Design

Designing for Accessibility: Tips and Best Practices

In today’s digital age, designing for accessibility is more important than ever. With over a billion people living with some form of disability, it’s crucial to ensure that websites and digital products are accessible to everyone. 

Designing for accessibility is not only the right thing to do, it’s also good for business. By creating a website that is accessible to all users, you can reach a wider audience and improve the user experience for everyone. So whether you’re designing a new website or updating an existing one, make sure to prioritize accessibility in your design process.

Some giants, like H&M, PayPal, or Linkedin, are introducing one feature to boost accessibility after another, hoping the strike the AAA score (the highest level of accessibility). And similar to how we follow these brands in terms of design and tendencies, here it’s even wiser to follow their example. So in this article, we’ll explore some tips and best practices for designing for accessibility.

Make your website or digital product keyboard accessible

Not all users can use a mouse, so it’s essential to make sure your website or digital product can be navigated using a keyboard. Keyboard navigation is crucial for users with motor disabilities, and it’s also helpful for users who prefer to navigate uniquely using their keyboard.

Keyboard navigation can be implemented by ensuring that all interactive elements can be accessed via the Tab key. Users should be able to navigate through links, buttons, and form fields using this way. Additionally, check that your website or digital product has clear visual focus indicators to help users understand where they are on the page.

Use proper color contrast

Many users with visual impairments have trouble distinguishing between colors, so the proper color contrast in your design really matters. This means using a combination of colors that are easy to distinguish and have a high level of contrast.

One way to obtain proper color contrast is to use a tool like WebAIM’s Color Contrast Checker. It allows you to check the contrast ratio of two colors and make sure they meet accessibility standards. WCAG 2.1 AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.

Use alt tags for images

Images on a website or digital product are often meaningless for users with visual impairments. That’s why it’s important to use alt tags for images, which provide a text description of the image. Screen readers can read the alt tags aloud, allowing users to understand the content.

When writing alt tags, do your best to be descriptive and provide as much detail as possible. Avoid using phrases like “image of” or “picture of,” as these don’t give much information. Instead, describe what’s in the image and what it conveys.

Make your content easy to read

Readable content is essential for all users, but it’s especially important for users with cognitive or learning disabilities. That’s why you are recommended to use a font that is easy to read, with a large enough size and appropriate line spacing. Additionally, avoid using long paragraphs and use headings and bullet points to break up the content.

The font you choose should be easy to read and not too stylized. Sans serif fonts like Arial and Verdana are a good choice, as they are clean and easy to read. Avoid using decorative fonts, as they can be hard to read, especially for users with dyslexia.

Headings and bullet points are a great way to structurize your content and make it more scannable. Make the headings clear and descriptive so they help users understand the structure of the content. Also, ensure the bullet points present information clearly and concisely.

Ensure your website is compatible with assistive technology

Many users with disabilities rely on assistive technology, e.g., screen readers or speech recognition software, to navigate websites and digital services. 

The easiest way to ensure compatibility with assistive technology is by using semantic HTML. Semantic HTML uses tags to convey the meaning of the content, making it easier for screen readers to understand. 

We’ve talked with The Designest team, who runs a blog for the professional design community, and asked what they find crucial for website accessibility. Here are some tips and best practices they suggest:

  1. Provide alternative text for images. Screen readers and other assistive technologies rely on alt text to describe images to users who cannot see them. Make sure to provide alt text for all images on your website.
  2. Use clear and concise language. Let it be plain and avoid jargon or complex sentences/words that may be difficult for some users to understand.
  3. Ensure that all interactive elements, like buttons and links, are keyboard-accessible. Users should be able to navigate and interact with your website using only their keyboard. 
  4. Provide clear and consistent navigation. That’s how the users can easily find what they are searching for. 
  5. Use color with care. It’s important to ensure it remains accessible to users with difficulty perceiving certain hues. Use a high-contrast color scheme and avoid relying solely on color to convey information.
  6. Test your website with assistive technologies. 

