In the world of software development, the role of UX developers is very crucial. However, many in the industry don’t exactly know what they do, and they can be easily confused between UX developers and UI developers or front-end developers. A UI UX consultancy will designate both UI and UX developers for their different yet closely related goals.
Here, we are talking about what a UX developer does, and what to expect from them, when you are building that project of your dreams.
UX stands for User Experience. In both prototyping and the development of the product, UX developers play an important role. UX developers help your project reach its goals, and anticipate any future problems before they arise.
From the moment a user lands on your website or application, to their reaching their desired destination, the path is created and checked regularly by the UX developers. If your users are leaving without making a purchase or registration on a particular page, a UX developer can get to the root of the problem and create a smooth process for your user from beginning to end.
Here is the list of essential skills a UX developer should have.
Wireframing: A page layout without the design element that outlines the project needs and provides priority to the page elements.
Prototyping: Prototype of the final project or the fractions of the project, either done digitally by design software or old-fashioned pen and paper way.
User Flow: Create a diagram that shows each step the user will take while using your website or application.
Mockup: Creating a realistic design model of how your project will look to the user.
UX Research: To design a product for the targeted user, it is essential to understand who the users are, and what they want.
Agile: Agile is a set of project management techniques used widely in software development. Since UX developers will be working closely with development teams, they should be fairly aware of Agile.
Information Architecture: Creating a product where it is easy for the user to understand where they are, the information they can have on certain pages, and where they need to go next.
Even though they work towards the same goal and work very closely, the roles are very different for both UI developers and UX developers.
The UX developers will have to do user research to understand their preferences. UI developers also have to do user research, but their work would go towards the design side of the project. UX developers think about the overall user experience and utilitarian aspect of the project, UI developers will concentrate more on aesthetics such as fonts, color schemes, and icon choices. If you think you need to work on both fronts, hire a UI UX consultancy to get the best of both worlds.
For a UX developer, having a little knowledge of coding and software development can be really helpful when collaborating with other teams. However, they don’t need to know it. At most, they would be concerned with making a website or application that is appealing to the users with its features and design. They don’t need to worry about how those features will work.
Front-end developers will have an in-depth knowledge of HTML and CSS, JavaScript, JQuery, CMS, RESTful APIs, etc. A UX developer should not be expected to have these skills.
The summary here is very clear. A UX developer is responsible for creating a smooth user experience for the success of your website and application, from beginning to end. They should be able to execute wireframing, prototyping, mockups, and information architecture, and understand the user flow. When hiring a UX developer for your company, it is also important to know the difference between a UX developer and a UI developer or a front-end developer.
Read the full article here
