Web application UX design: software people use

What is the difference between UI and UX?

UI stands for user interface: how it looks. Fonts, colours, buttons, icons. UX is about how it works: which steps someone takes, what they expect and where they get stuck. An application can look slick and still be awkward to use. On the other hand, a simple-looking system can be very pleasant to work with.

In practice the two overlap. Good design starts with the UX and then makes it look good with the UI.

Why UX design matters so much in a web application

You visit a website now and then. You use a web application often, to get work done: entering an order, making a schedule, approving an invoice. You notice poor UX straight away:

• Colleagues keep using Excel or paper alongside the new system.
• Lots of questions come in about how things work.
• Data gets entered wrongly or only halfway.
• Customers still call, even though the answer is in the portal.
• New staff take a long time to learn it.

Good, user-friendly software does the opposite. The system feels logical, people make fewer mistakes and you get the benefit you had it built for. Want to know first what a web application is and when you need one? Read having a web application built.

Five principles of good UX design for software

• Know your user. A planner in the office has different needs from a technician on a phone in a basement. Design for the real situation.
• Make the main task the easiest. What do people do most often? That action belongs at the top, in as few clicks as possible.
• Be consistent. The same button sits in the same place everywhere and has the same name everywhere.
• Give feedback. Show that something has been saved, sent or failed, and what the person should do next.
• Prevent mistakes instead of reporting them. Choose from a list instead of free typing, and ask for confirmation before deleting.

The UX process for a web application

UX design is not a separate step. It runs through the whole project. A typical order:

• Research: talking to users and watching how they work now.
• Tasks and flows: writing out, per role, which steps someone takes. For example: create a quote, send it, get it signed.
• Making wireframes: simple sketches of screens without colour, just layout and content.
• Clickable prototype: a mock version you can click through, to test the flow before there is any code.
• Visual design: the UI, with brand style, colours and components.
• Testing and adjusting: after the build, seeing where people still get stuck.

You can read how this fits into the wider build process in how software development works.

A simple usability test you can do yourself

A usability test sounds big, but it can be very small. All you need is a prototype or test version and three to five real users.

• Give a concrete task, such as: book an appointment for customer Jansen on Thursday.
• Ask the person to think out loud while they click.
• Do not help. Just watch and write down where they hesitate or get stuck.
• Afterwards, ask what they expected at the points where it went wrong.
• Make changes and test again with someone else.

After a few tests you usually see the same problems coming back. Those are the points that deliver the most when you fix them.

Common UX mistakes in web applications

• Wanting everything on one screen. A dashboard with thirty numbers tells nobody anything. Show what is needed for the next decision. See also custom dashboard.
• Designing from the database instead of from the task. Users think in jobs, not tables.
• Jargon in buttons and messages. Write the way your colleagues talk.
• Forgetting mobile. Even if the system mainly runs in the office, someone will open it on their phone.
• Skipping accessibility. Think of good contrast, readable text and keyboard navigation. Since 28 June 2025 the European Accessibility Act applies to many customer-facing digital services.

What does UX design cost, and when does it pay for itself?

UX design does not have to be a separate, expensive track. In smaller projects it is often simply part of the design and build: a few conversations, sketches and a test round. For larger systems with many roles and screens, it pays to deliberately spend more time on it, because mistakes in the set-up are much more expensive to fix later.

The payback is mainly in time you do not lose. Fewer questions, fewer mistakes, less duplicate work and faster onboarding of new colleagues. With a system ten people use every day, every minute per task adds up quickly. The chance that the system actually gets used also goes up a lot. And in the end, that is what you are paying for.

UX design at Violexa

At Violexa, every custom web application starts with the people who will work with it. Hisham looks at how you work now, sketches the main screens and tests them with you before anything is actually built. That way you avoid expensive changes afterwards.

An example from our work is the student portal for Rijschool Benz, alongside a website where a trial lesson can be requested in 30 seconds. There it is all about short, clear steps. A custom web application starts from €1,799 excl. VAT (€2,177 incl. VAT) per project, including a design that works on every screen and training.

Want to know how your own system could be more user-friendly, or do you have a new idea? Book a free quickscan. In 30 minutes, online or on site, we discuss your situation. Afterwards you get short written advice with a price estimate, with no obligation.

Frequently asked questions