We like to use different tools on our knowledge base to build the best products for our clients. Among those tools is data-driven design, meaning using our analytic side to build better creative solutions.
Either by comparing different tests or simply affirming our intuition, we love proving that data is a beautiful and overlooked resource.
The benefits of a data-driven approach
Consider a Smartphone. What defined the position of the buttons? Why are there shortcuts on the bottom of the screen for the most-used tools?
It might be apparent for final consumers now that the bottom is an easy-to-reach portion of the screen. But to guarantee the most efficient phone, designers need to understand how consumers interact with the product.
There are a lot of tools to provide designers with the desired data. One of these tools is called heatmap. As the name implies, it is the charting of the “hot spots” on a digital product – areas where the user interacts more frequently, either by importance or ease-to-use.
With the information from “heatmapping” the product – in this case, a screen – designers can decide which functions should be on the different zones. Important features should be easier to use, while secondary ones can occupy hard to reach areas.
The insights gathered from heatmapping go way past smartphones, being useful on apps, games, websites, to name a few.
How Webbiz does it
Heatmaps are just one of the many tools we use that merge website design and data. Currently, our team uses Google Tag Manager and Hotjar – two of the more popular platforms dedicated to “heatmapping” – to reach a more efficient result. With the insights that come from those platforms, we can pinpoint the best decisions and changes to improve a project.
So, the next time you wonder why websites or apps work the way they do, remember: there is a whole world of research that goes on those decisions.