Why Simplicity Matters For Your Website & App

In the next few years, we, as a web design Singapore company, think that there will be an ongoing trend to simplify the user interface (UI) of websites and apps. As technology gets more sophisticated, there is a need to make new technology friendlier and more human.
We live in a world full of information and it is tempting to complicate interface with loads of options. We, as users, want to save time and focus on other matters. So a complicated and messy interface will cause us to spend more time trying to figure how it works. Also, slow animations and a few more taps/clicks to get what we need are considered irritating to us. We are always short of time and if the interface can reduce the number of decisions we have to make every day will definitely improve our quality of life. Let us explain in greater detail how simplicity can improve user experience (UX).
Simplicity Matters
One good example is the digital wallet system. By introducing credit cards, we no longer need to carry around so much cash and to count our change. We can even use credit cards to shop online. It was definitely a game changer in the past.
However, they did not stop there and went on to introduce contactless payment system. Now, you don’t even have to take out your credit card to make payment. The point of sale (POS) terminal can detect your credit card in close proximity. Google and Apple further simplify this process by allowing us to use our phones as the credit card to make payment. This is how simplicity can make our daily life more pleasant and saves time.
So how does this relate to UX/UI of website and app?
Online Payment Forms
No one likes to fill in address and credit card number again and again for every purchase. We think in the next few years, most e-commerce platform will be able to pay online in just a few clicks/taps without filling any forms. You might have heard of Visa Checkout, MasterPass, Paypal’s One Touch and Apple Pay. These payment methods’ goal is to provide convenience and make the checkout process faster with one simple click/tap.
Registration Forms
Likewise for signing up a new account on a website or an app, we do not want to keep filling up our particulars again and again. We also do not want to memorize all the different passwords for every account. We already have abundant information on our social media profiles and with a click/tap, we can allow the website or app to collect from there. Moreover, we do not even need to enter a new password for that account. The use of social media integration simplifies this process and certainly improve the user experience. We think that eventually all websites and apps will implement social media integration for their registration forms.
Contextual Content
By learning about each user’s behavior on the website or app, we are able to guess what the user wants. It can be based on the time and situation when users interact with it. This is where artificial intelligence plays an important role. Google has always been a big player in this by showing you ads that they think you might like based on your search and browsing history. Also, in the latest Apple WWDC 2017 keynote, Siri has become more predictive across different iOS apps. For e-commerce sites and apps, it is already possible to track the purchase and viewing history of their customers. We think that companies will start exploring on how to tap into these data to provide a more tailored user experience for their customers.
The Takeaway
There is no doubt that most users prefer simplistic UI. But with the increasing complexity in technology, it is not that simple to create one. It requires thorough consideration and refinement over years of research, based on a massive amount of data, and its success hinges on a huge chunk of complicated algorithms.
For startups, you might not be able to create the next revolutionary UI but you can start by designing your website or app with the users in mind. By refining and simplifying your UI, you can have a positive impact on your users and, perhaps, improve people’s life quality.