The Modern User Experience:
What Are Micro Interactions?
In the web design world, you might sometimes run into the abbreviation “UX.” This stands for the user’s experience. In other words, it’s the way someone interacts with a website.
If you contact any Milwaukee web design firm as a business owner, they’re sure to tell you how much the quality of your website matters. If you have a vibrant site that encourages user interactions and is easy to navigate, then you will probably get more conversions. By contrast, a site with poor UX is one that will have a high bounce rate and produce fewer sales.
There are viable ways you can potentially improve your site’s UX, but micro interactions are sometimes one of the neglected ones. This concept is worth talking about as it relates to the modern user experience, so let’s do that right now.
What Does the Term “Micro Interaction” Mean?
A micro interaction in the web design world refers to a tiny interactive element on a website that a user is likely to encounter if they spend any time there. It’s an intentional part of the way the site was designed that is meant to make the would-be customer’s journey a little bit easier.
When a user takes a particular action on the site, it triggers a micro interaction. These usually come in the form of small audio or visual cues.
What is the Purpose of a Micro Interaction?
For the most part, the purpose of a micro interaction is to get the potential customer to do something. They’re meant to be subtle but also persuasive.
If they’re working correctly, micro interactions get a user to not only stay on the site, but also to take the action that the web designer most wants. Sometimes micro interactions are compared to micro animations, but they’re not exactly the same thing.
Micro animations occur on their own, and they provide visual feedback. However, they happen independently of what a user does. Micro interactions only occur if a user takes a particular action.
What Are Some Examples?
Even if you didn’t know what micro interactions are, you have almost certainly encountered them. If you ever visit a website on your mobile device and feel your smartphone vibrate slightly if you interact with that site in a particular way, that is a micro interaction. Another one occurs if you hear a sound when you click on a button or take some other action.
Progress bars are a kind of micro interaction. So are spinning icons that indicate something is about to happen.
They show the user that a process is underway, which is a sign for them to be patient and wait. If you buy something from a website, the spinning icon you’re seeing is a micro interaction letting you know that your credit card information is going through.
If you don’t feel like you have the right micro interactions on your website or mobile app, it makes sense to hire someone qualified who can create those for you.
