UX Resources and Productivity Tools
Here’s a list of products, services and other tools that help me run a profitable UX consulting business. I update this page periodically and hope it will be a valuable resource for you.
Online Courses
Erik Kennedy’s Learn UI Design opens only a few times a year but it’s worth the wait. It’s honestly the best self-paced online UI course I’ve taken. Besides getting super good at Sketch or Figma, you’ll also learn how to think like a UI designer, which will make you more valuable to colleagues and clients. Challenging homework assignments reinforce the lessons, and Erik provides excellent feedback through the course Slack channel. Check out my YouTube demo of the course here.
If you’re brand new to Sketch, Joseph Angelo Todaro’s Sketch From A to Z course is a comprehensive guide to using Sketch for designing mobile applications.
Axure RP8 – UX Design Fundamentals
I went through several of Axure’s online tutorials before finding Learning Axure RP 8 – UX Design Fundamentals by Radu Fotolescu on Udemy. Radu is a freelance UX/UI designer based in London. If you need to get up to speed quickly on Axure, this course will help you do just that.
User Experience Design Fundamentals
If you’re just getting started in UX design, Joe Natoli’s User Experience Fundamentals course is a great introduction. While it draws heavily from the book The Elements of User Experience by Jesse James Garrett, Joe has done a masterful job of presenting the content in an easily digestible, visual format.
A working knowledge of HTML, CSS and Javascript is vital to your success as a UX designer because it will help you work better with developers. Brad Hussey’s Ultimate Web Designer and Developer Course can get you there with over 30 hours of content. Brad is a great instructor with a light-hearted approach to his excellent, comprehensive course.
Website Hosting
Webflow is a visual website builder that lets you design, build, and launch completely custom websites without writing code. You can build custom blogs, portfolios, ecommerce stores, and more with a flexible CMS. As of 2022 I use it for all my web design work. It’s rock solid and very easy to use. Highly recommended.
I moved this site to WP Engine several years ago after one of my other websites was hacked. The migration process went very smoothly and I am very pleased with the company’s customer support. I sleep much better now knowing my site is much faster, automatically backed up and practically hacker proof. If your site is on WordPress, WP Engine is your best bet for managed hosting.
Software Subscriptions
ConvertKit is my go-to email marketing software, and they absolutely rock. They’ve made it much easier for me to grow my email list, plus their customer service is awesome. I highly recommend them.
Sanebox saves me several hours each week by automatically filtering unimportant emails from my inbox. It’s the best $60 I’ve spent this year. If you sign up be sure to check out their free email course called Inbox Zero Academy.
Todoist is my go-to task manager. I’ve used it for years and would be absolutely lost without it. It’s perfect for capturing ideas on the go and reminding me of what I need to do and when.
Freshbooks is my go-to accounting software for sending and tracking client invoices. I’ve been using Freshbooks for over 10 years to track time, create and send invoices and build a successful freelance business.
Inspectlet records videos of your visitors as they use your site, allowing you to see everything they do. You can see every mouse movement, scroll, click, and keypress on your site. It’s an amazing user research tool. You never need to wonder how visitors are using your site again. Sign up for a free account here.
I use Acuity Scheduling to schedule meetings and user interviews. It saves so much time by eliminating multiple back and forth emails to schedule appointments. I chose it over free services like Calendly because it integrates with Apple iCal. Sign up for their free plan here.
Books
As a self-taught UXer, my bookshelf is chock full of useful titles by awesome UX professionals. Here are my top 5 picks to add to your UX bookshelf:
The User Experience Team Of One by Leah Buley – This is one of my very favorite UX books. I refer back to it constantly. Leah Buley offers dozens of actionable tips and strategies to help you help your colleagues deliver well-informed design solutions.
Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug – Now in its third edition, this is THE book to read for any aspiring UX professional.
How To Make Sense Of Any Mess by Abby Covert – A wonderful, short read to help you get your head around information architecture.
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People by Susan Weinschenk – We design websites and apps to get people to do something. This book will help you understand why users behave the way they do.
Mapping Experiences by Jim Kalbach – This excellent guide helps you identify existing pain points in a digital experience so you can envision and design more effective future solutions.
Office Products
I love this thing. I really do. Since I got it I use it almost every day for brainstorming and other activities. To see it in action, check out my post about UX Sketching: Whiteboard 101.
I use the Behance Dot Grid Book exclusively for personal brainstorming and taking notes at client meetings. The Behance Dot Grid Book has plenty of space to do extensive design explorations and the dot patterns make it easy to draw straight lines. Yeah, it’s pricey for a notebook, but worth it.