Normal UI

You don't need to be a designer to make a web app easier to use.

Successful web apps are usable web apps. The better an app's usability the more paying users you get, the happier customers and clients you have. But how can a dev team make web apps more usable?

Over the last 20 years as both a developer and UX designer, I've developed a technique that non-designers can use to improve the usability of the web apps they build.

I've used the technique in the design and construction of many apps with thousands of users and hundreds of usability tests with real people from all walks of life. The technique always works.

In this book, a fast read with lots of examples, you'll quickly learn the technique and be able to immediately apply it to your work. I call it Normal UI.

Who Is This Book For?

This book is for you if you are:

• A developer building web applications.
• A designer who has more expertise on making web apps look good, but less on making them work well.

If either of these are you, then this book is designed for you and your team.

What's Inside the Book?

• Practical Techniques: Learn how to use the concept of UI "normalization" to make your web apps easier to use.
• Actionable Steps: Detailed, step-by-step guidance on improving the usability of your web apps.
• Real-World Examples: See how this technique can be applied in real projects with clear examples and diagrams.
• Developer-Friendly Approach: Tailored for developers, not designers—no design expertise required.

What Do We Mean By "Normal" UI?

We don't mean "normal" as in normal or abnormal. The term is inspired by database normalization, where database tables are normalized or denormalized.

We define UI in your web app as normalized or denormalized. Your UI for a particular sequence of tasks is either normalized (spread across many screens) or denormalized (the user stays on one screen).

That simple concept is surprisingly effective at defining ways to improve web app usability under particular circumstances. Sometimes you want a normalized interface. Sometimes you want a denormalized one. The book will show you when and how to do so.

A Fast Read, Start Improving Your Web Apps Right Away

The book is fluff-free. Finish reading it quickly and start implementing the techniques in your web apps right away.

Lots of examples help solidify concepts and spark inspiration for your own apps.

Sample Chapters and Table of Contents

Click here to download the first four chapters free.

Here is the table of contents of the complete book:

• Introduction
• Normalization
• Workflows, Screens, and Frames
• How Do You Normalize?
• Metrics
• Low-frequency/High-complexity - You Should Normalize
• High-frequency/High-complexity - You Should Denormalize
• Low-frequency/Low-complexity - You Might Normalize
• High-frequency/Low-complexity - You Should Denormalize
• The Four Quadrants
• Normalization In The Real World
• Keep Workflows Small-ish
• Determine Complexity on a Napkin
• Normalize Dangerous Workflows
• Workflows Form the App Skeleton
• Normalized UIs Have Dev Benefits
• Handle Scope Creep Through Normalization
• Provide Context on Normalized Screens
• Make Clear Calls-to-Action
• Help Users Recover From Errors
• Tell Users They Were Successful, and Help Them Keep Going
• How To Talk About Normal UI
• Recommended Reading
• Conclusion

Bundle With The Video Series

Get the complete version and bundle the book with the upcoming Normal UI video series, where I'll walk you through implementing the technique in various common web app features.

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