UX design and UX consulting: from user research to conversion rate
UX (user experience) is the discipline that designs how people use a digital product. At Flowup, the service brings together research, information architecture, UI design, design systems, accessibility, usability testing, audits and CRO, with every decision validated with users, not with opinion.
By Guto Bertoncini, founder and lead strategist of FlowupUpdated on 16 min read
5.0 on GoogleSince 2011Proprietary B.I.N.A. Method
Summary
UX design in seven points
The essentials of this page for anyone who needs to decide quickly. The details, the sources and the frequently asked questions are right below.
- UX (user experience) is the discipline that designs how people use a digital product, from research to interface design, accessibility and conversion.
- UI is the visible layer; UX is the system of decisions that determines whether that layer works for the people who use it.
- Flowup's UX service brings together eight areas: UX research, information architecture, UI design, design systems, accessibility, usability testing, audits and CRO.
- The most common entry point is the UX audit: heuristic evaluation, behavioral data and a plan prioritized by impact and effort.
- About five participants reveal around 85% of the usability problems in an interface (Nielsen and Landauer): testing with a few people, and often, works better.
- Digital accessibility is a legal obligation in Brazil (Lei 13.146/2015, Article 63). In 2026, 95.9% of the most visited home pages had detectable WCAG failures (WebAIM).
- Experience has become a signal for search and for AI: INP joined the Core Web Vitals in 2024, and a clear structure is what allows an AI to understand and cite a page.
Definition
What is UX and what is UX design?
UX, short for user experience, is the discipline that designs how people use a digital product: what they find, what they understand, what they manage to complete and where they give up. UX design is the practice of designing that experience methodically, based on evidence of real behavior.
A poor experience does not show up in the report under that name. It shows up as a rising cost per lead, abandoned carts, repeated support tickets and a sales team explaining on WhatsApp what the product should explain by itself.
When the experience is measured, the effect on the business is direct. A 0.1 second improvement in mobile load time raised retail conversions by 8.4% (Deloitte, Milliseconds Make Millions). And the probability of a bounce grows 32% when load time goes from 1 to 3 seconds (Google). Speed is only the easiest layer to measure; the others cost even more when ignored.
What does a UX designer do? A UX designer researches people's behavior, organizes information, designs flows and interfaces, tests with real users and measures the result. At Flowup, this work happens alongside development and the search services, so that the experience leaves the prototype and reaches the live website.
What separates a product that converts from one that frustrates is not taste. It is method.
Comparison
What is the difference between UX and UI?
UX and UI go together, but they are not the same thing. A beautiful interface with a confusing architecture is a UX problem, not a UI problem.
| Aspect | UI (user interface) | UX (user experience) |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The visible layer: typography, colors, buttons, spacing and components | The system of decisions that determines whether the product works for the people who use it |
| Question it answers | How does this look and behave on screen? | Do people find, understand and complete what they came to do? |
| How the work is done | Visual direction, components, states and design system | Research, information architecture, flows, testing and measurement |
| How it is measured | Visual consistency, legibility and contrast | Task completion, conversion, abandonment and time to action |
| At Flowup | Builds on the visual identity defined by the brand | Starts before the design: understand and structure first, then design |
At Flowup, the two go together and in this order: first understand and structure, then design.
What you hire
Eight areas of UX in a single service
Flowup's UX service is not a package of screens: it is eight named areas of work, which can be hired together or separately, each with a defined scope and owner.
UX research
Interviews, user research and analysis of usage data to find out what people actually do, before any screen is designed.
Information architecture
Organization of content, navigation and naming so that people and search engines find what they are looking for in the fewest steps.
UI design
Interface, visual hierarchy and components designed from the brand's identity and validated on real screens, from phone to desktop.
Design system
A living library of components, patterns and usage rules that keeps pages consistent and speeds up every new feature.
Digital accessibility
Alignment with WCAG 2.2 and with ABNT NBR 17060, the Brazilian standard: contrast, keyboard navigation, visible focus, form labels and assistive technologies.
Usability testing
Moderated and unmoderated tests with real users, with a script, tasks and a record of what blocks the journey.
UX audit
Heuristic evaluation and analysis of behavioral data, delivered as a plan of fixes prioritized by impact and effort.
