What Design & User Experience Covers
User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design is about creating pages and sites that buyers can use without instructions. Information architecture (IA) so content is organized logically, wireframes that show page structure before visual design starts, and mockups developers can build from without rewriting your vision. This is for businesses whose site looks dated, confuses buyers, or was never designed with conversion in mind.
This is not CRO testing. Testing happens after pages are live with traffic. Design happens before or during a build. This is also not development. I deliver designs and specs, not working code. If you need both design and engineering, those are separate services.
Why SMBs Need Better UX
Most SMB sites were built by a developer who can code but not design, or by a founder using a template that looked okay five years ago. The site works technically, but buyers land on your homepage and can't figure out what you do or what to click next. Forms are too long, navigation is buried, mobile looks broken.
Your competitors have clean, simple layouts. Yours has three CTAs above the fold, a carousel no one clicks, and paragraphs of text buyers skip. Conversion suffers because the interface gets in the way.
Where UX Usually Breaks
- Homepage doesn't explain what you do in the first three seconds. Visitors bounce
- Navigation is confusing. Too many menu items, unclear labels, or hidden on mobile
- Forms ask for too much. Ten fields when three would work
- Mobile experience is a shrunk-down desktop site. Text is tiny, buttons are hard to tap
- Call-to-action buttons blend in or there are too many competing options on one page
- Site was designed for desktop and forced onto mobile as an afterthought
How I Approach Design Work
Four phases: audit the current site or pages, design the structure (wireframes and IA), build the visual layer (mockups and styling), then hand off to developers with specs. Most engagements start with an audit because you need to know what's broken before designing anything new.
Phase 1: UX Audit & Information Architecture
Review your current site or landing pages for usability issues. Where do buyers get stuck? What pages have high bounce rates? Is navigation clear? This phase includes a page-by-page audit, user flow mapping (how someone should move from homepage to conversion), and an IA plan if you're redesigning multiple pages or sections.
Typical duration is one to two weeks. You'll get a written report showing what's broken and a proposed structure for the new design.
Phase 2: Wireframes & Layout
Based on the audit, I design the page structure. Wireframes are low-fidelity layouts showing where content blocks, buttons, images, and forms go. No colors or fonts yet, just boxes and labels. The goal here is to agree on structure before spending time on visual design.
Wireframes cover mobile and desktop layouts, navigation patterns, and content hierarchy. Most projects need one to two rounds of wireframe revisions before moving to visual design.
Phase 3: Visual Design & Mockups
Once wireframes are approved, I build the visual layer. High-fidelity mockups with real typography, colors, button styles, and imagery. These look like the finished site. Mockups are created in Figma so you can click through and see how pages connect.
This phase includes a simple design system (fonts, colors, button styles, spacing rules) so future pages stay consistent. Most visual design takes two to four weeks depending on how many page templates.
Phase 4: Handoff & Developer Support
After mockups are approved, I hand off to developers. That includes design specs (exact font sizes, colors, spacing measurements), exported assets (logos, icons, images), responsive breakpoint documentation (how the design adapts from mobile to tablet to desktop), and Q&A support while developers build.
Some clients have an in-house developer. Others hire a contractor I recommend. Either way, I stay available for clarifications during the build and do a post-launch review to make sure the finished site matches the design.
Where This Fits in Practice
A regional logistics company had a site built in 2017 that looked functional but outdated. Their homepage listed services in paragraph form with no clear next step. Mobile visitors couldn't find the contact form because it was buried in a sidebar that didn't show up on small screens.
I redesigned the homepage with a clear headline, three service cards with buttons, and a mobile-first layout that put the contact form front and center. After their developer rebuilt the homepage from my mockups, form submissions went up and bounce rate dropped. The same design system was applied to service pages later.
A SaaS company was launching a new product and needed a landing page for paid ads. They had copy but no design. I designed a single-page layout focused on one conversion goal (start free trial), with social proof above the fold, benefit bullets in plain language, and a sticky CTA button that followed users as they scrolled. The page was built by a contractor in three days from my Figma file, and the company started running ads immediately.
Next Step
If your site looks dated, confuses buyers, or was never designed with conversion in mind, start with a free assessment. I'll review your current pages, identify usability issues, and outline what a redesign would involve. Get Free Assessment.
What's included
- Site or page audit for usability issues
- User flow mapping
- Information architecture plan
- Competitive UX review
Success looks like: You know what's broken and how pages should be structured.
- Low-fidelity wireframes for key pages
- Mobile and desktop layouts
- Navigation and interaction patterns
- Content hierarchy planning
Success looks like: You have a blueprint showing page structure before design starts.
- High-fidelity mockups for each page
- Typography and color system
- Button and form styling
- Image and icon specs
Success looks like: You have pixel-perfect designs developers can build from.
- Design specs and asset export
- Responsive breakpoint documentation
- Developer Q&A and clarifications
- Post-launch review
Success looks like: Developers have everything they need to build without guessing.
