, your audience may not. People are interpreting designs in their own ways, and these might not always be the same as yours, which makes the process a little bit more complicated. You need to come up with a UI design that is appealing to the users.

Storytelling skills should be improved

You may wonder what storytelling has to do with design. Well, UX and UI designers must be great communicators. Without good communication skills, the final design won’t reflect the ideas and requirements of the client. Storytelling does exactly that – putting the ideas of the client in something visual, which can transmit an idea.

Using stories to build your design will make it much easier to transmit the idea that the client wants his audience to receive. Storytelling becomes a skill that all UX designers must constantly improve in order to engage the targeted audience and please the customers.

Be open to new ideas

UX designers might be tempted to use the first idea that pops into their heads and seems good enough. In fact, this is a mistake and should be avoided at all costs. When the first idea comes to your mind, take some time to think about its quality and how it can be bettered. Finding many good ideas and choosing the winning one is a process which should take some time. Think that the idea you choose will reflect in the final outcome of your design.

Be a good user yourself

You already know what does a UX designer do, but you might need to put yourself in the position of a user to understand exactly what your work means to regular people who are actually trying to find a product they enjoy using.

Once you have learned how to become a UX designer, all you have to do is start thinking like a user and find out what a person would want to see on a website or mobile app.

Manage testing sessions

Most problems with your UI/UX design will be exposed during testing sessions.

The usability of the design you developed must be tested in different sessions to see how people can interact with it. If everything goes right in these stages, you are ready to launch the design and track the reactions it gets.

Improving your UX design practices

Improve your overall communication skills

As mentioned before, learning how to communicate efficiently is part of being a good UX/UI designer.

Of course, you should know the technical terms used in UX design, but you shouldn’t bother your clients with them, as they don’t know what they mean or how important they are.

Use a language that is very friendly and makes clients understand what you mean. Don’t alienate your customers from the design you create. Instead, explain what you are doing in simpler terms. It is a highly-appreciated skill that not all UX designers have.

Rethink old creations

When you feel like you are out of ideas and you remember you had projects that went well, you can use that core idea but transform it according to the needs of another client. Analyze your previous work and see if the projects could help you in any way after that.

Seek the extraordinary

You understood how to become a UX designer, you tackled your first projects – all that’s left is to find a style of yours that recommend you instead of others. You need to think out of the box and avoid limiting yourself in any way.

Set goals for yourself as a UX designer

Setting goals is a practice that will allow you to advance in your career. Learn how to set challenging (but not overwhelming) goals for yourself and prioritize them above anything else.

The easiest way to achieve the goals you set is following these few principles: make the goals achievable, set deadlines that you respect, set reminders and reward yourself each time you reach one.

Seek the much-needed inspiration

UX/UI designers need to find their inspiration somewhere, and the best way to do it is by reading about the latest trends and trying new things. The design field and all of its subcategories are changing constantly, and it is a benefit you should take advantage of.

Keep your designs simple

You can’t fail by using simplicity, so whenever you feel like you can’t get around a project, stick with what is common and simple, but very responsive. These are the types of designs that never fail.

Ending thoughts on how to become a UX designer

You don’t need any degree to learn how to become a UX designer. You only need the time and motivation to do it, as well as some talent and passion for this industry. Follow the tips you found in this article and get to work.

If you enjoyed reading this article about how to become a UX designer, you should check out this one on affordance in web design.

We also wrote about a few related subjects like persona templates, UAT testing, User Interface design principles, web usability and UX designer portfolio.

The post How to become a UX designer: Tips and guidelines appeared first on Amelia WordPress Booking Plugin.

You might have already mastered all the UX design techniques and skills, but the question remains how you can demonstrate all your knowledge to potential clients. Experienced UX designers know that a flawless methodology and problem-solving proficiency have to be put on the spot. The easiest way to do that is by designing a UX designer portfolio.

The best portfolio websites for UX designers don’t show off what the designers can do. Instead, they focus on the process and illustrate the process of using design to solve people’s problems.

A UX portfolio can focus on the overall UX design or on one of its many fields and roles such as UX researcher, interaction designer, experience strategist, or information architect, and experience strategist. All of these roles are equally important and contribute in their own unique way to the design.

Table of Contents

Portfolio Questions Every UX Designer Has to Answer
– What Type of UX Designer Am I?
– What Do I Do in the Field of UX Design?
– What Are My Relevant UX-related Skills?
– How Do I Want to Use My UX Design Skills?

