We’ve all been hearing the word SaaS and UX in SaaS for a long time. But what is the fuss about? Software-as-a-Service is a way to access and deliver applications or software from anywhere with an Internet connection and Web browser. It saves you the pain of installation and so much time, and mental peace. As usual, there is a “but” attached to every good thing, and here the “but” is complexity and ease of use. It’s a widespread misconception that we don’t need designers, and engineers are well versed in developing pretty good functionality and interface design.
And this is where most brands fail. Engineers are capable of development, but when it comes to design, they may not be aware of market trends, specific niche in the industry, and how and what a user thinks while interacting with the product. This is where design can lend a helping hand.
UX Design in SaaS has its recommendations and set standards. The biggest problem SaaS UX/UI design services face today is keeping a user engaged for the long haul. Nothing makes customers drop out or move for good faster than a bad experience. There are many ways to customize different types of products, but we’ve listed some best practices we’ve learned while designing some SaaS products for our clients.
Simple sign-up
No one likes going through page after page of signup forms – it takes ages, and who has that much time and patience these days? So the fourth most important practice in SaaS design is to make the signup process effortless if you don’t want to scare off your customers. There will be many opportunities to learn more about your user while they are interacting with your app.
Collect only the essentials at the beginning, such as the name and email address. Every extra step will take a customer away from you. It’s harder if you offer a free trial – however, most users will expect you to ask for credit card information.
To persuade more people to sign up, consider putting a vivid call-to-action on the landing page so that the buttons are obvious. A good example of this is Google Apps, who have dedicated their entire front page to this.
User Onboarding
We may have heard the expression, “The first impression is the last impression.” It turns out to be true while designing for SaaS applications. It’s the phase where people decide whether they want to continue with you or leave the app and look for another solution. There are a few things you can watch out for to keep users hooked on your product.
- Try not to overwhelm users by collecting too much information. Start with the email and the name and gradually move on.
- Decide on the type of flow you want to achieve, such as a benefit-focused flow will help explain to the user what they can achieve with the help of the application, leading further to signup and other states.
- Use attractive and relevant images or illustrations that are product-focused and help capture the users’ attention and motivate them to sign up further.
Simplified Dashboards
A dashboard is a crucial part of any SaaS product, and working to improve the dashboard experience will get positive feedback from the user. There are a few things we believe a dashboard should answer to a user.
- What is my current status?
- What is the result of my recent activity?
- The goals I have set and their future implications.
- The right kind of data visualization elements- line charts, bar charts, pie charts, etc. depending on the product you are developing.
- Choose the right colors to highlight problem areas.
Intuitive Customer Support
Let’s assume that SaaS applications are complex and require additional support when interacting with them. It is essential for designers that the help flow is visible and easily accessible from any part of the application. It could be a chatbot or a live support system; any support system that can help the user further will ensure that the user stays with your product. Adding common FAQs helps users quickly find answers to popular questions. They should be enhanced over time as and when new features are released. You can even add small training modules and videos like Hubspot.
Clean UI
The user of a SaaS product may or may not have a technical background; the interface you design must be user-friendly to avoid the need to educate the user on how to use the product. Programming a SaaS product is complex and intricate. This can lead to a range of problems, including an inherently complex UX/UI. This is a major risk to the success of your website – users don’t like complex and confusing designs. It is really hard to achieve a simple and easy-to-understand design that successfully covers all the nuances of the SaaS architecture.
Provide feedback
Users like to be informed of the action they have taken, whether it is correct or not. It is a human tendency to know and be able to predict where they are going in the journey they have started, whether in real life or in a product. Congratulating them after they successfully complete a task or giving them a virtual reward with appropriate humor helps boost their morale, and they get excited while using the product.
As a designer, the goal lies in designing an experience that a user appreciates and forms a long-term relationship with your product. It takes a huge effort to maintain a SaaS application in terms of usability and staying up-to-date with current trends. But maintaining consistency and simplifying and streamlining the customer journey proves to be a boon for users.
Final words
SaaS UI and UX are vital to get right if you want to engage and retain users. A bad UI will affect your UX, while even an excellent UI cannot make up for a bad UX. The SaaS world tends to go through many trends, but the best practices we’ve mentioned are perennial items that are unlikely to change much. The overarching idea is to reduce friction for users in any way possible and make sure you’ve addressed their needs directly.
