I think a really important issue when it comes to online UX design education, designing and the design space in general is that design teams themselves are often not diverse. Because of this, I’ve had several experiences when working with design teams where people are designing products and experiences, and they continue to forget about communities of color.

When you think of how many AI-enabled products come out and are unable to detect dark skin, it tells you that throughout the design-thinking process, there was probably no UX or UI researcher, designer or strategist who was a person of color who thought, “We should also be testing folks of color to see how they would interact with this product.”

The Need for Diversity in Imagery

Another thing I think people should be mindful of when designing is imagery and branding—especially when designing an app or a website. A lot of times, for communities of color, we go on a website, and we don’t see ourselves on that website at all. There is no one who thought, “We should diversify our imagery so that people can see themselves in this product.” That absence is something that can also be alienating. It goes against the root of what UX and UI design are: the ability to be empathetic.

The Need for Self-Examination and Reflection

I think that the root of the problem is really the fact that there is a lack of work done within the design space. People need the ability to look at themselves and examine the unconscious biases they have. I think that’s something that needs to be implemented within the design-thinking process in addition to having diverse teams. We want to ensure that the products that we’re coming out with are truly equitable and inclusive.

Frequently, we have these different designs that are coming out. The service, product or experience is not actually effective because the design team is not taking into consideration the actual problem space itself that may be specifically harming communities of color or other marginalized communities. It is not solving the real solution because the act of delving deeper into the nature of the problem was missing from the entire design-thinking process.

The Critical Role of Background Research

In order to make sure that we are really thinking about the full context when it comes to defining the problem space, especially when it comes to working with Black, Indigenous, and communities of color, I always like to stress the importance of first doing background research. What is the historical context? What institutional or interpersonal practices and policies have impacted these communities? This research can be done through currently published journals.

Another essential practice is intentionally connecting with community experts who have a strong sense of what the problem space is. Being able to have that context and not go into defining a problem with a colorblind mentality is really critical when it comes to determining the actual problem.

Why is it necessary to first build the skeleton of your website using wireframing? One reason is that we expect all websites to conform to a certain standard. Maybe, the menu bar is always on the top left, and the search magnifying glass is always on the top right.
If you disrupt this, you also disrupt how the user navigates your site. You don’t want to deviate from how everyone uses a website because it becomes frustrating for the customer. By conforming to existing standards on your site, you make it easier for your customers to navigate your site and buy your products.
Wireframing is a process that we use at the beginning when designing a website. A wireframe is a stripped-down version of your website design in which you focus less on what the site looks like and more on what the user experience will be. You can use it to sketch out ideas quickly and share them to make sure that everyone agrees. If you need to make changes, you can easily update the wireframes because they are low fidelity and don’t contain minor details.
You can use wireframes during the design phase to share ideas instantaneously with project stakeholders. If you want to share your site design with friends and get feedback before going into details, wireframes are a great idea. Wireframes help you move expeditiously, confirm that the user experience is pleasing, and generate actionable ideas. They affirm that you’re designing the right thing before investing a ton of time in a detailed design.

What is it that makes e-tail design meaningful? It’s about how you use images and how you place them so that the customer who visits your site understands what you want them to feel and do. How do you want them to interact with your brand? Think of e-tail design as the flagship of your company. Even if you were only on an e-commerce platform, it’s still the flagship of your brand because everyone has access to it.
So, how do you use images to evoke a feeling? What types of images do you want to have? Even if it’s only a single shot of the product, that shot of the product needs to be so beautifully done that it compels the buyer to click and transact with you. Or, if you want to use people, how does your image represent how your brand views the community as a whole or to your shoppers? So, it’s really important how you think about the image.
The next thing is to understand how you want those images placed on the page. One important aspect you’ll learn about is the symmetry and balance of the actual website pages. How do you want the customer to navigate through each page? Do you want your customer to view an ad campaign upon their first visit to your website? Do you want to ask them for their email from the moment they click on your website?
You really have to think about the design of what your e-tail business will look like. All these factors play important roles to ensure your success.

