What is UX research?

UX research

UX is the experience of a person when using a product or service, such as a website. It includes all aspects of the interaction between a user and a product or service, including the design, usability, accessibility, and emotional impact.

In that case, User Experience research is a process that examines how people interact with products and services in order to create more effective and enjoyable user experiences. It involves the study of user behavior in order to understand how people interact with products and services, and the factors that influence their decisions and preferences. This research helps to identify areas of improvement in order to increase the effectiveness of an interface and make the user experience more intuitive and satisfying.

The different types of research

There are two main types of user research:

• quantitative (which can be calculated and computed; focuses on numbers and mathematical calculations);
• qualitative (which is concerned with descriptions, which can be observed but cannot be computed).

The first one, quantitative research, is to quantify the problem by generating numerical data or data that can be converted into useful statistics. Online surveys, paper surveys, mobile surveys, kiosk surveys, longitudinal studies, website interceptors, online polls, and systematic observations are some of the most common data collection methods. Tools that are useful in this case are primarily Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Optimize for A/B testing.

Observations are the basis of qualitative user research. The goal is to understand people’s beliefs and practices for themselves. Methods include contextual observation, ethnographic studies, interviews, field studies, and moderated usability tests.

You should, however, conduct user research depending on the type of site, system, or app you are developing, your timeline, and your environment.

Methods

1. Card sorting;
2. contextual interviews;
3. first click testing;
4. focus groups;
5. heuristic evaluation;
6. interviews;
7. parallel design;
8. personas;
9. prototyping;
10. surveys;
11. usability scale (SUS);
12. task analysis;
13. usability testing;
14. use cases.

The benefits of conducting UX research

• By conducting UX research, you can identify user needs and wants, uncover issues with the current product, and create an overall more user-friendly experience.
• It helps you understand your user’s experience and can be used to create a better product.
• Good research helps you stay ahead of the competition.
• You can avoid costly design mistakes and miscommunications between stakeholders
• Additionally, by focusing on usability, you can make sure that your product is easy to use and appealing to customers. This can be a great way to increase customer loyalty and repeat visits.

How to incorporate UX research into your website design process?

Define your goals

But before you can start conducting UX research, you must first define your goals. What is it that you are trying to achieve with your website? Are you looking to increase user engagement? Generate leads? Improve usability? By having a clear set of objectives in mind, you will be able to choose the right research methods to help you reach your goals.

Identify your target users

Gathering this data will help you create personas that accurately reflect your target audience, enabling you to create a customized user experience tailored to their specific needs. Additionally, it’s important to think about who your users are not. Understanding who you don’t want to target will also help you determine how best to reach out to those users who are actually interested in your services.

Choose the right research method

Above, you have learned about the types of UX research and the methods it uses. Depending on the collected data and in the context of the nature of your website, you must decide on the most optimal solution – do not choose everything, because it will be a waste of time and energy. Different research techniques can be used to uncover different insights, so it’s important to understand which method will provide the most helpful results.

Analyze your data

To analyze the data gathered from UX research, you need to take a step back and look at it holistically. Start by looking at the big picture and understanding the overall trends in the data. Are there any recurring themes? Is there something about the user experience that stands out?

Next, break down the data into individual elements. Look for patterns within each element, such as which pages or features are most popular, or what type of content users are engaging with. From this, you can start to see where your website or product can be improved.

Finally, use the data to develop hypotheses about user behavior. What could be causing certain trends or behaviors? How could you change the website or product to improve user experience?

Implement your findings

Now, it is time to start implementing your findings. It is important to remember that UX research should never be seen as a one-time exercise, but rather an ongoing process. Alternatively, you may want to go for a more comprehensive approach. If your research revealed that users had a hard time navigating the site, you may want to completely revamp the navigation. This may involve restructuring menus and reorganizing content in order to make the site easier to navigate.

Before making any changes, it is important to run tests on the new design.

Test prototype

Testing prototypes is an essential part of the UX research process. It helps designers understand how users interact with the prototype, how they think and feel about it, and what features or changes would be most beneficial. This type of research provides valuable insights that can inform product decisions and improve the overall user experience.

When conducting prototyping tests, it’s important to choose the right participants. For example, you might target users with specific demographic characteristics or specific usage patterns. Additionally, you should clearly define what you’re testing and why. Finally, it’s important to plan out the testing process to ensure that all areas of the prototype are evaluated.

Summary

By making UX research part of your website design process, you can ensure that your website is optimized for user satisfaction. With the right data and analysis, you can make meaningful improvements that will help your website stand out from the crowd.