Common UX Mistakes a Designer Shouldn’t Commit

Are you finding it difficult to click on a call to action button from a mobile device? Or are you struggling to click on a link that appears on your mobile screen? Are you hopelessly tapping on the same button (multiple times), trying to proceed with registration?

If the answer is ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, it means that you have possibly experienced a UX mistake. What is UX? UX stands for User Experience. It encompasses all aspects of end user’s interaction with the company, its products, and its services. It is the process of enhancing user satisfaction by focussing on ways to improve accessibility, intelligence, pleasure and usability.

As digital designers, it is our constant endeavor to create an amazing user experience and help users achieve their goals. However, it is not always possible for everyone to be on the same page. From time to time, we all get tempted by things that look cool and flashy. We are attracted towards creating something which is visually appealing and immolates the usability factor. We believe that this ‘Wow effect’ will somehow magically engage and have a long lasting impact on the user. This delusion is short lived. Soon, we realize that users have hard time understanding and adjusting to the flashy and appealing user interface, truly said: “All that glitters is not always gold”. Sometimes, stakeholders and clients misunderstand the design process and don’t understand the backend development.

So, how can we improve the UX of a website or an application?

In this article, I’ll share with you some of the common UX mistakes that we see on a daily basis and how they can be easily avoided. Apart from that, I’ll be also sharing the insights on how to improve user friendliness. Without any delay, let’s get on with common UX mistakes a designer may commit.

Not Fixing The Problem on Mobile

As per the report from eMarketer, In the year 2016, the number of smartphone users will surpass 2 billion mark worldwide. With such an exponential increase in the number of users accessing the information through tablets, smartphones and other hand held digital devices; undeniably, the ‘future of web belongs to mobile’. It is very essential to consider content legibility for mobile devices. A mobile UX is completely different than your desktop UX. Research and test results cannot be generalized across the devices.

Fix:

• Several responsive techniques enable you to design a contrasting solution and stick to the large resolutions at the same time

• Treat each device as a separate entity when it comes to UX. It will include separate research, tests, prioritization, etc

• Optimize UX for specific device. Fewer the taps you require from the user the better will be the performance

• Testing is very essential. Cross device testing is a must. It is important that your website loads quickly and works properly on all the devices. Images are well exhibited neither too big nor too small. You links should clickable and call to action is relevant

Unfriendly Forms

An unfriendly designed or poorly formulated form can lead to high bounce rate. Every website has a form that requires the user to input the details. A form can be of any type. It can be an ecommerce transaction, sign-up process, enquiry form or a mailing list subscription. It is essential that you pay attention to every detail. Often small changes in each one of these interactions can pay dividends and assist you in boosting the conversations.

Fix:

• Ensure that field descriptions don’t disappear when the user enters the text
• “Tab” should be used to take the user to the next line. “Enter” should be used to submit
• Keep the form short and break it into logical steps
• Ask the information that you really need

Unclear CAPTCHAS

We all believe that CAPTCHAS are some sort of necessary evil. But majority of us are getting them wrong. They are effectively illustrated by the formation of refresh button as you would require a hawk eye to figure out the first seven CAPTCHAS. As per the rules, a CAPTCHA should contain more pixels than the characters. Forms need to be straightforward and usable so as to assist the user to achieve their goal.

Fix:

• The CAPTCHA images with text should be distorted randomly before being offered to use
• CAPTCHA must be easily accessible and its implementation should even allow the visually impaired users to easily get around the barrier.
• Provide the option to choose from audio or sound CAPTCHA

Designing For Yourself

While working in a creative field, you tend to form strong opinions and try to solve a problem through your experience. Too often, we design for ourselves. As a successful designer, one must isolate his passion from ego and design a user experience as per the needs and demands of your audience. Your goal is to assist the user in creating a memorable experience, you are not here to prove anything with your design. Designers feel a parental sense of responsibility over their creations, but they forget that the responsibility is to the users and not on your personal ego. Chances are they don’t need same things that you do.

Fix:

• Maintain a healthy communication with the client to comprehend their exact need and requirements
• Conduct quantitative research to identify the problem areas like Why are the users dropping off? Why are they frequently pressing the back button?
• Prioritize the issues based on severity and ease of fix.
• Testing (If required) or fix the issue straight away

The above are few of the most common and avoidable UX mistakes for a designer. I have listed them with the possible fix. If you are planning to implement or have already implemented any of them, I wish that my article will provide something meaningful.