In the year 2020, whole world came to a sudden halt because of the pandemic. Industries all over the globe started looking for cloud based software solutions to sustain their operations remotely. This created a problematic scenario of highly connected world in need of a solutions which came in the form of Software as a Service. The audience and users of SaaS were very particular about the efficiency, usability and usefulness of such solutions. Therefore, like the design process for any other digital product, SaaS UX Design requires that the target users’ needs, requirements, motivations and thought process should be prioritized and kept on the center stage. The development of new software, and even new features of current ones, must be user-centered. It is crucial for such projects to deliver user-centered designs since current customers want SaaS solutions to simplify their lives; otherwise, they look for the next best alternative.
SaaS UX Design
Because of this, SaaS UX design is essential. In this article, we present the idea of UX design for SaaS, emphasizing its significance for any SaaS organization. We also provide a checklist of recommended practices for designing SaaS apps that you may use in the future. Follow along as we enter the challenging SaaS realm and attempt to master it using sound UX design concepts.
The complete UX design framework and user journey must be taken into consideration while working on the design of SaaS apps, and UI/UX designers must also make sure that the overall objectives and values of the target audience, in this example, enterprises, are not jeopardized. This means that these crucial considerations must be made in the UX design approach for SaaS. Any SaaS solution’s structure makes it clear that such solutions are incredibly complex in and of themselves. It’s possible that the target audience isn’t highly technical enough to comprehend all of the backend operations. Good design principles are therefore crucial to the success of any SaaS application. The integration of UI/UX design and SaaS development guarantees that all target audience requirements are taken into consideration at every stage of the process. This indicates that the resulting goods are actually beneficial to the consumers, benefiting both the business and the clients.
What is SaaS?
A suitable analogy for the SaaS model is a bank, which preserves each customer’s privacy while offering a service that is dependable and secure—on a large scale. Customers of a bank can utilise the same financial technologies and processes without being concerned about unauthorised access to their personal data.
A “bank” satisfies the essential elements of the SaaS model:
Multi Tenant Architecture
A multi tenant architecture is where all users and apps share a single, centrally maintained infrastructure and code base. SaaS providers are able to innovate more quickly and save important development time since all of their clients use the same infrastructure and code base. Previously, vendors would have had to maintain various versions of obsolete code.
Convenience of Customization
Allowing users to quickly alter apps to meet their own business processes without having an impact on shared infrastructure These customizations are exclusive to each business or user and are always maintained across updates because of the way SaaS is built. As a result, SaaS providers may provide updates more often, with substantially lower adoption costs and less client risk.
Improved Access
Improved access to data from any networked device while making it simpler to control access rights, keep track of data use, and guarantee that everyone is viewing the same information at once.
Harness the Power of Consumer Web
The web interface of common SaaS apps will be recognizable to anyone who is familiar with Amazon.com or My Yahoo! The SaaS approach allows for easy customization, making the weeks or months it takes to upgrade conventional company software appear hopelessly antiquated.
Industry Trends
For the purpose of creating new SaaS applications, organizations are now creating SaaS integration platforms (or SIPs). When SaaS goes beyond standalone software capabilities and turns into a platform for mission-critical applications, it is known as the “third wave” in software adoption, according to consulting company Saugatuck Technology.
- SaaS is one of several cloud computing remedies for enterprise IT problems. Additional “as-a-Service” choices include:
- Everything as a Service (XaaS) is essentially all the “aaS” technologies neatly wrapped together. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – the provider hosts hardware, software, storage, and other infrastructure components Platform as a Service (PaaS)
These services often have a per-seat, per-month fee depending on consumption, so that a business only needs to pay for what they actually use, which lowers up-front expenses.
Importance of Good SaaS UX
The degree of customer engagement, user happiness, and conversion rate are some of the key performance indicators (KPIs) for any SaaS firm, just like they are for any other business. Without sound design principles, it is hard to increase these KPIs for digital goods. To produce the desired effects when working on the design of SaaS software and solutions, designers must select an acceptable UX design framework, formulate a sound strategy, carry out user research, and adhere to the fundamental design principles. Good design techniques may be very beneficial for SaaS services, both in the short and long term. The following are a few ways that UX design may benefit SaaS.
