UX (user experience) is about whether people quickly understand what you offer and reach their goal without effort: an inquiry, a purchase or a booking. UI (user interface) is what they see and click: layout, typography, colors and buttons. UX/UI design brings both together in one process, from research to the final design.
In practice, you get research insights, information architecture, wireframes, a clickable prototype and a UI design ready for development. It pays off: in McKinsey’s study “The business value of design” (2018), companies in the top quartile of the McKinsey Design Index grew revenue 32 percentage points faster than their industry peers over five years. The index assesses, among other things, how companies approach user experience.