Common UX Design Mistakes You Should Avoid in 2023

A poorly designed UX can send your bounce rates soaring, leaving you waving goodbye to potential customers, whether you have a website, web app, or mobile app. However, with the vast and intricate nature of UX design, it's easy for UX designers to stumble into the pitfalls of bad UX design decision-making.To help you steer clear of these UX failures, we have compiled a list of the common UX design mistakes to avoid. By avoiding these missteps, you can elevate your UX design process and enhance the usability and appeal of your digital products, keeping your users engaged and satisfied. After all, a seamless and enjoyable user experience is the foundation upon which successful websites and apps are built!

Good UX Design: 10 Common UX Design Mistakes You Should Avoid

We've compiled a list of poor UX practices and mistakes that you should avoid. By avoiding these biggest mistakes, you can design a good user experience!

1. Treating UX Design as One Person’s Responsibility

One of the common UX mistakes is leaving all the work to a single person and thinking that they can handle it all.UX is not a single person's job. You need a team to get the work done. Relying on one person to handle all aspects of UX design isn't just time-consuming, but it may also lead to overlooked details.In a collaborative environment, each team member brings their expertise and perspective, contributing to the progress and efficiency of the overall design process.

2. Lumping UX Design With UI Design & Prototype

Mistaking UX and UI as the same aspect is a rampant misconception. It's a shame that these two are often used interchangeably, when they're entirely different terms.UI is a big part of UX design, same with the prototype, but they all differ in terms. UI design and prototype are part of UX, not the other way around.When designing UX, these two are considered to produce high-quality results. UX design is all about having a unique strategy to design a fresh experience no other competitors have offered before.

3. Not Knowing Who Uses Your App

Knowing who your users and target audience are in order to build an informed UX design is important.Remember that you're creating a design that should serve the needs of the user above all else. You're designing for people who need your app, not based on your perception of what they need.This is the reason why you need to conduct research and build personas, so that you can get to know what they actually want and determine what works best to fulfill it.

4. Not Doing Enough Iteration on Your Design

Avoid settling for the first design iteration without exploring alternative options.After generating the ideas, it's time to test them, but not just once. Don't forget it's an essential part of the user experience design.Do this in as many versions as you can so you can compare the results and get the best output. The more extensive your iterative process is, the more it'll bring powerful results. You'll be able to identify potential issues and user pain points, optimize usability, and enhance the overall user experience.

5. Copying Your Competitors

By all means, take inspiration from the good designs you come across. But don't straight up copy! Not only is this an unethical practice, but it also defeats your purpose as a designer.Just because solution works for your competitor, that doesn't mean that it'll work for your users as well. Remember that you need to back up your design with data from your own research.This also applies to the UX design trends. Don't just join the bandwagon for the sake of it. Consider if it really fits with your goals.

6. Having an Overwhelming Design

Overwhelming your users with too much functionality will only result in low conversions.Simplicity is a key principle of good UX design, as it allows users to go through a smooth navigation. Don't sacrifice functionality for looks and be faced with a dire UX failure. You should create a design that works best for your users.So be mindful of the visual elements you incorporate. For example, remove unnecessary distractions that divert the users from the main goal. Use autoplay and pop-ups judiciously, if you must have them. Make sure not to use fonts and typography that hinder readability. no matter how fancy it looks.

7. Having a Complex Interface

Your creative design and functionality must be balanced. No one wants a boring website with too much functionality.Complex interfaces with convoluted menus, confusing layouts, or excessive options can frustrate users and lead to abandonment. Your interface must be easy and allow seamless and intuitive navigation for your users. So make sure that every element you include matters.

8. Asking Users What They Want

One common UX mistake is using user research merely to ask the users about their needs, rather than having your primary focus on observing user behavior.User research and testing can mislead you if you ask interviewees directly what they want, instead of observing them. It defeats the overall purpose of why you are conducting user research, as it doesn't correctly let you know what they need.Instead, understand your users' needs and the way they use your product. Good or bad, gather the necessary details you need to complete the work or even revise it to something better.This might be time-consuming, but it gives you a guarantee that your design works well for your target users.

9. Delivering Features Even if the Results Aren’t Good

User testing helps detect mistakes and prevent them in the actual design. Ignoring these findings and proceeding with delivering the features often leads to poor product quality and customer satisfaction, and consequentially have your product leaving a lot to be desired.However, some product teams make the mistake of shipping features even if the results of user testing are subpar. Ignoring the signs of poor usability and functionality can lead to dissatisfied users, negative reviews, and an overall lackluster experience.Designers should prioritize the quality and usability of features before their release. Value your user feedback and adapt your development and decision-making accordingly as sensible.

10. Not Delivering the Full Experience

Not delivering the whole experience is like telling a story without a proper beginning, middle, and ending. Your main character is shallow or too boring. Other characters don't contribute to the overall story, and you, as a reader, feel confused throughout the story.At every iteration of your application, you need to deliver a complete experience. This is crucial.In addition, remember that an experience isn't full without responsive design and taking mobile devices into consideration. Throughout the development process, make sure that you keep the different devices in mind. A lot of your audience is bound to be generated through mobile users, and providing them with an excellent experience is equally important.

Conclusion

Building an excellent user experience or product design is absolutely crucial for your business to thrive. However, it's understandable that sometimes decisions can inadvertently lead to UX issues. That's why we've put together the several common UX issues we've observed so that you can avoid UX failures!By fostering a collaborative environment, designers can conduct thorough research, ensuring they understand the needs and preferences of the users. Armed with this knowledge, they can craft a user-friendly and comprehensive experience that is based on both research and feedback. It's important to embrace an iterative process, constantly refining the design to meet user expectations.This leads to creating a delightful user experience that impresses your users, and boosts conversion and retention rates. Remember, it's all about creating a user experience that leaves a lasting positive impression!Note: This article was originally published on June 2021 and updated on June 2023 reflect the current status of the market.