Designing an Effective User Interface - Part 1

The User Interface (which I will refer to as UI from here on in because I'm a lazy typer) is the way that a user interacts with a system, whether it be a terminal, an Operating System, an application or a website. It is the level of interaction between the human and the machine. There have been numerous success stories of amazingly good user interface designs, and there have been the downright awful...  This week we are going to have a quick look at some past UIs and what we can learn from them. Next week we'll look more at the actual design side.

First off let's take a look at some old school stuff.

This is a terminal interface, every computer in existence has one, Windows users might know it as "Command Prompt", it's a very simple text based interface that can actually do quite a lot when you learn how to use it properly. The thing is, nowadays, this is not used too often. It's main use is debugging and the average user will never ever see it. The main thing to take away from early terminal designs is the method in which users invoke the programs or functions they want to run. All of the commands are very simplistic and obvious (in the well designed ones at least) and it makes things a little bit easier on the user. That's it. That's the key. The user needs things to be easy.

The average user is not going to be the person who wrote the program, they are not going to be computer experts and are not going to know what you meant by your acronym. In order for your UI to be effective and appeal to the widest range of people it needs to be simple and effective, now this is actually pretty obvious isn't it? We're not discovering anything new here so let's look at a few more modern examples.

For years Microsoft had used the exact same UI in every iteration of its flagship software Windows. Then, out of nowhere, came this thing. Windows 8. Initially, everyone hated Windows 8. Admittedly a lot of people still do. But, to be honest the new look is quite capable and functional even with the huge change. Everything functions well together and I haven't had any major dramas with it thus far… But. (As always, there is a "but")The thing is, Windows 8 uses what is called the "Metro style" of UI. Those big pastel coloured buttons and tile like interface all make for what is honestly a very confusing user experience. From Windows XP, Vista and 7, upgrading to Windows 8 promises quite a steep learning curve. When you get it though, It is extremely easy to use, everything is literally "right there". Just type it in from the start menu and chances are it will appear. If not just change your wording slightly.

So what did we learn from Windows? Don't be afraid to break out of the norm. Try something new. If it looks like it will work then do some tests and go for it. There are a million and one ways interact with a machine, you can use the old mouse and keyboard, you can use touch, voice or on newer things you can even use your eyes. The possibilities are limitless.

The last example we'll look at is iOS. The primary thing coming out of Apple lately is its iPhone. In all honesty, I personally am not a fan, the settings and customisation is horrible and the one I had (for a very brief period) was slower than a rock. I will admit however, that's its interface is almost flawless. It is simplistic, easy to navigate and it is obvious what you need to do to progress through its features. As long as you don't want to do much more than read your messages and browse the Internet then the UI is amazing. The whole thing is image based and that is actually the thing to take away from Apples offering. The modern person does not like to read. We are a very visual society now and any information that can't be processed in less than five seconds generally isn't taken in at all. Images make something in the brain click as soon as the user sees them. Which means if you have well designed images then the user will know exactly how to traverse your UI.

That's it for this week. Stay tuned because next week we'll look more into how you can actually make sure your UI will be effective.

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SEO On The Modern Web

Why does any business have a website? To try and increase profits. Drive people to their products or services and increase the businesses potential client base.

The next question is this. How does a website do that if it can’t be found? It’s all well and good to give people the link to your website and get direct traffic that way but that only works with people you have already met and that means that you already have the potential to turn these people into clients. You don’t necessarily need the website (unless of course it is the only front for your business). In order for your business to grow online it needs to be found on Search Engines such as Google.

This is where SEO comes in. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process which your website is augmented in the best way for Search Engines to find it. If your website is higher up the list on Google then it is far more likely that potential customers will go to your website. Obviously being first is ideal and nowadays if you aren’t on the first page then you don’t really have a hope of being “the chosen one” by potential customers.

SEO used to be a game. Web Developers would use meta tags to give the site the best keywords that seem to be trending at the time, they would hide different headings and give pictures sneaky ‘alt’ tags, all in the hope that it would increase the all important page ranking. However, as with everything related to the internet, SEO changed very rapidly.

There are a few ways to get your website to first position in Google, the first and easiest? Pay for it. There are companies that will guarantee your place on Search Engines for the small price of a few thousand dollars per month. That being said, as soon as you stop paying? Your site drops back into the depths of page 2 and beyond. Without paying extortionate amounts there are a few things that can increase your page ranking and therefore your website traffic.

Firstly, you need to find out what people would search for. What are people looking for when you want your site to pop up? If you have a plumping business and you just put your website online then you don’t want it appearing when people are looking for electricians. This is where some market research comes in handy. After you know your main keywords you can start with that. Use the keywords within the site, make sure they are part of headings, put them in the alt tags of images. Spam those words (reasonably) throughout your site. But that’s all old techniques, you knew that bit right?

Modern search engines use reliability as a major factor for page rankings. The main thing that determines reliability on the internet is back-links. The amount of other websites that link to your website shows that your site is trustworthy and well established.

The next point (that actually goes hand in hand with the one above) is social media. Make a Facebook page for your business, make an Instagram, make a Twitter account, put your business in all of the local business directories online. Make sure your website link is on each of these pages. This provides some back-links that you desperately need but it also makes your website look more legitimate. Just don’t forget to keep these social medias active. Which brings us to the next point.

You have to keep your website updated. Most search engines analyse how often a website is updated and this has a major influence on your sites ranking. If a website is regularly active it will appear to be more trustworthy and maintained. It will also make sure that the content on the website is up to date and consistent with current trends, which is extremely important and this has a lot of weight in your websites ranking.

The last point is the most difficult. Traffic. You need people to visit your website in order to get higher up on the page listing. If your traffic comes from different sources then it helps more. Try to make sure that the entry points are from a variety of search keywords. It is a bit conflicting but you do need to drive traffic to your website before your website and its page ranking will generate traffic for you.

The main thing is time, you can choose to pay thousands of dollars and get your number one rank straight away or you can use some simple techniques and a little bit of patience to achieve the same result.

Till next time

Alec.