Three years ago, I watched a user try to complete a purchase on a website I'd designed. She was a smart woman—a doctor, actually—and she couldn't figure out how to add an item to her cart.
The button was there. It said "Add to Cart" in a perfectly reasonable font. But she kept clicking the product image instead, expecting something to happen. After 47 seconds of confusion, she gave up and left.
That moment changed how I think about design. I'd spent weeks making that page "beautiful." I'd followed every design trend. And none of it mattered because I'd ignored the only thing that actually matters: how humans actually behave.
This guide is everything I've learned in 10 years of designing websites—not the theoretical stuff you'll find in textbooks, but the hard-won lessons from watching thousands of real users interact with real interfaces. Some of these lessons cost my clients real money before I figured them out. You get to learn from my mistakes.
What UX Actually Means (And What Most People Get Wrong)
Let me be direct: most of what passes for "UX design" is actually just visual design wearing a fancy hat.
Real UX is about the total experience someone has while trying to accomplish a goal on your website. That includes:
- How they feel when the page loads (or doesn't)
- Whether they can find what they're looking for
- The friction they encounter along the way
- Whether they trust you enough to give you their credit card
- How they feel after they've left
Notice what's not on that list? Color schemes. Font choices. Whether your gradients are "on trend."
Those things matter—but only after you've nailed the fundamentals. I've seen gorgeous websites with 0.3% conversion rates and ugly websites converting at 12%. The difference wasn't aesthetics. It was understanding humans.
The Invisible Design Principle
Here's the counterintuitive truth about great UX: the best design is the one users don't notice.
When someone says "wow, this website is so easy to use," what they're really saying is "I didn't have to think." They accomplished their goal without the interface getting in the way.
Think about a door handle. A well-designed door handle doesn't make you think "what a beautiful piece of industrial design." It just... works. You grab it, you push or pull, and the door opens. The experience is invisible.
That's what we're aiming for with digital interfaces. Not "users loved our innovative navigation pattern." But rather: "users found what they needed and bought the thing."
10 UX Principles That Actually Matter
Over the years, I've distilled everything I know into ten principles. These aren't theoretical—they're the things I check on every single project.
1. Know Your Users (Really Know Them)
I used to skip user research. It felt like a luxury—something big companies with big budgets could afford. I'd just design based on best practices and call it done.
Then I worked on a project for a B2B software company targeting construction foremen. My "best practices" approach created a sleek, minimal interface with lots of whitespace and subtle interactions.
It bombed. Conversion rate: 0.8%.
When we finally talked to actual users, we discovered they were often viewing the site on dusty tablets in bright sunlight while standing on job sites. They wanted:
- High contrast colors (not subtle pastels)
- Huge touch targets (their fingers were often dirty or gloved)
- Simple language (no marketing jargon)
- Minimal scrolling (they were often one-handed)
We redesigned based on actual user needs. Conversion jumped to 4.2%—a 5x improvement from just understanding who we were designing for.
2. Clarity Over Cleverness, Every Time
I've seen designers create navigation menus that hide behind hamburger icons on desktop. I've seen checkout flows that use icons instead of words. I've seen forms that ask for information in "creative" ways.
Every single time, conversions suffer.
Here's my rule: if there's any chance a user won't immediately understand what something does, spell it out. Use words. Be obvious. Be boring.
Bad: A magnifying glass icon that reveals a search bar when clicked
Good: A visible search bar with "Search products..." placeholder text
Bad: "Continue your journey" button
Good: "Go to checkout" button
I know this feels uncreative. But your job isn't to win design awards—it's to help users accomplish goals. Nobody ever said "I love this website because the buttons were so cryptic."
3. Consistency Is Your Secret Weapon
Consistency means the same action always produces the same result, across your entire site.
If clicking a blue button takes you somewhere, all blue buttons should take you somewhere. If your primary CTA is in the top right of one page, it should be in the top right of every page. If you use "Add to Cart" on one product, don't switch to "Buy Now" on another.
There are three types of consistency to maintain:
Visual consistency: Same colors, fonts, spacing, and styling throughout
Functional consistency: Same interactions and behaviors for similar elements
External consistency: Following conventions users learned from other websites
That last one is crucial. Users spend most of their time on other websites. They expect your site to work the way those sites work. Fight that expectation at your peril.
4. Visual Hierarchy Guides Eyes (And Decisions)
When someone lands on your page, they don't read—they scan. In about 2.6 seconds, they'll decide whether to stay or leave based on what catches their attention first.
