Your app needs an overhaul. The user interface is outdated and clunky and needs to be redesigned. And doing it right will take time, talent, and other resources that all add up to money. This is why a lot of companies are reluctant to update their designs. They see what it will cost them to do so and immediately run for the hills.
But like anything else your company spends money on, UI redesign is an investment. And UI, in particular, is one of the most important and potentially profitable ones. It’s estimated that every dollar spent on UI redesign can yield between ten and a hundred dollars in revenue. Let’s take a look at the importance of UI to your profits and how you can maximize your ROI.
Why UI redesign is a good investment
UI is all about how users interface with your app, or your website, or your product. So an investment in UI is, essentially, an investment in your customers. You’re making things easier or better for them and improving their overall experience while interacting with your brand. This ultimately leads to more customers, more sales, and higher sales values.
Poor UI design causes frustration and even resentment as customers try to use it. The more difficult it is for them to use, the less time they’ll want to spend on your app. By improving it, you can get them to spend more time interacting with your brand. The more they interact with your brand, the more they’ll end up spending. And once the transaction is complete, they’ll also be more likely to return in the future.
UI redesign goals
Of course, there’s always the possibility that your redesign will only succeed in making things worse, or try to “fix” things that weren’t broken in the first place. So how do you make sure you’re truly on the road to improvement? It helps to have goals. Here’s what you should strive for.
- Usability: What are customers looking for when they go to your site or app? How long does it take them to find it? It should be simple to navigate, with the most important and popular features (search for products, add products to cart, etc.) clearly labeled and easy to find at a glance.
- Intuitiveness: In many ways, this is a continuation of usability. Is your app easy to use? Or is there a learning curve? If customers have to be taught a whole new set of skills and steps in order to interact with your brand, it can end up being a turn-off. Stick to what they know and are familiar with, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.
- Brand perception: This one tends to get overlooked when it comes to UI redesign, but it’s perhaps the most important of all. What do people think of your company and products after interacting with your app? If it’s not up to date, they may think you’re behind the times, unable to keep up, or even irrelevant or obsolete. If it’s difficult to navigate, they may think you’re incompetent at what you do—or worse yet, that you’re deliberately making things confusing, to force them to spend more time on your site. These kinds of perceptions damage customers’ overall trust in you and your brand. Your redesign should be focused on improving their perception and maintaining that trust.
Your UI is one of the most important things you can invest in. To get it right takes a solid commitment of time and resources. But the return on investment when you finally get it right is potentially huge. It leads to more customers, better sales, and a much stronger bottom line. In the end, you can’t afford not to invest in UI redesign.