Designing your website and the written content thereon is extremely important for the success of your ecommerce business.
When a customer buys from you online, they don’t really have a reason to trust you, especially if they’re a first-time buyer. With the visual content on your website, the language you use, and the content you produce, you can create a sense of trust to make it easier for customers to make the leap to buy from you.
So, what is the importance of content design as compared to the actual text on your ecommerce website? Understand that writing is essential to ecommerce. People tend to emphasize the visual content, especially if they work with design a lot. Visual content is important, but you can’t forget about writing.
Where you place the text depends on how easy it is for someone to quickly get information or not. One of the biggest components is knowing when to put more text on a page, but not too much.
If the images are center stage, you might have less text to keep the webpage from crowding or looking too busy. You might need to develop a separate webpage where there’s more text about the product that the customer needs to know.
You don’t have to hire a bunch of specialists to write everything for you. Consciously think about what you write, where you put it, and how it represents your products on your e-commerce store, as well as on social media and any other place where you put your content.
You also want to make sure there are no spelling mistakes or inconsistencies. If these items exist in your content, it can subconsciously create a feeling in your customers that your ecommerce website cannot be trusted. Having another person read and review your content can catch some of these items for you.

When it comes to the brand Islam, it’s important to keep in mind that the brand is not necessarily just the visuals. Really, it’s the entire feeling that you get when you deal with the company. This is typically the way that brands strive to present themselves.

When you’re designing a website, an app or a product, you’re often subconsciously creating something that is an extension of the brand it’s under. Because of this, you have to be keeping in mind what that brand stands for and how that brand wants to be represented. You also have to consider how the brand wants to communicate with users, and all of these things go into creating a continuation of that brand in a digital format.

Let’s say you’re working with a brand that’s relatively quiet or minimalist. In this case, you want to ensure that what you’re designing carries on that same kind of feeling. Whereas if you’re working with a brand that’s louder and more boisterous, you’ll want to ensure the design feels more like that instead. Basically, you want to be sure that what you’re designing fits what the brand is trying to do and communicates in the same way that the brand chooses to communicate with its users and other formats.

To learn more about having your design appropriately match the brand, as well as many other concepts involving UI, UX, UI design and UX design, consider trying out online UX design education. This way, you can access valuable lessons and information without needing the same level of available time and resources that you’d need for an in-person education.

The Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) method is relatively new. It’s both a theory about consumer actions and a set of tools that you can use to help you figure out why someone is using your product. You can trace its roots to marketing.

Jobs-To-Be-Done History

The primary story that’s told about JTBD is that there were two researchers who were trying to improve sales of milkshakes. They basically had customer segmentation down, but they still couldn’t figure out how to improve sales.

As we often see in UX design, they tried an observational and feedback approach. They went into stores and watched people use and buy milkshakes. They figured out that people were buying milkshakes as a breakfast item that would help them during their commute. A milkshake would conveniently fit in one hand as they were driving to work or other locations.

It was an “aha moment” for these marketers because they realized that it’s not really your age that contributes to why you buy milkshakes… it’s your situation.

Online UX Design Education

As these marketers discovered, you can learn a great deal about user experiences during your UX studies, whether you’re working on an early UI design, UI prototype or merely trying to better understand a target market, by using a Jobs-To-Be-Done perspective. You merely need to find out more information about the job or task that members of a target market believe a particular product can complete for them.

There’s a little trick out there that many of us have used; using a different email address to get an extra discount or promo and then cancel it.
There’s something to be learned in that.
First and foremost, people love discounts. But, in reality, they want to feel like the brand is caring for them. So, the discount is more than 10% off. It’s more about this idea of “Hey, we want you to shop with us and we’re willing to give you a discount if you’re willing to spend some time with us”.
That’s an important consideration. However, that also belies the fact that we’ve become more and more product-driven.
Another way to be able to do this is through the use of loyalty programs. Now, loyalty programs are extremely important among Millennials and Gen Z shoppers. One of the reasons for that is creating a community.
So, if you have developed a loyalty program or are thinking about doing so, give your customers something back when they purchase. You’ll also be able to quickly reach out to a customer through a loyalty platform program and say “Hey, this is still in your cart. Do you want to pass this transaction?” or “just so you know, the item that you have in your cart is now 10% off because you’re a loyalty member”.
So, there are these ways that you can go about to able to get people back into a cart that they may have abandoned.