In addition to the recommendations above, designers can do several other things to make their websites and digital products more accessible.

Use of multimedia

Videos and audio content can be particularly challenging for users with hearing impairments. To make multimedia content more accessible, consider adding closed captioning and transcripts for videos and audio content. Closed captioning provides a text version of the audio content, while transcripts provide a written version. 

Web forms on websites

Web forms can be particularly challenging for users with visual impairments, motor disabilities, and cognitive or learning disabilities. To make them more accessible, ensure they are easy to navigate using a keyboard and provide clear and concise instructions for each field. Additionally, you might consider using labels and placeholders to provide context for each field.

Featured image by Elizabeth Woolner on Unsplash

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Top Whiteboard Animation Software

Marketers have been using whiteboard videos for a long time. The first ever whiteboard videos were created by recording an actual hand drawing on a whiteboard. Over the years, brands added animation to whiteboard videos to make them more engaging. 

Animated whiteboard videos are one of the most effective ways of explaining your product or services. These videos combine animation, characters, and voiceover on a white background, creatively presenting ideas and stories.

The popularity of whiteboard animation videos resulted in the launch of many amazing whiteboard animation softwares. This software enables brands to create professional whiteboard videos quickly and affordably. 

Video editing software is an excellent idea for creating videos independently. 

Here we have brought you a list of the most popular software for creating whiteboard animated videos. 

Let’s get started.

Top Whiteboard Animation Software in 2022

Mango Animate

Mango Animate lets users create complex messages into an engaging whiteboard explainer video. With exceptional tools and an easy-to-use dashboard, the animation is easier for beginners. Users can leverage the pro version features and make the best videos with a one-time fee.

Features of Mango Animate

  • Customized templates.
  • User-friendly dashboard to seamlessly create whiteboard explainers.
  • Live animation effect.
  • Library of hands with various sizes and gestures.
  • Caption and audio features.
  • Three output options are provided: online video, offline video, and Gif.

Pricing

One-time payment of $39

VideoScribe

What makes VideoScribe popular among video editors is its stunning features. It is an easy-to-use software with pre-built templates for professionals and beginners. 

For example, one can drag and drop animation to create engaging whiteboard videos within a few minutes.

Features of VideoScribe Whiteboard Animation 

  • Library of over 11k images and Gifs
  • Choose from a wide range of pens, erasers, and drawing hands.
  • Innovative features like effects, move-in fade-in with an automatic draw when hit play.
  • Over 190 royalty-free tracks and voice-over recording
  • Canvas sizes for every occasion

Pricing

The monthly Plan starts at $20.65/month

Annual Plan at $10/ month

Team Plan (Quote based)

Explaindio

Explaindio is a great tool for creating explainer videos without any technical expertise. The software allows videos for ads, social media, and animated explainers for YouTube in the easiest way possible.

Features of Explaindio

  • Ideal for professional-looking whiteboard animation and 2D and 3D animated videos.
  • Premade voice-overs.
  • Multiple editing features.
  • Royalty-free stock images.
  • Unlimited images and animated graphics for paid members.

Pricing:

Monthly Plan – $37/month

Annual Plan – $67/month

One-time Plan – $497

My Simple Show

Mysimpleshow lets users create unique whiteboard animations within a few minutes. The tool makes a complex topic simple and empowers beginners to create professional videos.

Features of MySimpleShow

  • Step-by-step video creation assistance for beginners.
  • Users can upload a pre-designed PowerPoint file.
  • Templates and auto-sync voice recording.
  • Easy distribution of files across channels.
  • Intelligent explainer engine

Pricing

Premium Fun Plan – $5.99/month

Business Plan – $129/month

Pro Plan – $499/month

RenderForest

Created by an Armenia-based company, RenderForest is among the most used video editing software for professionals and beginners. With dozens of video examples and a template library creating whiteboard animation videos is easy and fast.

Features of RenderForest

  • Graphic logo design.
  • Tools to build websites.
  • Undo and redo options.
  • Music recommendations.
  • New scene suggestions while creating videos.
  • AI-based video creation dashboard.

