1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:03,330 Much of what we're talking about when we refer to usability 2 00:00:03,660 --> 00:00:06,600 is going to relate to a couple of concepts that many people 3 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:09,050 connect with websites and design. 4 00:00:09,510 --> 00:00:14,740 I'm talking about user experience, or UX, and user interface, UI. 5 00:00:15,410 --> 00:00:18,410 So let's define, once and for all, what the differences are 6 00:00:18,650 --> 00:00:21,270 between usability, UX, and UI, 7 00:00:21,270 --> 00:00:25,280 and in the end we should have a better idea how to improve all of them. 8 00:00:26,490 --> 00:00:30,060 A website user experience refers to the set of reactions 9 00:00:30,350 --> 00:00:33,570 that users have to their interaction with the entire site— 10 00:00:34,090 --> 00:00:36,600 from the beginning of their visit to the end. 11 00:00:37,140 --> 00:00:40,280 When the site first appears, the user has a reaction to it— 12 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,680 do they like it or dislike it? 13 00:00:43,290 --> 00:00:45,750 Are they confused, or immediately interested? 14 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,570 As they go through the site, does it work as expected? 15 00:00:50,090 --> 00:00:52,090 Do all the links go to the right places? 16 00:00:52,630 --> 00:00:57,500 Does everything appear to be in order, or is the user confused about where things are? 17 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:01,690 Is using this site making them happy and satisfied, 18 00:01:01,690 --> 00:01:03,750 or unhappy and dissatisfied? 19 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:08,350 The user experience refers to the reactions to everything— 20 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,530 from simply looking at the site to interacting with it. 21 00:01:13,100 --> 00:01:16,710 User interface refers to how users can interact with the site. 22 00:01:17,940 --> 00:01:20,500 If users are looking for something specific, they may look 23 00:01:20,500 --> 00:01:24,040 for menus or search boxes, or both to guide their way. 24 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:26,740 These elements are part of the interface, 25 00:01:26,740 --> 00:01:31,580 as well as order forms, carousels, sliders, and other things that you can click, 26 00:01:31,580 --> 00:01:35,270 drag, and mouse over to produce some kind of response. 27 00:01:35,930 --> 00:01:39,810 However, the content you produce can also serve as the interface. 28 00:01:40,470 --> 00:01:43,570 Take a site like Pinterest, where almost the entire view 29 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,870 is made up of images of content that users are sharing. 30 00:01:47,790 --> 00:01:52,390 Those images serve as the navigation that you click to find more information. 31 00:01:53,420 --> 00:01:57,150 We've talked about the experience users have and their interaction with the site, 32 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:02,570 well, finally, usability refers to how easy that interaction is. 33 00:02:03,260 --> 00:02:07,630 Were the menus you built for your site easy to read, understand, and manipulate? 34 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:10,370 Was the text easy to read and understand? 35 00:02:11,150 --> 00:02:15,120 Very often, usability issues can affect how well users find things, 36 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:17,640 like products and details, or their ability to 37 00:02:17,640 --> 00:02:21,020 complete forms to purchase things, or generate content. 38 00:02:21,870 --> 00:02:24,540 If any one of these interactions is not positive, 39 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,960 it means that a usability issue exists. 40 00:02:29,230 --> 00:02:32,100 Understand that the usability of every website is different 41 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:36,350 because the design, the content, and the users are all different, as well. 42 00:02:37,030 --> 00:02:40,280 One size does not fit all when designing sites and apps 43 00:02:40,430 --> 00:02:43,800 across various industries or for different clients. 44 00:02:44,730 --> 00:02:46,940 Now, if you can be proactive and do research, 45 00:02:47,390 --> 00:02:50,350 you'll be prepared to design a usable UI 46 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:53,390 that allows those users to succeed. 47 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:56,780 Whether it's adding a button with a perfect text link, 48 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:00,960 or designing an intuitive form so that users can order your product, 49 00:03:01,570 --> 00:03:07,100 a nicely designed user interface will contribute to a positive user experience. 50 00:03:08,750 --> 00:03:13,150 So, UX, UI, and usability aren't all the same thing, 51 00:03:13,550 --> 00:03:16,410 but they're certainly aspects of the same mission— 52 00:03:16,890 --> 00:03:18,990 to give users a positive experience 53 00:03:19,500 --> 00:03:22,900 through great, intuitive, and usable designs.