The more technology grows and the more access we have-the more content we may add to a website. Previously, if you added too much content to your site, it would bog down the whole thing. It would be sluggish and slow. With quicker streaming, you have the opportunity to add plenty of new tools to communicate with your customers.

We can now add a video that gives us a 360-degree view. Perhaps have a woman spin in the dress so you can see how the fabric moves on her body, which will help you make the emotional connection you’re looking for.

However, the more individualized it becomes, the more interesting it becomes. As a result, we’re beginning to see the potential to make a digital version of you and see yourself wearing that clothing.

Because it’s simple, we’re starting to see it on a large scale with companies like Warby Parker and glasses. Capturing your face and putting on glasses isn’t difficult. Clothing is a little more challenging, but we’re getting close, and some exciting advancements are happening.

This allows you to see yourself in the clothing as if you were standing in front of a mirror inside the store. That, I believe, will be a game-changer. If anything, one thing I’ve noticed is that fashion moves at a breakneck speed, but in fact, we’re just going back to square one. We’re returning to a time when everything can be hyper-personalized. We can get a product and see a product that’s just for us. Technology allows us to do so in a way that we never imagined.

Buy online, pick up in-store, commonly known as BOPIS in the e-commerce industry, is a crucial digital sales offering. It gives a consumer the option to purchase goods online and choose a unique alternative shipping option. Instead of the seller shipping the purchased item directly to the shopper’s house, they’ll send it to one of their physical storefronts nearby. After the item arrives, the consumer receives a notification that they can pick it up.

Experts say that BOPIS is a powerful tool in the modern sales arsenal. It’s useful for creating an omnichannel that merges online commerce with traditional in-store shopping. This is in line with how most of today’s consumers prefer to do their buying. Even better, offering BOPIS options could help retailers build loyalty among consumer segments still getting into online shopping. Although some of these consumers were once apprehensive about e-commerce, the pandemic forced them to adapt to the trend for lack of alternatives.

Some retailers, such as those in the luxury space, have devoted heightened focus and effort to improving their convenience offerings. The idea is to make typical shopping journeys seamless and easy for consumers.

BOPIS can contribute to these goals. Imagine that a consumer knows they’d prefer not to have a particular item shipped to their home. For instance, they might not be around when an expensive package would arrive. Or, the consumer might want to visit the storefront for another reason, such as if they need to return a different item.

With BOPIS, a shopper could solve all of these problems at once by buying an item online and handling their other errands when they go pick it up. This is also a viable choice for those who like shopping at stores that are on their route to work or school. Wherever a consumer’s motivation lies, BOPIS can ease their shopping process.

Let’s take a closer look as to why abandoned cart series are an integral part of winning back sales and increasing conversions for ecommerce companies.
56 to 60% of all abandoned carts come directly from shipping costs. Realistically for abandoned carts, you’re only going to recover 20% of these back if you’re aggressive.

What is your shipping strategy? How is that affecting your abandoned cart? If you’re seeing your conversion rates are low, keep in mind conversion rates are 2-2.2% across e-commerce. So, if your abandoned carts are 3, 4, or 5%, suddenly, that’s a lot of your sales.

That’s a lot of what’s affecting conversion. That’s a lot of money being left on the table. Even the best brands that are aggressive and have great automated abandoned cart recovery programs, you’re only going to see 17%-18% of those abandoned carts collected.

It’s always going to be a challenge. However, it’s something that you can front-load the work.

For example, you can automate an email marketing series. Where five minutes or 5 hours after you abandon the cart, you get an email saying, “Hey, it looks like you forgot to checkout.”

The next day, you get another reminder, “Looks like you forgot to check out! We know life’s busy. Come on back, here’s a link to your cart.”

That third day, send them another one, “Hey, you know things happen, I can’t hold this forever. Come back in 24 hours and here’s 10% off.”

But really, there’s a cliff after that. After about 72 hours, they’re gone. They’ve moved on. They’re on with their life.

You have to have a strategy in place right away. It needs to kind of fire in rapid succession in those first 48-72 hours, if you want any chance of recovering these.