The Website of UX Designer Matthew Stephens

Recently, I was asked to critique a web form in order to increase conversions. The first thing I did was put the labels above the input fields and the client asked me “Why?”. I told her about visual flows and how the user deals with cognitive disruptions within a form. It would’ve been much easier to just send them this link, had it existed then. This is a short, but sweet article that answers the question in a straightforward manner. Worth reading, for sure.

Why Users Fill Out Form Fields Faster With Top Aligned Labels | UXMovement.com.

This is a great article by Alexander Dawson that explains why simplifying the decision process on your website is conducive to higher conversions. I would definitely recommend reading it if you haven’t already. Here’s a good excerpt: “Many sites provide an array of methods to interact with their offerings, but excesses in decision-making pressure can render less empowered visitors into a cyclone of stress from the barrage of questions being asked. As an industry, we place a great deal of emphasis on getting visitors to make decisions, but are we turning a straightforward path into a labyrinth with our need to know?”

How Choice Impairs Your Visitors | UX Booth.

This is a great presentation from Joshua Porter regarding intuition vs data-driven designs and why we must keep a balanced approach when designing user interfaces.

When it comes to designing for mobile devices, UI kits are a key element to the equation. Here is a great collection of frameworks to use, but the links that really caught my eye were the icons. What a great selection of high-quality, easy to modify icons! Definitely worth a bookmark, if you ask me.

11 UI Kits for iPhone and iPad Development | Freebies.