Let’s be honest. A lot of websites feel like they were designed by someone who hates people. They’re slow, confusing, or make you solve a tiny picture puzzle just to prove you’re not a robot. It's a digital migraine waiting to happen.
I’m Cody Ewing, and at Bruce & Eddy, my dad Butch and I have been fixing these kinds of problems since 2004. From bustling businesses in Houston to creative shops in Marfa, we’ve seen firsthand how a frustrating website can quietly kill a company's potential. Bad user experience isn't just an annoyance; it's a silent profit killer.
The good news? You don't need a hundred-page manual written by a consultant who uses words like "synergy" to fix it. You just need to focus on a few core ideas that make a website feel less like a chore and more like a helpful conversation.
Here are the 10 best UX design practices that separate the websites that just exist from the ones that actually make you money. These are the non-negotiables we build into every project, whether it’s a custom web app from my dad and Anjo or a fast-and-clean BEGO site for a local business. Getting these fundamentals right is the first step toward building a site people actually want to use.
1. User-Centered Design (UCD)
User-Centered Design, or UCD, is less of a single action and more of a core philosophy. It's the radical idea that we should design for the people who will actually use the thing, not for our own egos or some abstract "ideal" customer. It’s one of the most fundamental best ux design practices because it anchors every decision in reality. Instead of guessing what users want, you actively involve them throughout the entire process.
This approach ensures the final product is intuitive, solves real problems, and doesn't make people want to throw their laptop out a window. It’s a direct counter-attack to building something that looks great but nobody can figure out how to use.
How We Put It Into Practice
At Bruce & Eddy, UCD isn't just a buzzword my dad, Butch, throws around. It’s how we’ve stayed in business since 2004, helping everyone from startups in Austin to established nonprofits in Houston. Here's how to make it happen:
- Conduct User Research First: Don't write a single line of code or design a single pixel until you've talked to actual users. This means interviews, surveys, and analyzing their current behaviors.
- Create Data-Backed Personas: Develop detailed user personas based on your research, not your assumptions. Give them names, goals, and pain points.
- Test Early and Often: Build simple prototypes and get them in front of users. Usability testing reveals flaws when they're cheap and easy to fix, not after you've spent a fortune on development. Learn more about the core User-Centered Design principles on bruceandeddy.com.
2. Usability Heuristics
Usability Heuristics are basically a fancy term for a set of ten common-sense rules for great design, developed by the brilliant Jakob Nielsen. Think of them as a pre-flight checklist for your website or app. Instead of waiting for users to get confused and leave, you use these principles to spot and fix common problems before they ever happen. This is one of the best ux design practices because it's a fast, cheap way to improve your interface without running dozens of user tests.
These heuristics help ensure your design is forgiving when users make mistakes, provides clear feedback, and feels consistent. It's the difference between a website that feels like it’s fighting you and one that guides you effortlessly. Think of Spotify's "undo" button after you accidentally remove a song from a playlist—that’s a perfect example of error prevention in action.
How We Put It Into Practice
At Bruce & Eddy, we use heuristics as a gut check on every project, whether it's a custom web app built by Anjo or a quick-launch site from Blake. It's a quick way to catch things that might annoy users down the line. Here’s how you can do it too:
- Evaluate Against the 10 Principles: Systematically review your interface against each of Nielsen’s ten heuristics, like "Visibility of system status" and "Consistency and standards."
- Use Multiple Evaluators: Get 3-5 people (who understand UX) to review the design independently. This catches more issues than one person working alone.
- Prioritize the Problems: Not all usability issues are created equal. We categorize them by severity (critical, major, minor) to decide what to fix first.
- Document and Create an Action Plan: Take screenshots of each violation and write a clear explanation of the problem and how to fix it. This turns a simple review into a tangible roadmap for improvement.
3. Information Architecture (IA)
Information Architecture, or IA, is the art and science of organizing and labeling your website's content so people can actually find what they're looking for. Think of it as the digital blueprint for your house. If it’s a mess, visitors will get lost in the hallway closet when they were just trying to find the bathroom. Good IA is one of the most critical best ux design practices because it creates a logical, intuitive path for users, turning confusion into clarity.
It’s the invisible framework that makes navigating sites like Target or Wikipedia feel effortless. You don’t consciously notice good IA, but you definitely feel the pain of its absence when you're clicking aimlessly through a nonsensical menu. A solid IA ensures your content is not only accessible but also understandable.