Increased User Engagement
Increased customer involvement is one of the most significant advantages of UX design for SaaS development. The audience is more likely to complete activities effectively when they are given a straightforward user interface that is easy to traverse. It is crucial for the design to be visually beautiful, engaging, and responsive in workspaces where users frequently have to use a certain platform for extended periods of time in order to prevent user frustration. SaaS apps benefit from this thanks to sound design concepts.
Straightforward User Journey
It is also essential to keep in mind that a SaaS product cannot be developed with a specific company or audience in mind. Such a tool’s or software’s capability must to be saleable and adaptable to different kinds of companies. This is when the crucial UX design guideline about charting the user journey comes in help. The user journeys are taken into account at every stage of the SaaS application development process when design principles are incorporated. This therefore aids in streamlining these trips by emphasizing the key user touchpoints and ensuring that their primary needs are always met.
Increased ROI
Any product or service that is well designed will be more usable. This in turn contributes to higher customer satisfaction. Customers that are happy with a product or service are not just loyal to it but also actively promote it, which increases sales. In other words, strong UI/UX design may enhance ROI for any SaaS product, demonstrating its value.
Best Practices
A SaaS application’s design may appear challenging at first. The SaaS UX process is not, however, as difficult as it might seem. Like every UX design process, there are some rules and suggestions that are quite beneficial. A collection of SaaS UX best practices is provided here, based on typical procedures in some of the top designs. These procedures streamline the design process and guarantee superior outcomes.
Keep it Simple
SaaS solutions in and of themselves are fairly complex. Simplifying the user interface and experience as much as possible is one of a UX designer’s most crucial tasks. This indicates that the essential functions are not sacrificed but rather that user interaction is given more focus. Making things simple and obvious requires creating a familiar experience with the aid of intuitive buttons, gestures, and text or media content.
Improve User Onboarding
For new users, learning a new technology may often be overwhelming. The SaaS model does not change this fact. Therefore, it is crucial for designers to develop a straightforward and practical onboarding experience in addition to an uncomplicated registration procedure. This indicates that the onboarding procedure shouldn’t take very long, much like the registration procedure. The main goal is to instruct new users so they can engage with SaaS software in a way that will be most advantageous.
Ensure Smooth Registration
The process of signing up for a new service is typically difficult for the user. In order to access the services, consumers must first supply a lot of information and interact with the user interface for at least a few minutes. SaaS apps must have a quick and easy registration procedure so that users may complete it with little effort and in little time.
Focus on Inclusive Design
When working on SaaS UX design, the application’s adaptability and flexibility are crucial factors to take into account. It is crucial that the architecture of a SaaS application is not constrained to a particular platform or device because it will be utilized by numerous businesses for a variety of reasons. For instance, if an application is solely intended for iOS devices, a significant portion of the target market is excluded from the design. The SaaS application’s overall performance may suffer as a result.
Incorporate Search Functionality
SaaS products have a lot to offer, thus it seems sense that consumers might feel overwhelmed and confused in the information. This is when a search tool’s strength might be useful. A search tool or feature should always be incorporated into the design of a SaaS product or service, according to UI/UX designers. They should also make sure that this tool is strong enough to cover all the areas and offer solutions to practically all audience questions.
Fluent Information Architecture
The success of any technology being developed for the digital world depends on its information architecture (IA). SaaS apps may gain a lot from improving their information architecture since it will make it easier for users to navigate and discover the appropriate material quickly. If the users cannot locate all the information they want, even a tool with many distinctive features and a well-designed interface may fail.
Include Customer Support
The accessibility and effectiveness of a SaaS product’s customer assistance are two of its key distinguishing characteristics. Designers may make sure that customer assistance is made a key component of SaaS UX design even though they have little control over how well the support department performs. Instead of visiting other search engines and other resources, this will give consumers a method to seek assistance and have their issues answered while using the product.
Conclusion
One of the tasks that contemporary UI/UX designers may encounter in one way or another is the design of SaaS services. Knowing how SaaS UX varies from other types of design, such as enterprise UX and customer-facing goods or services, is the best approach to be ready for such projects. Although the fundamental ideas remain the same, there are some minor variations that may have an influence on the design process and the final goods. You may begin designing SaaS apps by using the examples and recommended practices given in this article. These rules can be changed in accordance with user demands, service characteristics, and organizational objectives. As soon as you grasp the fundamentals of SaaS UX design, you can add more fascinating projects to your portfolio and launch a successful career in UX design.
