Ivan Hovanov
UI/UX Designer / Team Lead

Too many requests! You have made too many requests!! No more requests!!!
– How many times do you have to hear that before you get really angry?Amazon Chime API’s request throttling tested our patience like this. But all we ever wanted was to make a simple text chat app work! In this article, you’ll find out why Chime was so unkind to us, what we did to turn things around, and how you too can follow the path we forged.

You've probably experienced some inconveniences while navigating any web or mobile app, and this irritated you a lot, especially, when you were limited on time, right? A similar situation may occur to your app’s or website’s users if your development team makes these most popular mistakes.

Case #1 — Skipping User Profile

If you are aiming at crafting a truly bad UI design, don’t even try to figure out who your target audience is. And vice versa, if you wish to produce a good outcome, do make sure you have ascertained the user's preferences, needs, and the so-called “pain points”. If you address the customer's headache to the point, you will get positive feedback in return.

Consequences you should avoid:

  • poor designs that may fail to address the expectations and encourage people to switch to another website or app;
  • time wasted by users because they were unable to meet their needs through your solution.

Solutions to fix the problem:

  • in-depth customer research, including interviews;
  • creation of user personas;
  • regular usability checks and testing (both alpha and beta) to make sure each element and user flow is as convenient as possible.

Case #2 – Complex, Complex, and a Bit More Complicated

There is a reverse effect, too. When developers strive to incorporate as many features as possible, especially the advanced ones, in the end, they may build bad interfaces.

Consequences to avoid:

  • disorientation – the user may wander from feature to feature;
  • lots of time needed for app/website onboarding and achieving an “expert” navigation level;
  • low conversion rates.

Solutions to fix the problem:

  • simplicity is above all, especially in terms of hierarchy design;
  • templates must be consistent, so make interactive elements and the overall navigation coherent.

Case #3 – Ignoring Accessibility

Ensure that your app is easy to use by everyone, including people with disabilities.

Consequences to avoid:

  • ethical and legal issues – non-compliance with the basic norms may lead to fines and blocking of the application/web resource;
  • users with disabilities are excluded from the pool of the target audience;
  • forming a negative brand appearance.

Solutions to fix the problem:

  • adhere to the generally-accepted norms and best practices (you can find them in the WCAG 2.0 guidelines);
  • utilize semantic markup;
  • test your solution thoroughly before its launch.

Case #4 – Mobile Apps Appear in a Ban

As people use smartphones and tablets throughout the day, ignoring the peculiarities of mobile app development may become a catastrophic mistake.

Consequences to avoid:

  • it is easy to lose a significant part of your potential users in a few seconds, as soon as they find out there is no mobile app on app stores;
  • lower audience engagement score;
  • poor navigation experience.

Solutions to fix the problem:

  • develop a flexible UI/UX design that operates smoothly on multiple screen sizes;
  • adopt a mobile-first design approach;
  • test an app on devices with different form-factors.

Case #5 – Forgetting about the Balance between Appearance and Functionality

It is more than bad if you compromise one of these aspects. In fact, your app should solve the users’ tasks and be beautiful at the same time.

Consequences you have to avoid:

  • building a reputation of a brand with “that poor design and bad user interface”;
  • frustrated customers who like some aspects and hate other ones.

Solutions to fix the problem:

  • prioritize functionality over appearance a bit – emphasize responsive designs;
  • make sure these two aspects are coherent.

Case #6 – Following the Trends Blindly

There may be many trends. Still, be mindful when using them and pick only those that are coordinated with your solution’s concept.

Consequences to avoid:

  • making your app too flashy;
  • creating a solution that is similar or even identical to another one, especially a very popular one.

Solutions to fix the problem:

  • develop your own personalized interaction design and follow it;
  • be mindful and balanced when following some mobile design trends;
  • avoid copyright issues – this is actually one of the most severe UI problems.

Case #7 – Overloading Users with Lots of Irrelevant Info

Trying to provide as many details as possible may sometimes have an adverse effect.

Consequences you should avoid:

  • breaking your users’ minds with the irrelevant and unnecessary information;
  • confusion because of numerous conflicts between the datasets;
  • mistakes in the descriptions and other blocks of information.

Solutions to fix the problem:

  • ensure there is a visual hierarchy between the separate information blocks;
  • make sure it contrasts the rest of the space well;
  • include relevant information solely;
  • keep it brief, polite, and to the point.

Case #8 – Misleading Customers with Numerous Buttons and Links

Any excessive features will only worsen the overall impression a customer may have. Make sure you double-check that when the story comes to buttons and redirects. Keeping all the things as simple as possible is among the primary usability principles.

Consequences to avoid:

  • including too many links and buttons, among other duplicating ones;
  • providing irrelevant links.

Solutions to fix the problem:

  • limit the number of redirects and buttons.

Case #9 – Pop-ups Bombarding

It is difficult to find something more irritating than pop-ups. When a developer foresees dozens of such features appearing once a user accesses an app, the situation turns into a nightmare.

Consequences to avoid:

  • confusing users with unnecessary information and features;
  • making them leave.

Solutions to fix the problem:

  • be mindful about adding pop-ups – make sure they look well, and their number is not excessive;
  • avoid those pop-ups that are difficult to close once they appear – let your users decide, they will be grateful only.

Case #10 – Avoid Any Upgrades and Optimization

If your customers are experiencing any interface issues, and you, as a service provider, prefer not to notice their complaints and respond to them, that is the right way to a failure. The issue is especially urgent if the interface is slow and lacks responsiveness. 

Consequences to avoid:

  • you leave your customers dissatisfied and make them switch to using a more user-friendly alternative;
  • lower conversion rates.

Solutions to fix the problem:

  • regularity test and fix UI issues as they appear;
  • optimize features and images to make them load smoothly.

Bottom Line

The 10 most widespread mistakes listed in this article commonly adverse the overall user navigation and even make clients leave. Save this article to check the things to refrain from. If you would like to request proficient help with fixing these UI design mistakes and other possible drawbacks, get in touch with us. Our developers are keen on excelling in designs and functionality, so they will elaborate on truly effective solutions for your product.