UX
ELI5 - The Vibe Check
UX is short for user experience, which is everything about how it actually feels to use your product, not just whether the button technically works, but whether someone can find it, understand what it does, and not want to throw their laptop after clicking it three times by accident. Good UX is invisible; you usually only notice UX when it's bad.
Real Talk
UX, or User Experience, is the discipline concerned with the overall experience a person has while interacting with a product or system, encompassing usability, information architecture, interaction design, and accessibility, as distinct from UI, which focuses specifically on the visual and interactive surface. UX work typically involves user research, wireframing, and usability testing, iterating based on how real users actually behave rather than how designers assume they'll behave.
When You'll Hear This
"The feature works, but the UX is confusing, nobody can find the save button." / "We ran a UX study and half the users never noticed the settings menu existed."
Related Terms
A11y
A11y is a nerdy shorthand for 'Accessibility' — there are 11 letters between the A and the Y.
Accessibility (a11y)
Accessibility (a11y) is making your website usable by everyone — including people using screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, or who have low vision.
Dark Pattern
A dark pattern is a UI design trick that manipulates users into doing things they didn't intend — like hiding the unsubscribe button, making the 'accept co...
Design System
A LEGO set for your UI — a collection of reusable components, colors, typography, and rules that keep your entire app looking consistent.