Hi all.
I am one of those designers who enjoys working on both websites and web apps. However, the two require different approaches, as I have mentioned before.
Product Design Demands High Attention to Detail
This difference is most clear in the attention to detail. Such detail is needed for a successful web application. The small interactions in a web app can make or break its success.
Small annoyances can become big irritations over time. However, equally, small delights can become missed when they are not present elsewhere. As Paul Papas from IBM put it, “the last best experience anyone has anywhere becomes the minimum expectation for the experience they want everywhere.” In other words, if you add compelling interactions to your web app, users rely on them. This builds loyalty and stops them from switching to competitors without that level of polish.
Let me give you some examples of the kind of thing I mean – small interactions that you become reliant on over time.
Most Apps Suck at Something as Basic as Adding a Link
Creating a link is a common action in a web app. Yet, in most apps, it’s a convoluted process. You have to select the text you want to link, then click a button or use a keyboard shortcut. After that, you have to paste in the URL you want to link to.
However, in apps like Notion or Slack, they have made it considerably easier. You simply select the text and paste the URL. It detects that you have a URL in the clipboard and so turns the selected text into a link, rather than replacing that text with the URL.
A small detail, but you quickly become reliant on it.
Date Pickers Are So Last Year
Another example is in the task management app Things. Instead of using a date picker to set a due date, you can type natural language like “tomorrow” or “next Monday.” The app will then parse and set the due date.
Autocomplete Text
Finally, there are apps like Gmail or Day One which automatically predict words as you type them, allowing you to hit tab to enter the completed word. This significantly speeds up typing, and you are left wondering why this isn’t available everywhere.
JotBot takes this to a new level. It uses AI to suggest whole paragraphs when you get stuck writing. This speeds up content creation and lets users focus on the higher-level aspects of their work.
A Genuine Competitive Advantage
These minor upgrades to the experience might seem like nice extras. But, once users get used to them, they become essential features. They set one application apart from another.
So, ask yourself, what enhancements can I add to the interfaces I create that people will miss if they lost them? How can I make my competition look clunky and frustrating in comparison? If you can do that, then user experience will become an indispensable part of your organization’s strategy.
