#UX
26 pieces filed under “UX”.
View transitions in the wild: lovely, fragile, worth it
Eight projects in, we still love the View Transitions API — with our eyes open. Where it shines, how it fights your router, and the tiers that keep it honest.
Taxonomy is the store: e-commerce navigation done properly
E-commerce taxonomy done properly: category trees that match how customers think, mega-menu rules, facets vs filters, and search as a navigational layer.
Two tabs, one truth: state across windows
Multi-tab state consistency without the baffling UX: storage events, BroadcastChannel, optimistic locks, and how to disclose last-write-wins before it betrays someone.
Rolling your own search in 2026: cheaper and better than you think
Search is a product, not a plugin. When we self-host Meilisearch or Typesense instead of renting the big names, how we tune typo tolerance, and the UX that forgives.
Errors are design material: engineering graceful failure
Failures are part of the product, not exceptions to it. Typed errors, retry policies, circuit breakers and writing the failure copy in the same sprint as the happy path.
Lead capture without the popup
Replacing exit-intent popups with respectful capture: read-progress offers, content-linked CTAs, end-of-article consoles — and how to know trust survived.
Auth for content and commerce: passkeys, magic links, and the recovery flow
Passkeys, magic links, or passwords with rules? How we choose auth for content and commerce sites — and the account-recovery flows everyone forgets to design.
View Transitions in production: the practical bits
The View Transitions API after the hype: same-document and MPA transitions, reduced-motion fallbacks, 2026 browser reality, and where motion aids comprehension.
Rate limits are a UX surface, not just middleware
Rate limiting starts in middleware but ends in the interface. Retry-After contracts, queue positions, backpressure UX and the copy that keeps users calm.
Address autocomplete that earns its keep
Address capture is where checkout helps or hectors: lookup with a manual escape, international format chaos, correction over scolding, and a plan for API failure.
B2B wholesale portals: design for the reorder
Wholesale buyers are professionals doing a job. Quick-order tables, SKU paste, standing orders, net terms and account hierarchies — built for the reorder.
The order-tracking page is an owned channel
The most-visited page in your store is one you probably didn't design. Status timelines, honest exceptions, delivery-day ritual, and where merchandising must stop.
Size and fit UX: the returns you can design away
Fit is apparel's most expensive doubt. Comparison sizing, fit feedback loops, measurement photography, and the metrics that prove a size tool actually reduces returns.
Wishlists and save-for-later: intent capture that respects the moment
A wishlist is a promise to pay attention twice. How to design anonymous saves, merge-on-login, price-drop alerts and pruning without becoming spam.
Product search UX: from query box to answers
In-app search is a product decision wearing an engineering costume: scoping, suggestions, typo tolerance, filters vs facets, and no-results states that navigate.
Maps on the web: restraint and alternatives
A map is the most expensive component on most sites — in kilobytes, attention and accessibility. When a map earns it, how to design one that doesn't, and when a list wins.
Error boundaries: designing UI that fails gracefully
Error boundaries are a product decision, not a try/catch. Granularity, fallbacks that save user work, retry semantics and reporting that actually gets read.
Engineering the 80-millisecond moments
Micro-interactions are where product quality is felt. Press states, instant visual feedback, focus continuity, and testing feel with the same rigour as function.
Audit first, test second: heuristic CRO that finds the free wins
Before your next A/B test, walk the funnel as a stranger. Our heuristic CRO audit method: the friction walkthrough, severity scoring, and fixes that don't need stats.
Shipping LLM features: what production taught us
The lessons that only arrive after launch: latency budgets in the wild, streaming UX edge cases, cost surprises, fallbacks, and expectations users hold.
Cookie banners: an honest design guide
Consent banners are the most-seen, least-designed UI on the web. Dark patterns, layered consent UX, CMP performance costs, and compliance that converts.
Theme persistence without the flash
Dark mode that flashes light on load is a broken promise. Boot scripts vs cookies, SSR the right class, reconciling system preference, and testing regressions.
Urgency UI that stays honest
Countdown timers and scarcity patterns convert — and corrode. When urgency is real, how to design it to inform not panic, plus honest alternatives that work.
Address forms for the world: one field doesn't fit all
International checkout forms: per-country field order, autocomplete's confident lies, the phone field's real job, PO-box honesty, and testing with real parcels.
B2B portals buyers love: quick order, CSV upload and reordering
Wholesale portals are won in the reorder flow, not the catalogue. Quick-order pads, forgiving CSV upload, standing orders, account pricing and rep handoff.
Returns are a product feature — design them like one
Most stores treat returns as a policy PDF. The best build a self-serve returns portal that saves revenue, feeds merchandising data, and keeps customers.