Pricing

Free Plan with limited features

Lite – $11/ Month

Pro – $18/ Month

Business – $20/ Month

Animaker

Animaker is one of the rapidly growing software in video editing and marketing, with more than 9 million users across the world. From 2D drawings to commercial videos, it delivers impressive results for startups and brands.

Features of Animaker

  • Simple drag and drop builder
  • Animated character creator
  • 100M+ Stock Videos and Photos
  • Upload and Edit Videos at 4K Video quality
  • Instant resizing for social media

Pricing

Basic- $10/month

Starter – $19/month

Pro- $49/month

Doodly

If you search for the best whiteboard animation software in 2022, Doodly will be among the top 5 names that industry experts suggest. The easy drag-and-drop option allows users to sit back and let the software draw animated videos.

Features of Doodly

  • 1000+ custom-drawn images.
  • Drag & Drop button using the Smart draw technology.
  • Royalty-free music.
  • Whiteboard, green board, glass board, and blackboard images.
  • Various human and cartoon hand styles.

Pricing

    Standard – $39/month

    Enterprise– $69/month

Vyond

Vyond allows users to create animated characters as per video context. From workplaces to casual environments, whiteboard animations are easy for hundreds of settings. The company has over 12 million registered users all across the world.

Features of Vyond

  • Create MP4s or animated GIFs for social media with a click.
  • Customization for characters and environments.
  • Simple and easy-to-understand interface.
  • Royalty-free audio files.

Pricing

Essential – $49/Month

Premium – $89/Month

Professional – $549/Month

Enterprise- Customized

Camtasia

If you are looking for professional whiteboard animation software, Camtasia is the best option. Powered by TechSmith, the Camtasia tool offers an excellent layout for beginners and professional video editors. 

Features of Camtasia

  • Royalty-free images and music tracks.
  • Built-in animation for logos, text, and graphics.
  • Multiple timelines and preview window for editing.
  • Instant access to frequently used tools and projects.
  • Easy transitions and animation.

Pricing

Along with the free trial, the entire software costs around $270 as a one-time fee.

You might have to pay for upgrades for additional features.

Biteable

Whether for a presentation or a landing page, Biteable has the most incredible user interface, allowing for the creation of whiteboard animation. From beginners to professionals, users can use its easy-to-understand features and create error-free explainers within a few minutes.

Features of Biteable

  • Premade templates for different environments and needs.
  • Built-in elements & effects .
  • Choose the purpose option before creating videos (Sales, social media, and presentation)

Pricing

Biteable Free – Free Download

Ultimate Plan – $49 / Month 

Teams – $249/ Month

Easy Sketch Pro

Easy Sketch allows making whiteboard explainers, animated whiteboards, and Doodle videos for all users without any technical experience. The Doodle videos created within the software make the explainers look more appealing in no time.

Features of Easy Sketch Pro

  • Easy to create full HD videos.
  • Built-in music library.
  • Real-time doodles.
  • Video analytic tool.

Pricing

The Plan starts at $37.

Moovly 

Moovly is one of the most trusted whiteboard animation software in 2022. Web-based software offers excellent customer support, pre-built templates, and transitions at no additional charge. It is a highly optimized tool providing video creation services to millions of people.

Features of Moovly

  • HD quality videos.
  • Provides timestamped in-video feedback and video collaboration for the projects.
  • Has over 1 million video assets.
  • All features could be used with just one click.
  • Works well with Chrome or Firefox.
  • Broadcast videos straight to YouTube, Vimeo, and other platforms.

Pricing 

Free sign-up with limited features

Pro Plan – $49/month

Max Plan – $99/month

Enterprise- Customized

Final Words

Whiteboard animated videos are a need for every brand’s video marketing strategy in 2022. These videos are known for being professional, engaging, and educational at the same time. Whiteboard videos can efficiently explain products and services and motivate customers to purchase within minutes. All it takes is great software and production team to back up the video.  