How We Put It Into Practice
My dad, Butch, loves a good blueprint, and that’s how we treat IA for our clients, whether they're a nonprofit in Dallas or a startup in San Antonio. We don’t just guess where things should go; we build a structure based on user expectations. Here's how to get it right:
- Conduct Card Sorting Exercises: This is a fancy term for asking real users to group your content topics in a way that makes sense to them. It’s a direct look into their mental model, not yours.
- Use Clear, User-Friendly Labels: Ditch the internal jargon. Label your navigation with words your actual customers would use. If you sell shoes, call the page "Shoes," not "Footwear Solutions."
- Implement Breadcrumb Navigation: Show users exactly where they are on your site and how they got there. It’s a simple feature that dramatically reduces the "how did I get here?" feeling.
- Test Your Navigation Structure: Before you build anything, use tree testing to see if users can find specific information within your proposed site map. It’s like a trial run for your website’s GPS.
4. Consistency and Standards
Consistency is the secret ingredient that makes a great design feel effortless. It’s the principle of keeping your design patterns, language, and interactions uniform across your entire product. Think of it as a subconscious promise to your users: "Hey, if you learn how to do something here, you'll know how to do it everywhere else on this site." This is one of the most powerful best ux design practices because it drastically reduces the user's cognitive load.
When things are consistent, people don't have to stop and re-learn how your interface works every time they click a new page. They can predict what will happen, which builds trust and makes them feel smart. This is why major players like Apple and Google invest so heavily in design systems; they create a predictable, reliable experience that users can master quickly.
How We Put It Into Practice
At Bruce & Eddy, consistency isn't just about making things look the same; it's about making them behave the same. We bake it into every project, whether it's a custom web app from Anjo or a quick-launch Wix site from Blake. Here’s how you can do it too:
- Develop a Style Guide: Even a simple one helps. Document your colors, fonts, button styles, and terminology. This ensures everyone on your team is singing from the same hymn sheet.
- Create Reusable Components: Instead of designing a new button for every single page, build a library of reusable UI components. This saves time and prevents "design drift."
- Conduct Consistency Audits: Periodically review your site or app to find and fix inconsistencies. Look for different button styles, conflicting terminology, or clashing visual cues. It’s a small effort that pays huge dividends in user satisfaction.
5. Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Accessibility and Inclusive Design isn't just a box to check or a legal requirement; it's the practice of not being a jerk. It means designing products that everyone can use, regardless of their abilities. This is one of the most important best ux design practices because it recognizes that a massive portion of the population has some form of disability, whether it's visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive. Building with accessibility in mind from the start expands your audience and creates a better experience for all users.
Ignoring accessibility is like building a storefront with only stairs. You’re telling a whole group of potential customers that you don’t want their business. In the digital world, this means ensuring your site works with screen readers, can be navigated by keyboard, and has clear, readable text. It’s not just good ethics; it’s smart business.
How We Put It Into Practice
We’ve seen firsthand how a nonprofit in Dallas or a startup in San Antonio can grow its reach just by making its site usable for more people. It’s a non-negotiable part of our process. Here’s how you can make it a reality:
- Follow WCAG 2.1 AA Standards: This is the global benchmark for accessibility. Treat it as your minimum standard for things like color contrast, text size, and form labels.
- Prioritize Semantic HTML: Use HTML tags for their intended purpose (e.g.,
<nav>,<button>,<h1>). This gives assistive technologies the context they need to interpret the page correctly. - Test with Real Assistive Tech: Don't just guess. Use screen readers like NVDA or VoiceOver and try navigating your site with only a keyboard. You'll find issues you never expected.
- Include Diverse Users in Testing: The best way to know if your design is inclusive is to involve people with disabilities in your user testing from the beginning. Their feedback is invaluable.
If you’re just getting started, we put together a guide to help you get the basics right. Check out our detailed website accessibility checklist on bruceandeddy.com.
6. Mobile-First and Responsive Design
Mobile-first isn't just about shrinking your website; it's a strategic constraint that forces you to focus on what truly matters. Instead of designing a big, beautiful desktop site and then desperately trying to cram it onto a phone, you start with the smallest screen. This is one of the most critical best ux design practices today because, let’s be honest, most people are looking at your site on their phone while waiting in line for coffee.
By prioritizing mobile, you ensure the core experience is fast, focused, and functional. You identify the most essential content and features first, then progressively enhance the design as screen real estate increases for tablets and desktops. It’s about addition, not subtraction, leading to a cleaner and more efficient product on all devices.
