A curated collection of design patterns, audits, blogs, A/B testing tools, and books.
These sites focus on "why" a design works, offering teardowns, psychology, and research.
- Built for Mars [Freemium] - The benchmark for UX audits. High-quality, critical teardowns of top banking and tech products. Free articles available; "BFM+" membership for full archive.
- CXL [Freemium] - The industry standard for Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) training. Blog is free and extremely technical; Courses are expensive (~$1,200/yr).
- Growth.Design [Freemium] - Entertaining, high-quality UX case studies presented in a comic book format. Case studies are free; they sell a premium course (~$290).
- UserOnboard [Freemium] - Deep-dive "teardowns" of user onboarding flows from popular tech companies. Teardowns are free; sells a book/course.
- Oddit [Paid - Services] - They provide "Oddits" (CRO audits) for brands. Their "The Perspective" newsletter/feed offers great free examples of before/after design fixes.
- Case Study Club [Freemium] - A curated newsletter and directory of the best UX case studies from around the web. Directory is free; "Club" membership is ~$8/mo.
- GoodUI [Paid - $60/mo] - Data-driven UI patterns based on real A/B test results (Version A vs. Version B).
- Really Good UX [Free] (by Appcues) - Screenshots and explanations of specific UX moments like modals and tooltips.
- Baymard Institute [Paid - $199+/mo] - Extremely deep, academic-level UX research, specifically for e-commerce. Some free articles, but the audit database is expensive.
- Laws of UX [Free] - A visual collection of psychology principles that influence design (e.g., Hick’s Law).
- Little Big Details [Free] - A curated collection of subtle, clever micro-interactions that improve user experience.
Alternatives to Mobbin. These are massive libraries of screenshots and videos for visual inspiration.
- PageFlows [Paid - $8.25/mo] - Videos of user flows (e.g., "upgrading to pro") rather than static screenshots. Limited free preview.
- Refero [Freemium - $8/mo] - A comprehensive library of real-world web and iOS design patterns; a strong Mobbin competitor. Free basic access.
- Pttrns [Freemium] - Mobile UI design patterns organized by year and category; great for quick reference.
- SaaSFrame [Freemium - $14/mo] - SaaS-specific designs, including marketing websites, product interfaces, and email flows.
- UI Sources [Freemium - $99/yr] - Recordings of end-to-end interactions in top-tier mobile apps.
- Lapa Ninja [Free] - Landing page inspiration featuring full-page screenshots of marketing sites.
- Landingfolio [Freemium] - Landing page and component inspiration with a robust filtering system.
- UX Archive [Free] - Compares how different apps handle the same task (e.g., "Booking" or "Onboarding").
- Godly [Free] - Wildly creative, high-end web design inspiration that pushes visual boundaries.
- SaaS Interface [Paid - ~$39 One-time] - A gallery of SaaS app/dashboard typography, color palettes, and layouts.
- Scrnshts [Free] - A curated collection of the best App Store & Play Store screenshots.
- Design Vault [Freemium] - A library of UI patterns, specifically organizing elements like "permissions" or "empty states."
Alternatives to Google Optimize. Tools to run split tests on your designs.
- VWO [Freemium] - A complete optimization platform. Recently launched a generous Free Tier (up to 50k monthly visitors) to compete with Google Optimize.
- PostHog [Freemium] - Open-source product OS. