UX Mistakes Startups Make — and How to Avoid Them

Real examples and best practices to design user experiences that convert

When it comes to launching a startup, building a functional product is just the beginning — but designing a product that users love? That’s what turns early adopters into long-term customers. Unfortunately, many startups overlook the importance of user experience (UX), leading to confusion, friction, and churn.

At Ment2, we’ve helped dozens of startups build better UX from the ground up. Here are the most common UX mistakes we’ve seen — and how to avoid them.

Designing Without Real Users in Mind

Too often, founders design for themselves — not their users. You might know what the product does, but your users don’t. If you skip user research and assume too much, your design will reflect your internal thinking, not user needs.

How to avoid it:
Talk to users early. Run interviews, surveys, or usability tests. Watch how people interact with your product. What you learn will often surprise you — and lead to better design decisions.

Prioritizing Features Over Flow

Startups love features. It’s tempting to add as many options as possible to prove value. But without a clear flow or hierarchy, users get overwhelmed and don’t know what to do next.

Real example:
A startup we consulted had seven call-to-action buttons on their dashboard. Users clicked none. After we simplified the flow, conversions tripled.

Best practice:
Focus on core tasks. Use progressive disclosure — show only what’s needed, when it’s needed. Guide users from A to B with minimal distractions.

Ignoring Mobile Experience

In 2025, mobile-first isn’t a trend — it’s a standard. Yet many startups still treat mobile design as secondary, leading to broken layouts, tiny buttons, and poor usability.

How to fix it:
Design mobile-first or at least mobile-parallel. Test on real devices, not just simulators. Use touch-friendly components and prioritize speed and accessibility.

Inconsistent Visual Language

A button that changes style on every screen. Random font sizes. Conflicting icons. Visual inconsistency makes products feel unprofessional and hard to trust.

Why it matters:
Visual patterns help users predict what will happen next. Inconsistency creates cognitive load and makes users question product quality.

Solution:
Build and follow a simple design system — even a basic one with typography, color, buttons, and spacing rules can go a long way.

No Feedback or Error Handling

Clicking a button with no response. Forms that fail silently. Actions that seem to do nothing. These small UX gaps can break trust and cause user frustration.

Quick fix:
Provide immediate feedback: loading states, confirmations, success messages, error prompts. Let users know what’s happening — or why it’s not.

Bonus: Not Testing Early Enough

The biggest UX mistake? Waiting too long to test your assumptions. Startups often delay usability testing until after development, when it’s more expensive to fix.

What to do instead:
Test wireframes. Test prototypes. Test fake doors. The earlier you gather real feedback, the faster you build a product that works.

Great UX isn’t just about making things look pretty — it’s about reducing friction, building trust, and helping users succeed. For startups, UX can be the difference between a product that’s used once and one that becomes essential.

At Ment2, we help startups design experiences that convert — from wireframes and user journeys to interfaces that users actually enjoy. We combine user insight with bold design and lean strategy to help your product stand out.

Need help improving your product’s UX?
Let’s chat. We’re here to design smarter.