The U.X.I. Live Israel Conference, which runs through Wednesday, is a localized gathering of experts on good user experience design and strategy. Topics to be covered include how easy or difficult it is for users to navigate websites or mobile apps, whether a design makes it possible to access features or makes it more difficult to do so, and how to plan designs to ensure accessibility at all levels of user engagement. “Unfortunately, and maybe surprisingly, there are still many people who haven’t heard the message: Site and app developers lose money without a design that enhances rather than interferes with the user experience. However, they may ensure more user engagement and revenues with the correct design,” according to user interface (U.I.) specialist Barak Danin, who is hosting the event.

According to Danin, bad U.I. is a significant issue in the tech industry. It’s not the defect of the users when they become annoyed trying to utilize an app; rather, it’s the fault of the software developers who neglected to consider the user experience. “This occurs because the majority of technology start-ups are led by technologists, who are considerably more focused on making features work than on how to showcase them. Up until a few years ago, U.I. was generally disregarded by huge corporations as well as start-ups.” According to Danin, HP, for instance, employed five employees in U.I. as recently as three years ago. As the business sector becomes more cognizant of what customers want, they now number around 40. According to Danin, a good user experience is crucial for a company’s success in addition to being beneficial to users. The U.I. expert, an Israeli pioneer in the industry who has led U.X.I. Live for four years, is in charge of a design firm that aids companies in upping their U.I. game. Pizza Hut Israel is one of Danin’s clients, and according to him, “before we got involved, their website was practically impossible to use.” For users to place a pizza order, the website required too many clicks, took a long time to load, and required them to enter their username and password multiple times. He said that when the website was “reformed” by Danin and his staff, sales there quickly increased by 40%. In addition to streamlining and rationalizing the ordering process, he continued, “We didn’t work any special magic.

Many businesses rely on Q.A. (quality assurance) teams to develop U.I. solutions, but Danin claimed the strategy is flawed. “Q.A. can only correct issues that are presented to it. Users may receive a workaround for a bug that prevents them from using certain services or features, but they will still probably need to click and push a lot to access the capabilities they desire. An effective user interface must be a fundamental component of every website or app. Hopefully, more businesses will realize this and simplify life for website and app consumers.

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