One pattern I’ve noticed throughout my career, particularly in the early days, is how UI and UX often become secondary—sometimes even tertiary—considerations for businesses. Understandably, this is often due to time or budget constraints, or in some cases, simply a lack of interest. As long as the functionality works, does the interface really matter?
I’ve encountered some wild examples, from VBA forms awkwardly integrated with MS Access databases to web UIs that look like they were designed for ATMs. Buttons placed with no thought whatsoever—"Why is that there, Dave?"—"I dunno, just needed to put it somewhere." Lacking text and data hierarchy, too many clicks to accomplish simple tasks, or missing fundamental behaviors like autofocus on the first field of a form, submitting on the return key, or proper tabbing and accessibility! (I’ll dive deeper into accessibility in a future post.)
The Knock-On Effects
A subpar UI isn’t too bad, right? People will get used to it, won’t they? Unfortunately, that’s not the most productive mindset. While users will likely adapt to a poorly designed system—just as we do with any repetitive task—it’s not without its costs.
Onboarding new staff will take longer. Efficiency will drop. And for internal business apps, job satisfaction will likely suffer. Imagine an employee working 9-5 with a clunky UI and poor UX:
"How was work today?"
"Honestly, the new tool is so hard to use. I’m starting to dread it."
Now imagine if your job was to use that frustrating tool all day, every day, with a strict quota to meet. It becomes mentally exhausting and stressful: “I have to click inside this tiny button, then switch screens, scroll to the bottom left, reload the page, enter information, save with the mouse... and hope it actually saves." Ugh.
I get it—on small projects that are accessed infrequently by a single person responsible for the app, UI/UX might not seem critical. But in larger applications, where employees without technical backgrounds are using the app regularly, they shouldn't have to care about the development process. Their concern should only be: "Can I do what I need to do efficiently without tearing my hair out?" As developers and designers, we should always keep this in mind.
The Solution
The solution is simple. If you can’t hire a designer, and your team of developers claim to “suck at UI,” as many often say, then just take the time to learn some basic UI/UX principles. It doesn’t take much—a day or two to understand the fundamentals. You don’t need to be the Bob Ross of design. It’s not solely a designer’s job to understand these basics.
Learning these principles will make you a more well-rounded developer (without the need for extra cookies). It’s a quick win! The next time you’re placing a button, positioning text, or adjusting line spacing, you’ll stop and think. While you might not deliver a designer-level UI, you’ll create an interface with significantly less friction and cognitive load. It really is that simple.
I often see reluctance in the developer community to proactively learn these basic principles. Some developers are naturally inclined toward UI, but many view it like drawing—they believe they can’t do it, either due to past feedback or their own self-assessment. As a result, they avoid trying, fearing failure before even giving it a shot. But guess what? Anyone can learn it.
In my experience, it’s a developer’s responsibility to be aware of basic UI/UX design principles. When you don’t have a designer to create a polished UI, your team can at least actively discuss improvements and collaborate on refinements.
Art is Subjective, UI is Objective
Conclusion
UI and UX are critical in most cases, but they are often deprioritized—especially in internal applications. When resources are limited, we tend to assign UI/UX tasks to whoever is available, which can foster reluctance to learn. Yet, simply understanding basic UI/UX principles can make a huge difference.
These principles will help us think about how users interact with our interfaces, giving them a smoother, more efficient experience. It might not be a perfectly designed UI, but it will reduce friction and help users do their jobs more effectively—especially if they’re working with your app from 9-5, possibly even improving their job satisfaction.
If you have any questions or need support with this or any other development topic, feel free to reach out. I’d be happy to help.
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- UI/UX