CRO (conversion rate optimization)
Hypotheses, A/B tests and continuous measurement to turn visits into inquiries, sign-ups and sales, with statistical significance.
Explicit boundaries: UI design builds on the visual identity defined in branding, and CRO for a specific campaign happens in landing page development. Here, the scope is the entire product.
How to hire
UX audit, redesign or ongoing CRO: where to start
Three ways to start, depending on where the product stands. The most common is the audit: it is quick and decides which of the other two makes sense.
| Criterion | UX audit | Experience redesign | Ongoing CRO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | Where does the product lose people? | How should this work? | How do we improve month by month? |
| What you receive | A report with problems prioritized by impact and effort | Architecture, prototypes, interface and design system | Cycles of hypothesis, A/B test and measurement |
| When to choose it | Before investing in a redesign or in more media spend | When the current structure no longer supports the business | When there is already traffic and volume to test |
| Format | Short, one-off project | Project | Recurring |
| Prerequisite | None: it is the entry point | A completed diagnosis or audit | Enough traffic to reach statistical significance |
To be transparent: if the product does not yet have enough traffic to test, ongoing CRO is not the right service for now, because the results would not have statistical significance. In that case, the recommendation is the audit first and acquisition afterward.
Method
How a UX project works: four phases, from evidence to optimization
First understand and structure, then design and validate, and finally measure and optimize. It is the B.I.N.A. Method applied to experience.
Discovery and research
Business goals, audiences and what the usage data already shows, combined with interviews and observation of the people who use the product. Internal opinion gives way to evidence.
Architecture and flows
Content structure, navigation and journeys redesigned before a single pixel is drawn. It is the cheapest stage at which to fix things.
Interface, design system and testing
Prototypes, interface and component library, validated with real users and checked for contrast, keyboard, focus, labels and screen readers.
Measurement and optimization
Launch, instrumentation and cycles of hypothesis, test and learning: CRO as a routine, not as a campaign.
Digital accessibility
Digital accessibility and WCAG: a legal obligation in Brazil, not a differentiator
In Brazil, the Brazilian Inclusion Law (Lei 13.146/2015), in Article 63, makes accessibility mandatory on websites maintained by companies with headquarters or commercial representation in the country, in line with internationally adopted best practices and guidelines.
- 95.9%of the home pages in the web's top 1 million had detectable WCAG 2 failures in February 2026, compared with 94.8% in 2025.WebAIM Million, 2026
- 56.1errors per page, on average: up 10.1% in one year.WebAIM Million, 2026
- 83.9%of pages had low-contrast text, the most common failure.WebAIM Million, 2026
- 54requirements in ABNT NBR 17060, the Brazilian accessibility standard for apps and websites accessed on mobile phones.ABNT, 2022
The most common failures are basic and inexpensive to fix: low-contrast text (83.9%), images without alternative text (53.1%) and form fields without labels (51%). Flowup's international reference is WCAG 2.2, from the W3C, and its Brazilian reference is ABNT NBR 17060.
In practice, the accessibility work covers semantic structure, keyboard navigation, visible focus, contrast, forms with labels and clear error messages, alternative text, heading hierarchy, accessible interactive components, adequately sized click targets and reduced motion.
To be transparent: full WCAG conformance requires a dedicated audit, and Flowup does not claim conformance without that verification. What we deliver is a diagnosis, prioritized fixes and evidence of what was done, not a seal.
UX, SEO and AI
Does UX help with SEO and AI answers?
It does, on two fronts. In traditional search, experience has become a measured signal. In AI search, what decides whether a brand is cited is the clarity of the structure, in other words, information architecture.
In March 2024, INP (Interaction to Next Paint) replaced FID among the Core Web Vitals: the page's response to user interaction began to be measured by Google, alongside LCP and CLS.
In generative engines, heading hierarchy, content in extractable blocks, direct definitions and structured data are what allow an AI to understand and cite a page. In August 2026, 80% of the searches where Flowup ranks in Brazil already showed an AI Overview (Semrush). A product that is confusing for people is, for the same reason, unreadable for language models.
This is where UX meets AI SEO and AEO: both depend on an information structure that someone has to have designed.
INPCore Web Vitals
The technical layer of the experience is handled in performance and Core Web Vitals optimization. Here, the focus is on people's behavior.
