From data to design: how to improve user experience (UX) with real insights

It has surely happened to you at some point. A brand or service you regularly use announces the redesign of its app or website and shouts it from the rooftops. Your expectations are high and you hope that (finally!) they are going to fix everything you dislike. You open the new app and... nothing. The new design is not, by any stretch, better than the previous one.

This story repeats itself in the digital world practically every day. And it is because if you are not able to truly understand your customers, improving the user experience does not always go well. The problem? The lack of a good source of information. To generate a real impact on the experience of your users, you need a UX based on data.

Today we are here to talk precisely about that: the importance of improving the user experience of your app or website with data. Specifically with those real and useful insights that hide behind all your metrics and that you need to learn to translate into concrete improvements to your design.

What does it really mean to design with data?

A data-based design is more complex than it might seem. It is not simply a matter of "taking a quick look at Analytics" and drawing two or three conclusions to justify your design decisions. It is quite the opposite.

A data-based user experience is one that understands user behavior in depth, identifying those friction points that negatively affect them and proposing solutions based on their real needs (not the business's needs). In short, it is about a user-centered design.

Therefore, when we talk about designing with data we must focus on UX insights. That is: all those conclusions and ideas about your users' behavior that are hidden behind all your data and that you will need to learn to decipher and put into practice.

Benefits of a data-driven UX design

The mere fact of having a user experience that truly responds to users' needs and is well designed should be reason enough to invest time and effort in this process. But in reality, there are many more advantages for your business:

• Higher conversion — Naturally, your company wants to sell more. And UX has a much greater impact on your business than you might imagine. Especially when we consider the large number of competitors that exist today and that, in general, offer a similar service. In that case, having an experience that is truly different and useful will make the difference.

• Improved retention — How many times have you decided to switch to a different brand or service because their website or app was not working properly? Even if you have managed to get your users to convert (perhaps thanks to a good promotion or strong marketing campaigns), the user experience will also determine whether they stay with you or look for better solutions.

• Loyalty — We all like to feel heard. And if your customers see that your new design truly responds to their needs and solves the usual problems they had with your product or service, they will feel valued and are likely to prefer you.

How to find real (and useful) insights for your design in your data

Those valuable UX insights are hidden in your digital analytics and are not easy to find. Among so much data, metrics, and figures it is hard to draw conclusions that truly allow you to propose a novel and valuable design for your users. But it is not impossible either.

The key lies, as always, in following a method that allows you to go step by step, identify concrete improvements, and validate them before launching a redesign with no way back. And that is exactly why we are here. To guide you through that meticulous process.

#1 Define your objective

First things first: what is your objective? As you probably know, not all data serves all purposes, nor do all metrics measure the same things. So it is essential that you start by deciding what you want to focus on.

What would you like to improve? Conversion? Or do you have a problem with retention? It is important that you align this data-based UX redesign with your business priorities and the real problems you face in your day-to-day. Before you start, stop and think about where it is worth investing your efforts.

#2 Review the right metrics and data

Once you are clear on what you want to focus on and which problem you want to solve, it is time to jump into the data. But... how? It is not easy to decide where to start in a sea full of metrics and different tools.

The best way to ensure you do not lose sight of any valuable data or information source is to start from the most generic and move to the most specific. Begin your analysis with business or website metrics that can indicate which area the problem is in (bounce rate, drop-offs in the purchase process...) and then drill down to analyze specific elements of your current design (scroll depth, click distribution, or heat maps).

This logic will allow you to identify where to focus first and then the areas for improvement. It will also allow you to prioritize those changes with the greatest impact on your business. Because even if your website or app needs thousands of improvements, first you need to fix the ones that most affect your users' experience.

#3 Formulate your own hypothesis

Now that you have reviewed the metrics that matter and, very likely, identified the source of the problems in your results, it is time to think about what is causing that problem. Data does not speak. It guides you toward that friction point to review, but it is up to you to formulate a hypothesis.

In most cases, friction points speak for themselves. Buttons that disappear, content blocks that are too long, pages that do not load correctly... But sometimes it is not so obvious. And in those cases it will be up to you to propose different hypotheses and alternatives.

#4 Validate with tests and constant iterations

With your hypothesis on the table, take a moment (or several) to reflect. And to design an A/B testing strategy. Avoid redesigning everything at once, assuming your theory is correct and changing your entire user experience without first validating those changes.

With these tests you will be able to move through different modules, applying the changes to be made one by one, and you will be confident that they will actually have an impact on your objectives. Otherwise, you will not be able to correctly attribute improvements to one modification or another.

From data to design that works: real cases from our clients

Data can revolutionize the results of your digital business. A good redesign based on key metrics can help you identify the most important UX friction points on your website or app. Just ask our clients:

Mim Habits: Reducing friction to improve conversion

When Mim Habits got in touch with Boost, they had a clear problem: their conversion did not match the high quality of their products. It was clear that something was wrong but they had not been able to identify what. We helped them do that.

The Boost solution

• The real problem: We realized that their website had too many options and the information was not very clear. Users did not quite understand their value proposition.

• The data we based our analysis on: Key traffic, conversion, and bounce metrics helped us identify which pages had the problems. We were also able to see which elements had the least interaction.

• Hypothesis and redesign: We went with a much simpler product page design and clearer text highlighting the key ideas. We put it into practice with an A/B testing strategy and it worked!

• The results: The conversion rate on the product pages increased by 136%.

→ Discover the full Mim Habits case

Dogfy Diet: Personalization for a truly useful UX

If Dogfy Diet had one thing when they started working with Boost, it was data. Data about their hundreds of customers and their experience within their website. They knew a great deal about their real experience, but there was something that did not quite add up: their returning users did not seem to be interacting correctly with their website.

The Boost solution

• The real problem: Dogfy Diet's conversion process worked well. But access to the personal area and general navigation for returning subscribers did not seem optimal. They needed to think about them too.

• The data we based our analysis on: The metrics related to this particular segment were clear. Interaction with the private area was very low and the access rate from the homepage showed almost no activity.

• Hypothesis and redesign: When you have different segments within your user base, your experience must also be different. At Boost we proposed a redesign of the homepage for these returning users and this had direct results for the business.

• The results: Access to the private area thanks to this personalization increased by 180%.

→ Discover the full Dogfy Diet case.

Learn to decipher your data before jumping to Figma with Boost

Improvisation is not a good ally for your design. The user experience of your website or app must be based on data and truly respond to the needs of your customers. If you want them to genuinely convert and remain loyal to your service or product, you need to know how to listen to them through data.

Is it a longer process? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely. At Boost we have spent years helping businesses like yours translate their data and metrics into real insights to apply to their UX design. And the results show that it works. Write to us if you want to start doing the same.