How We Put It Into Practice
We’ve seen businesses in places from Richmond to Frisco get left behind because their sites are unusable on mobile. My dad, Butch, always says, “If it doesn’t work on a phone, it doesn’t work.” Here’s how we ensure it works:
- Design for Thumbs: We start designing with a minimum width of around 320px and ensure touch targets are at least 48×48 pixels. No one should have to zoom in just to click a button.
- Prioritize Ruthlessly: The small screen forces tough decisions. We work with clients to identify the absolute must-have features for mobile users, leaving secondary elements for larger screens.
- Test on Real Devices: Emulators are great, but nothing beats testing on actual iPhones and Androids. This is where you catch the weird bugs and awkward interactions that software can’t simulate.
- Optimize for Speed: Mobile users are impatient. We optimize images, implement lazy loading, and ensure assets are lightweight to deliver a snappy experience, even on a weak cell signal. Learn more about how to optimize your website for mobile on bruceandeddy.com.
7. Gestalt Principles in Design
Gestalt Principles are a fancy way of saying our brains are wired to find patterns. It’s not some mystical design secret; it's psychology. These principles, like proximity, similarity, and closure, explain how people naturally group visual information. Understanding this is one of the most powerful best ux design practices because it lets you create layouts that feel instantly right to a user, without them even knowing why. You're working with their brain's shortcuts, not against them.
Instead of forcing users to figure out what belongs together, you arrange elements so their brains do the work automatically. This is why a well-designed dashboard feels clean and a poorly designed one feels like a messy garage. It’s all about creating order from chaos.
How We Put It Into Practice
My dad, Butch, loves talking about this stuff. He’s been using these principles since before they were a trendy UX topic. At Bruce & Eddy, whether it’s a custom web app or a BEGO site for a local business in Richmond, Texas, we use Gestalt to make complex information simple. Here’s how you can, too:
- Use Whitespace as a Tool: Group related items by placing them close together (proximity). The empty space around the group tells the user, "Hey, these things are a team."
- Create Visual Consistency: Make similar elements look the same. Use the same color, font, or shape for all your call-to-action buttons (similarity). This creates a predictable and easy-to-learn interface.
- Guide the Eye Naturally: Arrange elements in a line or a smooth curve to create a path for the user’s eye to follow (continuance). This keeps people moving through your content instead of getting stuck.
- Test Your Groupings: What looks like a clear group to you might not to your users. Run simple tests to make sure people are perceiving the layout as you intended.
8. User Feedback and Iteration
User Feedback and Iteration is the simple idea that launching a website isn't the finish line; it’s the starting gun. This practice turns your design process into a continuous loop of learning and improving. Instead of building something based on initial assumptions and then calling it a day, you actively gather real-world data and user opinions to make it better over time. It’s one of the most critical best ux design practices because it keeps your product grounded in reality.
This agile approach prevents your site from becoming a digital relic. It ensures the design evolves to meet actual user needs, fixing what's broken and doubling down on what works. It’s the difference between a static brochure and a living, breathing tool that actually helps people.
How We Put It Into Practice
At Bruce & Eddy, we don't just build and bail. We build, measure, and refine. We’ve seen this approach work for our clients everywhere from Frisco to Fredericksburg, turning good websites into great ones. Here’s how you can do it too:
- Mix Your Feedback Sources: Don't just rely on surveys. Combine quantitative data (like analytics showing where people drop off) with qualitative feedback (like direct user comments) for a complete picture.
- Test and Tweak Constantly: You don't need a massive budget for this. Run small, weekly usability tests to catch friction points. Find out more about how we approach this with our guide on how to conduct usability testing on bruceandeddy.com.
- Prioritize Ruthlessly: You'll get tons of feedback. Create a system to sort it by how many users are affected and how severe the problem is. Fix the biggest fires first, not just the loudest complaints.
- Share What You Learn: Make sure your entire team, from developers to marketers, understands what users are saying. When everyone knows the "why" behind a change, the entire project gets smarter.
9. Clear Visual Hierarchy and Contrast
Clear Visual Hierarchy and Contrast isn’t about making things look pretty; it's about making them make sense. It’s the art of arranging elements on a page so a user’s eye naturally gravitates to what's most important. This practice uses size, color, contrast, and spacing to create a roadmap for the user, guiding them from the main headline to the call-to-action button without them even having to think about it.