Visual hierarchy controls that attention. It tells users:
- What's most important (look here first)
- What's secondary (look here next)
- What's supportive (this is here if you need it)
You create hierarchy through:
- Size: Bigger = more important
- Color: High contrast = more attention
- Position: Top and left get seen first (in Western cultures)
- White space: Isolation draws the eye
A common mistake: making everything important. When everything screams for attention, nothing gets it. You need to choose what matters most on each page and visually subordinate everything else.
5. Accessibility Is Not Optional
Let me be blunt: if your website isn't accessible, you're excluding potential customers and probably violating the law.
But let's set aside the ethical and legal arguments. From a pure business perspective, accessibility improvements almost always improve UX for everyone:
- Higher color contrast helps users in bright sunlight
- Keyboard navigation helps power users who hate mice
- Clear headings help everyone scan content faster
- Video captions help people in quiet environments
The minimum accessibility standards I hold every project to:
- Color contrast: 4.5:1 ratio for normal text, 3:1 for large text
- Keyboard navigation: Every interactive element reachable and usable without a mouse
- Screen reader support: Proper heading hierarchy, alt text for images, ARIA labels where needed
- Focus indicators: Visible focus states for keyboard users
- Touch targets: Minimum 44x44 pixels on mobile
6. Feedback Closes the Loop
Users need to know what's happening at all times. Without feedback, they're flying blind—and blind users click the same button five times, then leave in frustration.
Every action needs a reaction:
- Button clicks: Visual state change immediately
- Form submissions: Loading state, then success or error
- Adding to cart: Confirmation with cart count update
- Errors: Clear explanation of what went wrong and how to fix it
I once worked on an e-commerce site where the "Add to Cart" button had no loading state. Users would click, nothing would happen for 2-3 seconds (server was slow), so they'd click again. And again. They'd end up with 4 of the same item in their cart without realizing it.
Adding a simple loading spinner fixed it. Sometimes UX improvements are embarrassingly simple.
7. Prevent Errors Before They Happen
Error messages are a design failure. Not because errors are bad—they're necessary—but because the best error is one that never occurs.
Smart UX prevents errors through:
- Constraints: Don't let users enter invalid data (date pickers instead of text fields)
- Smart defaults: Pre-fill with the most common choice
- Suggestions: Show valid options as they type
- Confirmation: "Are you sure?" for destructive actions
- Undo: Let them recover from mistakes easily
Example: Instead of a text field for "State" that requires users to type correctly, use a dropdown. They literally cannot enter an invalid state.
8. Recognition Over Recall
Human memory is unreliable. Don't make users remember things—show them.
- Recent searches: Show what they searched for before
- Autocomplete: Suggest as they type
- Visual references: Show the thing, don't just describe it
- Breadcrumbs: Show where they are in the site hierarchy
Amazon does this brilliantly. They show your recent views, suggest products based on history, and remember your preferences. You never have to remember anything—it's all right there.
9. Flexibility for Different Users
Your users aren't a monolith. Some are first-time visitors who need hand-holding. Others are power users who want shortcuts.
Great UX serves both:
- Clear primary paths for beginners
- Keyboard shortcuts for experts
- Multiple ways to accomplish the same task
- Customization options where appropriate
Gmail is a good example. New users can point-and-click through everything. Power users can learn keyboard shortcuts that make them 10x faster. Both groups are served.
10. Ruthless Minimalism
Every element on your page has a cost. It costs attention. It costs cognitive load. It costs bandwidth.
Before adding anything to a design, I ask: "Does this help users accomplish their goal?" If the answer isn't a clear yes, it doesn't belong.
This means:
- Cutting features that "might be useful someday"
- Removing decorative elements that don't serve a purpose
- Simplifying copy to its essential meaning
- Hiding advanced options behind "Show more" until needed
Less isn't just more—less is faster, less is clearer, less converts better.
The Psychology Behind Great UX
UX isn't just about design—it's about understanding human psychology. Here are the cognitive principles that drive user behavior:
Fitts's Law: Size and Distance Matter
The time to reach a target is proportional to its distance and inversely proportional to its size. In plain English: make important buttons big and put them where users expect them.
This is why primary CTAs should be large, prominently positioned, and have plenty of padding. A tiny "Buy Now" button in the corner will underperform a large one in the center.
