A look into 10 Awesome UX Blogs

The UX community is extremely generous when it comes to sharing useful and meaningful information related to the field. Whether its tips on how to tackle your first survey to case studies, podcasts, interviews, UX cartoons and more.

As I’ve come to learn, UX is a broad concept with many interdisciplines that continue to evolve as we learn more about how to best execute and evaluate good UX.  The best place I’ve found to learn and grow in the discipline is subscribing to blogs that publish content based on their own research and experience. Here are some of the blogs I follow and I recommend you follow them to! But before you follow them, make sure to subscribe to this blog at A Better User Experience.

1. UX Magazine

UX Magazine is a one-stop resource for everything related to user experience. They provide a steady stream of current, informative and credible information about UX and related fields. This blog is especially beneficial to UX practitioners and those exploring the field. Their articles are published by experienced professionals who work in all areas of UX and cover the field from diverse angles and perspectives.

2. UX Booth

The UX Booth is a publication by and for the User Experience Community. They produce articles and share resources on usability, user experience, and interaction design.

 3. Alertbox: Current Issues in Web Usability

Alertbox is a Bi-weekly column by Dr. Jakob Nielsen, AKA “the king of usability” (Internet Magazine), “the guru of Web page usability” (The New York Times), “the next best thing to a true time machine” (USA Today), “the smartest person on the Web” (ZDNet AnchorDesk), “the world’s leading expert on Web usability” (U.S. News & World Report), one of the top 10 minds in small business (FORTUNE Small Business) and “the world’s leading expert on user-friendly design” (Stuttgarter Zeitung, Germany). So if you are into UX, following this blog is a no brainer. Since it was published on the Internet in 1995, its current readership reaches 12 million page views per year).

Dr. Jakob Nielsen is the principal of the Nielsen Norman Group, which specializes in Evidence-Based User Experience Research, Training, and Consulting.

4. User Interface Engineering Blog

User Interface Engineering (UIE) is a leading research, training, and consulting firm specializing in web site and product usability. Their blog takes us inside the brilliant minds of user research pioneer Jared Spool and his team at UIE. Into podcasts? They do that too! The blog is great for giving design tips- check out his latest post,  6 popular articles from 2012.

5. Online Behavior

This website is a source of knowledge for anyone looking to understand how customers behave online. The site utilizes articles, cartoons (check them out here), videos and e-books.  In their blog, they discuss a broad range of techniques and strategies to help optimize websites. Their topics tend to cover…

• Targeting & Segmentation Learn how to increase website relevance in order to increase conversions and customer satisfaction.
• Website Testing & Usability Understand what affects user experience and get ideas on the most profitable way to test your website.
• Web Analytics & Optimization Learn the most advanced conversion optimization techniques to optimize your current traffic.

6. Nick Finck’s Blog

Nick Finck is a popular user experience professional who has worked in the web industry for over a decade. He specializes in information architecture, interaction design, usability and user research for web and mobile. He writes about these things in his blog. Although he’s only producing new content months, but when he does, its worth paying attention to. I mentioned Nick in an article “9 Websites to Help you Find Awesome Gifts for UX Professionals” for his blog post “Gifts for User Experience Geeks 2011“. The list doubles has resource for UX Tools!

7. A List Apart

A List Apart Magazine is loaded with insightful articles exploring the design, development and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices. The articles are written by designers, developers, architects, producers, project managers, and other assorted specialists. Their article topics include: Code, Content, Culture, Design, Mobile, Process and User Science.

Interested in being a contributing writer for A List Apart? Click here.

8. Boxes and Arrows

Boxes and Arrows is a blog devoted to the practice, innovation, and discussion of design; including graphic design, interaction design, information architecture and the design of business. Since 2001, it’s been a peer-written journal promoting contributors who want to provoke thinking, push limits, and teach a few things along the way.

I’ve mentioned Abby Covert, one of their contributors, before in my article 6 Amazing UX Women You MUST Follow on Twitter.

Interested in writing for Boxes and Arrows?: Click here

9. UX Matters

UX Matters is a web magazine that publishes essays, articles, and columns on topics related to UX, especially as it pertains to Information Design and Usability. This website is a Mecca of UX knowledge contributed by experts in the field from all over the world. It covers theory and practice, presents innovative ideas and practical solutions, and introduces abstract concepts as well as useful tips. So yeah, “UX MATTERS!”

10. Usabilla’s Blog

The Usabilla Blog is brought to you by the team behind Usabilla Live, Usabilla Survey and Usabilla Discover.

This blog is the place to be if you are looking for insights and practical tips on visual design, analytics, usability, user experience, and remote research. Some of my favorite articles come from Sabina Idker, Usabilla’s community manager, technical writer & UXer.

Want to know more about writing for the blog? Click here

Conclusion

There are tons of resources to learn, grow and explore the world of UX. But let’s face it, if you want to be a UX Know-It-All…then make sure you follow the 10 blogs I just mentioned.