Without it, a webpage feels like a chaotic mess where everything is screaming for attention at once. A strong hierarchy makes content scannable, digestible, and far more effective. It's one of the most critical best ux design practices because it directly impacts how quickly a user can find what they need and take action.
How We Put It Into Practice
When Landon designs a Squarespace site or my dad, Butch, maps out a complex custom web app, they're always thinking about the user’s journey. They're not just placing elements; they're assigning them jobs. Here’s how we ensure our designs are clear and intuitive:
- Use Size and Weight to Signal Importance: Headlines should be big and bold, subheadings smaller, and body text smaller still. It’s a simple rule that instantly tells users how to scan the content.
- Leverage Whitespace: Negative space isn't empty space; it’s a powerful tool. We use it to group related items and separate distinct sections, giving the layout room to breathe and reducing cognitive load.
- Ensure Strong Color Contrast: We stick to a limited color palette and use bright, contrasting colors for key actions, like "Sign Up" or "Buy Now" buttons. This also means meeting WCAG accessibility standards so everyone can use the site.
- Test in Grayscale: A great trick is to view the design in grayscale. If the hierarchy still works without color, you know you've built a solid visual foundation.
10. Error Prevention and Recovery
The best interface is one that prevents you from messing up in the first place. Error Prevention and Recovery is the practice of designing systems that act as a safety net for users. It’s about building guardrails that make mistakes difficult and, when they inevitably happen, making it painless to get back on track. This is one of the most crucial best ux design practices because it builds trust and reduces user frustration. Instead of a vague "Error 404," users get clear guidance.
This approach stops problems before they start and turns a potential crisis, like accidentally deleting your work, into a non-event. It’s the difference between a tool that feels like it’s working with you and one that feels like it’s constantly setting traps.
How We Put It Into Practice
At Bruce & Eddy, we know that nobody’s perfect. We build sites for businesses from Dallas to San Antonio, and we’ve seen every mistake a user can make. Anjo, our custom dev specialist, is a master at anticipating these issues before they ever reach a customer. Here’s how we do it:
- Prevent Errors First: We use constraints like dropdown menus instead of open text fields where possible and provide real-time validation to let you know immediately if a credit card number is formatted incorrectly.
- Write Human-Friendly Error Messages: We banish generic error codes. Instead of "Auth Error #5002," a message should say, "That password doesn't seem right. Need a reset link?"
- Implement Confirmation and Undo: For any destructive action, like deleting a user account or a blog post, we add a confirmation step. Features like Gmail's "Undo Send" are a perfect example of forgiving design.
- Guide Users to a Solution: A good error message doesn't just state the problem; it offers a direct path to fixing it. If a form field is wrong, we highlight exactly which one and explain why.
So, Now What?
We’ve just walked through ten of the most important UX design best practices, from respecting the user with UCD to ensuring your site is accessible for everyone. I get it, it's a lot to take in. The real takeaway is that good design isn’t an accident. It’s a series of intentional, thoughtful decisions that make a user’s journey simple, clear, and effective.
Think of it like building a house. Information architecture is the blueprint, visual hierarchy is the interior design, and accessibility is making sure the front door has a ramp, not just stairs. You can have the prettiest house on the block, but if no one can figure out how to open the front door or find the bathroom, it’s a failure. Your website works the same way.
Every single one of these principles, from consistency to mobile-first design, builds on the others to create an experience that feels effortless. When it’s done right, users don’t even notice it; they just know your site works.
Turning Theory into Action
The real magic happens when these concepts move from a checklist to a mindset. For instance, creating a clear visual hierarchy isn't just about making things look good. It's about guiding your customer from a landing page to a contact form without them having to think. Similarly, implementing solid error prevention isn't a technical chore. It's an act of customer service that prevents frustration and keeps people from bouncing to a competitor’s site. If you're building a native application, these principles become even more critical. To further solidify your understanding of practical application, consider exploring resources on comprehensive app design best practices to see how these fundamentals translate to a different medium.
At the end of the day, embracing these best UX design practices is about respecting your audience’s time and intelligence. It’s the difference between a tool that helps them and a puzzle that annoys them. And in a world where everyone’s competing for attention, the smoothest, most intuitive experience always wins. Whether you're in downtown Houston or out in the quiet hills of Wimberley, your customers expect and deserve a digital experience that just makes sense.
If your website feels like it’s held together with duct tape and hope, maybe it’s time to talk. At Bruce & Eddy, we live and breathe this stuff so you don’t have to. Let’s have a real conversation about turning your site from a source of frustration into your hardest-working employee.
