Building User-Centric Products That Stand Out in a Crowded Market

Building a successful product as a startup founder requires more than just adding features. To stand out in a crowded market and win user loyalty, founders need to focus on user experience (UX) fundamentals that prioritize clarity, usability, and the product’s core value. Below, we’ll explore these essential UX principles, providing guidance to help your startup succeed by focusing on what matters most to users.

1. Prioritize Core Value

As a startup, trying to win by stacking up features against competitors is a losing game. Larger companies have more resources, and they can afford to build more extensive features. Instead of competing on quantity, you need to focus on a few standout features that deliver real value and make your product unique. Creating a simpler, more focused product means you’re designing something that’s easier to understand, use, and build.

• Simpler is better: Streamlined products reduce user friction, are easier to market, and require less development effort.

• Effort allocation: Spend 80% of your resources refining your core differentiator. Make sure it’s seamless, reliable, and user-friendly.

• Support with secondary features: Use the remaining 20% of your resources on complementary features—anything that adds but doesn’t overshadow your core value.

2. Get Real with User Research

While it may seem straightforward, user research can be tricky. Asking users if they like your product often results in inaccurate feedback. People want to be polite, and they may hesitate to say they don’t understand or dislike what they see. Effective user research goes deeper, avoiding common traps and ensuring you’re gathering insights that genuinely guide product improvement.

• Avoid leading questions: Avoid wording that assumes the user should like your product. Let users share their honest thoughts.

• Encourage constructive feedback: Position the product as “work in progress” to prompt both positive and negative input. Acknowledge that all feedback is useful.

• Expand the conversation: Instead of focusing narrowly on what you’ve built, ask users about other tools they use and what they like or dislike about those.

• Unlock creativity: Encourage users to think freely by asking, “If anything were possible, what should this product do?” Removing mental barriers opens up conversations.

3. Leverage Existing Solutions

As much as innovation is critical, reinventing everything from scratch is not. Many UX elements—like login screens, forms, and settings pages—don’t need to be original, as there are tried-and-tested patterns for these components. Stand on the shoulders of others by using existing design systems and templates, which can save time and offer a solid user experience right out of the box.

• Utilize pre-made components: Components like MUI and Tailwind UI offer well-tested design solutions for common elements, like buttons and forms.

• Find inspiration for complex flows: Research solutions for specific needs, like onboarding or data displays, by looking at products like Airtable or Linear.

• Start with templates: Services like Mobbin and PageFlows provide screenshots and screen recordings of various user flows, making it easy to study and adapt ideas from successful apps.

4. Prototype Early and Often

Creating a prototype as soon as possible is a game-changer. Prototypes allow you to validate ideas quickly, get feedback, and see how the product feels on real devices. Viewing your product from the user’s perspective lets you catch issues early on, before development time has been invested, and ensures a more intuitive experience for your end users.

• Use Figma for early testing: Connect screens in Figma’s Prototype mode and view the flow on the intended device.

• Save dev time: Prototyping allows you to identify necessary adjustments before involving developers, saving time and resources.

• Gather more accurate feedback: A prototype lets potential users or stakeholders click through the app, giving you more reliable insights on usability.

5. Utilize Repetition in Design

Repeated design patterns simplify the user experience and save time for developers. By reusing familiar elements across your app, you help users learn once and apply their knowledge everywhere. This approach reduces cognitive load, making your app easier to navigate while also streamlining development.

• Think in patterns: If you have a card layout for contact details, use a similar layout for project details to keep interactions consistent.

• Reuse components: Make UI elements reusable, so when users learn how to perform an action once, they know how to do it in other parts of the app.

• Standardize interactions: Repeating patterns saves your users from constantly relearning interactions, improving their experience and keeping the interface intuitive.

6. Gather Essential Resources

Learning UX doesn’t mean you have to do it all yourself. Plenty of resources offer practical guidance for design and research, helping you move from theory to action. Instead of wading through generic advice, here are some tools and materials that can help you tackle specific UX challenges in a startup-friendly way.

• Refactoring UI – This book provides actionable tips on creating visually appealing designs for non-designers.

• Mobbin – Browse design inspiration from popular apps, with user flows and screenshots sorted by category.

• IDEO’s DesignKit – Use this toolkit for research methods focused on human-centered design.

