10 Critical UI/UX Mistakes in Mobile Apps and How to Fix Them

Mobile apps have become an essential part of our lives. We rely on them when shopping, ordering food, doing banking, or just scrolling through social media in our free time.

Today, mobile usage has passed desktop, and the competition in the app market is getting tougher. Users have no patience for slow, complex, or unattractive apps, and they’re quick to switch to alternatives.

Using an app that loads slowly, has confusing menus, badly placed buttons, or too many unnecessary notifications can feel like torture. Users want speed, simplicity, and smoothness in a mobile app.

If you want users to stay longer in your app, you need to avoid UI/UX design mistakes. These mistakes not only affect the look of the app but also lead to a poor user experience, app abandonment, and low conversion rates. No matter how innovative an app is, if it's not user-friendly, it’s bound to fail.

In this article, we’ll look at the 10 most common critical UI/UX mistakes in mobile apps and how to fix them. This guide will help you improve your user experience — read it carefully.

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10 Critical Mistakes in Mobile App UI/UX

Common design mistakes in mobile apps can lead to users leaving your app and lower user loyalty. Here are the 10 most frequent mistakes:

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1. Complicated Navigation

The key to a successful mobile app is letting users quickly and easily reach what they’re looking for. But many apps confuse users with unnecessary menus, complex page transitions, and illogical navigation.

Solution:

• Use a minimalist menu. Users should reach their target screen in 3–4 taps.
• Add intuitive design elements like a bottom navigation bar.
• Create a clear hierarchy and test user flows to remove extra steps.

Example: Older versions of Snapchat were criticized for their complicated navigation. It was hard to find stories, messages, or profiles. In later versions, Snapchat fixed this with easier and more intuitive navigation.

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2. Slow App Launch or Performance Issues

Users are impatient with slow or freezing apps. Studies show that 53% of users leave an app if it takes more than 3 seconds to open.

Solution:

• Avoid heavy animations and large visuals. Use light design components to speed things up.
• Use cache management to make the app load faster.
• Add skeleton loading to the splash screen to make content feel like it’s loading fast.

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3. Wrong Color and Typography Choices

Colors and fonts directly affect an app’s identity and usability. Poor color contrast or hard-to-read fonts can make it difficult for users to read content or cause discomfort.

Solution:

• Make sure text color contrasts well with the background.
• Optimize font sizes. Fonts that are too small or too big can bother users.
• Choose a color palette that fits your brand. Avoid overly bright and disturbing colors.

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4. Poor Button Placement (CTA – Call to Action)

CTA buttons let users take action in the app. If these buttons are poorly placed or not attention-grabbing, conversion rates go down.

Solution:

• Place main CTA buttons in the most accessible areas. (Usually at the bottom of the screen)
• Optimize button sizes. Buttons that are too small or too large can hurt the experience.
• Use eye-catching colors and clear messages to guide users. (e.g., instead of “Buy Now,” say “Explore Now”)

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5. Unnecessary Notifications and Pop-ups

Too many notifications and pop-ups can push users to close the app. Users often see irrelevant or frequent notifications as spam.

Solution:

• Prioritize important notifications. Offer content that really adds value to users.
• Control how often notifications are sent. Sending more than one per day may annoy users.
• Let users customize their notification settings.

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6. Giving Too Many Options (Choice Overload)

Giving users too many choices can make decision-making hard and cause them to leave the app.

Solution:

• Group options into categories. Let users decide step by step.
• Use recommendation algorithms to show relevant options based on interests.
• Design a clean interface that helps users make quick decisions.

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7. Lack of Accessibility

An app should be accessible to all users. But many apps ignore users who are visually impaired, elderly, or have limited motor skills.

Solution:

• Add screen reader support.
• Increase button and text sizes for easier use.
• Design with color blindness in mind.

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8. Unclear Error Messages

Users want to know what to do when they get an error. If error messages are not clear, users may close the app.

Solution:

• Write clear and helpful error messages.
• Guide users on how to fix the error. (e.g., “Your password must be at least 8 characters long.”)

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9. Not Using Responsive Design

Mobile devices come in different screen sizes. If your app doesn’t adapt to different screens, users will have a bad experience.

Solution:

• Test your design on different devices to make sure it fits.
• Use flexible grid systems to adjust layouts based on screen size.

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10. Inconsistent Visual/Brand Identity

Inconsistent icons, mixed color palettes, and random fonts can make the app look unprofessional.

Solution:

• Create a design language and keep it consistent across all screens.
• Use user testing to ensure your brand identity is shown correctly.

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User Testing and Feedback Processes

To make the best design decisions, you need to listen to user feedback. During development, analyzing real user experiences and improving constantly is the key to success.

Here are ways to improve a mobile app’s success:

1. Run user surveys: Understand what users like and where they struggle.
2. Do A/B testing: Compare two versions and see which performs better.
3. Watch real user scenarios: Ask users to complete a task and observe where they struggle.

Example: Netflix improves its video recommendation algorithm by doing regular user testing to improve the experience.

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Duolingo’s Early UI/UX Problems

In its early versions, Duolingo had a very academic and memorization-based structure. There were too many complex steps to finish lessons, and in-app guidance wasn’t intuitive. Users had trouble understanding how to progress and lost motivation quickly.

There was too much text in older versions. Users saw long grammar explanations, and lessons didn’t flow naturally. This made them bored and led to app abandonment.

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Major UI/UX Changes Duolingo Made

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1. Increased Use of Gamification

To keep users motivated, Duolingo added gamification techniques.

They added daily goals, levels, points, and rewards to encourage daily use.

Reminders were added to keep streaks going. (e.g., “Don’t break your 20-day streak!”)

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2. Designed a More Intuitive and Fun Interface

They added more visuals and icons to lesson screens.

Instead of long grammar explanations, they added short and clear instructions.

Leveling up became a game-like experience.

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3. Added Animations to Keep Users Engaged

Simple and fun animations made users feel rewarded when progressing.

When lessons were completed, the owl mascot (Duo) started celebrating with them.

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4. Made the Learning Experience More Personalized

They added a feature to set personal goals.

Users could choose what skills they wanted to improve, creating a customized experience.

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5. Quickly Responded to Feedback

They analyzed where users struggled and made lesson structures more modular.

User testing helped track how long learning took and where users got bored.

Thanks to these changes, Duolingo increased user retention, and daily active users grew significantly from 2018 onward. The UI/UX updates made the app more fun, easier to use, and more effective.

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The Importance of Continuous Improvement in Mobile UI/UX

Mobile apps must be fast, intuitive, and user-friendly. Since user expectations are always changing, UI/UX design must also be constantly updated and improved.

If you're developing a mobile app, you should listen to feedback, fix mistakes quickly, and keep optimizing.

For a successful UI/UX design, user experience should always come first. A user-focused approach will strengthen your brand and help you gain more loyal users.