Sean Fallon

My mind has been set on this for a few days now, realizing that there should never really be a “standard” to UX design, since that standard is ever changing. Not only that, but if you aren’t ever changing, then the standard actually hurts the Users Experience. This may sound obvious, but really think about it for a second.

The users experience should be unique, captivating, yet simple enough to provide an excellent experience, right? Well the only way to do that is to really dig deep into not only personas, but also your creative understanding. Let’s take a web portal SaaS product as an example: Users want to update their information, quickly and concise, but also want to be able to know exactly what was done. With a SaaS, it would be foolish to have a simple, “Thank you! Your information has been updated.” Now this of course is obvious. We would want to redirect the user back to their account so they can feel comfortable knowing that they just confirmed their update.

But what if we took that a step further? What if we made their experience seem not only simple and reassuring, but also captivating? I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to say, “Sean, this is just a SaaS website, how can updating information on their subscription feel captivating?” Let me explain in just a few simple words: connecting emotion and interface.

Sounds a little strange, but probably not. Sure a great looking design is great, but why not connect the users emotion to a form of joy? Okay, here’s an idea. SaaS websites have these really simple setups, why not include something like a point system, and every time a user subscribes with their account, points are added, not only that - these points build up, and of course people will always associate receiving points as a form of currency. So every month 15 points are added to their account, and these points are used to purchase something, like one free month subscription, or maybe a small prize of some sort.

   This will connect the user, to the SaaS and the overall product. I think facebook and gaming companies are a perfect example of this.In doing this, the user gains a full experience. Anyone can be happy, but it takes a real application to bring joy to a user.

Hey Everyone! It’s been a little while since I’ve been on tumblr, but I wanted to show everyone a little of what I’ve been working on. I’ve finally been able to piece together my UI/UX design portfolio. Check it out! Tell me what you think. :)

My Portfolio: Sean’s UI/UX Design portfolio

Let’s talk about e-Commerce for a second. Today I am doing some conversion rates for a company and thought I would share this with everyone. This may seem like a no-brainer, but the price of your product ( especially the shipping ) , will heavily impact your sales. If you as the owner of the company decide not to invest in a tool that compares prices of competitors nor allow someone to provide feedback on your products - you will find yourself at a 0.47% conversion rate. Yes, this is absolutely terrible. This means that 0.47, rounding it up to 1 because you can’t have half of a person, are purchasing your product. One person out of every one hundred people purchase a product from you. This can display a few things, which means you will have to go through a process to check your strategy.

Realistically, even unrealistically, the main thing that will usually attract clients are the prices. This is huge and these prices must be maintained. Yes, a fantastic web design is needed as well as the user experience. But what happens if both of those are covered? Well, it then comes down to once again, the prices. In order to compete virtually, you must either convince people why they should purchase your product  or you must display a great savings for them. Otherwise, they mine as well go to the store and pick it up for much cheaper. This is difficult, I know, but the honest truth is that if you don’t do this, you will fail in the virtual world. There is no other way around it. Once everything is said and done, this is what you’re left with.

To clarify, this is experience talking. I’m witnessing this exact event as I type this. My solution? I’ve pretty much offered it. There is a lot of competition out there and you must play the game in order to compete. Sure, creativity will help you win, but creativity is a tool. Not necessarily a goal. The goal is to increase your sales and the only way to do that is look at this from a logical stand point while wielding creativity as your tool.

Wrapping this up, I strongly believe that if you want success in e-commerce, don’t ignore the evidence. Be open about your product. The virtual world, at best, can be compared to Alice in Wonderland. Everyone is “mad”, but that’s what makes it so beautiful. Understand your customers and provide logic in the realms of marketing to win the inbound sale.