Reflecting on Our UX Journey

Introduction: Our UX Journey So Far

At 53 Degrees North, we’ve been building a resource to help business owners and creators make sense of user experience (UX) not just as a design trend, but as a practical way to create better websites for real people. From getting the basics right to avoiding costly mistakes, our recent blogs are designed to be both useful and actionable.

In this post, we bring those insights together in one place. Whether you’re just starting out or want to check your current site against best practice, this summary will guide you through the key points we’ve covered so far and where we’re heading next.

Here’s a quick look at what we’ve explored:

• What is User Experience (UX) – A breakdown of what UX really means, and how it goes beyond just how your website looks. We discuss usability, accessibility, and how people feel when they interact with your site.
  
  

• What is Mobile-Friendly Design? Why It's Essential and How It Impacts Visitors – Why responsive design isn’t optional anymore. With most browsing done on phones, mobile optimisation is key for speed, usability, and engagement.
  
  

• Accessible Web Design: Why It Matters and How to Improve It – Accessibility isn’t just about compliance it’s about inclusion. We explain how to make your site usable by everyone, including those with disabilities, and why that benefits all users.
  
  

• Common UX Mistakes to Avoid: A Comprehensive Guide – A practical look at where websites often go wrong, from clunky navigation to skipping user testing. We also cover the risks of forgetting accessibility and mobile users.

These articles offer a solid foundation in UX design, but the learning doesn’t stop here. In the sections that follow, we’ll revisit key insights from each post, identify what we’ve yet to explore, and map out future topics to help elevate your digital presence even further.

Understanding User Experience (UX)

In What is User Experience (UX), we defined UX as the full experience a user has with your website from how quickly it loads to how easy it is to find key information or complete a task. It’s not just about how a website looks; it’s about how it feels to use.

A well-designed user experience puts the visitor first. It considers their needs, goals, frustrations, and expectations. At 53 Degrees North, we highlighted how UX ties directly into user satisfaction, with good UX helping to build trust, increase conversion, and reduce bounce rates.

Key elements covered in the article included:

• Usability: Can people use your site without confusion?
  
  

• Accessibility: Is your content usable by people of all abilities?
  
  

• Structure: Are your menus, layouts and flows logical?
  
  

• Speed & performance: Does your site load quickly and reliably?
  
  

In short, user experience is about removing friction and making it easy for visitors to get what they need without needing to think twice. If your website isn't delivering a smooth, helpful experience, you're likely losing potential customers before they even get started.

Why Mobile-Friendly Design Still Matters

The web is mobile-first and your design should be too. In What is Mobile-Friendly Design? Why It's Essential and How It Impacts Visitors, we explored why mobile optimisation is no longer optional.

With over half of web traffic now coming from mobile devices, a site that isn’t responsive risks looking broken or feeling clunky. Poor mobile design doesn’t just frustrate users it actively drives them away. And Google’s mobile-first indexing means it can hurt your search ranking too.

Here are some of the takeaways from that article:

• Responsive design ensures your site adjusts to different screen sizes automatically.
  
  

• Touch-friendly navigation helps users tap and scroll without accidental clicks.
  
  

• Readable fonts and clean layouts make content easier to digest on smaller screens.
  
  

• Fast-loading pages are critical on mobile networks where speed can vary.
  
  

In the article, we also shared tips for testing your own website, including using browser tools and Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test. Most importantly, we explained that mobile design isn’t just about shrinking things down it’s about reimagining the experience for a smaller, touch-based format.

Accessibility: The Overlooked Pillar of UX

In Accessible Web Design: Why It Matters and How to Improve It, we explored how accessibility is not just about compliance it’s about inclusion. A truly effective website is one that everyone can use, including people with disabilities.

Accessible web design focuses on removing barriers that might stop someone from navigating, reading, or interacting with your content. This includes users who rely on screen readers, those with limited mobility, and visitors with visual or cognitive impairments.

From the article, here are the main points to take away:

• Use of clear structure and headings to aid screen readers and comprehension.
  
  

• Ensuring colour contrast is strong enough for users with visual impairments.
  
  

• Providing alt text for images so non-sighted users can understand visuals.
  
  

• Making sure your website is keyboard navigable, not just mouse-reliant.
  
  

• Using descriptive link text like “Read our guide to accessibility” instead of vague terms like “click here”.
  
  

The business case for accessibility is strong too. As we discussed in the blog, accessible sites tend to be more usable for everyone, not just those with specific needs. They load faster, rank better in search engines, and help you reach a wider audience including an estimated 1 in 5 people in the UK living with a disability.