These were the top 12 software to choose from. Based on the features, pricing, and quality, select any software and produce professional videos for video marketing or presentation.

Featured image by Rostislav Uzunov

The post Top Whiteboard Animation Software appeared first on noupe.


Why is Rebranding Important?

Logo designing is important, you cannot give a face to your brand unless you have designed an authentic logo for your brand. It is important to have brand recognition, and you cannot have it unless you have designed an attractive and relatable logo for your brand. Logo designing is one essential part of the whole branding, without any effective branding you cannot really create a brand and develop a brand for your organization. It is time to conduct an activity for you, give your mind a rest, and think of every brand that you can think of? You may have KFC, McDonald’s, NIKE, or Apple in your mind. One of the main reasons why these are the only brands that we had in our heads is because their logos are pretty much etched in our minds.

Rebranding a logo is a bold step, not many brands go for it as they fear they might get forgotten by their audience. This is the legit concern and an entirely new logo for a brand can result in people forgetting them. However, the small changes in the logo can go a long way, people do notice small changes and make a whole new image and picture of the brand in their mind. However, the main question arises, when is the perfect time to rebrand your logo? When do we know it is the time, we should do it? As we have to make sure we are not making any hasty decisions and doing everything smartly.

When Should We Rebrand the Logo?

The answer is you can never be 100% sure that your decision of rebranding is going to work, there are always some concerns and risks that are going to be with your brand. However, there are some instances that tell you it might be the time for you to bring some changes to your brand, or revisit your overall brand strategy. The rebranding includes a whole lot more things than just a logo, it includes your color, your aura, the message you are sending, or changing your brand strategies as well.

Reasons to Rebrand Your Brand

In case you are still confused as to at what stage you think you should go for rebranding, here we are to make things much easier for you. You can choose the one that suits your brand the most and get onto it.

1. Difference in Brand Perception

This is one of the most famous types of problems that most organizations face and most times they do not even recognize it as a problem. Organizations launch their brands and services, without devising any strong brand strategy, something that can go with their target audience perfectly. 

No matter how good the flow of sales is with time their overall brand personality is changed and is perceived differently. Whatever your initial brand strategy, corporate image, or personality was, your audience perceives it differently, it is shaped according to their own experience, and this is where the problem comes. Not realizing what your brand needs and how its personality should be at the initial stage is the problem. However, if you realize this problem midway you can do rebranding to establish a new image of your brand in the market.

2. Target Market is Undefined

One of the biggest mistakes that most organizations make is they do not realize their target market, they do not define them and then later fail to market them effectively. Saying “we target everybody out there” is such a lazy statement. You need to make sure your target market is properly defined, there has to be a proper strategy behind it with reasoning. When your target market is defined, you cannot know who you are communicating to? Or what your audience really needs from your brand.

You are a brand and your job is to please your customers either with your service or the product that you are offering. In order to develop a connection with your audience, you have to make sure you know the audience that you are catering to. Get out of your comfort zone and be ready to make sacrifices to please your audience. 

There is a constant change in your audience, therefore keeping a tab on them and knowing them is one important factor. When you think you are losing that touch and connection with your audience, you have to start building it or maybe to build it you can start with rebranding. 

3. Brand Losing Relevance

When you think your brand is losing its relevance and you need a big upgrade it is time to rebrand your whole brand. Many known and catchy brands have done this scheme and have effectively done it. Tiffany & Co. is the perfect example of it, they did not only change their target audience but also change the resonance they had with their customers. 

One of the main recognition points of Tifanny & Co. is its blue color, initially; it was more focused on the older women like mothers and the older sisters. Today, the target audience is young people buying jewelry. However, they did not make any substantial changes to their brand, but whatever changes they brought to the brand they were quite bold. 

4. Change in the Product/Service

This is one pretty obvious stage, when you have changed your whole brand or whatever you are offering you have got to change the branding as well. What is the point of having a logo showing you are a pasta place when you are now introducing pizza and other Italian cuisines as well? It means you are misguiding your audience and providing them with incomplete information. When you are providing new experiences to the customers you have to make sure your brand is communicating it too. 