Show and Tell – Practical Design Tips for UX Portfolios
– Present the Design Process with Visual Simplicity
– Write Clear Project Summaries to Engage Portfolio Visitors
– Showcase Your Ability to Collaborate with Others
– Include ONLY Your Best Work
– Build Trust with Stakeholder Testimonials

Free Online Portfolio Websites To Create Perfect UX/UI Design Portfolios

Portfolio Questions Every UX Designer Has to Answer

There is a specific set of questions that every UX design portfolio should answer. When creating their UX portfolios, the designers should not try to present all of their work in one place. Instead, they should focus on the skills they possess, the process they use, and the kinds of projects they specialize in.

They should choose the projects that are recent, specific, and outstanding. The best UX portfolios present those projects as a process which means including the UX design steps from beginning to end.

That being said, every designer portfolio should answer a set of specific questions that the clients want to know the answers to.

When it comes to creating the best UX design portfolios, those questions are:

What Type of UX Designer Am I?

You might have worked on a lot of different projects in the past. You might have had several job titles and you even might have been mislabeled by them. However, when you decide to design portfolios, it’s time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Evaluate your skills, what you do, and how you do it. Uncover the patterns that are the foundation of your own way of problem-solving and build your UX designer identity. Then, of course, build your UI designer portfolio around that.

If you still aren’t sure how to get to the right answer to this question, here are some minor questions that might help you:

• What are the recurring steps of my UX design process?
• What methods do I use to conduct research, and what do I do with my findings?
• Are there problem-solving approaches that I value above others?
• How did I arrive at this point in my UX design career and what kind of relevant experience do I really have?

*Pro-tip: When you know the answers to all of these questions, try to summarize them in a single sentence and display it on your UX design portfolio homepage.

What Do I Do in the Field of UX Design?

Once you know exactly how your problem-solving process works, you should try and focus on the specifics of your UX designer identity.

Start by asking yourself these questions:

• Am I a UX researcher or designer?
• Am I a UX generalist? Can I switch between UX research and design easily?
• Am I a specialist? Is there a specific UX research or design task that I excel at that I should focus on?
• Do my skills reach into UI design and visual design?
• Do I have the ability, experience, and desire to manage a team of UX professionals?

Once you answer these questions, it will be easier for you to determine which projects to include in your UX designer website.

For example, if you see yourself as an interaction designer, your portfolio designs probably shouldn’t be built around the projects in the niche of ethnographic research.

What Are My Relevant UX-related Skills?

The best UX designer portfolio isn’t the one with a huge list of your relevant skills. It turns out that the visitors care very little about that.

If you really want to promote your UX design skills and abilities, you should do it by presenting the methods you use, the problems you have solved, and the overall design process. Let your projects be the lens through which you will put your strongest skills in the spotlight.

Start by asking yourself the following questions:

• What did I contribute to this project at each phase in the UX design process?
• What tools and techniques did I use to make these contributions?
• Did I create or help implement a strategy that had a major impact on the end product?
• Was I involved in early client talks or crafting the project proposal?
• Were there any major obstacles that required me to perform tasks outside of my normal area of expertise?

Don’t sell yourself short, but don’t oversell your skills either. Try to objectively evaluate your involvement in the past projects and focus on your contribution.

*Pro-tip: Some UX designers include a “Skills Used” summary for the projects they include in their UI designer portfolios. If you want to do this, keep in mind that listing too many skills isn’t as effective as highlighting the most important ones that fit within the overall framework of your UX design process.

How Do I Want to Use My UX Design Skills?

Envisioning the desired career path can be a difficult thing for a young UX designer. However, with each successful project, the idea becomes clearer. It is only a matter of experience for a designer to decide which path to take – and then include it in their best portfolio sites.

Through the UX designer portfolio examples that you decide to include in the design, you should tell your own UX designer story. Let the clients know about the kinds of projects and people you like to work with, as well as the industry you feel most comfortable with.

For example, if you a specific goal of becoming a user researcher for digital products that impact the world of collegiate sports, your portfolio should make it clear.

If you still aren’t sure where you stand on that, ask yourself the following question:

• What are the top two industries I’d like to work in?
• Do I have projects or past experience that will help me land a job in my preferred industry?
• What kind of working pace do I enjoy? Am I ok with long hours?
• Do I want to freelance? Work with startups? Land a corporate career?
• Is there an organization or cause that I want my work to impact?
• How much do I want to be paid?
• Where do I want to live? Do I want to work remotely?

It’s not easy to have clear answers to all these questions, but once you do, it will be much easier to focus on a clear goal. Take all these things into consideration and plan a UX career that aligns with your ambitions.

