Blockchain: the startup buzzword that every business wants to try their hand at.
Decentralized tech like this isn’t going anywhere, and the hype is real—a business adding blockchain to their name saw a near 400% increase in its stock value.
Adding blockchain to your business name isn’t going to make your business a blockchain startup, though. We need to get the right combination of blockchain principles and user experience for a quicker acceptance of the product.
Here are three important reasons why your startup needs the right UX design.
The Clue Is in the Name: User Experience
Why do you build any product? To serve your customers. They’re your raison d’etre, the whole reason for your business to exist.
The clue really is in the name when we talk about user experience. UX design principles have to underpin everything you build. You have to understand what the purpose of your blockchain product is and what solutions it has to offer.
Wireframe and sketch out your product. Write a white paper and get feedback. Don’t build anything that hasn’t been fully explored, or if you do, build an MVP that doesn’t lose you cash.
Simple Design Means a Better Understanding for Users
You could talk about cryptographic hashes and distributed ledgers all day long. What do those words mean to the average consumer?
Design principles for UX have to be based around layman terms and a layman understanding of blockchain. The average person on the street might have heard of bitcoin, and that’s about it.
When you’re building your blockchain app, keep things simple. Explain only what you need to. Somebody can use a computer without needing to know about operating system kernels, for instance.Offer the same simplicity to your users in your design. A design that places too much of a focus around unnecessary jargon risks losing users.
Can you even explain what blockchain is? If you can’t, take a look at our guide to help you explain it better to your customers.
A Design That Stands out Generates Better Publicity
If you want to see UX design principles that are done well, take a look at the development of mobile applications.
The industry is about a decade old, with healthy competition, and a standardized experience has become a norm. There’s little difference between the UX of, say, Gmail or Facebook on one device, when you look at the nuts and bolts.
That’s because Google and Apple have their own guidelines for the user interface of apps on their platforms. The principles of Google Material Design filter through to other Android apps, but it’s not always been that way.
We’re at the stage before any kind of standardization, and that’s the challenge for blockchain startups. If you want to compete with more traditional tech, or with other blockchain businesses, the UX needs to stand out above the rest.
Your startup might be innovative, but if the design is poor, and the experience for users isn’t good enough; it won’t build the user base you need to be successful.
UX Design Is the Most Important Part of Your Growth Strategy
The blockchain market feels like the early days of the Internet when the lifecycle of a startup could be a few months, but while some of those businesses fell, others stuck around.
If you want your blockchain startup to survive in the long run, UX design has to be at the center of your product. Keep things simple, and build products that satisfy your user’s wants and needs.
Don’t worry if you’re unsure. Our blockchain development services can help you build the kind of products that could last well into the 21st century, so get in touch.
