How Powerful Micro-Interactions Boost Your UX
Micro-interactions have become increasingly important in a world with a dizzying number of digital platforms, and an ocean of content. While micro-interactions used to be thought of as a cool feature in the early days of digital design, in the hyper-competitive digital space of today they’ve become a crucial element to the overall user experience.
What Are Micro-Interactions?
In digital design, micro-interactions are found in most user engagements with products. It occurs when you hover your mouse over text and it changes color to indicate it can be clicked. It’s when animation comes out showing the progress of your upload. It’s even the message that pops up to let you know you’ve input the wrong password. These little visual cues and other subtle indicators are micro-interactions. And while they may not be readily noticed by users, that’s actually, often, when they’re properly executed. Micro-interactions, however subtle they may be, hold the general design scheme together – providing bits of information that allow users to navigate the interface and perform basic functions.How Micro-Interactions Work
Micro-interactions have four basic elements: trigger, rules, feedback, and loops/modes. These elements help organize the operational cycle of these design elements:Triggers
These are what initiate the micro-interaction process—a tap of a button, or a click of a mouse, for example. It can also be initiated by the system when certain qualifications are met, like when you get sound notifications when you receive a message. These triggers work with a set of established action rules that prescribe what can and can’t be done.Rules
These basically determine what happens once a micro-interaction is triggered. So when you swipe up on Tinder, for example, the rules state that you’ve “Super liked” someone. But the rules also state that still can’t message them until they've liked you back.Feedback
As the name implies, it lets users know what’s going on. Anything a user sees, hears, or even feels when a micro-interaction is happening is feedback. For example, if you set your phone to vibrate, that short vibration is feedback.Loops/Modes
These basically define the nature of the interaction—does it flash once, repeat? What happens over time? For example, the loops can be the number of times a user can input the wrong password, while the mode would be that an account would be temporarily blocked after five password errors.When and How to Use Micro-Interactions
1. Page Animation
When you talk about page animation, it could be the creative transition between pages or just a cool scrolling progress icon. These types of micro-interactions can give users better insight into the relationship between previous and current pages. It also makes even the process of skimming more engaging.2. Swiping
Similarly, you can also take advantage of how innate swiping has become by incorporating smooth transitions to your content when users swipe. This way, you can add some entertainment value to your content (without users needing to get on a dating app).3. Animated Input Fields
You probably haven’t met anyone that enjoys filling out forms. But animating fields can at least make the mundane task more engaging, and even helpful.4. Status Animation
Similarly, in this age of dwindling attention spans and on-demand entertainment, nobody likes to wait. But by using animations for things like download/upload status, you can show users’ progress, while adding more fun to an otherwise boring function. You can even use it to add to your branding.5. Notifications
When it comes to notifications, it’s better if you can give users options. For example, there are users who prefer less intrusive notifications. Others, meanwhile, wouldn’t mind Facebook Messenger’s chat bubble popping up even while they’re watching a YouTube video. Facebook and Instagram have taken this to another level, providing users with a hit of dopamine every time someone likes their posts. This builds habits, making users look forward to getting notifications.6. Pull-Down Menu
It’s become a staple design in smartphones’ operating systems, and it’s because it’s incredibly user-friendly. Just by pulling down from the top of your screen, you get access to all your notifications and your basic settings. Ease of navigation is one of the most important functions of micro-interactions, and pull-down menus enable just that.7. Call-to-Action Buttons
Your CTAs are there for a reason – and that’s because you want users to click on them. Adding animation to your CTA buttons can help stimulate users’ behavior. And at the very least, make them curious about what might happen.8. Anchor Text Animation
Animating anchor text is a great way to incorporate creative branding into simple functions like going back to your homepage or even just indicating that something can be clicked.9. Tutorials
Micro-interactions are also a great way to educate users about how to use your product. Simple animations or even graphics that point out basic functions can go a long way towards better UX by making your product easy to use, and unveiling cool hidden functions.Takeaway
These small details all add value to the overall experience of your users. A small feature like a non-intrusive notification or a cool status animation can make users feel that the company cares about them, and leads to feelings of goodwill towards the brand. And once that sort of relationship is built, you can then influence their actions to align with your own goals. With everything going digital, it’s getting harder and harder to stand out from the crowd – but these subtle micro-interactions can help you achieve just that.WDD Staff
WDD staff are proud to be able to bring you this daily blog about web design and development. If there's something you think we should be talking about let us know @DesignerDepot.
Read Next
24 Best Creative Portfolio Websites in 2023
For anyone working in a digital creative field, whether design, illustration, animation, video, or a combination of…
By Simon Sterne
15 Best New Fonts, September 2023
Nothing upgrades your designs like selecting the right font. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of using the same…
By Ben Moss
Weekly Design News #1
Every Sunday we’re rounding up the best of the previous week’s stories from webdesignernews.com, and in this issue #1,…
By Louise North
The 20 Most Controversial Logos of All Time (Ranked)
When you hire graphic designers to create your company's logo, what do you expect? Professional designs, culturally…
By Robert Reeve
LimeWire AI Studio Generative Art App
If you’re looking for the most exciting way to launch a career in AI-generated art, then you’re in the right place.
By WDD Staff
20 Best New Websites, September 2023
Are you in need of design inspiration? Are you looking for the best websites designed in 2023 to pull ideas,…
The Dangers of Deceptive Design Patterns (And How to Avoid Them)
As web designers, our role in crafting user-friendly digital landscapes is critical. We are tasked with creating user…
By Louise North
10 Best Ecommerce WordPress Themes in 2023 [September update]
You plan to set up shop with an online store. You know there’ll be competition. And to compete with or beat that…
By WDD Staff
5 Marketing Tools Every Designer Needs
Yes, designers do need marketing tools. From freelance graphic designers who need to land more work to designers who…
Exciting New Tools For Designers, September 2023
At the end of another summer, we are all getting ready to knuckle down for some serious work in the fall. But we want…
Elon Musk calls LinkedIn ‘Cringe’—Announces Competitor
Elon Musk recently announced his intentions to create a direct competitor to LinkedIn. Musk’s grand plan is to make his…
Everything You Need to Know to Embrace the Y2K Design Trend
The turn of the millennium was a major cultural shift, and the Y2K aesthetic emerged as a visualization of what the…
By Simon Sterne