7 Ways Web Developers and UX Designers Can Collaborate

7 Approaches to Collaboration Between Web Developers and UX Designers

Now, let’s dive deep into some collaborative approaches that Web developers and UX designers can take in teaming up with one another.

1. Engaging in Cross-Disciplinary Communication

Usually, Web developers and UX designers communicate for the first time when a new product or feature is proposed for a particular application. Before creating a functional specification for a new product or functionality, Web developers should get the guidance of the UX design team. They should work with the UX designers to determine whether the proposed specifications are realistic, the project is technically feasible, and the product would truly satisfy its target market. Therefore. Web developers and UX designers should team up during the initial stage of a project and discuss possible approaches to the project.

2. Joining Hands for User Research and Satisfaction

The UX design team plans and conducts user research—regardless of whether designers themselves or UX researchers take primary responsibility for this work. The research helps them to figure out users’ requirements, challenges, incentives, and behaviors. The Web development team should collaborate with the UX design team at this stage.

In this way, the Web development team can better comprehend the scope and type of the research the UX design team is planning. Plus, by offering their ideas, the developers can get answers to any open-ended questions they might have. For example, Web-development experts might ask the following questions:

• What might a user’s possible behaviors be when using a specific feature?
• What might a user’s desires be in relation to a particular type of interaction they could have with a certain feature?
• What might be a user’s possible ways of navigating through the Web site?

3. Seeing the Results of Their Research

Web developers should see the findings of the research that the UX design team has completed. Observing user-research sessions can give them a good idea of the consumers’ objectives, requirements, and painpoints regarding the use of a product or feature. Moreover, developers can provide their suggestions regarding the feature requirements for a minimum viable product (MVP). Together, these teams can discuss consumer requirements, design specifications, and technical needs.

The involvement of the Web development team is crucial when the UX design team starts creating their initial sketches and wireframes of the Web site. The UX design team should inform the development team about the methods they are exploring and get their feedback.

The developers should also give their feedback on the technical feasibility of these initial sketches. Moreover, the Web development team can suggest possible design solutions that could substitute for any they have rejected as infeasible. They might even come up with a design that provides a superb user experience, while making the development of the site or application simpler.

4. Modifying Wireframes to Improve Them

Developers and UX designers should partner with one another on refining the wireframes, giving the developers an opportunity to provide technical comments. This collaboration guarantees that the design matches the ability and capacity of the Web developers and leverages their knowledge of the product domain.

5. Working Together During the Testing Process

The development and UX design teams should communicate about the results of their usability testing, which determine the design tweaks that are necessary for the product. The developers would need to confirm that the design tweaks could realistically be implemented within the scope of the project and the MVP.

6. Ensuring the Final Design Is Feasible

The UX designers and developers should have additional discussions before approving the final design for implementation. The UX design team should ask the developers how they should deliver their designs to them. They might ask such questions as the following:

• If the design experts have worked with design software such as Illustrator or Sketch, can the Web developers use the same software to view the relevant files?
• What are the standardized style guidelines such as for color schemes, font usage, and button styles that both teams can use?
• Should the UX designers add explicit types of notes to their Web designs?

Also, the Web developers should explicitly establish the requirements that would enable them to make the designs a reality. The UX design team should come up with the best Web-design process that would match the developers’ needs.

7. Getting the Implementation Right

When the development team starts developing the Web site, there are often some specific aspects of the design that do not work as the designers expected. Therefore, the UX design team should continue to work closely with the developers so they can provide substitute designs, as necessary, and sustain a great user experience.

Conclusion

UX designers and Web developers must communicate with each other effectively to ensure they create the finest product possible. Both the UX design and development teams need to ensure transparency on operations and timelines and cultivate a review culture across the whole project team.

If your business is creating a Web site or app, your Web development and UX design teams should work together—hopefully, sitting close together and engaging in constant collaboration. But it’s essential that the teams meet at least every other day to make sure that development and UX design are aligned.

Things can go wrong if these two teams don’t keep their processes in sync. A perfectly developed Web site that offers a great user experience can boost your online presence and help you achieve your organization’s business goals.