101 UX Principles

❤️ Praise for 101 UX Principles

"This updated version of 101 UX Principles is a delight. Thoroughly revised, this edition includes great points from the earlier edition, offers some updated examples, and provides new examples of solid UX principles. It's an educational and fun provocation to look at the world of UX differently - solidly from the user's point of view."

Elizabeth Churchill

Director of User Experience at Google

"In a series of short, direct lessons, this book lays out the fundamental principles of good user experience design. Complete with case studies, a record of personal experience, and visual examples, Grant makes it clear why these techniques have found their way into the canon of UX best practices. This is a phenomenal reference guide..."

Jeff Gothelf

Best-selling Author of Lean UX

"I recommend it for anyone looking to learn new basics and also for more experienced designers. The breakdown by topics makes it convenient to use it as a reference book, summarizing key learning points at the end of each principle. The author's candid opinions will force you to revisit some of your established assumptions!"

Anne-Marie Léger

Staff Product Designer at Shopify

Table of Contents

101 UX Principles - 2nd Edition (2022)

1. Everyone Can Be Great at User Experience (UX)
2. Be Strategic About Using These Principles
3. Don't be afraid to ship something simple
4. But Complexity Can Be Good for Some Users
5. Use A/B Testing To Test Your Ideas
6. Test with Real Users
7. Nobody Cares About Your Brand
8. Don't Use More Than Two Typefaces
9. Users Already Have Fonts on Their Computers
10. Use Type Size & Weight to Depict Information Hierarchy
11. Use a Sensible Default Size for Body Copy
12. Use an Ellipsis to Indicate That There's a Further Step
13. Make interactive elements obvious and discoverable
14. Make Buttons a Sensible Size and Group Them Together by Function
15. Make the Whole Button Clickable
16. Don't Invent New Arbitrary Controls
17. Search Should be a Text Field with a Button Labeled "Search"
18. Sliders Should Be Used Only for Non-Quantifiable Values
19. Use Numeric Entry Fields for Precise Integers
20. Don't Use a Drop-Down Menu If You Only Have a Few Options
21. Allow Users to Undo Destructive Actions
22. Optimise your interface for mobile
23. Use "Infinite Scroll" for Feed-Style Content Only
24. If Your Content Has a Beginning, Middle and End, Use Pagination
25. Allow Users to Accept or Reject Cookies with One Click
26. Help users understand their next steps from "Empty States"
27. Make "Getting Started" Tips Easily Dismissable
28. When a User Refreshes a Feed, Move Them to the Last Unread Item
29. Don't Hide Items Away in a "Hamburger" Menu
30. Make Your Links Look Like Links
31. Split Menu Items Down into Subsections
32. Categorize Settings in an Accessible Way
33. Repeat Menu Items in the Footer or Lower Down in the View
34. Use Consistent Icons Across the Product
35. Don't Use Obsolete Icons
36. Don't Try to Depict a New Idea With an Existing Icon
37. Never Use Text on Icons
38. Always Give Icons a Text Label
39. Use Device-Native Input Features Where Possible
40. Streamline creating and entering passwords
41. Always Allow the User to Paste into Password Fields
42. Don't Attempt to Validate Email Addresses
43. Respect Users Time and Effort in your Forms
44. Pick a Sensible Size for Multiline Input Fields
45. Use Animation with Care in User Interfaces
46. Use the Same Date Picker Controls Consistently
47. Pre-fill the Username in "Forgot Password" Fields
48. Make Your Input Systems Case-Insensitive
49. Chatbots are usually a bad idea
50. If Your Forms Are Good, Your Product is Good
51. Validate Data Entry as Soon as Possible
52. If the Form Fails Validation, Show the User Which Field Needs Their Attention
53. Users Don't Know (and Don't Care) about Your Data Formats
54. Pick the Right Control for the Job
55. Allow Users to Enter Phone Numbers However They Wish
56. Use Drop Downs Sensibly for Date Entry
57. Capture the Bare Minimum When Requesting Payment Card Details
58. Make it Easy for Users to Enter Postal or ZIP Codes
59. Don't Add Decimal Places to Currency Input
60. Make it Painless for the User to Add Images
61. Use a "Linear" Progress Bar if a Task will Take a Determinate Amount of Time
62. Show a Numeric Progress Indicator on the Progress Bar
63. Show a "Spinner" if the Task Will Take an Indeterminate Amount of Time
64. Contrast Ratios Are Your Friends
65. If You Must Use "Flat Design" then Add Some Visual Affordances to Controls
66. Avoid Ambiguous Symbols
67. Make Links Make Sense Out of Context
68. Add "Skip to Content" Links Above the Header and Navigation
69. Never Use Color Alone to Convey Information
70. If You Turn Off Device Zoom with a Meta Tag, You're Evil
71. Give Navigation Elements a Logical Tab Order
72. Write Clear Labels for Controls
73. Make Tappable Areas Finger-Sized
74. Let Users Turn off Specific Notifications
75. Each aspect of a user's Journey Should Have a Beginning and End
76. The User Should Always Know at What Stage They Are in Any Given Journey
77. Use Breadcrumb Navigation
78. Users Rarely Care About Your Company
79. Follow the Standard E-Commerce Pattern
80. Show an Indicator if the User's Work is Unsaved
81. Let users give feedback
82. Don't Use a Vanity Splash Screen
83. Make Your Favicon Distinctive
84. Add a "Create from Existing" Flow
85. Make it Easy for Users to Pay You
86. Give users the ability to filter search results
87. Your Users Probably Don't Understand the File System
88. Show, Don't Tell
89. Be Consistent with Terminology
90. Use "Sign in" and "Sign out"
91. Make it clear to users if they're joining or signing-in
92. Standardize the Password Reset Experience
93. Write Like a Human Being
94. Choose Active Verbs over Passive
95. Search Results Pages Should Show the Most Relevant Result at the Top of the Page
96. Pick Good Defaults
97. Only use modal views for blocking actions
98. Give Users The Experience They Expect
99. Decide Whether an Interaction Should Be Obvious or Possible
100. Does it Work on Mobile? is Obsolete
101. Don't Join the Dark Side