A digital product is any electronic software or web application that a user can access, download, and interact with. Examples include websites, mobile apps, and desktop software. Digital products are built using many different disciplines and skill sets. In this post we’ll discuss the different types of digital products and what they entail from a design perspective so that you can understand how to build them yourself!
Different types of digital products
Digital products are a broad category that includes more than just websites. Digital products include apps, software, and other types of interactive media. These products are often created by a team with different skill sets—product managers, developers, and designers—and the end result is usually built using a combination of tools and technologies.
Product design
There are two types of product design:
- The first, and most common, is when the designer identifies a problem in his or her life and then creates a solution that meets that need. This process is often called “user-centered design” because it’s focused on solving problems for people. The second method is what we call business-centered design; here, the designer identifies a problem within their industry or company—for example, excessive time spent on customer service calls—and designs a solution that addresses this issue without necessarily addressing the needs of users (though it could).
To make sure you’re building products using both user-centered and business-centered methods, keep these steps in mind:
User experience (UX) design
As a UX designer, you’re responsible for the overall user experience of a digital product. You’ll work closely with developers and designers to create prototypes that test how well users understand how to use your product. Your goal is to create a design that is both functional and pleasant for users.
UX designers have a lot of creative freedom in their jobs—they can take on many different roles like prototyping new features or conducting usability tests. In this section we’ll cover some common responsibilities you might expect from a UX job description:
User Interface (UI) design
User interface (UI) design is the process of creating the layout, elements, and navigation for a website or application. It’s all about making sure that your product is easy to use and intuitive. UI designers use visual design principles to create a user interface that is attractive, easy to use, and efficient.
User Interface Designers should be creative thinkers who think visually—they must have empathy with their users and understand how people interact with products. A good UI designer knows how important it is for them to be able to create an engaging experience that keeps visitors coming back again and again!
Front-end development
Front-end development is the part of your product that users interact with. Front-end developers are responsible for the user interface, or what you see on the screen. They use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build this front end.
In order to make sure that their code works on all browsers and devices (including mobile), front-end developers have to write cross-browser-compatible code. If they forget about one browser or device type, it could break something in another part of your project which may be hard to fix later on.
Back-end development
Back-end development is the sort of programming that happens behind the scenes, without users knowing. Back-end developers are responsible for building APIs and backend software that allows a company’s product to function.
For example, if you were using an online shopping app like Amazon or Zappos, there would be a back-end system behind the scenes providing a user interface for you as well as keeping track of your purchases in order to provide recommendations and send you emails about upcoming sales. A back-end developer would be responsible for creating this system from scratch or maintaining it after it was built.
Content management system (CMS) development
A CMS is a software tool that enables you to create, manage and publish content on the internet. There are many types of CMSs available on the market today, including open-source and proprietary solutions. The most popular ones include WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla.
The first step to developing your website with a CMS is choosing one that fits your particular project requirements. You’ll want to consider factors like cost (both upfront costs as well as ongoing maintenance fees), scalability, flexibility, and security when making this decision. In addition to these considerations, there are also several technical factors that should be taken into account: what kind of template do you want for your site? Do you need responsive design? Will it support mobile devices? How does it handle multi-language functionality? Once you’ve answered these questions, look at different options within each category until you find one that best meets all of your needs in both form and function (see here for more information about choosing between open-source and proprietary solutions).
Once you’ve decided which type(s) of CMS will meet your needs best based on all these factors then it’s time for development!
Digital products are more than just a website and require multiple disciplines, tools, and skills to build.
Digital products are more than just a website. And if you’re going to be successful in building a digital product, you’ll need to know about the different disciplines, tools, and skills that are involved in their creation.
Digital products require multiple disciplines: front-end development (the code that runs your site), back-end development (server-side programming), user experience design (UXD), and user interface (UI) design. UXD focuses on how people interact with websites or apps while UI focuses on visuals like buttons and navigation bars.
On top of those disciplines, there’s also product management which involves setting goals for your project as well as marketing and business analysis which help determine what features will be included in your product or service.
Finally, there is engineering which involves writing code for each of these individual elements of web development
Conclusion
If you’re building your first digital product, keep in mind that it’s not just a website. It is a big undertaking and will require a lot of time, planning, and skill. Start by mapping out the different aspects of your project so that everything fits together seamlessly. Then start building! Good luck
