User Interface (UI)

The user interface is the design of the actual things a person touches and clicks, such as the forms, buttons, menus, and controls that let them act on your site. It is the surface where a human meets your software.

UI is often spoken of in the same breath as user experience (UX), but the two are not identical. UX is the whole journey and how it feels, while UI is the specific set of controls along the way. A clear, consistent UI is a big part of good UX, though a polished interface can still drop people into a confusing experience.