Category: UX/UI

Create a website that works for your users. How can you do this? You could start by looking at the following six areas:

1- Design For Your User’s Behaviour, Not Their Demographics

Having and designing a website that works for everyone is impossible. It’s not only hard to reach every demographic, but it’s also inefficient. A much better approach is to focus on your users’ behaviours – the way they search, read, navigate, and choose particular options.

For example, you might notice that the majority of users on your site are via mobile devices. As such, most of them are probably not looking to purchase anything. This can be beneficial information when you’re designing a new website or revising an existing one. There is no need to create a “retail experience” with lots of white space, easy-to-read text, and large buttons. Instead, use the extra whitespace to include more information about your services on the primary page.

2- Test Your Website Before Launch

This one seems obvious, but it’s incredible how many companies overlook this step. It doesn’t matter if you think everything is perfect – ask someone to try it out for you. Users do not know what they want or need to see or do on any given page until they start using it.

A classic example of this is the homepage for coffee company Starbucks. This page contained a large photo and description of every single drink on the menu at one time! It’s a fantastic idea, but in reality, few users could find what they were looking for.

3- Don’t Make Users Think

There aren’t many things more frustrating than figuring out something on your own that should be extremely simple. Many websites try to get by using less text, smaller icons, and fewer words. This is all fine if the site’s layout logically guides you through it – but most do not.

Minimalism in web design is trendy, but it’s often misused and misunderstood. When done right, simplicity can improve your site’s usability and reduce confusion for users.

4- Give Users A Sense Of Control

People are very attached to their phones, tablets, computers, smart fridges, etc. They expect them to work correctly at all times. This makes it extremely important for designers to build trust by being clear about what the user is seeing. Users should always know exactly how to get where they want to go and what actions can be taken at any time.

For example, if you see a message like “You are blocked from this site”, you will most likely never return even if it’s an error or intended for another user with your username. If you want to purchase something online, the buttons should say “Purchase Now” or “Add To Cart”– there should be no room for doubt.

5- Use Suitable Icons And Graphics

Images are great for illustrating concepts, but they’re useless if they aren’t helping your users do something faster or more efficiently. You wouldn’t post a picture of an alligator next to instructions for using a socket wrench, nor would you include an image of a camera when users need to upload files.

It’s essential to maintain the visual appeal and branding you want visitors to see. However, keep in mind that images should not be used as substitutes for the actual text. Graphics should still communicate the same message without slowing down the flow of your site.

6- Try To Meet “The Goldilocks Standard.”

“Not too much”, “not too little”, but “just right”. This is what you want visitors to say about your site. In the book “Don’t Make Me Think”, Steve Krug describes this as a time when you’re learning something new, and everything clicks with minimal effort.

This standard is not only necessary for making users feel satisfied – but it’s also what search engines are looking for in high-quality content. If your site is too basic or too complex, this can result in lower search rankings and less traffic.

Never underestimate the importance of making users feel welcome once they’re on your site. Your efforts to create a positive user experience will help retain visitors and allow you to build strong relationships that lead to business growth.

In our daily lives, we often take security for granted. We are usually left alone as long as we don’t do anything illegal or make others feel unsafe.

Things are different, though, if you work in the IT business. As soon as you require your staff to use a computer for any length of time (weeks, months), people will start asking questions like: Are there security policies in place? (what are they?) Are employees required to encrypt their hard drives? (how is that enforced?) Is traveller encryption enabled? Etc.

These are often asked questions by folks who have no idea what they’re talking about. Still, the fact is that the modern business world requires an IT department to take security seriously and be as transparent in its dealings with employees as possible.

So what exactly is Security by Design? And how can it help you achieve these goals? Let’s find out!

What Is Security by Design?

Security By Design (SbD) is an approach for building security into every aspect of technology development. Rather than thinking of security as something bolted on at the end, SbD seeks to embed security assurances throughout design activities from inception to innovation.

When it comes to protecting your business’s data, you see you can’t afford to make assumptions. You need to assume that hackers are out there. The only way to keep them from getting their hands on valuable company information is by using the best available security technologies.

Security By Design is a methodology that helps organizations identify where they are most vulnerable before attacks occur to take proactive measures against technology-based threats. In this article, we will discuss three major steps of SbD: 

1. Risk Assessment
2. Threat Modeling
3. Security Controls & Technology Selection

Risk Assessment

This first step of Security by Design is all about looking at the overall environment of your company. This includes analyzing one’s company processes, systems, and data to best identify security risks.

The goal is to create an adequate assessment of where you are vulnerable so that you can reduce or eliminate threats as much as possible before they occur.

What Is Threat Modelling?

Threat modelling is a technique used by Security Engineers and Architects during the design phase of certain systems, applications, programs, etc. In simple terms, threat modelling means creating a detailed description of how potential attackers could access the system in question. Moreover, what kind of damage could they inflict if they breach the defences around said system. 

Security Controls & Technology Selection

This is the third step, and it involves choosing the right technologies to safeguard your system. 

If unauthorized remote access is an issue, then perhaps implementing VPN services would be an idea.

Security Controls & Technology Selection is all about ensuring your most sensitive data stays safe from nosy employees or the prying eyes of hackers who might try to steal it by hacking into seemingly unprotected servers. 

The final step of SbD involves:

• Looking at the information gathered during steps one and two.
• Coming up with solutions for issues discovered therein.
• Selecting appropriate technologies to solve the problem(s) identified during risk assessment and threat modelling.

Why Do You Need SbD?

The SbD model is great for any organization, not just big corporations — even small businesses should pay close attention to the steps of this methodology. Why? Because no matter how secure your Server database environment is, maybe, if you don’t put security first, you expose yourself to unnecessary risks.

Many people think only about traditional external threats when speaking about cybersecurity. Security by Design recognizes that it doesn’t matter how strong a company’s perimeter defences are; if hackers can get inside those walls and gain access to company data, then they will. But as we said earlier, don’t assume that the bad guys have an axe or a gun — you could discover during risk assessment and threat modelling stages that your biggest threat is actually inside your network.

These threats can be harder to identify than external ones; after all, internal employees are generally well-paid and trusted by the organization. Yes, they could become corrupt or malicious, but rogue contractors are more common than full-time employees. The point is that you have to protect yourself from all types of attacks: those initiated from outside of your network and those of someone inside your organization.