Digital Mansions

Each website is an internet real estate.

The internet is revolutionary. It is populated by websites designed by businesses seeking to expand their reach or by creative individuals who simply want to create. Each website is an Internet real estate that people visit and admire. The internet has become a world of its own. Parallelling the real world, there are houses and then there are mansions. So, how do we turn a website into a digital mansion?

As with any house, construction requires experts from different fields and backgrounds. There are architects who design every nook and cranny, engineers who concretise the idea, labourers who diligently lay brick upon brick, and interior designers who create the ideal environment. Every role plays an important part in making the best residence. In principle, this is how software, systems, and websites should be created.

However, in Malaysia, companies often overlook the roles of architects and interior designers when developing their systems and websites. A house without a plan or design might as well just be a warehouse that only serves crude functions. When it comes to physical lodgings, this is obvious. When discussing systems, however, not so much. Why is this so?

Utilising systems or websites that are counterintuitive and finicky in daily operations will definitely reduce efficiency and impair productivity

The problems arising from the lack of ‘interior planning and design’ come from the lack of awareness of UI/UX implementations. Neglecting UI/UX elements tends to result in products that do not provide comfort and intuitiveness to their users which oftentimes leads to a dip in productivity. Local businesses have yet to realise the full potential of user interface and experience in their operations.

By only viewing employees as a workforce, companies often forget that each working individual is just another normal, everyday person. Each employee has their own needs to perfectly carry out their duties to the business. Utilising systems or websites that are counterintuitive and finicky in daily operations will definitely reduce efficiency and impair productivity. This is the exact reason why UI/UX exists: to provide the best possible experience to each user.

Build yourself a digital mansion.

Each business aims to make returns on its investment. Often in big companies, the employees are stuck with awkward systems because the benefactors of said systems are not the ones using them. They pay, forget, and leave their employees to face problematic systems all day, every day. The investment in these systems will not generate returns as efficiently as they should. Even though it goes unnoticed a lot of times, UI/UX plays a discernable role in generating income for companies.

It is unfortunate that this field has not been given attention despite having a long list of success stories all over the world. Fret not, it is not too late to tap into the potential of UI/UX. This is the golden opportunity to launch your business ahead of your competitors through the simple implementation of UI/UX principles while the rest of the industry has not realised its capabilities. While your competitors are busy creating sheds, build yourself a digital mansion.