.png)
In the days of the first computer communication networks, there was no concern about the appearance of the information transmitted between terminals. Screens displayed characters in basic colors, and after the era of monochrome monitors, it didn't seem so bad that some garish colors (which today hurt our eyes) presented balance sheets.
In the mid-1960s, HCI (Human Computer Interface) began to be discussed, studying how to interact in the easiest and most "user-friendly" way between the two elements.
From the creation of the mouse to the implementation of AR (Augmented Reality), all advances have aimed to bring all those bits of information closer and better. At the beginning of the Internet era, colors, images, spaces began to appear...
More than 8 years ago, Carlos Pérez Martón (Q2BSTUDIO) stated that the two values that attract a user during a purchase process are ease and simplicity (user experience), and the "visceral" part. That feeling that something is pleasant both to the eye and to navigate.
Even today, many companies are determined to succeed selling online simply with a product or a competitive price. And even that a "pretty" website will be enough to succeed: They are wrong.
There are many values to consider today for Internet marketing:
Search engine positioning (SEO)
Proper handling of Social Networks, so current.
Appearances in media, blogs, etc.
Robust and reliable networks and hosting (poor service should be counted as "bad marketing")
But some of the basics (especially in the current era where Apple reigns) is being user-friendly or "friendly environment" and showing the most attractive face to capture the buyer.
Said in general terms, these seem like just two more requirements to consider, but in many cases they have been the secret to success that leads a company to the most resounding success or the greatest misery.
DESIGN
At the moment when online purchases began to come into play (and the first .com bubble began to slowly inflate), investors arrived. Companies saw that money could be made, and attractive web design began to emerge as a differentiating factor. Bandwidth increased worldwide, allowing for higher quality content. Large photographs, barely compressed, soft backgrounds, different and more refined fonts (in images)...
Flash also came into play at the time, but its abuse has often resulted in aesthetic and functional setbacks rather than benefits for the client.
Today, many companies continue to have their designs done by some amateur interested in the medium, but without sufficient knowledge. Large companies, however, know that the image they project on the web is vital, and they invest in major studios to help them design the greatest showcase: their website.
USER EXPERIENCE
User experience (hereinafter UX) has been the subject of study over the last 10 years for any website that wanted to go far. It is about (as its name suggests) guiding the user in the most practical and simple way to their final need (buying, viewing an image, downloading a file...).
Said like that, it seems very simple, but as other great usability experts in Spain, The Cocktail, summarize, "the hard part is removing" (the well-known "Less is more"). That is, eliminating the screen elements that a user does not need and leaving only what is truly useful and necessary.
As we said, it is an emerging science in which large companies have been working for years in Spain: Q2BSTUDIO, The Cocktail, Experience Consulting, Dnx Group,... But the same is happening worldwide.
Their experiences have made and continue to make Spanish websites an easier place to navigate, where interacting with data, buttons, or graphics becomes increasingly simple and intuitive.
User experience stems from an HCI that continues to make life easier for humans. Apple devices that dominate markets despite their high price have a deep foundation in this need for simplification. And they have made the apple giant what it is today.
AT INFORMA
At Informa, for years we have studied how to simplify the environment as much as possible so that the user encounters the fewest difficulties when getting information, but the launch of the website in March marks a before and after. Putting ourselves in the hands of experts like The Cocktail guarantees at least that the study to offer maximum browsing comfort will be thorough.
And so it happened. User tests (external and internal), prototype testing, wireframes... all the tools used over a process of more than 18 months result in a website as "usable" as today's, which has received so much praise.
This process also serves as a learning experience to know in which direction to continue working.