Hick's Law: Fewer Choices, Faster Decisions
The more options you present, the longer it takes to decide. This is why mega-menus with 50 links perform worse than focused navigation with 7.
When I reduced a client's homepage from 6 CTAs to 2, conversion increased 34%. People could actually decide.
Jakob's Law: Users Have Expectations
Users spend most of their time on other websites. They expect your site to work the same way. Logo in the top left. Navigation at the top. Search in the header. Cart icon in the top right.
Fight these conventions only if you have an extremely good reason. "Being different" isn't a good reason.
The Peak-End Rule: Endings Matter Most
People judge an experience based on its peak moment and its ending, not the average. This is why confirmation pages and thank-you emails matter so much—they're the ending of your user's journey.
Make those moments delightful, and users will remember the whole experience positively.
Forms: Where Conversions Go to Die
I've audited hundreds of websites, and the #1 conversion killer is almost always the same: bad forms.
Here's what I've learned about forms that actually get completed:
The Non-Negotiables
- Single column layout: Multi-column forms confuse reading order and increase errors
- Labels above fields: Placeholder text as labels is an accessibility failure and usability nightmare
- Logical grouping: Related fields together, with clear section headers
- Minimal fields: Every field you add drops completion rate by 10%+
- Real-time validation: Don't wait until submit to show errors
- Clear error messages: "Invalid input" is useless. "Please enter a valid email address (example: you@company.com)" helps.
- Mobile-friendly inputs: Use the right input types so mobile keyboards match (email, tel, number)
Measuring UX Success
You can't improve what you don't measure. Here are the metrics I track on every project:
Quantitative Metrics
- Task completion rate: What percentage of users complete their goal?
- Time on task: How long does it take? (Faster is usually better)
- Error rate: How often do users make mistakes?
- Conversion rate: The ultimate measure of whether UX is working
- Bounce rate: Are people leaving immediately?
Qualitative Methods
- Usability testing: Watch 5 users try to complete tasks. You'll find 85% of your issues.
- Session recordings: Tools like Hotjar show you exactly how users behave
- User interviews: Ask about their experience, frustrations, and needs
- Heatmaps: See where users click, scroll, and focus
Case Study: Healthcare SaaS Platform Redesign
Let me walk you through a recent project to show how these principles work in practice.
A healthcare SaaS company came to us with a problem: their signup flow had a 12% completion rate. Users would start, then abandon. They didn't know why.
What we found through user research:
- The form asked for 23 fields upfront
- Medical practitioners were trying to sign up on mobile between patient appointments
- Error messages were vague and frustrating
- There was no progress indicator—users didn't know how much was left
What we changed:
- Split the form into 4 steps with a progress bar (Principle #6: Feedback)
- Asked only 3 essential fields on step 1—just enough to create an account
- Made touch targets 48px minimum for mobile (Principle #5: Accessibility)
- Added inline validation with helpful error messages (Principle #7: Error Prevention)
- Used smart defaults based on selection (Principle #3: Consistency)
Results after 60 days:
- Completion rate: 12% → 47% (291% improvement)
- Average time to complete: 8 minutes → 4 minutes
- Mobile signups: 18% of total → 41% of total
- Support tickets about signup: reduced 73%
Nothing about this was revolutionary. We just applied basic UX principles that most sites ignore.
The Mistakes I See Most Often
After auditing hundreds of websites, these are the UX mistakes I see over and over:
Designing for Stakeholders, Not Users
The CEO wants the hero image to show the company's new headquarters. Marketing wants to feature all 47 product categories above the fold. Sales wants a chat widget, a phone number, an email form, AND a callback request.
None of this is what users want. Fight for your users. That's your job.
Following Trends Over Fundamentals
Parallax scrolling is cool until it makes your site feel like a theme park ride. Micro-animations are delightful until there are so many the page feels busy. Dark mode is trendy until users can't read your content.
Trends come and go. Usability is forever.
Assuming You Know How Users Behave
You are not your user. I am not my user. We can guess, but we're usually wrong. The only way to know how users behave is to watch them.
Five usability tests will teach you more than five months of assumptions.
Sarah Johnson is the Creative Director at PxlPeak with over 10 years of experience in UX design. She's led design projects for healthcare, fintech, and e-commerce clients, focusing on conversion optimization and accessibility. Sarah holds a UX certification from Nielsen Norman Group and speaks regularly at design conferences.
Need help improving your website's UX? Let's talk about your project.
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