It’s no longer news that the methods of sharing knowledge are changing. Well, that’s where online platforms come in. They host many of these educational service providers. They also ensure that students can get access to technologically-advanced education in the comfort of their homes.
They are so widespread that you wouldn’t need to look too far beyond Google Classroom, Edmodo, WizIQ, and Adobe Captivate to get examples. The goal of these platforms is to use online systems to make sure their users enjoy learning easily. They understand that virtual learning shouldn’t be a hard task for students.
As such, they strive daily to increase the operational efficiency and ease of use of their systems. Well, thanks to this drive, user interface designs are now widespread with many perks accompanying a good UI design. These incentives are even more reasons why educational platforms are investing in it. This article will examine why a UI is worth the hype and effort.
What is UI Design?
It refers to user interface design and the process through which engineers stimulate interaction with their packages. A UI design ensures that users can use computer appliances or software with ease. It also relates to the graphic layout and the entire structure of a system.
Why are UI Designs Widespread?
I have outlined eleven reasons that educational platforms focus on building a good UI design. They are:
1. A Good UI Design Helps Cut Costs
To enjoy gains from rendering educational services, establishments reduce their spending in many areas. One of these areas is in their UI design.
When you carefully create a UI design, you avoid problems that may arise in the future.
These problems range from irrelevant or non-functional elements in the design to navigation mistakes. UI designers and organizations understand that correcting these mistakes may cost a lot of money. Therefore, they ensure to build a perfect UI design. This way, they will save the cost of fixing these issues.
2. User Interface Ensures Distinct Brand Creation
As stated before, a user interface includes the visual properties of a device or software. Remarkably, pictures and graphical arrangements have a way of being connected to a service. In essence, a user interface automatically registers as a symbol representing the service or its provider.
This connection is why educational platforms consider building a distinctive user interface for their offerings. A useful UI will ensure that educational platforms create a viable brand. When a UI is easily noticeable from other similar platforms, it improves the brand. And, more often than not, this distinct brand can translate to commercial benefits.
3. A Good User Interface Ensures Increased Reach
Users of an online platform usually prefer ease and comfort in their interaction with the software. And, this is essential when it concerns education and learning. The ability to receive knowledge or enjoy an organized educational activity without requiring expertise with technology is vital.
When educational platforms can provide this service adequately, they get to attract more users. Thus, a decent UI can appeal to many people and increase the customer base of the platform.
When users get familiar with a UI they enjoy, they tend to continue using it. The user engagement with the software, coupled with the distinct brand, ensures customer loyalty.
Users rely on the software for their educational activities and are confident about it. This reliance leads to the retention of customers on the part of the service provider.
4. A Good User Interface Affords Competitive Edge
One of the reasons educational platforms show increased interest in UI design is their tendency to secure competitive benefits. When an educational platform creates a distinctive brand and retains customers, it enjoys some advantages. These advantages include commercial profits and brand popularity.
Through these benefits, educational platforms can outpace their competitors. Moreover, when the competitive edge is sustainable, it can generate investment opportunities. A competitive advantage can also help the establishment regulate prices and engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices.
5. A Good User Interface Leads to Fewer Customer Complaints and Reduced Support Costs
Another reason educational platforms invest much in their UI is the ease of access to users. When users have trouble interacting with an interface, they lodge complaints with customer service departments. These complaints can lead to establishments spending on support.
Many times, the cost of resolving customer issues and troubleshooting problems is very high. However, a proper user interface can be a way to avoid these problems. An excellent interface lessens the risk of faults and unwanted functions in software.
In essence, users do not need to refer complaints to customer service. Besides, educational platforms do not need to spend unnecessary money on customer support.
6. A Good User Interface Allows for Higher Productivity Levels
A user interface can ensure that both users and service providers are productive. For the users, easily navigating the interface means they achieve their aim quickly.
Also, the users do not need specialized knowledge to operate the package. Therefore, they assert less mental energy and use fewer resources. Moreover, the ease that users enjoy can enhance their fulfillment in learning.
On the part of the educational platform, productivity means they spend less to achieve more. The establishments also pay lower costs for developing and supporting the software. They also utilize fewer human resources in providing their services.
All these factors contribute to the efficiency of the platform. Productivity can also come in terms of big sales. The satisfaction of customers also means pleasure for the educational platform.
7. A Good User Interface Saves Time
It is essential to mention that a quality UI saves the time of users. Ease of access and simple control of an interface is also crucial. When users enjoy these benefits in an interface, they spend less time trying to use it. Users also save quality time, which they can use in doing other things.
Moreover, with learning, it is better if users understand easily and quickly. Likewise, educational platforms do not have to spend more time rectifying the interface. Instead, they can improve their services and provide more benefits to their users.
8. A Good User Interface Is Vital to Improving User Experience
User experience is the overall response of a user to a system. It includes how accessible, useful, and credible software can be. For educational platforms, the aim of their service is usually to provide reliable learning systems.
When a user interface is excellent, it will improve the experience of users. A good UI also means that service providers can understand the needs and limitations of users. Thus, service providers can improve the features of their services.
9. Help Getting Continuous Feedback
Continuous feedback is the key to keeping students engaged in the learning process. Essentially, studying is working towards a predetermined goal -- to learn a skill, grasp a new concept, etc.
When students get regular feedback in the learning process, they are more confident about their progress. For digital learning platforms, feedback during learning is even more important than final feedback since it’s the continuous feedback that helps the student progress towards their goal.
With UI tools, you can encourage teachers and students to receive and give feedback. It can be as simple as a thumbs up or thumbs down, a “Leave a comment” button, or an inviting Q&A section.
10. Help Increase Information Retention
For online classes and digital education platforms, UI is crucial for ensuring optimal knowledge retention. Presenting the information in an interesting manner is usually not enough to guarantee that you’ll remember it for a long time.
UI can help structure the lesson in a way that will highlight the most important segments and fragment the information into better digestible pieces. Besides, UI specialists often recommend some tools and designs with reminders that will help the students remember the information they learned.
11. Attractive Interface Can Make Studying More Enjoyable
Aside from making the user experience as smooth as possible, UI is also responsible for evoking particular emotions in a user.
Images, shapes, colors, and even fonts used in an application influence the way people feel about the platform and the activities it facilitates. Unfortunately, not every child finds studying enjoyable. With schools closed and online learning taking over the education systems, students are left without the aspects of going to school that has made studying more enjoyable.
That’s why one of the goals of UI designers is making the students’ experience so enjoyable that they will stop seeing studying as boring.
For example; Different UI/UX design learning platforms create different vibes on their websites to evoke different emotions in their customers. If you check the reviews about popular educational platforms such as, Udemy reviews, TrustMyPaper reviews, 99designs reviews and many others you’ll find that the platforms uses complementary pastel colors and designs to create a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere on their learning platforms and users comments are also positive about it.
Conclusion:
If you own or manage an educational platform, you are sure to want to achieve some objectives. UI can accomplish these objectives, including promoting learning among users and securing commercial profits. This article presents reasons why educational platforms pay attention to UI and why you should too.