See WordPress optimization and Core Web VitalsPortfolio
Information architecture and interfaces designed by Flowup
Projects in which the organization of information and the interface were designed around how each audience searches and decides.
- Custom platform
Salvatore auction platform
UI and UX for an online auction system: catalog, live auction and post-auction sales, each module designed around how an auction actually runs.
See the page
- Information architecture
HPROJ website
A consulting engineering website organized the way a technical decision maker searches: by practice area, by service and by sector served.
See the page
- B2B catalog
Mantiqueira B2B e-commerce
A catalog with more than 2,000 items organized the way a B2B buyer researches: by category, by brand and by product.
See the page
- Healthcare
Dr. Ana Vega website
An ophthalmology website structured as a base of medical authority, with refractive surgery as the entry point.
See the page
Investment
How much does UX consulting cost?
It depends on the scope, which is why the proposal is sized by deliverable, after a diagnosis. We do not work with generic packages.
The price takes into account:
- The size of the product and the number of flows analyzed.
- Whether user research and user testing are included.
- Whether a design system is needed.
- Whether the optimization is one-off or recurring.
The most common entry point is the UX audit, which already returns a prioritized plan and a realistic investment range for the next stages.
Flowup is based in São Paulo, Brazil, in the Morumbi district, and serves companies in Brazil, the United States, Canada and worldwide, remotely: interviews, usability tests, approvals and presentations happen online, with the same project routine.
When to hire
When it is time to hire UX, and when it is not yet
The most common client profiles are B2B companies, technology and SaaS, e-commerce, professional services, healthcare, education and manufacturing.
Signs that it is time
- Traffic grows, but the conversion rate stays flat or falls.
- The team debates layout based on opinion, with no user data on the table.
- Each new page turns out a little different from the previous ones, and nobody knows what the standard is.
- The product is about to go through a redesign and nobody knows what to preserve.
- The company needs to demonstrate accessibility, whether for the law, for a client or for a public tender.
- There are analytics reports, but no explanation for what they show.
When it is not yet the time
- The product does not yet have the traffic for A/B tests: start with the audit.
- A small, stable corporate website: a lean style guide does the job, without a full design system.
- The expectation is a conformance seal without an audit.
Next step
Where is your digital product losing people?
The first step is a UX audit: heuristic evaluation, a reading of the behavioral data and a plan prioritized by impact and effort, with a proposal sized by deliverable.
Heuristic evaluationUsage dataPrioritized plan
Request a UX auditThe website now delivers something far more strategic, organized and aligned with what we wanted to convey.
I am glad to record my satisfaction in working with Flowup. A positive experience: an attentive team, quick service, quality deliveries and care in every detail of the website. I was pleased with the final result and recommend their services with confidence.
Read the case study
Beyond the results, I would highlight the clarity of the strategy, the organization of the work and the long-term vision Guto brought to the project.
Read the case study
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about UX design
The questions that come up most in searches about UX, usability and accessibility.
Want to know where your product loses people? Start with a UX audit, with a proposal sized by deliverable.
Request a UX auditWhat is UX?
UX, short for user experience, is the discipline that designs how people use a digital product: what they find, what they understand, what they manage to do and where they give up. It runs from research into real behavior to information architecture, interface design, accessibility and conversion measurement.
What is UX design?
It is the practice of methodically designing the experience of the people who use a digital product: research, information architecture, flows, interface, testing and measurement. The goal is for people to find, understand and complete what they came to do, with as little friction as possible.
What is the difference between UX and UI?
UI (user interface) is the visible layer: typography, colors, buttons, spacing and components. UX is the larger whole, which includes the UI as well as research, information architecture, flows, accessibility and measurement. A beautiful interface with a confusing architecture is a UX problem.
What does a UX designer do?
A UX designer researches user behavior, organizes information, designs flows and interfaces, runs usability tests and tracks usage and conversion metrics. On larger projects, the work is split among research, architecture, interface and optimization.
What is UX research?
It is the research side of UX: interviews, observation, tests and analysis of usage data to understand how people actually use a product and why they give up. It is what turns internal opinion into evidence before any design decision.
What is usability?
Usability is how easily people can use an interface to complete a task: in how many steps, with how many errors and with how much effort. It is one of the components of user experience and is measured with usability tests.
How many users are needed in a usability test?