When you have a strong brand strategy you define and explain that the new space is important and vital. Your brand should rebrand itself and show the change that you have brought in your strategies through your branding. 

How many successful rebranding stories are you aware of? 

Featured Image by Brad Neathery on Unsplash

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The Pros and Cons of Paid Advertising vs Organic Marketing

Marketing is a crucial component of any business, and in today’s digital age, there are more avenues than ever to connect with your intended audience. 

Two of the most common marketing techniques are paid advertising and organic marketing. While both can be part of a strong marketing plan that aims to enhance brand visibility, generate leads, and prompt sales, they possess distinct dissimilarities that companies must take into account when selecting which method to utilize. 

This article will weigh the advantages and disadvantages of paid advertising versus organic marketing and highlight the differences between the two methods to empower businesses to make an informed decision on which if not both, approach to adopt.

What is Paid Advertising?

Paid advertising refers to marketing where companies pay to showcase their advertisements on various platforms, including search engines, social media, or other websites. 

There are various types of paid advertising, such as pay-per-click (PPC), display ads, social media ads, and sponsored content. Typically, paid advertising helps businesses reach a broad audience quickly, as they can target their advertisements to particular demographics, interests, and behaviors. 

By purchasing ad space, businesses have more control over ad placement and can frequently see immediate outcomes.

Pros of Paid Advertising

  • Fast results: Paid advertising can produce fast outcomes, particularly when compared to organic marketing approaches. Once ads are set up and launched, businesses can begin seeing traffic, leads, and conversions promptly.
  • Targeting control: Paid advertising enables businesses to control who sees their ads by targeting specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. This can help ensure that the ad reaches the right people and increases engagement.
  • Measurable return on investment (ROI): Paid advertising allows businesses to track and measure the effectiveness of their ads, enabling them to see precisely how much they’re spending and the kind of ROI they’re receiving. This can assist businesses in making data-driven decisions regarding their advertising strategies.

Cons of Pair Advertising

  • High expense: One of the primary disadvantages of paid advertising is its cost, primarily for businesses with smaller budgets. The cost of advertising varies depending on the platform, targeting options, and competition, and businesses need to be ready to invest a significant amount of money to see substantial results.
  • Ad fatigue possibility: Paid advertising can be successful at first, but businesses may suffer from ad fatigue if they don’t refresh their ads or target new audiences. This implies that individuals get exhausted from seeing the same ad over and over again and may begin to ignore it.
  • Limited trust: Some people may be skeptical of paid advertising, particularly if they feel like they’re being targeted too aggressively. Furthermore, some people may automatically block ads or use ad-blockers, making it more difficult for businesses to reach their target audience.

What is Organic Marketing?

Organic marketing is a marketing strategy where businesses attract and engage their target audience through creating valuable content and optimizing their website for search engines without paying for ad space. 

Unlike paid advertising, organic marketing relies on building relationships and establishing thought leadership over time to increase brand awareness and drive conversions.

Pros of Organic Marketing

  • Cost-effective: One of the most significant benefits of organic marketing is that it is often more cost-effective than paid advertising since businesses do not have to pay for ad space or clicks.
  • Builds trust and credibility: By creating high-quality content and establishing thought leadership, businesses can build trust and credibility with their target audience, resulting in long-term benefits.
  • Long-term results: Although organic marketing may take longer to see results than paid advertising, the benefits can be longer-lasting. Evergreen content and a strong online presence can continue to attract and engage customers over time.

Cons of Organic Marketing

  • Slower results: Unlike paid advertising, which can deliver immediate results, organic marketing can take longer to see results since it relies on building relationships and creating valuable content over time.
  • Requires consistent effort: Organic marketing requires consistent effort and ongoing investment, such as creating high-quality content, optimizing websites for search engines, and engaging with the audience on social media.
  • Less control over targeting: Unlike paid advertising, businesses have less control over who sees their content, meaning they may need to invest more time and resources in attracting the right audience to their website or social media pages.

