Checkout Process
How do your competitors approach the checkout cart? What works well and what creates friction?
Business Needs
Recognize Business Needs During Design Ideation
Section titled “Recognize Business Needs During Design Ideation”Understanding Business Context in Design
Section titled “Understanding Business Context in Design”As you ideate, it’s important to think about the business you’re designing for. This includes the business’s voice, tone, and budget. UX designers often work closely with marketing and branding teams because branding has a big effect on how users experience a product.
Voice and Tone in User Experience
Section titled “Voice and Tone in User Experience”The Human Factor in Brand Personality
Section titled “The Human Factor in Brand Personality”Even though a brand isn’t a human being, it still has a personality. Users don’t want to communicate with a brand that uses robotic sounding language. Instead, users want to interact with the brand whose voice and tone sounds human and engaging.
Impact on User Experience
Section titled “Impact on User Experience”Voice and tone have a huge impact on a user’s experience with a product.
Voice and Tone Examples
Section titled “Voice and Tone Examples”Enthusiastic and Conversational Email: “Great choice. Your purchase should be landing on your doorstep in the next five days. Let us know how much you love it.”
Cold and Detached Email: “Order shipped. Estimated arrival: 5-7 business days.”
The first email feels enthusiastic and conversational, while the second email feels cold and detached. Small changes in language communicate a brand’s voice and tone and help improve the user experience.
Driving Sales Through Design
Section titled “Driving Sales Through Design”We need to keep in mind the fundamentals of driving sales when designing. The goal is to create win-win situations that benefit both users and the business.
E-commerce Example
Section titled “E-commerce Example”When designing an e-commerce site, you want to make it easy to find the Checkout button. This approach:
- Improves the user experience - users can complete their purchases efficiently
- Drives sales - clear checkout processes reduce cart abandonment
- Benefits both parties - customers get what they want, businesses increase revenue
Competitive Research and Business Intelligence
Section titled “Competitive Research and Business Intelligence”It’s helpful to research your brand’s competitors as part of the design exploration. Knowing the successes and failures of your competition can help influence your design decisions.
Key Research Questions
Section titled “Key Research Questions”Sign-up Flow
What does your competitor’s sign-up process look like? How can you streamline yours?
User Onboarding
How do competitors introduce new users to their product? What can you learn or improve upon?
Balancing User and Business Needs
Section titled “Balancing User and Business Needs”The Win-Win Approach
Section titled “The Win-Win Approach”The most successful designs create scenarios where:
- Users achieve their goals easily and efficiently
- Business objectives are met through improved user satisfaction
- Long-term relationships are built between users and the brand
Avoiding Common Pitfalls
Section titled “Avoiding Common Pitfalls”Don’t prioritize business needs over user needs - this leads to poor user experiences and ultimately hurts business performance.
Don’t ignore business constraints - understanding limitations helps create realistic, implementable solutions.
Don’t assume user and business needs are opposing - often they align more than initially apparent.
Integrating Business Considerations into Ideation
Section titled “Integrating Business Considerations into Ideation”During Idea Generation
Section titled “During Idea Generation”- Consider how ideas align with brand personality and voice
- Think about implementation costs and technical feasibility
- Evaluate ideas against business goals and success metrics
- Assess competitive positioning and differentiation opportunities
Evaluating Ideas with Business Lens
Section titled “Evaluating Ideas with Business Lens”When reviewing generated ideas, ask:
- Does this align with our brand voice and tone?
- Will this help drive business objectives while serving users?
- How does this compare to competitor approaches?
- Is this feasible within budget and timeline constraints?
- Does this create sustainable value for both users and the business?
The Role of Cross-Functional Collaboration
Section titled “The Role of Cross-Functional Collaboration”Successful ideation requires input from multiple perspectives:
- Marketing teams provide brand guidelines and positioning insights
- Business stakeholders share revenue goals and constraints
- Engineering teams offer technical feasibility assessments
- Customer service shares common user pain points and requests
By incorporating business needs during ideation, designers create solutions that are not only user-friendly but also strategically sound and implementable within real-world business constraints.