Whether you are a seasoned designer, UX strategist, or beginner, you will undoubtedly come across terminology and concepts that may leave you wanting more information. That’s why we created this extensive glossary of user experience terms and definitions.
A/B Testing
A/B Testing is used to determine what, when comparing two designs, performs better.
Accessible Design
Accessible Design is a design tailored to accommodate all users, including those who are color blind, visually or hearing impaired, and users with other disabilities that may impact their digital experience.
Accordion
An Accordion is a type of menu that stacks collapsed items that expand to display content when clicked.
Affinity Map
An Affinity Map is grouping insights and categorizing those insights based on themes creating a large volume diagram.
Affordance
An Affordance are clues that tell us what an element can do.
Alignment
In a design, Alignment keeps everything consistent and creates easy readability for a user. It also builds order and helps a user navigate.
Animation
An Animation is any moving feature that creates an interactive element to a design.
Anthropomorphic Animations
Anthropomorphic Animation is the imputing of human feelings, traits, and purposes to non-human objects.
Back Casting Method
Back Casting is a strategic planning technique that links the current situation to desired long-term future scenarios through interactive activities.
Banner Blindness
Users suffering from Banner Blindness neglect visual components displayed in locations where advertisements are commonly present, usually on the left-hand side of the screen.
Bibliometric method
The Bibliometric Method is used to map the present status of research quantitatively and objectively on a specific topic and statistical analysis of publications in that field.
Breadcrumb
A Breadcrumb is a secondary form of navigation that helps users get to nearby content in a hierarchical structure.
Call-to-Action
A Call-to-Action is a phrase used to describe certain prompts, graphics, banners, or buttons that persuade website visitors to execute planned expected actions.
Channel
A Channel is an interaction between a customer and an organization.
Clickstream
A Clickstream involves a user’s sequence of clicks in order to complete a task.
Customer Experience (CX)
Customer Experience is an individual’s overall impression of their interaction with a company or brand. The whole client experience is covered, from using the website to contacting customer support to delivering the goods or services they ordered.
Data-Driven Design
Data-Driven Design is a design piece that is supported by data and helps in understanding the target population.
Design Validation
Design Validation is a procedure of testing to make sure that a product’s or service’s design satisfies the purposes intended.
Empathy Map
An Empathy Map is a tool that can help you empathize observations from the research phase and draw out unexpected insights about what your users need.
End User
An End User is a user of an app or website.
Eye Tracking
Eye Tracking enables us to track a user’s eye activity and reveal where a user looks on a website.
Fidelity
A Fidelity is a design idea used in both wireframes and prototypes. High-fidelity prototypes and wireframes seek to be extremely near to the final graphics and functionality. In contrast, low-fidelity wireframes and prototypes focus on the fundamental structure and connections across screens.
Fishbone Diagram
The Fishbone Diagram is used to show the link between cause and effect and may be used to visually depict the source of an issue or effect.
Flat Design
Flat Design is a UI design approach that prioritizes using specific, two-dimensional components in vibrant colors.
F-Shape Rule
The F-shape pattern tracks user eye-scanning patterns when a user looks at the block of content on an application.
Floating Action Button
A Floating Action Button is a screen design feature that is usually in the bottom right corner and stays stationary while the user scrolls.
Flowchart
Flowcharts show the steps a user may follow on a product to finish a task.
Form
A Form is a user interface component that collects data from the user.
Hackathon
A Hackathon is a collaborative project where designers, developers, and others join to quickly produce a usable product.
Hamburger Menu
A Hamburger Menu is a three-line graphic pattern (or occasionally two or four lines) that often denotes a hidden menu. It may be tapped or clicked to display a menu. This menu is generally used for mobile platforms.
Heat Map
A Heat Map uses the regions of your product that attract the most significant user attention and are graphically represented in a heat map. They employ a warm-to-cool color spectrum to display the precise location of your user’s mouse hover or clicks.
Interaction Design
An Interaction Design is a web design style that emphasizes producing a compelling user interface with practical actions and behaviors.
Iteration
Iteration involves frequently obtaining input on a design solution, acting on that feedback to make specific adjustments, and progressing to a final design.
Iterative Design
Iterative Design is a design process that includes prototypes, planning, putting into practice, testing, and repeating the procedure.
Login Wall
A Login Wall is a page that demands the user to log in or register before accessing it.
Meetup
A Meetup is a gathering of UX designers for networking, experience sharing, project collaboration, portfolio reviews, and more.
Mental Model
What a user perceives to be true about a product’s functioning is represented by a mental model. Users may map functionality based on other existing websites or real-world commonalities.
Mobile Usability Testing
Mobile Usability Testing is when testing is conducted on a mobile device.
Mockup
A Mockup is a precise depiction of how the final design will look without any coding involved.
Navigation
Navigation is a feature that controls how users navigate between menus and features in a website or mobile app.
Permission Priming
Permission Priming is when a user is often prompted for their consent before using a feature that needs access to the device.
Prototype
A prototype is a preliminary version of the product that is tested. Throughout the product development process, various fidelity prototypes will frequently be built.
Responsive Web Design
Responsive Web Design is the process of designing websites that are responsive to the device being used to view them.
Skeleton Screen
A Skeleton Screen serves as a loading signal to visually occupy the user while the screen content loads.
Swipe Ambiguity
Swipe Ambiguity is a swipe gesture that can have two distinct outcomes depending on where it is made on the screen.
Tree Testing
A Tree Test is a usability tool used to assess the labeling, organization, and findability of a website’s navigation or information architecture.
Usability Testing
Usability Testing tests a product on a sample of users and is a research technique that enables us to assess how easy or difficult a product is to use.
User-Centered Design
User-Centered Design is a method of creating a product or service (user interface design) that puts the customer at the center of the design process.
User Experience (UX)
The term user experience describes how a person feels, thinks, and perceives a product or a service.
User Feedback Loop
User Feedback Loop refers to the method through which design is iterated and tested against user feedback in subsequent iterations.
User Interface (UI)
User Interface is the portion of a website or app’s front-end that the user may access using an input device.
User Journey
A User Journey is a step-by-step path a user may take to achieve their goal when using a website.
User Research
With the use of observational techniques, task analysis, and other feedback procedures, User Research focuses on comprehending user behaviors, requirements, and motivations.
User Scenario
A User Scenario is a narrative-like account of a particular circumstance or sequence of occurrences in which a user might engage with a product.
UX Analytics
UX Analytics uses data and statistics to make UX design decisions.
UX Curve
UX Curve is an approach for measuring long-term user experience.
UX Unicorn
A UX Unicorn is a skilled expert in each aspect of UX.
Widget
A Widget has one function and dynamically draws information.
Wireframe
A Wireframe is the basic layout of your app, website, or other design. It is a blueprint design plan without any content, pictures, or interactive features.
Wizard of OZ Testing
Wizard of OZ Testing is a technique where users engage with what they assume to be an autonomous system, which an invisible human operator manages in the adjoining room.
5-Second Test
The 5-Second Test is a procedure in which a subject is given five seconds to examine a page and then asked follow-up questions to gauge response and recall.