Creating Design For Micro-Moments

People interact with websites and apps billions times per day, from purchasing goods online to reacting on social media posts. Basically, the Web has become a large marketplace that leaves companies struggling for client engagement and attention. User Experience is a field of design that emerged as a result of this need.In early 2015, Google announced an innovative mobile-first concept, providing insights into the most significant reasons why people reach for their smartphones. Later, it has become known as the concept of designing for micro-moments. It is considered the key to effectively optimizing the UX, increasing conversions, and building strong customer loyalty. In this article, we have decided to shed some light on designing for micro-moments as a part of this never-ending and global effort of making the Internet a mobile-friendly place.

What are the Micro-Moments?

Advancing technologies have pushed the UX into the mobile universe consisting of micro-moments. Indeed, all the variety of interactions with a website or app is made up of numerous small elements (like changing a button size). They are tiny details or sub-actions capable of eliminating the friction between many steps that users usually go through when interacting with software, whether it is a website or app. Micro-moments help guide customers, keeping them engaged through the whole navigation process.

While driving client behavior, micro-moments (also called micro-mini-interactions, micro-interactions) may signal a change in the way designers approaching the UX. For example, abandoned shopping carts indicate that several micro-moments need to be reconsidered. In this case, you will need to track down what it was that made people change their decision to buy something from you and abandon their online carts. This can be either not knowing where to type their credit card information, or inability to find a purchase button. Designing micro-moments means changing the way UX designers think and act.

How to Optimize Micro-Moments

Adopting a mobile-first mentality. The UX designers should always keep micro-moments in focus, and frame the UX on every platform the same way they do it for mobile. They should be capable of reimagining the user trip in a mobile universe in order to become a part of a cross-functional effort.
Providing a validating feedback. When a user performs an action using your website or app, it is crucial to give him or her a feedback. The FB “Like” button is a great example of feedback in micro-moments. When clicked, the icon grows, changes color, and pops up, letting the users know that they have completed their “job.”
Focusing on the entertainment factor. The UX designers should pursue a goal of entertaining users. This keeps them engaged and interested. For example, you can use small, subtle micro-animations to animate something that happens as users enter the homepage of your website.
Putting your customers in control. A customer gets the positive experience only if he or she can easily do what he or she wants to do. So do not overload your website with complex schemes, and put your visitor in control of his or her journey!
Paying special attention to trends. Lots of them become standard for user interaction. Search for new ideas and do not confine yourself to your old UX.

Micro-moments Help Achieving Goals

Despite their size, micro-moments are effective in building a business boost. Optimizing them is one of the surest ways for a digital product to stand out on the market. For example, let’s think of iPhone. When compared to its nearest competitors (Samsung, Blackberry), its features are not that different. All smartphones offer more or less the same functionality. So what was revolutionary about the Apple’s device? iPhone is all about the magic of optimizing micro-interactions. Using it is entertaining, enjoyable, intuitive, and easy. In other words, Apple has managed to successfully refine the tiny details of the UI, and build the intuitive UX which allowed to win many customers from its competitors

Improving Micro-Moments

The UX design is all about the ability of interpreting and effectively responding to customers needs. Consumer testing, prototyping, and analytics provide UX designers with the ability to study customer preferences in detail. The UX designers need to create tune experience around even the smallest element of design. For example, the size of a button is a tiny detail. But this micro-moment can make a big difference for customers.

Takeaways

Even the tiniest and smallest things can be revolutionary. The elements UX designers often think of as not that important can make a huge difference. Indeed, micro-moments have changed the way the UX design industry is approaching design. At the same time, the process of improving micro-moments or creating them from scratch requires a complex approach. So if you need a hand, feel free to ask.