Some organizations and businesses provide good user experiences and some don’t. Many times, it seems that entities whose websites and apps we have to use, like government, utilities, and medical sites, often perform the poorest. Good design leads to better business performance and is worth the time and money required to improve user experience in government, utilities, finance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and travel.
Government
Government websites have a reputation for being out-of-date and difficult to use. The sites are often cluttered and slow to load, with multiple page applications that need to be filled out to access government services like applying for licenses.
An example of the importance of a good user experience on government websites is the recent changes to unemployment eligibility during the COVID pandemic. The federal government declared that freelance workers were eligible for unemployment, but when people tried to apply they were met with applications that didn’t reflect freelance work and were difficult to complete.
Utilities
While paperless utility bills and automatic payment plans are convenient, utility companies often have websites that are difficult to use. Pages full of small text and confusing organization can make it difficult to find some information, like the monthly statement. In some areas, utility companies compete with each other, and this has led to better user experience to attract customers.
Finance
While most user experience is judged on how easy a website or mobile app is to use, financial institutions are a unique case. Banking and investment apps often need to add “friction, ” a term that refers to slowing transactions to give users a chance to think about their decisions or ask for help. To make sure that transactions are clear and misunderstandings are kept to a minimum, extensive user testing should be done before a product is launched. Create a detailed and comprehensive FAQ list and provide a chat feature or phone number so that users can ask for more information before making important decisions.
Healthcare
Healthcare websites are notoriously difficult to use. Because of the enormous amount of information that needs to be entered, doctors and nurses often spend more time on data entry than they do on direct patient care. Compounding this issue is the fact that medical software tends to be very difficult to set up, and alerts are sometimes unclear, which can lead to serious health consequences for patients.
A further problem is the necessity to comply with regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Another issue with medical software is the age of the hardware it is run on. Updating the computers in the office is not often high on the list of a small medical practice.
Pharmaceuticals
Customers are used to watching advertisements on television or online for various drugs. Toward the end of the ad, the narrator lists a string of side effects in a rapid tempo that can be very difficult to parse. On websites, the warnings are often too small to read. Good UX for pharmaceutical companies should include text in fonts that are large enough to read easily, good information architecture, and content that puts users at ease.
Travel
Travel websites and apps ranked second from the bottom in a UX performance index by iProspect. Websites are often full of photos of beautiful settings that take a long time to load. There are also multiple pages to move through as users compare prices and times for flights, hotels, and car rentals, and then make the final booking decisions. One way around these issues is to load some information very quickly. This gives users a sense that something is happening rather than leaving them to stare at a blank screen. Prioritize what information needs to be on a page and what can be moved elsewhere.
Making Improvements
Promoting an environment that is friendly to UX design can help improve the user experience. Reducing clutter on web pages, simplifying language, and using clear information architecture with headings and bullet points will go a long way to making the digital platforms of these industries much easier to use.
User research can go a long way to improve the experience in these industries. Test systems to determine what works and what doesn’t. Determine who the audience is and what they want to do. Prototyping, user testing, and iterative learning can uncover many problems. Putting users at the center of product development will improve website performance and increase profits in some cases.
Where to Learn UX/UI Design
If you would like to learn more about UX/UI design to switch to a new career, one of the best ways to do that is to sign up for classes. You can choose classes that meet in-person or online. Some people prefer to attend brick-and-mortar sessions when learning new information, but that isn’t always available. Live online classes have a similar set-up with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and take control of your monitor—with permission—to show you how to do things. Training is part or full-time and available weekdays, weeknights, or weekends.
The best way to prepare for a career shift to a field like UX/UI design is to enroll in a bootcamp or certificate program. These are intensive training courses that run from a few weeks to a few months and another plus of training is that you will leave class with a professional-quality portfolio that you can show to prospective employers.
Conclusion
It’s easy to learn UX design and start a new career. Check out Noble Desktop’s UX design classes or visual design classes. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online UX/UI design coursesand attend from anywhere. Use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me to find other UX/UI design bootcamps in your area.