Book

101 UX Principles

The 2nd edition of 101 UX Principles is the perfect companion when working on digital projects and making the right decisions for your users. From landing pages and checkout basket UIs to startup launch products and enterprise software solutions, rich user experience design will maximize the success of your products.

Offered byPackt Logo

Difficulty Level

Intermediate

Completion Time

15h8m

Language

English

About Book

Who Is This Book For?

This book is a distillation of Will's 20+ years of experience in the form of successful design principles to help early career UX designers learn the ropes and provide experienced professionals with new ideas when building their products. UX/UI designers, product managers, entrepreneurs, aspiring strategists, and anyone creating a digital product, service or a campaign will find this book extremely useful.

Book content

chapters • 15h8m total length

Everyone Can Be Great at UX

Be Strategic About Using These Principles

Don’t Be Afraid to Ship Something Simple…

…But Complexity Can Be Good for Some Users

Use A/B Testing To Test Your Ideas

Test with Real Users

Nobody Cares About Your Brand

Don't Use More Than Two Typefaces

Users Already Have Fonts on Their Computers, So Use Them

Use Type Size and Weight to Depict an Information Hierarchy

Use a Sensible Default Size for Body Copy

Use an Ellipsis to Indicate That There's a Further Step

Make Interactive Elements Obvious and Discoverable

Make Buttons a Sensible Size and Group Them Together by Function

Make the Whole Button Clickable, Not Just the Text

Don’t Invent New, Arbitrary Cont rols

Search Should be a Text Field with a Button Labeled "Search"

Sliders Should Be Used for Non-Quantifiable Values Only

Use Numeric Entry Fields for Precise Integers

Don't Use a Drop-Down Menu If You Only Have a Few Options

Allow Users to Undo Destructive Actions

Optimise your interface for mobile

Use "Infinite Scroll" for Feed–Style Content Only

If Your Content Has a Beginning, Middle and End, Use Pagination

Allow Users to Accept or Reject Cookies with One Click

Help users understand their next steps from "Empty States"

Make "Getting Started" Tips Easily Dismissable

When a User Refreshes a Feed, Move Them to the Last Unread Item

Don't Hide Items Away in a "Hamburger" Menu

Make Your Links Look Like Links

Split Menu Items Down Into Subsections, so Users Don’t Have to Remember Large Lists

Categorize Settings in an Accessible Way

Repeat Menu Items in the Footer or Lower Down in the View

Use Consistent Icons Across the Product

Don't Use Obsolete Icons

Don’t Try to Depict a New Idea with an Existing Icon

Never Use Text on Icons

Always Give Icons a Text Label

Use Device-Native Input Features Where Possible

Streamline Creating and Entering Passwords

Always Allow the User to Paste into Password Fields

Don't Attempt to Validate Email Addresses

Respect Users’ Time and Effort in Your Forms

Pick a Sensible Size for Multiline Input Fields

Use Animation with Care in User Interfaces

Use the Same Date Picker Controls Consistently

Pre-Fill the Username in “Forgot Password” Fields

Make Your Input Systems Case-Insensitive

Chatbots Are Usually a Bad Idea

If Your Forms Are Good, Your Product Is Good

Validate Data Entry as Soon as Possible

If the Form Fails Validation, Show the User Which Field Needs Their Attention

Users Don’t Know (and Don’t Care) About Your Data Formats

Pick the Right Control for the Job

Allow Users to Enter Phone Numbers However They Wish

Use Dropdowns Sensibly for Date Entry

Capture the Bare Minimum When Requesting Payment Card Details

Make it Easy for Users to Enter Postal or ZIP Codes

Don't Add Decimal Places to Currency Input

Make It Painless for the User to Add Images

Use a “Linear” Progress Bar If a Task Will Take a Determinate Amount of Time

Show a Numeric Progress Indicator on the Progress Bar

Show a “Spinner” If the Task Will Take an Indeterminate Amount of Time

Contrast Ratios Are Your Friends

If You Must Use “Flat Design” Then Add Some Visual Affordances to Controls

Avoid Ambiguous Symbols

Make Links Make Sense Out of Context

Add "Skip to Content" Links Above the Header and Navigation

Never Use Color Alone to Convey Information

If You Turn off Device Zoom with a Meta Tag, You’re Evil

Give Navigation Elements a Logical Tab Order

Write Clear Labels for Controls

Make Tappable Areas Finger-Sized

Let Users Turn off Specific Notifications

Each Aspect of a User’s Journey Should Have a Beginning and End

The User Should Always Know What Stage They Are at in Any Given Journey

Use Breadcrumb Navigation

Users Rarely Care About Your Company

Follow the Standard E-Commerce Pattern

Show an Indicator If the User’s Work Is Unsaved

Let Users Give Feedback, but Don’t Hassle Them

Don't Use a Vanity Splash Screen

Make Your Favicon Distinctive

Add a “Create From Existing” Flow

Make it Easy for Users to Pay You

Give Users the Ability to Filter Search Results

Your Users Probably Don’t Understand the Filesystem

Show, Don't Tell

Be Consistent with Terminology

Use “Sign In” and “Sign Out”, Not “Log In” and “Log Out”

Make It Clear to Users If They’re Joining or Signing In

Standardize the Password Reset Experience

Write Like a Human Being

Choose Active Verbs over Passive

Search Results Pages Should Show the Most Relevant Result at the Top of the Page

Pick Good Defaults

Only Use Modal Views for Blocking Actions

Give Users The Experience They Expect

Decide Whether an Interaction Should Be Obvious, Easy, or Possible

“Does It Work on Mobile?” Is Obsolete

Don’t Join the Dark Side

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