A UI/UX design can make or break a website/app and leave either a positive impact or a poor impression on a user. When we talk of developing quality websites or apps, every minute detail is critically important. The visual aspects (UI) of a design have a lot to do with the design's usability (UX), which is why both the terms UX and UI are used interchangeably quite often. Because, truly, both need to work together, as a team, to make any design stellar.
That's why we're here to share a few common UI/UX design mistakes that a reputed UI/UX design agency in USA will avoid at all costs. And if you're beginning your career as a UI/UX designer, knowing these common mistakes will definitely prove invaluable.
Each website/app is distinct, and there isn't any universal formula to create the perfect UI. However, the list compiled below will help you deliver quality designs and meet your client's goals. So, let's dive into the top ten UI/UX design mistakes.
Selecting the wrong color palette is bad for any design. But what do we exactly mean by a 'wrong color palette'? That can be a subjective, vague topic because colors showcase meaning. Hence, you need to know your client's target audience and brand vision. Besides, you should also adhere to color blindness rules and remember to color-code, which means using similar colors for similar functions.
Also, a professional UI/UX design company always recommends limiting color usage. Hence, make sure to use 2 or 3 key colors to prevent overwhelming the users visually. Remember, colors are not the lone way to convey distinction.
It is important to maintain consistency in your design. Make sure that all similar elements and actions look and function the same. Planning (in advance) is an easy way to stay consistent with your design. Just make a list of actions and divide them later into segments of similar functions. Lastly, decide on a single user interface element for every segment. To avoid inconsistency, remember to also decide on other UI design elements, like the same styles, fonts, color, hover effects, and wording.
Around 4.32bn people worldwide were using mobile devices for browsing the web as of Jan 2021. When the customers don't enjoy the features of a website on a small screen, they leave. A responsive design helps make a website flexible across all mobile devices of varied screen sizes and resolutions.
Besides, with Google also releasing an algorithm in 2015 for ranking mobile-optimized websites higher, it has become more important to make a design responsive. Modern-day users are used to scrolling social media and shopping in online stores. Thus, creating an unresponsive design will prevent you from offering the perfect UX, forcing users to leave the website. So, make sure to avoid this mistake. You can also seek the assistance of a reliable UI/UX design agency like Revival Pixel to help you develop a mobile-friendly design.
Using too many words on your web page can overwhelm the visitors or divert them from scrolling the page. It might be tempting to show off your products/services, describe how incredible they are, and include too many keywords, but that is not what you should do. After all, if the visitors are bombarded with too many words, they may get frustrated and leave the page without reading the text.
So, explain by using a few words. Use less text and more visuals. Remember to use headings, sub-headings, boxes, and bullets with your graphic details.
By poor performance, we mean glitchiness and slow loading time. If any animation, element a user clicks on, or section of your site takes time to load or is glitchy, it is a bad sign for the website owner. A website with a slow load time loses several visitors, as, you know it, 'nobody's got time to wait.' Besides, no one likes an animation that won't move smoothly.
A bad animation hampers the website's trust factor. Keep in mind that visitors like to interact with something that's more real-like online, so ensure to keep the animation real and smooth.
Simplicity is one of the crucial characteristics of a good UI. It would be best to make sure that the users convert as fast as possible. The visitors may bounce if they're given the time to reevaluate their decisions or if any part of the UX annoys them.
An experienced UI/UX design company always removes all friction so that a visitor has a fast and smooth experience.
Navigation on any app or website shouldn't be complicated. When users cannot easily navigate between web pages, or if the design is difficult to understand, they will leave the site instead of going through all that annoyance.
An intuitive and simple UI design makes it easy to browse the pages, locate forms, etc. Your website navigation needs to be clear and user-friendly. The users should be able to breeze through your website and learn the message it is trying to convey as fast as possible.
You may lose out on potential sales if a user is required to click too many times before arriving at the final 'sign up' or 'purchase' decision. For example, if a user needs to sign up to your website, let them know where they can enter their details and press the 'enter' button.
Besides avoiding too many clicks, ensure that the sign-up form is easy-to-fill up and free of any bug. Add a timeline or numbers to forms that include many steps and let the users know where they've reached in their sign-up process. Moreover, when the users click the 'Enter' button on their keyboard, ensure that the form's 'Submit' button gets clicked without any glitches.
Last but not the least, testimonials and customer feedback might not be significant UI elements; however, there needs to be a spot for feedback on each relevant web page. These are important to sales and branding, implying that you cannot plan your design without considering the social proof.
An absence of social proof would hamper the credibility of your brand and products/service. In fact, around 70% of the buyers online check product reviews before making the purchase decision. So, make sure that you include real feedback from real consumers, as that'll ease the minds of the worried prospects.
The ultimate goal of any UI/UX designer or a UI/UX design company is to create aesthetic and intuitive interfaces. It should build trust, which eventually leads to increased conversions. So, remember all the mistakes mentioned above as one checklist of the things that you need to avoid in your design. And soon, you may find yourself in a position where you are already dominating major design principles and no longer need that list.
We hope that this guide helps you create more refined designs with flawless conversion rates. If you wish to know UI/UX designs in-depth, Revival Pixel is always there to help! Do not hesitate, Just Connect!
We love to share our ideas with like-minded creators!
Happy Designing!