The number one cause of most UX problems

Donkey

The Minute UX™ series: one-minute reads about website problems I’ve discovered in numerous UX audits. You’ve all heard the modern proverb about what happens  when we assume. But it’s no laughing matter. Assuming is where most UX problems (most life problems?) begin. … Read more

The most common (and egregious) mobile nav problem

Arrow

The Minute UX™ series: one-minute reads about website problems I’ve discovered in numerous UX audits. The most common mobile navigation problem is when a menu tab has two functions: (1) tapping the section title goes to a page, and (2) tapping … Read more

Fonts should be at least 16px, including Mobile & email!

Eye chart

The Minute UX™ series: one-minute reads about website problems I’ve discovered in numerous UX audits. Website and email font sizes must be large enough for optimal readability and accessibility. The text you’re reading here is 18px (set in Roboto, a Google … Read more

Does your website meet color contrast standards?

Woman with magnifying glass

The Minute UX™ series: one-minute reads about website problems I’ve discovered in numerous UX audits. Adequate contrast is required for text readability. That applies to everyone—especially as we age—but more particularly for people with various levels of vision loss. For example, … Read more

Your website needs a clear “Home” link

I just wanna go home

The Minute UX™ series: one-minute reads about website problems I’ve discovered in numerous UX audits. This could be the shortest post in my Minute UX series. Look at your website. If there’s no “Home” link (apart from the logo) in the … Read more

Button wording must be meaningful, not fanciful

Laptop

The Minute UX™ series: one-minute reads about website problems I’ve discovered in numerous UX audits. Choosing the right words for website or app buttons is crucial. (I’ll save button visual design for another blog.) Vague or fanciful button text is remarkably … Read more

Careless responsive design hurts mobile usability

Frustrated phone user

The Minute UX™ series: one-minute reads about website problems I’ve discovered in numerous UX audits. I suspect that website owners, designers, and developers view their sites more often on desktop screens than on phones and therefore mobile problems go unseen. Every … Read more

When, why & how web links should open new tabs

Open new tab icon

The Minute UX™ series: one-minute reads about website problems I’ve discovered in numerous UX audits. Improper link handling can disrupt user experience and fail at accessibility compliance. I often see these three problems with internal and external text links and buttons … Read more

Wireframes: what they are and why they matter

Wireframes

Wireframes are a critical step in the web design process that helps ensure a successful project outcome by aligning stakeholders and avoiding misunderstandings before development begins. This article explores the purposes wireframes serve, what they are not for, their benefits, and the … Read more

Web accessibility matters: How to do it (& how NOT to)

Blind person with phone

Accessibility means making things usable for people with disabilities. Beyond the physical world, it applies to digital products like websites, apps, smart TVs, computer user interfaces — anything with a screen that humans interact with should be accessible to people … Read more

Better UX for website hero images and carousels

Carousels are ubiquitous on websites, but they present unique design challenges. First, most people scroll right past them without seeing anything but the first image in the series. That can leave important content unseen. Second, while they often look great … Read more

Photoshop AI-powered Generative fill is scary good

Photoshop AI

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve been hearing about artificial intelligence constantly. From daily news stories to announcements from various software platforms, everyone’s saying something about how AI is either the greatest thing ever…or the end of civilization … Read more

A prototype is worth a thousand meetings

Prototype

I’m often in meetings where people are planning a change to a particular feature or making an enhancement to a website or app. Naturally there are sometimes differences of opinion about the best approach to take. That’s good because exploring … Read more

What the Joshua Bell subway story teaches about UX

Violin

There’s a well-known story about an experiment conducted by the Washington Post and world-famous violinist Joshua Bell. They decided to have Bell do some busking at the Washington D.C. Metro to see what kind of reaction he got. The story is somewhat … Read more

Be innovative with the content, but not with the UI

There’s a reason “don’t reinvent the wheel” is truth. Despite many centuries of science, technology and innovation, mankind just hasn’t come up with anything that works better than a wheel. In web design there are also things that shouldn’t be … Read more