✏ Issue #489: Cognitive Bias in Design, Fresh New Firefox, Stripe Payment Links, Top Blogging Platforms, and more…

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Cognitive bias is our tendency to approach design subjectively. It’s manageable in users but potentially disastrous in designers whose job it is to produce objective solutions. In this excellent post, Jon Yablonski highlights the points at which cognitive bias can invade a design process and offers some practical tips on avoiding it.

Mozilla’s Firefox browser received a notable update this week, with a minimal redesign based on extensive user testing. M.J. Kelly walks us through the improvements from streamlined menus and toolbars, to updated notifications, a vastly improved privacy mode, and matching Android and iOS apps for distraction-free browsing.

Blogging is still one of the best ways to connect with potential customers, but if you’re using the wrong tool, all your efforts could be in vain. To get you up to speed on the options, we’ve put together this comprehensive post for aspiring writers covering the top blogging platforms in 2021, complete with a list of features, pros, and cons.

Ecommerce giant Stripe has just launched Payment Links, a new product that allows you to sell products via links, over social media, in emails, and via text message. Create your product in the Stripe dashboard, create your payment link, then share it with multiple customers via any channel you like, all without digging into Stripe’s API.

Inclusive design is about building a web that everyone can enjoy. It’s fundamental for good UX design and delivers the best ROI for clients. In this great primer, Cameron Chapman delivers 6 tips for building inclusive design into your everyday workflow, from embracing larger typography, to rejecting the notion of “normal” users.

FireCMS is a free, open-source content management system built on Firebase. You can use it to manage the backend of any Firebase/Firestore project. You can edit collections via forms, build in complex validation, and create your own form fields as React components. If you’re building projects in Firebase, it’s an invaluable resource.

Gathering user feedback is a fundamental skill for any designer, but it is surprisingly hard to listen to user feedback without super-imposing our own experiences over the top. David Hall recounts the tale of a chatbot experiment from the 1960s that offers some insights, and suggests ways UXers can improve their listening.

Famous First Websites is a fun and instructive collection of web design timelines from well-known startups. Ever wondered what the first version of Shopify looked like? Or how Webflow has evolved over the years? Click on the corresponding link and scroll through its design history. New startups are listed every week.