This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Ozan Ceylan
You’ve poured countless hours into coding your Minimum Viable Product. You crafted outreach campaigns, ran online ads, and finally, after all that hustle, real users got a chance to try your product. You were excited, ready to see the feedback roll in.
But then reality hit: users struggled. They clicked around confused, abandoned key flows, or bounced faster than you expected.
Here’s the hard truth: your MVP might look fine, but it hurts to use.
Many technical founders and indie devs fall into the same trap: obsessing over whether the product technically works, but forgetting about how frustrating it is to actually use. And that frustration? It kills momentum before you even get started.
In this post, we’ll explore the most common UX mistakes in early MVPs and how to avoid them. Because building something that works isn’t enough. You need to build something people want to keep using.
The 5 Most Common UX Mistakes in Early MVPs
When you’re building an MVP, it’s easy to fall into traps that slow down or outright lose your users. Here are the top five UX mistakes that indie devs and technical founders often make — and why they hurt your product’s chances.
Assuming “Users Will Just Figure It Out”
You’ve been living in your product’s world for weeks. You know every button, every flow, every detail. So it feels natural to think users will “just figure it out.”
But they won’t. If your product isn’t instantly clear, users get frustrated and leave fast.
How to fix it:
Test your MVP with someone who matches your target user profile, someone who’s likely to actually use your product. Watch where they hesitate or get stuck. Simplify your UI and add clear labels or hints. Remember, clarity beats cleverness every time.
Broken Flows and Confusing Navigation
Your MVP might technically work, but if users get lost or stuck trying to move between screens, it’s a no-go. Confusing navigation or dead ends make users frustrated and erode trust quickly.
Often, these dead ends happen because of links or buttons leading to features not yet available, like “coming soon” pages or unfinished sections. While it’s tempting to showcase your product vision, these placeholders can confuse users more than help them.
How to fix it:
Map out your user flow before coding. Test the entire journey with real users who fit your target audience. Make sure each step naturally leads to the next. If a feature isn’t ready, hide or disable its link to avoid confusion. Simplify menus, add clear buttons like “Next” or “Back,” and avoid surprises.
UI Without UX: Looks Don’t Guarantee Usability
Your MVP might have a clean, minimal design with buttons and elements perfectly aligned. But if users don’t understand why those buttons are there or what they do, your UI is just decoration, not a tool.
Minimalism is great, but too much “empty space” without guidance can make users feel lost or abandoned. Lack of tooltips, onboarding hints, or clear microcopy leaves users guessing what to do next.
How to fix it:
Add simple onboarding steps or tooltips that guide first-time users through key actions. Use clear and descriptive labels on buttons and links. Think of your UI as a conversation with your user, make sure it talks back.
Silent Forms and Meaningless Errors
Users often spend time filling out long forms only to find out they can’t submit, and worse, they have no idea why. This confusion quickly turns into frustration and abandonment.
Long forms without proper validation or clear error messages kill user motivation. Keeping forms short and implementing precise validations with actionable feedback is critical to keep users moving forward.
How to fix it:
Break long forms into smaller, manageable steps. Use real-time validation and clear, specific error messages. For example, instead of a vague “Invalid input,” say “Password must be at least 8 characters.” Help users understand exactly what went wrong and how to fix it.
Designing for Yourself, Not Your Users
It’s easy to build the product you would use or understand best. But your users are not you, they have different needs, skills, and expectations.
When you design for yourself, you risk creating confusing flows, missing onboarding, or adding features that don’t solve real problems. This empathy gap can make your MVP frustrating or irrelevant to your target audience.
How to fix it:
Get out of your own head and into your users’ shoes. Conduct user interviews, gather feedback from real prospects, and watch how they interact with your MVP. Design with empathy, it’s the key to building something people actually want to use.
Conclusion: Your MVP’s UX Is Its Heartbeat
Building an MVP is about more than just showing which problem you’re solving for your users, it’s also about how easily and smoothly you solve it. If your MVP makes users jump through hoops or leaves them confused, they won’t stick around long enough to appreciate the value you offer.
Remember:
Solving a problem is important, but solving it effortlessly is what keeps users coming back.
Invest time early on in simple UX fixes, empathize with your users, and keep testing. The smoother and clearer your MVP feels, the more users will stay engaged, and that’s the real minimum viable success.
Keep building boldly, but build kindly too.
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Ozan Ceylan
Ozan Ceylan | Sciencx (2025-08-05T09:49:36+00:00) Common MVP UX Mistakes That Make Users Quit, and How to Avoid Them. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/08/05/common-mvp-ux-mistakes-that-make-users-quit-and-how-to-avoid-them/
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