• UI Libraries – Component libraries like MUI, Tailwind UI, and ShadCN save time on design by offering ready-to-use templates.

7. Consider Scalability Early

Many founders overlook scalability until it becomes a problem. Designing with a flexible structure from the start allows you to add features without a complete overhaul later. Choose components and design decisions that will support future growth while keeping your core layout simple and intuitive.

• Plan for flexible navigation: Instead of locking your navigation to a six-tab setup, consider how it might expand or rearrange as new features are added.

• Select component libraries that scale: MUI and similar libraries provide adaptable, reliable styles that will support your product’s growth.

• Think about future workflows: Identify low-cost adjustments now that might simplify adding complex features later, ensuring you’re not locked into a rigid design.

8. Keep Visual Design Simple and Practical

Visual design in a startup should prioritize function over form. While an attractive product can help, it’s more important for your app to be clean, professional, and user-friendly. A simple, well-thought-out interface will appear modern without the need for complex visuals or excessive color.

• Use standard fonts: Fonts like Inter and Open Sans are readable and give your app a professional appearance.

• Embrace whitespace: Don’t clutter the interface; empty space helps guide the user’s eye and makes the app more comfortable to navigate.

• Limit visual distractions: Prioritize key information by using minimal color and only highlighting essential elements, avoiding a busy layout that overwhelms users.

9. Make Accessibility a Priority

Accessibility may not seem like a top concern for a startup, but designing with accessibility in mind ensures your product is usable by everyone, including those with disabilities. Accessible design benefits all users by improving readability and navigation.

• Text readability: Keep font sizes at least 16px for legibility, and maintain high contrast between text and background.

• Avoid color-only indicators: Use icons or additional cues alongside color-based messages to make interactions clearer.

• Keyboard navigation: Enable users to navigate important actions with the tab key, providing options for those who may not use a mouse.

• Accessibility resources: Visit WCAG for detailed accessibility guidelines to improve usability for all.

10. Prototype and Code with AI Tools

AI-driven tools can simplify the process of prototyping and coding, making it easier to go from concept to product. Although these tools won’t replace a developer’s expertise, they allow you to test ideas and visualize functionality before development, providing a cost-effective solution for startups.

• Experiment with AI tools: Platforms like Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor provide a quick way to get a prototype up and running.

• Convert Figma designs to code: Services like Anima and Builder.io help bridge design and code, so you can bring concepts to life faster.

• Challenge default UI decisions: Working with developers to refine default UI choices can ensure the product feels intuitive rather than utilitarian.

11. Less is More in UI

When it comes to UI, minimalism makes for a cleaner, more approachable design. Reducing visual clutter allows users to focus on key actions and understand the app more intuitively. Simple interfaces are easier to navigate and better suited to supporting essential functionality.

• Trim labels and text: Labels like “Address” or “Phone” are often unnecessary and only add clutter. Direct information is more effective.

• Keep key actions visible: Avoid hiding primary functions in dropdown menus. Make important actions easy to find and promote interaction.

• Prioritize simplicity: Minimalist interfaces ensure users see only what they need, leading to a smoother experience.

Conclusion

Getting UX right as a founder doesn’t mean perfecting every design detail; it’s about focusing on a few key principles that will make your product valuable and easy to use. By embedding these UX fundamentals early, you can avoid common pitfalls and create a product that serves users in the most effective, intuitive way possible. While perfection may be out of reach initially, starting with a strong UX foundation will make a significant difference in your product’s success.

FAQs

• Why should startup founders focus on UX?
  A strong UX differentiates a product and enhances user satisfaction, leading to better retention and engagement, which is crucial for startups with limited resources.

• What is the 80/20 rule in UX design?
  This rule emphasizes dedicating 80% of resources to refining core functionality and 20% to secondary features, helping founders focus on what truly matters.

• What are some quick ways to improve accessibility in UX?
  Use a minimum of 16px font size, provide high-contrast colors, avoid color-only indicators, and ensure all actions are accessible via keyboard.

• How can prototypes benefit startups?
  Prototypes allow founders to validate ideas with users without committing development resources, saving time and reducing costly revisions.

• What are key resources for learning UX fundamentals?
  Consider “Refactoring UI” for design tips, Mobbin for inspiration, and IDEO’s DesignKit for research techniques focused on user-centered design.