Common UX Design Mistakes Pros Should Avoid
by Kelsey Arrington on Dec 20, 2022 User experience design is all about understanding the consumer and providing a product experience they enjoy (or find useful). And, of course, design professionals like yourself already know that. But, what are the common UX design mistakes designers should avoid? And can stumbling into these pitfalls lead to poor user experience for your target audience? There are a lot of factors to consider. But, don’t fret! Just keep reading. Below, we’ll review a list of UX design mistakes to avoid.
In this post:
8 UX Design Mistakes to Avoid
Whether you’re tasked with creating user-friendly websites or apps for mobile devices; you’ll always be responsible for understanding user needs – that is the role of a UX designer after all. So, it almost goes without saying that you need to pay attention to your UX design process and continuously work to streamline it.
Think about it for a moment. How do you avoid common UX design mistakes that may irritate users or lower user satisfaction in some way? How do you deal with user frustration or less-than-stellar feedback from website owners? The following list is a reminder that UX design is a continuous process that goes deeper than visual aesthetics.
Here are 8 common UX design mistakes pros should avoid:
1. Ignoring the User’s Needs
The success of mobile apps and websites depends on user satisfaction. So, always take the user’s needs into consideration when designing a product or interface – this involves conducting user research, defining user journeys, creating user personas, and meeting with your internal design team to discuss user feedback.
2. Forgetting to Test with Real Users
Whenever possible, it’s important to test a product or interface with real users. After all, you want to understand if it is intuitive and easy to use. And who better to provide that feedback than real humans? So, conduct user testing and employ other methods to get real user feedback.
3. Not Considering Accessibility
Accessibility is not just a hot-button topic, it is an important consideration that design professionals should make so that more users can interact with their products. Some accessibility considerations for UX design may include providing alternative text for images, using proper heading structure, and using fonts for dyslexic users.
4. Using Too Many Technical Terms
It is imperative that the language used on landing pages, mobile apps, and other UX design projects doesn’t overwhelm users. Simply put, the lingo needs to match the target audience. So, avoid using too many technical terms or jargon that’s only meant for UX professionals – unless that is your intended audience, of course.
“Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works.”
– Steve Jobs, American Industrial Designer and Co-Founder of Apple
5. Not Considering Mobile Users and Varying Screen Sizes
New mobile devices hit the consumer market all the time. So, it’s important to consider how your UI and UX designs work for varying screen sizes. Whenever you’re working on a new project, ask yourself: Is this a responsive design? And will it work well on various devices?
6. Not Using Consistent Design Elements
Consistency is key to UI and UX design. Keep that in mind when designing an app or establishing the visual hierarchy on a web page. After all, you don’t want inconsistent design elements to negatively impact how users interact with a product.
7. Forgetting to Provide Guidance to the User
In some instances, the user will need guidance to navigate a product or interface. So, it’s important to use design elements that provide enough context for the user to understand how to use the product. This may include but is not limited to providing tips or implementing hover-text, and in-line help options.
8. Pushing Designs Beyond Their Limitations
UX designers need to consider what devices they are designing for, in addition to thinking about the user. So, it’s important to pay attention to things like device type and internet speed/requirements. After all, no one likes slow-loading pages with graphics that show up inconsistently – that tends to irritate users and should certainly be avoided at all costs.
4 UX Design Learning Resources to Expand Your Skills
Now that you know which UX mistakes to avoid, do you want to expand your skills? If so, just keep reading.
Here are some UX design learning resources to explore:
- Udemy’s UX Design Courses – With over 10,000 courses related to UX, Udemy covers the basics of UX design, including user research, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing.
- Skillshare’s UX Design Tutorials – Courses on Skillshare cover the foundations of UX design, including user research, prototyping, and usability testing, along with Figma design essentials and more.
- Linkedin’s Learning Courses – LinkedIn’s catalog of over 50 courses covers the basics of UX design, including user research, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing.
- InteractionDesign.org’s UX Design Courses – This catalog of classes offered by Interaction Design Foundation provides an extensive overview of UX design, including the ins and outs of conducting user research, prototyping, and user testing.