We get it, you want to launch your digital product as soon as possible and see your conversion rates soar, but let’s first check if your digital product design and development are future-ready.
One of the problems of rushing a product launch is the risk of hitting ‘technical debt’ icebergs. These ice traps are just a metaphor for hidden costs that might slow the time to market and lead to setbacks.
The term ‘technical debt’ was introduced in 1992 by Ward Cunningham, an internationally respected software developer who wanted to describe what happens when we don’t plan for the future. Just like someone might have financial debt because of poor planning, technical debt happens when an individual or company focuses on fast results instead of quality.
Quick changes in market demand and industry trends can sometimes lead businesses to make compromises to release their digital product ahead of time. But, it is important to use digital product design and development strategies that keep the product relevant and usable in the future. are responsive and adaptable
In this article
What is Digital Product Design and Development?
Digital product design and development is the process of creating a product that is easy and enjoyable to use.
A good design makes the digital product useful while development makes it usable.
Digital product design is the making of user-friendly and interactive interfaces that meet user needs while product development is when the design is turned into a functional product using coding or zero-coding development that lets people interact with the design.
Benefits of Making Your Digital Product Design and Development Future-Ready
- Better user engagement can create higher customer lifetime value (CLV)
- User satisfaction can gain you more repeat buyers
- A flexible digital product design can grow with your business
- Having a long-term mindset can develop a product that reduces hidden costs
- Adaptable digital product design and development will help meet new demands
Digital Product Design and Development Strategies for Long-lasting Retention
Digital products are designed and developed every day but 75% of them fail during their first year. The most common reason for this statistic is that entrepreneurs rush to launch and enter the market, not investing in a future-ready digital product design and development.
At Flexy, we always suggest strategies that suit our client’s long-term goals and resolve challenges users might face when interacting with the product. Here is a list of future-proof digital product design and development strategies and how they were applied by brands.
01 User-Centric Design
Example: Vicious Curl, a hair care e-commerce brand, helps its users find the right product with the fewest number of clicks since 30% of customers leave a website if they don’t find what they are looking for. By designing an interactive product that engages users with a pop quiz, Vicious Curl’s sales grew by 60%.
Implementation: Conduct regular user research, including interviews and usability testing, to deeply understand your target audience. Next, apply your findings in creative, responsive UX design to create a more engaging user experience.
02 Design for Accessibility
Example: Apple is a company that sets trends while staying afloat through different socio-economic and technical changes since 1976. Its commitment to accessibility is evident in features like VoiceOver, which reads out what's happening on the screen for visually impaired users.
Implementation: Follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to make your digital products accessible to everyone, including users with disabilities. This includes color contrast ratios, keyboard navigability, and alternative text for images.
03 Agile and Lean Methodologies
Example: LEGO uses agile development practices, organizing their teams into squads that focus on specific features or services, allowing for rapid iteration and flexibility in development.
Implementation: Adopt agile methodologies by forming small, cross-functional teams that work in sprints, focusing on delivering value to customers quickly and responding to feedback rapidly.
04 Apply Progressive Enhancement
Example: LinkedIn’s progressive enhancement approach allows users with basic smartphones or slow internet connections to access core functionalities, enhancing features for users with more capabilities.
Implementation: Using the latest tech is tempting but does it appeal to your target audience? If your digital product aims to cater to a large demographic, start with a basic version of your product that works on low-end devices and enhance it for more advanced browsers and devices. This ensures all users can access your core features, regardless of their technology.
05 Incorporate AI and Machine Learning
Example: Netflix uses machine learning algorithms to personalize recommendations for users, improving the UX by catering to individual preferences.
Implementation: Implement AI to automate and personalize user interactions, such as personalized content, predictive text, or intelligent search functionalities. This can enhance user satisfaction and engagement.
06 Invest in Voice User Interfaces (VUI)
Example: Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa have made voice interaction a standard expectation for users, offering hands-free assistance.
Implementation: Design voice interfaces for your applications where appropriate, considering the context of use, speech recognition capabilities, and natural language processing to improve accessibility and convenience.
07 Continuous User Feedback and Iteration
Example: Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa have made voice interaction a standard expectation for users, offering hands-free assistance.
Implementation: Implement mechanisms for collecting user feedback, such as surveys or in-app feedback tools. Use this data to iterate on your design, making improvements based on actual user needs and behaviors.
08 Anticipate Future Trends
Example: Lowe’s, a Top 10 American home improvement company, anticipated the rise of interest in VR and recently announced the launch of Lowe’s Style Studio, which allows consumers to use the Vision Pro to visualize kitchen designs.
Implementation: Implement mechanisms for collecting user feedback, such as Implementation: Stay informed about emerging technologies and design trends. Experiment with new ideas, such as AR/VR, 3D interfaces, or blockchain, to see how they might enhance your product's usability and cater to new user needs
09 Scalable Architecture
Example: Twitter transitioned from a monolithic to a microservices architecture to manage its massive scale and growth, improving its system's reliability and scalability.
Implementation: Design your system using microservices or serverless architectures to ensure it can scale easily with demand. This approach also makes it easier to update and maintain different parts of your application.
10 Responsive and Adaptive Design
Example: Writesonic’s rebranded website offers a seamless user experience across devices, which substantially increased its traffic and conversion rates.
Implementation: Use fluid grids, flexible visuals, and media queries in your CSS to ensure your UI looks great and functions well on any device, from smartphones to desktops.
