If you—like myself and the rest of the Integrity team—have been on the front lines of digital since the web’s inception 20 years ago, then you know the demand for world-class user experiences is greater than ever.
Today’s consumers are looking for more than just a stand-out logo or a catchy slogan. They’re looking for an outstanding experience, whether it’s in a store or on the web. We remind our clients all the time that their user experience, or UX, is their brand.
When it comes to building an effective, delightful online experience for a client’s users, we always use a model foundationally aligned with the three core disciplines of our agency: content, code and design.
The UX is the overall experience of a person using a product such as a website or computer application, especially in terms of how easy or pleasing it is to use. Content, code and design work together to create this “overall experience.”
If you’ve ever landed on a website or used an app and found that it just didn’t feel right, odds are one of these three pillars was subpar. The UX issues resulting from poorly executed content, code or design are easily identified, even by inexperienced users. Where a good UX might be subjective, a bad UX is painfully obvious.
My team and I have often seen our clients overlook this pillar. It’s easy to forget about when you’re focusing on creating a beautiful design or writing flawless code. But bad content stands out.Users will notice ineffective or poorly written content regardless of how lovely the design and functionality are.
Here are just a few ways content and UX are directly related:
A good design provides a delightful backdrop for the information a web product seeks to provide its users. A bad design, on the other had, can distract or frustrate users, making it harder for them to find the information they need—and thus making them less likely to interact with your brand again in the future. When I talk about poor visual design. I don’t just mean an overused color. Poor visual design comes in many forms, all of which negatively impact the UX:
When evaluating design, it’s always safe to adhere to Dieter Ram’s Ten Principles of Good Design.
Fully acknowledging that code has a deep relationship with the server and network, code structure and quality critically impacts user experience. Broken code and related errors create a very frustrating user experience that also causes the user to distrust the site or app.Although the primary complaint of most users remains slow download speeds, Google has identified the following as the most common HTTP error messages:
Code issues are often the most obvious, especially those that return errors. However, when looking under the hood, highly optimised and super clean code can dramatically improve the user experience.
Integrity has formally organised itself around the three disciplines of content, design and code.For every project, we assign a lead from each of the three disciplines. These individuals serve as the core leadership team for every engagement and are responsible for advocating for their area of expertise. They operate as peers, so nobody can supersede anybody else.By empowering these three leads—each with a separate domain craftsmanship of content, design or development—we’re able to help our clients provide an exceptional overall experience for their online users.
If you—like myself and the rest of the Integrity team—have been on the front lines of digital since the web’s inception 20 years ago, then you know the demand for world-class user experiences is greater than ever.
Today’s consumers are looking for more than just a stand-out logo or a catchy slogan. They’re looking for an outstanding experience, whether it’s in a store or on the web. We remind our clients all the time that their user experience, or UX, is their brand.
When it comes to building an effective, delightful online experience for a client’s users, we always use a model foundationally aligned with the three core disciplines of our agency: content, code and design.
The UX is the overall experience of a person using a product such as a website or computer application, especially in terms of how easy or pleasing it is to use. Content, code and design work together to create this “overall experience.”
If you’ve ever landed on a website or used an app and found that it just didn’t feel right, odds are one of these three pillars was subpar. The UX issues resulting from poorly executed content, code or design are easily identified, even by inexperienced users. Where a good UX might be subjective, a bad UX is painfully obvious.
My team and I have often seen our clients overlook this pillar. It’s easy to forget about when you’re focusing on creating a beautiful design or writing flawless code. But bad content stands out.Users will notice ineffective or poorly written content regardless of how lovely the design and functionality are.
Here are just a few ways content and UX are directly related:
A good design provides a delightful backdrop for the information a web product seeks to provide its users. A bad design, on the other had, can distract or frustrate users, making it harder for them to find the information they need—and thus making them less likely to interact with your brand again in the future. When I talk about poor visual design. I don’t just mean an overused color. Poor visual design comes in many forms, all of which negatively impact the UX:
When evaluating design, it’s always safe to adhere to Dieter Ram’s Ten Principles of Good Design.
Fully acknowledging that code has a deep relationship with the server and network, code structure and quality critically impacts user experience. Broken code and related errors create a very frustrating user experience that also causes the user to distrust the site or app.Although the primary complaint of most users remains slow download speeds, Google has identified the following as the most common HTTP error messages:
Code issues are often the most obvious, especially those that return errors. However, when looking under the hood, highly optimised and super clean code can dramatically improve the user experience.
Integrity has formally organised itself around the three disciplines of content, design and code.For every project, we assign a lead from each of the three disciplines. These individuals serve as the core leadership team for every engagement and are responsible for advocating for their area of expertise. They operate as peers, so nobody can supersede anybody else.By empowering these three leads—each with a separate domain craftsmanship of content, design or development—we’re able to help our clients provide an exceptional overall experience for their online users.
Ed is an industry expert in applying creative, user-centered design and development principles to help businesses extend their brands online and better connect with consumers, employees, partners and investors.Ed’s passion for technology, creativity and user experience design has powered his 20-year track record of building and selling businesses, launching products and opening markets for both startups and Fortune 1000s.