User experience (UX) design is a process geared towards providing users with a seamless experience during their sales journey. It involves all aspects of an individual’s interaction with a business, its services and the merchandise they sell. The goal of UX designers, then, is to meet users’ needs at every turn. In terms of website design, this means crafting a usable, functioning website that is accessible and enriching.
At its best, great UX design leads to an effortless customer experience. Visitors are able to navigate to a site, locate the information they need, and complete purchases easily. Furthermore, the experience is always a positive and fulfilling one; it makes customers want to visit the site again. Just like we enjoy good lighting, secure credit card machines and uncluttered spaces in shops, we expect websites to be suited to our needs. Unfortunately, when UX design fails, it often triggers all kinds of negative consequences. For most marketers, bad UX design brings to mind poor color schemes, illegible text or a lack of mobile options. Security, however, is also a major issue that needs to be addressed. Bad UX design can easily lead to compromised security, so it’s best to learn how to prevent this at all costs.
Poorly Designed Websites Lead to Phishing
Online criminals sometimes steal data from customers by posing as a business or an organization. This is called “phishing.” If your site is designed poorly, cybercriminals will easily be able to mimic it. If a customer can’t distinguish your site from a fake site, that’s a massive security issue. Users should view your website as both legitimate and professional. Therefore, there shouldn’t be any spelling errors, poorly-written content or improper button placement on your site. Creating great content will make your site safer and secure against online criminals looking to copy your site for ill purposes.
A Lack of User Authentication
At one point or another, you’ve probably been frustrated by how many authentication steps you had to complete on a site. However, these exist for a reason. The goal is to protect your private data and stop cybercriminals in their tracks. If people are able to access someone else’s account and steal their data, the customer won’t denounce the cybercriminal. They’ll first blame your site and your business, because they trusted you to provide a secure UX design.
When users log in, they should have to prove that they are who they say they are. Multi-factor authentication is a necessity. With passwords, pin numbers, text log-ins and facial recognition scanning, you can ensure your UX design is as safe as possible for customers.
Failing to Ask for Strong Passwords
If a customer can make their password “1234,” you need to re-evaluate your UX design’s security measures. While password specifications can be a hassle, they make for a safe and secure user experience. Passwords should be difficult to guess and include a mix of special characters, numbers and letters. Letters should also be both uppercase and lowercase. If you want to go the extra mile for your customers, consider offering the option to generate a random strong password for them. This way, they won’t have to spend too much time coming up with a secure password.
No Log Out Timers
If customers are logged into an account for too long, this can leave their information exposed to cyber threats. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy for customers to forget the log-out process, close their laptops and go about their day. Without a log-out timer, criminals may be able to access sensitive data from your users. With this tool in place, on the other hand, you can take an important step that customers might forget. This UX design feature will be sure to boost the security of your site.
Improper Branding
Your brand needs to be recognizable across multiple platforms and devices. Your users should be able to identify your brand goals as soon as they reach the home page. If they can’t, this means they might not spot an imposter site. The key to proper branding is consistency; can users recognize your brand on every page of your site? If not, this could be a security issue.
How to Know if Your UX Design is Secure
In order to know if your UX design is secure, it’s important to assess your site frequently. Ask yourself if there are any holes in your security measures that hackers could take advantage of. From there, formulate a plan that will protect your interests and your customers’ private data.
How Gauge Digital Media Can Help Keep Your Website Secure with Excellent UX Design
Do you need help optimizing your UX design for increased security? The experts at Gauge Digital Media have got you covered. With us, your customers and visitors will always be able to count on a secure, positive user experience.
Some of our services include:
- Web Design
- Search Engine Optimization
- Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising
- Graphic Design
- Social Media Marketing
- E-mail Marketing
Do you have any further questions about our services? Fill out this short form on our site and we’ll get back to you right away.
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