The Importance of Hiring a UI/UX Designer Early On

UI and UX are two of the most fashionable acronyms in the digital world. And sometimes, they're used interchangeably, even among professionals. So it's important to know what each acronym means and how they differ. 

On the other hand, UI design is more concerned with surface-level interactions and aesthetics. UI designers take the results of UX research and design beautiful screens that users will interact with. They may also be involved in testing to ensure that these interactions work as intended.

UX and UI aren't separate processes; they're just two parts of one whole user experience design process. Both are necessary for a product or feature to succeed, but each has its particular strengths.

UI/UX consists of 5 important components that make a website worth visiting or an app worth using. So let's know more about it. 

1. Usability

Usability refers to how easily users can interact with a product, service, or system. Usability encompasses all of the features that contribute to how easy it is to use a product and how pleasant the user's experience while using it is.

2. Information Architecture

Information architecture, or IA, is the structure of a website. It's how you organize everything—the navigation, search results, and menus. 

If your IA isn't intuitive, you'll have a much harder time convincing people to visit your site, let alone take the action you want them to take.

3. Interaction Design

Interaction Design is how the user will interact with the app/website. For example, how do you know what button to press on a website? It's all about exploring different ways to make something functional.

4. Wireframing

A wireframe is a low-fidelity sketch of what an interface will look like. Wireframing is the process of creating a prototype for your web page. It considers how the page should be organized, what buttons or tabs will be included, and even where ads might be placed. Wireframing allows you to visualize the final product before it is built and modify it.

5. Visual Design

Visual design is what your app/website looks like. This includes the color palette you choose, the fonts you use, and the way you layout elements on a page. Visual design is about making a product that's cohesive and welcoming. It feels like it belongs to the brand behind it.

In a nutshell — UI/UX is all about how the interface looks and how easy it is to navigate. The design of a website is crucial because it's the first thing your potential customers see. A poorly-designed website with buggy functionality will lose your business. Still, one that's streamlined and intuitive will help users navigate easily and find what they need—which keeps them on your site longer and makes them more likely to buy from you.

To ensure your brand's digital presence is as polished as possible, you'll want to hire a qualified user interface/user experience designer. So let's dive deep and know why you should hire UI/UX designer early on;

1. Brand Consistency

The more consistent your brand, the stronger your message. Consistency is one of the most important elements of branding. When your logo, colors, and messaging are consistent at all times, you communicate to your audience that you're serious about what you do. With a strong brand identity, you can attract new customers and build loyalty with existing customers. It's not just about pretty colors or a cool logo—it's about making sure that every time someone sees your brand online or off, they know it's you.
 
For example, suppose someone visits your website for the first time and finds an outdated layout with different fonts and colors than what's on your business cards or brochures. In that case, they will question whether you can be trusted to deliver on their needs. They may even second guess whether they've visited the right website! But suppose they see a well-designed website that matches your other branded material and delivers on their needs. In that case, they'll return again and again. As a result, they're more likely to trust you with their business, too.

2. UI & UX Make Your App & Website Easy To Navigate

The first step to building a successful app/website is to have a great idea—and the second is making sure it's easy for your users to navigate. This is where UI/UX comes into play. The goal is to make sure that your app/website is easy to use, which will allow you to reach more users and increase your business.
 
For a new app/website, it's important to plan out your UI/UX early in the development process. If you wait until later, it can be challenging to make adjustments without having to rebuild and redesign large parts of your app/website. By bringing in a UI/UX designer from the start, you can ensure that every aspect of your product comes together seamlessly. 
 
A designer will help create wireframes, prototypes, flowcharts, and other visuals so that you know what each feature will look like before development begins. Early on in this process, it's crucial for you and the designer to work together so that the app works for both the user and your business goals. After all, you want customers engaged by your product and driven by their positive experience to continue.

3. Boosts Your Conversion Rate & ROI

Look at it this way: we live in a time where people have nearly infinite options for everything they do online. Whether it's deciding which website to buy something from, which app to use for their next trip, or which blog post to read while they enjoy breakfast, they can find exactly what they want—which means that even minor annoyances can drive them away.
 
That means having an easy-to-navigate design is essential. The earlier you bring in a UI/UX designer, the better equipped they will be to handle any issues before they become bigger problems.
 
When a website is user-friendly and visually appealing, it makes the experience feel seamless. You can tell when you're dealing with a site that just works because you don't have to think about how to navigate—you intuitively know what to do. This is the result of UI/UX design, and it's one of the most important components of having a successful digital presence.
 
A good UI/UX design will boost your conversion rate and increase your return on investment. The more customers you have who can use your site without any issues, the more likely they will buy from you—and if they love your site, they'll come back. It's all about making the whole process as smooth and enjoyable as possible for users.

4. Get a Working Prototype Quicker

The sooner you hire UI/UX designer, the sooner you can start creating a working prototype. This is important because it means you can start getting feedback on the product or service sooner, which means your finished product will be ready for launch faster—and it also means that you'll avoid spending money on coding and design work that could end up being scrapped at a later stage of development.
 
A designer can help you pinpoint exactly which features are necessary to include to create an optimal user experience. They're also able to help you avoid including features that aren't needed. As a result, a good designer can trim the fat off of your project, both time and money, and keep things moving efficiently.
 
The bottom line is this: if you want to stay on schedule and within budget, hire UI/UX designer as soon as possible. They'll streamline the process so that your team can work more efficiently, with fewer errors and less wasted time.

5. UI & UX Designers Help Avoid Rabbit Holes

It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new project, especially if you've worked hard for it and are passionate about it. You might be tempted to start coding right away—but diving into the technical aspects before establishing a firm foundation can send you down a rabbit hole that will cost you time and money. In addition, when there's no thought given to the user's experience in what you're putting out there, problems arise—unclear navigation, an over-complicated checkout process, and so forth.
 
A UX/UI designer can help avoid those issues by focusing on your users' interactions with your product or service. They'll also help establish a look-and-feel that reflects your brand and supports your product from a visual perspective—colors, typography, etc. Without those things in place first, it's easy to spend hours working on something that may have little effect on the overall project.
 
Companies make a huge investment when they bring their products to market—why not avoid unnecessary expense by hiring a UI/UX designer who will help them see it through?

6. It Helps Sell Your Vision And Sign More Clients

When pitching your product to investors or potential clients, they need to visualize the end product and understand how it works. Your design team can help by creating prototypes and interactive demos to allow others to experience the product firsthand and get excited about using it themselves. Seeing is believing, so while you may have been in love with your vision since day one, getting a UI/UX designer involved early on will allow others to fall in love with it.
 
On top of this, having a designer work on creating mock-ups early on will also give you more confidence in presenting the concept yourself. After all, if someone else has already built prototypes and worked out some of the structure and flow of the app, it's easier for you to explain.

Conclusion

If you're building a product, include hiring a UI/UX designer in your product roadmap from day one. By bringing on board a UI/UX designer, you will ensure that your product has the best chance of being used by your actual target audience. The more interactive design work you get early in development, the more opportunity you'll have to build and iterate on new ideas and concepts. And the earlier, the better.
 
micro1 makes it easy for you to find the top 1% talent globally without long-term commitments or legal complications, starting at just $25/hour. All you need to do is let our experts at micro1 know what you're looking for, and we'll handle everything else. So, hire a remote UI/UX designer today through micro1 and get your product out of the gate with a lead in the market!