Build Engaging SaaS Products with UX Design

A high product adoption rate and consistent growth are the main goals for every SaaS business. But how do we accomplish this? One way to do it is with a proper SaaS UX design.

In this article, you’ll discover UX design examples and best practices for SaaS products and productized services. Whether you’re a startup company launching your first product or a mature SaaS company preparing to release your tenth product, keep reading to learn how to create a functional and enjoyable user experience for your SaaS business.

What is SaaS UX design?

UX design for SaaS products can help customers accomplish their goals and have a seamless and enjoyable experience using the product. Note that it isn’t only about pleasing customers with how easy it is to get things done with your product but also with great visuals.

A good user experience in SaaS is vital to your product’s success as it can directly impact whether your customers will continue using your product or opt for your competitors instead.

Let’s look at the importance of a SaaS business’s UX design and how it can help you succeed in today’s competitive market.

Why is good UX design important for your SaaS product?

Before we look at the process of optimizing your SaaS product’s UX design, let’s check out the benefits every SaaS company will receive from good UX design.

Reduced churn rates

Churn is the rate at which paying customers cancel their recurring subscriptions, which is usually measured as a percentage. Reducing churn rates is one of the biggest benefits of good SaaS design. If customers find your product difficult to navigate or if it doesn’t meet their expectations, they’ll likely cancel their subscriptions.

However, a SaaS product with a great user experience will likely increase customer engagement. Customers will unsubscribe to something they don’t use, to retain them, validate their reasons for continuing their subscription to your product. Understand their needs and motivations and tailor your product and messages to better meet their needs in the long run.

Increased customer retention and acquisition

Customer acquisition is the process of acquiring new customers, while customer retention is about maintaining existing customers so they’re less likely to switch to your competitors.

An intuitive and well-designed SaaS interface helps build trust, resulting in potential customers likely trying out your product and existing customers renewing their subscriptions. A Treasure Data and Forbes Insights survey revealed that:

• 74% of consumers are influenced by their experiences when making purchasing decisions.
• Around 83% of executives face the risk of market share loss because of poor customer experience.

Boosts brand loyalty and improves engagement

It’s easy to overlook that we are interacting with someone else on the other side of a screen. The best experiences are designed with their customers in mind. Whether offering ease of interaction or anticipating what users want, SaaS products designed with UX design principles will greatly exceed user engagement.

When customers have a great experience using your software, they’ll likely continue to use it and even recommend it to their friends and families. This usually leads to a loyal customer base that offers a significant competitive edge over other SaaS companies.

SaaS UX design best practices and tips

Designing a helpful and user-centered experience may seem daunting, but plenty of tools can help you create better ones. UI/UX designers working for successful SaaS companies also use the following best practices to stay ahead of the competition.

Start with “why” during the research process

User research and testing is a crucial part of the UX design process. When done correctly, user research will help you find what your customers need from your product, how they use it, and how it helps solve their problems.

Always ask why your users need something and get as close as you can to the root of the problem. Every design process is a hypothesis about a market. The things you should be asking are:

• What do your users want? 
• How do they feel when using your product? 
• Will adding a feature or interaction really improve their experience?
• What are customers doing in their current state of mind? 
• Are there any patterns emerging when looking at your competitor’s customer journey?

Audit your onboarding process

Onboarding is where new users get to know your product for the first time and guide them to its features. A strong onboarding process can significantly improve engagement and increase customer satisfaction.

A thorough onboarding experience should help users understand your product better and reach their goals quickly. You can do this by offering interactive walkthrough tours, emphasizing key features, and giving straightforward, engaging explanations.

Your product registration process is the make-or-break point for your user acquisition efforts. Your users are likely in a hurry and have limited patience, making a complicated and lengthy registration process an instant turnoff. Also, some users aren’t comfortable providing too much information upfront, so ask for the necessary details to get started.

These are why keeping your registration process short and simple is important. You can do this by reducing the number of forms users must fill out, avoiding unnecessary questions, and offering clear instructions. Another benefit of simplifying your product’s registration process is that it reduces friction and increases the chances that your users will become paying customers.

Collaborate with the right stakeholders

Stakeholders are groups or individuals that contribute to the product’s success; this includes founders, investors, and even your customers.

Getting their feedback early during the design process is essential as it helps ensure that the product meets their expectations and aligns with their goals.

UX experts state that user experience usually improves when UX is a team activity. We recommend the following steps to motivate stakeholders to participate in the research process:

• Collaborate regularly as it shouldn’t only be a one-time event.
• Ease up the user research and testing participation process.
• Educate everyone in the team about the benefits of research.
• Align your research goals with business goals.
• Share as much of your best methods, processes, and deliverables as you can.
• Increase your design artifacts’ visibility, including user journey maps, prototypes, and user task flow.

Level up your SaaS UX design

As SaaS products can be accessed and used by anyone with an internet connection, SaaS companies can grow significantly if most users receive their products well. However, maintaining a popular SaaS product takes a lot of effort.

Excellent UX in SaaS products happens when you conduct proper user research and user testing throughout the design stage, and it doesn’t need to be complicated as long as you’ve followed our essential tips in this article.