Comparison of Paid Advertising vs Organic Marketing:

As two of the most commonly known forms of digital marketing, businesses commonly use paid advertising and organic marketing to reach potential customers and grow their business. While each strategy has its own advantages and disadvantages, deciding between them ultimately depends on a business’s specific goals and budget.

Cost-effectiveness

Organic marketing has an advantage in cost-effectiveness over paid advertising. Businesses can create and distribute valuable content at no cost, aside from the time and resources invested in creating the content. 

In contrast, paid advertising requires a significant upfront monetary investment.

Measurable ROI

Both paid advertising and organic marketing can provide measurable ROI that allow businesses to make more data-driven decisions, but the metrics used to measure success may differ. 

With paid advertising, businesses can track clicks, conversions, and other key performance indicators. With organic marketing, businesses may rely on metrics like website traffic, engagement rates, and lead generation.

Speed of results

Paid advertising has a clear advantage in speed of results over organic marketing. Businesses can see results almost immediately after launching their campaigns, while organic marketing can take months or even years to see significant results.

Control over targeting

Paid advertising has a clear advantage in control over targeting compared to organic marketing. Businesses can target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors to ensure their ads are seen by the right people. 

With organic marketing, businesses have less control over who sees their content and may need to invest more time and resources to attract the right audience.

Trust and credibility

Organic marketing has a clear advantage in building trust and credibility compared to paid advertising. Over time, businesses can establish thought leadership and build relationships with potential customers, leading to greater trust and credibility. Customers may view ads as intrusive and may be less likely to trust the message being presented.

Which is better for your business goals and budget?

Ultimately, the choice between paid advertising and organic marketing depends on a business’s specific goals and budget. 

If the goal is to see immediate results and the budget allows for a significant investment upfront, paid advertising may be the best option. If the goal is to build long-term relationships with potential customers and the budget is limited, organic marketing may be the best option.

For example, for an online course business that requires substantial upfront costs, it may be a better option to build build a long-term relationship with your audience and save yourself the additional costs of paid marketing.

However, each business must assess its unique needs and goals to determine the best strategy.

Conclusion

To sum up, paid advertising and organic marketing both have their own advantages and disadvantages. Paid advertising offers immediate results and precise targeting, but can be costly and may not build trust and credibility. Organic marketing is a more cost-effective and sustainable approach to building relationships and establishing thought leadership but may take longer to see significant results.

When deciding between these two strategies, businesses should consider their goals, budget, and target audience. Both approaches can be effective when used strategically and in alignment with the business’s overall marketing objectives. Ultimately, the best choice for a business depends on its unique needs and goals.

By carefully weighing the pros and cons of each approach, businesses can make an informed decision that will help them achieve their marketing goals and drive long-term growth.

Image by talha khalil from Pixabay

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A Practical Guide to UX Strategy and Agile Website Development

With multiple changes in trends and user preferences, organizations are constantly revamping their websites with a better UX strategy. However, it is not an easy task considering the majority of organizations use agile methodologies.

It is a prominent argument that UX strategy doesn’t go hand in hand with agile methodology. Also to pull it off, it is important to understand what a UX strategy and agile development are in essence, their associated problems, the importance of incorporation, and key points to make them compatible.

Therefore without any delay, let’s try to sort out this problem for app design companies.

What is a UX Strategy?

For applications today, it is important to be user-centric. A UX or user experience is the overall experience a user feels while using a service or product created by an organization. With a UX strategy, the idea is to create an overall improved user experience that creates more engagement, user retention, and is easy to use.

To further extrapolate, it is a systematic process of further enhancing the user experience for an application or a service.

There are primarily three components of a UX strategy. These are

  • Intention behind the strategy
  • Requirements, goals, and ROIs
  • Associated plan

Implications of not having a UX Strategy!

Failing to have a UX strategy for the development process can lead to the following problems:

  • It can affect the profitability of the organization
  • It means that the organization doesn’t have a better understanding of its user base.
  • The organization will lack a long-term competitive advantage.
  • The organization can suffer in terms of retention and engagement.

