Why Human-Centered Design is Important to Front-End Development

Have you ever wondered if a website or web application built by you will ever be used or have an impact on the daily lives of people? You might be thinking about your new application and how aesthetically pleasing it looks to you, but you know within you, there's always this question that lingers, "does it have any form of utility?" I believe what is being developed isn't just for you, but to meet the needs of end-users.

You might not like the ideas of a designer but hey, there shouldn't be a war between both professionals, rather, there should be some sort of synergy that will be beneficial to both parties to accomplish a common goal. You are both experts in your field and it is only right to respect the opinions of every individual.

In this article, I will be discussing why human-centered design is important as a front-end developer.

What is Human-centered design?

According to Havard Business School, Human-centered design is a problem-solving technique in which the problems of humans are at the center of the entire development process of a product or service. This ensures that the needs of the individuals that use the product or service are met.

You might be wondering why human-centered design is essential during the development process. Yes, anything that is thought of can be built with the skills acquired as a front-end developer. Be it a website or a web application, you might even feel like the next Mark Zuckerberg to build the next Facebook.

Although, what will set you apart from other developers is always putting the end users in mind during the whole process. Even as little as knowing why a certain color should be used or certain typography can just be what will make the difference.

It will be an advantage to understand why certain features are implemented, like the location of the navigation bar, a CTA (Call to action) button, and even the general user experience. Uniqueness is always well appreciated especially when it is in favor of the end-users because there is an end goal to developing these applications with the aim of converting the users to customers of the business.

Every business or organization is unique with its web applications, and what they hope to achieve with them. Be it Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Amazon, or TikTok, as the names of these applications are mentioned, you can have a feel of what they stand for, and their various purposes. What separates them is the way they were designed to serve the end-users.

Three phases of Human-Centered design

Here are thought processes that should be involved during the development of a service or product with users kept in mind:

• Inspiration - This process involves understanding the end users and their needs, knowing more about them, and not just making assumptions about what you feel they might want in a product or service. This requires you to empathize with them and understand their frustrations. This is the only way a frontend developer will be able to know the features that are necessary for the project that is being built.

• Ideation - This is the stage you come up with various ideas and plans on how to tackle the problems and eliminate the frustrations users have about a particular website or web application. From the findings made in the previous stage (inspiration), you will be able to understand what the end-users truly want and what is viable. At this stage, it is always good to narrow down your ideas to a few and test them to see if it solves the problem.

• Implementation - At this stage, it is confirmed that you now have the solution to the problems the users encountered and this will be the time to go ahead with the development process and start implementing features and solutions that will make the lives of the users easier. Although, it doesn't end here. Humans are never satisfied so you have to constantly strive to make their lives better.

The benefit of having a good knowledge of these processes as a front-end developer is that you will constantly have the end-users in mind during the development process, putting yourself in their shoes regarding what should really be implemented in a project.

You tend to make fewer assumptions about what people want. Time is spent wisely during the development process because you don't have to implement what doesn't solve the users' problems.

The communication between you and a designer is more efficient and effective if you work in a team, with a mutual understanding of what works and what doesn't.

Just like how it is encouraged for Designers to know the fundamental tools for front-end development, which are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (not necessarily being a master at all of them, but just knowing the basics). It will be complementary for a front-end developer to understand human-centered design.

Even as a freelancer, you will really appreciate having this knowledge, because you wouldn't have to outsource for a designer to help with a project.

Always remember that as a front-end developer, you are not building a website or application for yourself. What works for you might not work for the end user. The end users should always be kept in mind during the development process. Unless you want the users to leave the website you developed after a few scrolls without achieving the aim and purpose of why the website was built in the first place.

Conclusion!

At this point, the reasons for having this knowledge are quite clear. Having some human-centered design knowledge as a front-end developer will be beneficial and save you a lot of time during the development process.

Secondly, having better communication with a designer, putting the end-users at the center of the entire process, and knowing exactly what works for the success of the project. In the end, businesses will like to convert visitors to their websites to long-lasting customers.

Kindly share your thoughts in the comments section below. I'll like to know what you think.