6 Most Common UI Mistakes You Are Probably Making

A user interface design is an essential part of any great user experience. It is also a necessary part of creating a high-quality product. That's why it is of significance for designers to create a detail-oriented and creative user interface design.

However, the field is also highly complex, so it can be easy for some designers to make mistakes when designing. 

The first step to avoiding UI mistakes is to learn the typical user interface mistakes.

6 common user interface mistakes to avoid 

Low contrast user interface design

Firstly, contrast is an essential part of any good user interface design. It can help designers manage users' attention, and also help distinguish various elements from each other. 

Good contrast on a page will show various elements on the page differently. 

Most user interface designs lack contrasts, and this could make the design look bland. 

Try adding more contrast between your elements by making them boldly and noticeably different. You can do this by:

• Using different font types or font sizes on different elements.
• Using different colors on various elements on your page.
• Varying the texture of several elements in your design.
• Use whitespace to show contrast.

Although under contrasting is a mistake most designers make, over contrasting can also happen. Here are some tips for avoiding over contrasting;

• Try not to use so many font styles on one page. This can make your design look unprofessional and even hard to read. Instead, try to limit your text to two fonts at most, or a single font, and different saturations (bold and normal.)
• Avoid highlighting narrow page elements with color. For example, use a single color background for an entire block on your design. This will make your design more appealing.

Medium App is a great example of how to set the contrast right.

Having too much text

Another common UI mistake is having too much text on your website. This adversely affects user experience. There are several reasons why too much text on a user interface isn't a good thing. 

For one, statistics show that up to 55% of people will spend less than 15 seconds on a website page. This stat shows that the attention span of website visitors is on a steady decline. Your design should catch your audience's attention, and too much text can turn visitors away, especially if they can't see the main point of a page immediately. 

Secondly, most website users would instead skim a page than read the entire content on a page, especially when looking for specific information. 

Also, too much text can be overwhelming and distracting for website visitors. 

Instead of putting all your text on the interface, do this instead:

• Try to say more with fewer words
• Make sure your copy is concise, expressive, and to the point. 
• Ensure that your page copy has been proofread and tested for emotional impact. 
• Hire a professional writer from writing service review platforms like Writing Judge to help you craft your page copy.

Apple app - how to say it all without using too much copy.

Unresponsive user interface design

Mobile phone usage has surpassed 3.8 billion users. These are people using their phones for everything from browsing online to checking their emails, and other things. Yet, there are still a ton of user interfaces that aren't responsive for mobile. 

A responsive design should ensure that your users can access your pages across any screen, device, or resolution. Google also ranks responsive designs higher in its search engines. 

Unresponsive designs increase the effort users put into using certain features of a page, so your user interface must be responsive. 

Poor padding and spacing

An excellent user interface should be clean and uncluttered, making it easy for users to understand it at a glance. This is why you're padding and spacing is significant. Unfortunately, this is also a common UI error. 

Some user interface designs have too small padding or too little spacing. Another common spacing mistake is uneven spacing, causing your page to look messy and confuse users on your chronology. 

There is a simple design rule for padding and spacing you can follow in your design; ensure the padding between different blocks is larger than the padding between the heading and the text in the block.

Unintuitive navigation and hierarchy

Another one of the common mistakes user interface designs sometimes have is organization. Poor navigation in your user interface design could come in the form of navigation and hierarchy.

A lack of organizational hierarchy can confuse visitors on your page. It can also give off an unflattering impression on your brand. 

Form hierarchy by using headings, subheadings, and paragraph font sizes to denote your text's different levels.

Your navigation should be straightforward and easy to understand to your page visitors. It would be best if you also placed it in a place on your website that your page users can easily see it. 

Adding too much design

Lastly, understand that just because you can design it doesn't mean that you need to. Designers often fall into the loop of over-designing, but simplicity is usually best. 

Don't clutter your page with so many designs. This will make it hard for users to navigate correctly or even get useful information out of it. 

Some tips to make your design better and avoid over-designing are:

• Use whitespace in your design. Don't feel every white space on your page with design.
• Try not to use too much color in your design. This will make it confusing to your users. Instead, use one or two colors on a page.
• Don't use multiple font sizes and font styles in your design. You can create a contrast between your headings, subheadings, etc. However, any more will be too much and cause your design to look unappealing to users. 

In conclusion

Please get familiar with these 6 common UI mistakes so you can avoid making them. But remember, there are no fixed laws in user interface design. In fact, rigidly following laws can create a crutch in your designing process. So, avoid making these mistakes, while also manipulating the tips in this article to work for you in your design.