Fewer than most people think. The research by Jakob Nielsen and Thomas Landauer (1993), the basis of the practice at Nielsen Norman Group, shows that about five participants reveal approximately 85% of the usability problems in an interface. What works is to test with a few people, fix and test again.
What is a UX audit and what does it deliver?
It is the evaluation of the experience of a product that is already live, combining heuristic evaluation with real behavioral data: where people click, stall and drop off. The deliverable is a report with the problems ranked by business impact and effort to fix, and a plan in the order in which it pays to execute.
How much does UX consulting cost?
It depends on the scope: the size of the product, the number of flows, user research, a design system and whether the optimization is one-off or recurring. The proposal is sized by deliverable, after a diagnosis. The most common entry point is the UX audit.
What is CRO and how does it relate to UX?
CRO (conversion rate optimization) is the practice of increasing the share of visitors who take the desired action. It is the measurable side of UX: research and the audit show where the friction is, and CRO turns those findings into hypotheses, A/B tests and measured gains.
Does my company's website need to be accessible by law?
In Brazil, yes. The Brazilian Inclusion Law (Lei 13.146/2015), in Article 63, makes accessibility mandatory on websites maintained by companies with headquarters or commercial representation in the country, in line with international best practices and guidelines. Declaring full conformance requires a dedicated audit, and Flowup does not claim conformance without that verification.
What is WCAG and what is ABNT NBR 17060?
WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the W3C's international reference for digital accessibility, currently in version 2.2. ABNT NBR 17060, published in 2022, is the Brazilian accessibility standard for mobile device applications, including WebApps, hybrid apps and websites accessed on mobile phones, with 54 requirements.
What is a design system and when does it make sense to have one?
It is the living library of components, patterns and usage rules of a digital product. It makes sense when more than one person works on the product, when there are many pages or screens to keep consistent, or when each delivery takes more time than it should. For a small, stable corporate website, a lean style guide does the job.
What is information architecture?
It is the organization of a digital product's content: how information is grouped, named, ranked and connected so that people find what they are looking for. It defines the sitemap, the menu, the section names and the paths between pages, and it is the most expensive layer to rework later.
Does UX help with SEO and AI answers?
It does, on two fronts. In traditional search, INP, which measures the page's response to interaction, joined the Core Web Vitals in March 2024, alongside LCP and CLS. In AI search, heading hierarchy, extractable blocks, direct definitions and information architecture are what allow an AI to understand and cite a page.
Do you work with websites that were not built by Flowup?
Yes, it is the most common case. The UX audit does not depend on who built the product or on the technology used. When a fix requires development, Flowup can carry it out, coordinate the current vendor or deliver the specifications for the in-house team to implement.
Do you work with companies outside São Paulo and outside Brazil?
Yes. Research, interviews, usability tests, approvals and presentations work remotely. Flowup is based in São Paulo, Brazil, and serves companies in Brazil, the United States, Canada and worldwide.
Transparency
Sources and references
This page uses legislation, technical standards and published research to support its statements about accessibility, usability and experience.
- The WebAIM Million, WebAIM: annual accessibility analysis of the home pages of the web's top 1 million sites (February 2026).
- Lei 13.146/2015 (Lei Brasileira de Inclusão), Planalto: full text of Brazil's Inclusion Law, in Portuguese, including Article 63 on website accessibility.
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, W3C: the official W3C Recommendation for web content accessibility.
- ABNT NBR 17060:2022, Centro Tecnológico de Acessibilidade do IFRS: summary, in Portuguese, of the Brazilian standard for accessibility in mobile apps and websites and of its 54 requirements.
- Why you only need to test with 5 users, Nielsen Norman Group: the basis for the practice of usability testing with few participants.
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP), web.dev: Google's documentation on the responsiveness metric that joined the Core Web Vitals.
- Milliseconds make millions, Deloitte: study on the effect of speed improvements on conversion.
- Find out how you stack up to new industry benchmarks for mobile page speed, Think with Google: the relationship between load time and the probability of a bounce.
How to cite this page
Flowup Agency. UX design and UX consulting: from user research to conversion rate. Guto Bertoncini, updated on . flowup.agency/en/ux-user-experience/
Where is your digital product losing people?
Start with a UX audit: heuristic evaluation, a reading of the behavioral data and a plan prioritized by impact and effort. Tell us the scope and receive a proposal sized by deliverable.
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