Software Development

5 Tips for User-Friendly Software Development

Here we take a look at some tips for creating a positive user experience within your bespoke software solution, making sure it becomes a good experience.

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If you are investing in a bespoke software solution you may have already realised there is either no off-the-shelf solution that solves your problem, bespoke is often cheaper or you want something unique to give you that competitive edge. The great thing about having bespoke software is you can make it function around your business.

The software you are investing in should benefit your business, but remember, if your stakeholders don’t like using it, the chances are you are not going to get the most out of your investment.

1. Don’t overcrowd.

Using lots of clashing colours, pictures, adding too many fields and giving your user excessive icons to choose from will mean your users find it harder to work fast and may get frustrated at your system.

2. Use tabs

The use of tabs can help create a logical order to using your system, as well as keeping information on each page to a minimum for ease of viewing.

3. Logical order

The last thing a user wants to do is click on the fourth tab to enter a date of a job for example, and then flick back to the third tab to download a pdf listing all the job details. Consider in what order your user will be entering, viewing and exporting information carefully.

4. Consistent Buttons

Using coloured buttons helps user adoption and on-going use. For example, when we develop a web app we use green buttons for saving and red buttons for closing. Using colour coded buttons seems simple, but makes a massive difference when compared with greyed out ones.

5. Searching, Sorting and Filters

Users often need to view data for specific reasons, it is important not to give them a long list and expect them to search through it themselves. Creating a search function, the ability to sort data by date, name etc. and adding filters such as a location are all essential for providing a positive user experience. Another way to improve user satisfaction is to default to showing only active data.

For more information on bespoke software call us on +44 (0)1245 330360