At 53 Degrees North, we believe accessibility isn’t an “extra”, it’s a core part of good UX. Building with empathy benefits all your users, and shows your brand stands for openness and inclusion.

UX Pitfalls: What to Avoid

In Common UX Mistakes to Avoid: A Comprehensive Guide, we looked at the typical errors that can quietly damage a user's experience. Even small missteps in layout, copy, or navigation can make your site feel clunky or untrustworthy.

Many of these mistakes stem from focusing too much on design trends and not enough on clarity or ease of use. Others come from trying to say too much or make everything stand out, which in turn means nothing really does.

Here are some of the most important pitfalls we explored:

• Unclear calls to action: Buttons or links that don’t guide users effectively.
  
  

• Poor navigation: Menus that are hard to find, overly complex, or inconsistent.
  
  

• Too much content: Overloading users with text or competing messages.
  
  

• Ignoring loading times: A slow site can cause users to leave before it even loads.
  
  

• Not testing with real users: Making assumptions rather than observing behaviour.
  
  

We also discussed the danger of “me-first” websites that talk only about the business, rather than focusing on what the visitor wants or needs to do. This can create a disconnect and quickly erode trust.

At 53 Degrees North, we stress the value of simplicity, clarity, and intent. Every element of your site should have a clear purpose and should help the user make progress. If something isn’t helping the user, it may be in the way.

What We’ve Missed (So Far)

While we’ve covered many essential elements of user experience on the 53 Degrees North blog, there are still areas of UX that deserve deeper exploration. User experience is a broad and evolving discipline, and great websites are built on more than just responsive layouts and clean navigation.

Here are a few important aspects we’ve yet to dive into:

• User research and testing: Understanding how real users interact with your site can reveal problems and opportunities you might otherwise miss.
  
  

• Information hierarchy: Structuring content so that the most important details are clear and easy to find. This helps users stay oriented and avoid cognitive overload.
  
  

• Emotional design: Crafting experiences that build connection, trust, or delight. Subtle animations, tone of voice, or personalised touches can all contribute.
  
  

• Page performance and loading speed: While we've touched on performance in other contexts, it warrants focused attention. Slow experiences frustrate users and hurt search rankings.
  
  

• Content design: Writing content with a clear purpose and structure, making it easier for users to skim, understand, and take action.
  
  

In upcoming posts, we’ll continue to build on this foundation and shine a light on the less visible, but equally important, aspects of UX.

Areas to Explore in the Future

User experience is never finished. At 53 Degrees North, we see UX as an ongoing process of learning, testing, and improving. As we continue to support clients in building better digital experiences, there are several topics we plan to explore further.

Here are some of the key areas we’re excited to cover in future articles:

• User journeys and personas
  Crafting detailed user stories and personas helps ensure that your website is built around real needs and behaviours, not assumptions.
  
  

• Conversion rate optimisation (CRO)
  Once a site is live, how can we make it work harder? CRO combines UX insights with data to help turn more visitors into leads or customers.
  
  

• Micro interactions and motion design
  Subtle animations and feedback can enhance usability and provide a more polished, engaging experience when used thoughtfully.
  
  

• Inclusive design practices
  Going beyond accessibility checklists to embrace inclusive thinking from the start of a project. This includes designing for edge cases and underrepresented users.
  
  

• Behavioural psychology and persuasive design
  Exploring how human decision-making affects digital interaction, and how we can use that knowledge ethically to guide users without manipulation.
  
  

• UX audits and tools
  Sharing practical methods and tools to review and improve UX, even on a tight budget or without a dedicated UX team.
  
  

Each of these areas offers a chance to build on the strong UX foundation we've outlined in our blog, and we’re looking forward to exploring them in a way that keeps things practical, approachable, and results-focused.

Final Thoughts

User experience is at the heart of every successful website. Whether you’re building from scratch or improving an existing one, understanding how people interact with your content, layout, and design decisions is essential. As we’ve explored in our recent blog posts on UX fundamentals, mobile-friendliness, accessibility, and common UX pitfalls, even small improvements can have a big impact on how users feel and whether they choose to stay, engage, or convert.

At 53 Degrees North, we combine practical design thinking with the real-world needs of small businesses to create digital experiences that are not just attractive, but also effective and inclusive. We’re excited to continue expanding this UX series, and we invite you to follow along as we dig into user journeys, CRO, inclusive design, and more.

If you’re thinking about your own website and wondering how to make it work better for your users, we’d love to chat.