User Interface aka UI is the first and foremost thing that attracts a user. Be it an app or a website, an eye-catchy UI plays a pivotal role in drawing heavy traffic for your business. A captivating UI is always the need of the hour for all business houses, and to attain it, they use micro-interactions.
What Are Micro-Interactions?
Micro-interactions are trigger-feedback pairs at its core level. The trigger can be for two uses,
- It can be a user action or an alteration in the state of the said system.
- The feedback we get is a narrowly targeted response to the trigger and communicated through highly contextual but visual changes in the user interface.
In simpler terms, the micro-interactions are small single-purpose events that help in boosting the user at a different level altogether. Their purpose is to give the users an enthralling experience and make their mobile apps using even more engaging courtesy an impactful UI. The micro-interactions are sub-divided further into four parts i.e. Triggers, Rules, Feedback, Loops, and modes. Let us study them separately.
Triggers:
The triggers are used to initiate micro-interaction that can be user-initiated or system initiated. These triggers could be a floating or an attractive icon that provokes the user to tap, swipe, click or press and hold to trigger the micro-interaction.
Rules:
Rules are a set of guidelines that states what happens next when a micro-interaction is triggered.
Feedback:
Whatever the user feels, hears, or sees during the execution of micro-interactions falls under the term feedback. Feedback could be a small animation, a pop-up, or something that easily catches the user’s attention.
Loops and modes
As the name suggests, loops and modes define the duration of micro-interactions and whether it is going to repeat over time or changed.
How can micro-interactions aid in enhancing app design?
In the world of UI/UX, these tiny micro-interactions are touted as the powerhouse when it comes to attaining the user’s concentration and getting them indulged with the app. Below are the seven micro-interactions that leave an everlasting impact on users,
Swipe:
With the help of the swipe action, the tapping feature is eliminated, and the user can experience a much more interactive and smooth action.
Swiping is a common gesture which you use daily on your smartphones while exploring the home screen. It helps the user quickly switch between the tabs and acquire more information subconsciously about a particular product.
Data Input:
Setting up a password while creating an account is frustrating, but proactive suggestions on passwords minimize user’s chores. Therefore, interactive interactions at the time of data input could be mesmerizing and can help in enhancing user engagement.
Call to Action:
The micro-interactions primary goal is to enhance user experience with the app. A call to action perhaps helps the most in retaining and building a new customer group. It inculcates a feeling of achievement, and at the same time, the customers keep coming back to feel rewarded.
Tutorials become interesting
Tutorials are always helpful in learning about new stuff. Whether it is an app or something else, tutorials make it easy to understand things. However, when these tutorials are integrated with micro-interactions, the working of an application is explained in the simplistic form by highlighting all the basic and essential features for a better understanding.
Animations
Animations are among the must-see and must-do things while creating a UI. They personify good designs, and their presence makes things in the app lively.
However, the developers should use animations proficiently as they are meant to engage users not distracting them. If the animation is there in bulk, the user might get annoyed and ultimately lose interest in the application that is one thing you would not want.
Current system status
The user should be aware of the current status and what is taking place on a site or app. Sometimes, if the users are not informed, they might get irritated and annoyed. In that case, micro-interactions helps the user know what is happening and how long a process would take time to complete. Therefore, it is better to go the easy way of informing the users.
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Animated Buttons
The animated buttons can be considered as a part of the animation. These buttons play the role of information manager by letting the users know their way through your app or site. A developer needs to pay attention to things like shape, color, animations, special effects, animations, texture, and placements.
Conclusion:
Micro-interactions play a major role in enhancing the beauty of an app and make it look vibrant. They can act as a way to differentiate your product from competitors and make their own identity. With micro-interactions, you can easily enhance user experience to the fullest.