What is an Agile Website Development?

There are prominently seven types of SDLCs (Software Development Life Cycles). Agile development is amongst the most popular ones used today. 

Due to consistent requirements for feature changes and software requirements in the existing projects, the requirement of agile development came into existence.

It takes the help of cross-functional teams for continuous development and aggregation of new code modules. 

Agile development is based on the following factors:

  • Proper control of tools and resources.
  • Collaboration should be based on customer requirements.
  • Active response to incident change instead of a firm plan.

It comprises four factors primarily which are:

  • Discover
  • Design
  • Develop
  • Test

The overall idea behind the agile development process is the continuous integration of elements with ease.

Problem Associated with the Implementation of Agile Methodology along with a UX Strategy!

The problem associated with agile development is that it is a very developer-centric approach. The moment a particular requirement is fulfilled from the backend side, the team moves to another task. However, the realm of designing is very subjective and can often take a lot more time & resources than expected. It is because different perception leads to different perspectives.

This particular problem creates a lot of confusion for app designing companies and increases the toll on them in terms of workload. Another major problem is the higher adoption of agile methodologies for website development. It is considering the flexible nature of the implementation methodology. Therefore, a lot of organizations try to figure out ways to handle UX strategy along with the agile methodology effectively.

Importance of including a UX Strategy and Agile Website Development

While agile methodology predominantly focuses on the backend side of things, majorly the factors that distinguish the two websites are the UI/UX part. Design is a much more important aspect than a lot of people might think it would be.

It is because primarily the user requires an excellent design and navigable elements to interact with the backend services. Therefore without a great UX strategy creating a sustainable experience is not possible. Also with the inclusion of agile methodology, the task of finding a way to make the UX strategy work with agile development becomes much more important.

How to incorporate UX Strategy with Agile Website Development?

Incorporating a UX Strategy into agile website development is a complicated process. However, nothing is impossible and this can also be pulled off.

To make that happen, below are the key points:

  • Focus on Customer Satisfaction: Call it clients or customers, the major reason behind a methodology such as agile is to gratify customers. For instance, there are multiple applications today that incorporate a new element every week. However, the teams make sure that the design elements meet the overall theme of the project, otherwise, it is not released.
  • Support for UX Strategists: The feedback received by the designing teams can often be subjective and open to interpretation. For instance, sometimes the responses to a particular design can be like “It’s Good Enough”, “It’s Fine”, “Looks Decent”, etc. Also, another variable is that the process doesn’t always run parallel to the backend process. Therefore, the intention behind the support should be to help minimize the pending backlog instead of dragging it along the way. A clear explanation of what is expected and some freedom for the UX strategist can create wonders.
  • Consistency: Maintain consistency with the overall design elements. Make sure that the design elements hit a particular benchmark and below that the design itself should be unacceptable to the designer itself.
  • Focus on Use Case or Workflow: Each & every workflow and use case is unique and it can vary from organization to organization. It is because each organization follows its own unique process based on its values, goals, and vision. It often creates a contrast and makes every design element unique for each organization. The idea is to learn about the workflow and create a UX experience that is easily navigable by the user.
  • Leave room for improvement: The overall agile methodology adopted by the organization should always leave room for improvements on the way. A tightly packed process doesn’t leave any extra time for incoming issues. This creates a collision of deadlines and further confusion with the process.
  • Engage with every service: Most services that are created by the team are treated as MVPs. For instance, if the team is done with a service then they won’t consider further updation of the process for enhancement. Keeping some room for this process too would help in overall integrating the UX strategy.

Wrapping Up!

The capability to pull off a great UX strategy with agile methodology is truly a boon for multiple app design companies. It is one of the major impediment that people on the design team faces. By focusing on the key points mentioned above, any organization can create a great user-centric website. Yet implementing these points would require an organization-wide transition from their routine work to these strategies. Therefore, it is not just the factors but the effectiveness of the way they are integrated that truly matters.

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