101 UX Principles - Second Edition

Table of contents

1. Preface
2. UX Field
   1. Principle 1: Everyone Can Be Great at UX
   2. Principle 2: Be Strategic About Using These Principles
   3. Principle 3: Don’t Be Afraid to Ship Something Simple…
   4. Principle 4: …But Complexity Can Be Good for Some Users
   5. Principle 5: Use A/B Testing to Test Your Ideas
   6. Principle 6: Test with Real Users
   7. Principle 7: Nobody Cares About Your Brand
3. Typography
   1. Principle 8: Don’t Use More than Two Typefaces
   2. Principle 9: Users Already Have Fonts on Their Computers, So Use Them
   3. Principle 10: Use Type Size and Weight to Depict an Information Hierarchy
   4. Principle 11: Use a Sensible Default Size for Body Copy
4. Controls
   1. Principle 12: Use an Ellipsis to Indicate That There’s a Further Step
   2. Principle 13: Make Interactive Elements Obvious and Discoverable
   3. Principle 14: Make Buttons a Sensible Size And Group Them Together by Function
   4. Principle 15: Make the Whole Button Clickable, Not Just the Text
   5. Principle 16: Don’t Invent New, Arbitrary Controls
   6. Principle 17: Search Should Be a Text Field with a Button Labeled “Search”
   7. Principle 18: Sliders Should Be Used for Non-Quantifiable Values Only
   8. Principle 19: Use Numeric Entry Fields for Precise Integers
   9. Principle 20: Don’t Use a Drop-Down Menu If You Only Have a Few Options
   10. Principle 21: Allow Users to Undo Destructive Actions
   11. Principle 22: Optimize Your Interface for Mobile
5. Content
   1. Principle 23: Use “Infinite Scroll” For Feed-Style Content Only
   2. Principle 24: If Your Content Has a Beginning, Middle, and End, Use Pagination
   3. Principle 25: Allow Users to Accept or Reject Cookies with One Click
   4. Principle 26: Help Users Understand Their Next Steps from “Empty States”
   5. Principle 27: Make “Getting Started” Tips Easily Dismissable
   6. Principle 28: When a User Refreshes a Feed, Move Them to the Last Unread Item
6. Navigation
   1. Principle 29: Don’t Hide Items Away in a “Hamburger” Menu
   2. Principle 30: Make Your Links Look like Links
   3. Principle 31: Split Menu Items Down Into Subsections, so Users Don’t Have to Remember Large Lists
   4. Principle 32: Categorize Settings in an Accessible Way
   5. Principle 33: Repeat Menu Items in the Footer or Lower Down in the View
7. Iconography
   1. Principle 34: Use Consistent Icons Across the Product
   2. Principle 35: Don’t Use Obsolete Icons
   3. Principle 36: Don’t Try to Depict a New Idea with an Existing Icon
   4. Principle 37: Never Use Text on Icons
   5. Principle 38: Always Give Icons a Text Label
8. Input
   1. Principle 39: Use Device-Native Input Features Where Possible
   2. Principle 40: Streamline Creating and Entering Passwords
   3. Principle 41: Always Allow the User to Paste into Password Fields
   4. Principle 42: Don’t Attempt to Validate Email Addresses
   5. Principle 43: Respect Users’ Time and Effort in Your Forms
   6. Principle 44: Pick a Sensible Size for Multiline Input Fields
   7. Principle 45: Use Animation with Care in User Interfaces
   8. Principle 46: Use the Same Date Picker Controls Consistently
   9. Principle 47: Pre-Fill the Username in “Forgot Password” Fields
   10. Principle 48: Make Your Input Systems Case-Insensitive
   11. Principle 49: Chatbots Are Usually a Bad Idea
9. Forms
   1. Principle 50: If Your Forms Are Good, Your Product Is Good
   2. Principle 51: Validate Data Entry as Soon as Possible
   3. Principle 52: If the Form Fails Validation, Show the User Which Field Needs Their Attention
   4. Principle 53: Users Don’t Know (and Don’t Care) About Your Data Formats
   5. Principle 54: Pick the Right Control for the Job
10. User Data
    1. Principle 55: Allow Users to Enter Phone Numbers However They Wish
    2. Principle 56: Use Dropdowns Sensibly for Date Entry
    3. Principle 57: Capture the Bare Minimum When Requesting Payment Card Details
    4. Principle 58: Make It Easy for Users to Enter Postal or ZIP Codes
    5. Principle 59: Don’t Add Decimal Places to Currency Input
    6. Principle 60: Make It Painless for the User to Add Images
11. Progress
    1. Principle 61: Use a “Linear” Progress Bar If a Task Will Take a Determinate Amount of Time
    2. Principle 62: Show a Numeric Progress Indicator on the Progress Bar
    3. Principle 63: Show a “Spinner” If the Task Will Take an Indeterminate Amount of Time
12. Accessible Design
    1. Principle 64: Contrast Ratios Are Your Friends
    2. Principle 65: If You Must Use “Flat Design” Then Add Some Visual Affordances to Controls
    3. Principle 66: Avoid Ambiguous Symbols
    4. Principle 67: Make Links Make Sense Out of Context
    5. Principle 68: Add “Skip to Content” Links Above the Header and Navigation
    6. Principle 69: Never Use Color Alone to Convey Information
    7. Principle 70: If You Turn off Device Zoom with a Meta Tag, You’re Evil
    8. Principle 71: Give Navigation Elements a Logical Tab Order
    9. Principle 72: Write Clear Labels for Controls
    10. Principle 73: Make Tappable Areas Finger-Sized
13. Journeys and State
    1. Principle 74: Let Users Turn off Specific Notifications
    2. Principle 75: Each Aspect of a User’s Journey Should Have a Beginning and End
    3. Principle 76: The User Should Always Know What Stage They Are at in Any Given Journey
    4. Principle 77: Use Breadcrumb Navigation
    5. Principle 78: Users Rarely Care About Your Company
    6. Principle 79: Follow the Standard E-Commerce Pattern
    7. Principle 80: Show an Indicator If the User’s Work Is Unsaved
    8. Principle 81: Let Users Give Feedback, but Don’t Hassle Them
    9. Principle 82: Don’t Use a Vanity Splash Screen
    10. Principle 83: Make Your Favicon Distinctive
    11. Principle 84: Add a “Create From Existing” Flow
    12. Principle 85: Make It Easy for Users to Pay You
    13. Principle 86: Give Users the Ability to Filter Search Results
    14. Principle 87: Your Users Probably Don’t Understand the Filesystem
    15. Principle 88: Show, Don’t Tell
14. Terminology
    1. Principle 89: Be Consistent with Terminology
    2. Principle 90: Use “Sign In” and “Sign Out”, Not “Log In” and “Log Out”
    3. Principle 91: Make It Clear to Users If They’re Joining or Signing In
    4. Principle 92: Standardize the Password Reset Experience
    5. Principle 93: Write Like a Human Being
    6. Principle 94: Choose Active Verbs over Passive
15. Expectations
    1. Principle 95: Search Results Pages Should Show the Most Relevant Result at the Top of the Page
    2. Principle 96: Pick Good Defaults
    3. Principle 97: Only Use Modal Views for Blocking Actions
    4. Principle 98: Give Users the Experience They Expect
    5. Principle 99: Decide Whether an Interaction Should Be Obvious, Easy, or Possible
    6. Principle 100: “Does It Work on Mobile?” Is Obsolete
16. UX Philosophy
    1. Principle 101: Don’t Join the Dark Side
    2. Bonus: Strive for Simplicity
17. Other Books You May Enjoy
18. Index