Show and Tell – Practical Design Tips for UX Portfolios

Good UX designer portfolio websites occupy the visitors’ attention. The best design portfolios, on the other hand, take advantage of every single pixel on the site to present the designer’s work in the best way.

One thing to always keep in mind is that you have to create a top-notch user experience. You are a designer and now you are designing your own website – and it has to be one of the best design portfolio websites you have ever seen.

Everything about your UX design portfolio has to say that you are an outstanding designer. With that in mind, portfolios like professional projects, and incorporate the following design tips:

Create Case Studies to Present your Design Process

Everybody loves a great UX case study, so why not create case studies for the clients you’ve worked with.

• Present your User Experience process in a clean and simple way. This includes sketches, wireframes, user journey maps, prototypes, and more.
• Avoid using complicated animations or unconventional page layouts because they can distract visitors from your work.
• It’s ok to show glamour shots of a final product, but keep in mind that the story behind the product is much more important. The clients want to understand the process that helped you get to the final products rather than just seeing the product itself.

High-Level Summaries to Engage Portfolio Visitors

• Write a clear summary of each project in your UX designer portfolio.
• Define the problem and present various solutions that were explored.
• Project summaries’ purpose is to explain in a simple manner how you delivered beneficial results.

Showcase Your Ability to Collaborate with Others

• It is useful to present examples of work where you worked well with other design and development professionals.
• Highlight your experience working with C-Suite (if you have any)
• If you’ve managed a product team or a group of remote workers, make note of it.

Include ONLY Your Best Work

• Take a good look at your work and discard everything that is less than excellent
• Self-editing can be very hard when you are a creative professional, but keep in mind that the visitors don’t need or want to see every project you’ve ever completed.
• Include the recent projects because your working style has probably changed over the years
• Show your best, and make sure there isn’t anything that contradicts your normal UX design process.

Build Trust with Stakeholder Testimonials

• One of the most useful things for designers to include in their UI designer portfolio is the stakeholder testimonials. A short 1-2 sentence testimonial can get you a long way as it inspires trust in potential If possible, include a headshot in every testimonial to gain additional credibility.
• Keep in mind that the testimonials you use have to be relevant to the kind of UX clients you want to attract.

Best UX Design Portfolio Ideas for Your Inspiration

Back in the day, having a simple resume was all it took to attract new clients. However, with the evolution of technology and with more and more people working online, every creative professional can benefit from having a cool portfolio website.

In recent years, UX design portfolios have played a key role for the designers in attracting new clients and applying for jobs. But where do you start and how do you create an outstanding UI UX designer portfolio? Let’s take a look at some of the best examples:

Alexander Kirov

Alexander is a full-stack product designer with years of experience in visual and interaction design, capable of crafting world-class products from scratch. He leads the design of software products and platforms that are used and loved by millions worldwide.

Adithya Holehonnur

This is another great example of a UX design portfolio. Adithya is a software engineer turned digital experience designer.

Zhiya

She is a product designer who combines the user-centric approach with strong and appealing visual designs to create a delightful and consistent experience.

Sahil Khoja

Sahil is a student at Cornell, previously a product design intern at Instagram.

Yannick Zanfack

Take a look at this UX design portfolio. Yannick is a Kleiner Perkins Design Fellow and a current Product Design Intern @ Nextdoor.

Matt Ward

Matt is a UI/UX Designer at TTI. He loves designing and tacos.

Tom Springal

Senior product designer with over 6 years of experience in digital design. Highly versatile with the ability to develop ideas and concepts into effective and practical design solutions.

Tiffany Wu

Tiffany Wu is a UX Designer passionate about bridging gaps between people and their goals.

Shao-Jo Lin

A product designer who blends strategy and design to create products and brands that are viable and desirable.

Sara Reich

Sara is a digital product designer. She is currently completing her senior year at Northeastern University. Check out her UX design portfolio.

Rosa Youn

Rosa is a UX/UI Designer merging digital + spatial design based in Toronto.

Niya Watkins

Niya is a freelance UX designer based in Washington, DC. She has a passion for creating user experiences that are seamless and impactful.

NAYOUNG HEO

Nayoung Heo (Na) is a visual designer from the Bay Area, California. She is a recent graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and currently works as a designer at Digital Kitchen. Her designs are characterized as complex, systematic, and playful.

Michael Noh

Michael is a visual and interaction designer. He appreciates the moments when technology and design sing in harmony. His UX designer portfolio is colorful and attention-grabbing.

