The Benefits of Regularly Refreshing a Software User Interface (UI)
In today’s fast-paced digital world, the user interface (UI) plays a crucial role in determining the success of any application.
As a result, software vendors invest heavily in their UI creation and maintenance. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics backs this trend. It projects that Web Developer and Digital Designer roles (including UX roles) will rise by 23% between 2021 and 2031, which it describes as “much faster than the average for all occupations”. *
This growth in this sector provides a clear insight into the value companies place on keeping their UIs intuitive, user-friendly, efficient, and moving forward in line with technological advancements.
Enhanced User Experience (UX): A well-designed, modern UI can significantly improve the overall UX of a software platform. Therefore, regular UI updates keep the look and feel fresh, making the application more aesthetically appealing and engaging for end users.
It also provides the opportunity to improve workflows by simplifying complex tasks and removing unnecessary steps. Regular UI improvements deliver a more efficient and enjoyable experience and increase adoption rates by helping users navigate the software more efficiently and reducing the learning curve.
Increased Productivity: A user-friendly UI significantly boosts productivity by making it easier for new and experienced users to complete tasks quickly and efficiently. A newer interface can also take advantage of the latest browser and operating system technologies to deliver more advanced functionality, such as drag-and-drop, smart gestures, and customizable dashboards.
Competitive Advantage: In today’s highly competitive software market, a modern and user-friendly UI gives any software application a competitive edge by creating a differentiator from competitors. Additionally, a well-designed UI can contribute to building a positive brand image, which can help gain customer loyalty and increase market share.
Expose New Features: New feature updates are introduced to all software platforms between UI refresh cycles. Sometimes these new enhancements can get lost, as the original UI was not created with them in mind. It is also possible that the UI has limitations and new features cannot be developed to work optimally. Regular UI refreshes enable developers to put the most popular and high-profile features front and centre and ensure that all features and tools are as intuitive as possible.
Reduced Support and Maintenance Costs: Outdated and cumbersome UIs can result in higher support and maintenance costs due to increased user support queries, technical issues and development time spent fixing bugs.
On the flip side, a new, updated UI that is intuitive and user-friendly can significantly reduce the need for user support and troubleshooting. Users can quickly find what they need and perform tasks with minimal errors, resulting in fewer support tickets and lower maintenance costs in the long run.
In conclusion, developing a new and updated software UI can bring numerous benefits to software developers and end-users, from enhanced user experience and increased productivity to gaining a competitive advantage and reducing support costs. A modern and user-centric UI can greatly improve a software application’s overall performance and success.
As technology evolves, investing in a new and updated UI should be considered a strategic move to stay relevant, attract more users, and drive customer retention; something Uniguest takes very seriously.
* https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/web-developers.htm