Matthew Farmer

Matthew is a Visual Communication Design and Informatics student at UW Seattle.

Luke Guilford

Like is a designer based in Auckland, New Zealand. His practice is driven by the intersection of pure graphic design and its application to digital mediums.

Luciano Infanti

Luciano is a newbie UX Designer currently majoring in Economics at USP. He is a self-taught designer with infinite curiosity.

Kritika

Next up, the UX designer portfolio from an Interaction Designer and Illustrator from San Francisco. She just completed her Interaction Design Residency at Y Combinator Research. Previously, a design and a social entrepreneur at Konspire and Banana House.

Kristen DeGraff

Specializing in UX and Visual Design, she partners with strategic teams to turn challenges into sustainable user-centric solutions that elevate brand experiences.

Julia Chen

Julia Chen is a Product Designer in SF. Currently designing a more inclusive and adaptive way to learn at Cerego.

Jingwen Yang

Jingwen hopes to bring more desirable technology experiences to end-users and create value for organizations. She studied industrial design at Tongji University in Shanghai and dug deeper into design research and strategy at IIT Institute of Design in Chicago. 

Jess Design Tan

Jess is currently employed as a software engineer in PayPal.

Ismael Barry

He is a product designer passionate about serving people by solving their needs and understanding the gravity of those decisions as they impact our world.

Hyewonson

Hyewon is an impact-driven designer who cares about designing efficient and enjoyable products for users. Most recently, she was a UX Design intern at Google and had an amazing time building innovative features for enterprise customers.

Tim Householter

Tim is a versatile designer who loves to build identities, websites, & visual experiences.

Marko Cvijetic

Marko is a   Copenhagen-based designer specialized in branding, web design, and creative consulting. My goal is to help brands build authenticity, clarity, and purpose through design.

Hiroo Aoyama

Hiroo Aoyama is an incoming product design intern at Facebook.

Hau Yuan

Hau Yuan is a UX Design Intern at Google.

Hanshen Wang

Designer with a big heart for innovation and a delicate mind of craftspersonship. He is currently working at Michigan Medicine as a UX Designer for the Research Application and Advanced Computing unit. He will join the Next Generation Commerce team at PayPal as a full-time Product Designer in 2019.

Eric Ishii-Eckhardt

Designer and a leader building design systems, digital products, and intelligent experiences to guide brands into a customer-centric future.

Free Online Portfolio Websites to Create the Perfect UX/UI Design Portfolios

Behance (Free)

Behance is an open-source website used by millions of UX/UI designers who want to easily create great portfolio websites. Behance is intuitive and easy to use and it is one of the favorite websites for creating the best portfolios.

It is equally popular among UX designers, artists, photographers, as well as the interviewers, recruiters, and hiring managers searching for new talents. Some of the best UX portfolios have been created thanks to Behance.

Dribbble (Free)

Dribbble is another free online portfolio website popular among UX/UI designers and in many ways, it is similar to Behance.

With this website, you can easily create a free account and share small screenshots of your designing processes, design drafts, interactive prototypes, app design concepts, and more designs.

What makes this website special is that it was tailored specifically for the designers in order to help them present their work in the best way possible.

Coroflot

Coroflot may not be as famous as Behance and Dribbble, but that doesn’t mean that this website isn’t worth checking out.

With over 2 million images for over 150,000 creatives published, Coroflot is without a doubt a great platform for building amazing interaction design portfolios.

It has an amazing job board which is basically a platform specifically targeted for the hiring needs of companies, which makes it really stand out from the competition. So if you are searching for the best UX design, this one probably deserves a chance.

Adobe Portfolio (Free)

Adobe Portfolio is of the free tools included in paid Adobe Creative Cloud plans. It will help you create a beautiful product design portfolio quickly and easily while it also offers a free Creative Cloud subscription service.

In addition to that, since Adobe is one of the sponsors of Behance, Adobe Portfolio allows designers to synchronize design updates to Behance for free of charge.

Ending thoughts on making the best UX designer portfolio website

Every UX designer out there could benefit from having a well-designed UX designer portfolio. However, not everybody knows how to build one in a way that represents their work the best.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that the process needs to be kept at the forefront.

This way, the potential clients will have a better chance of understanding who you are as a designer and whether or not your work can help them solve their problems.

We hope that you enjoyed this article created by our team at Amelia, probably the best appointment scheduling plugin for WordPress.

You should check out this one on affordance in web design.

We also wrote about a few related subjects like how to become a UX designer, persona templates, UAT testing, User Interface design principles, and web usability.

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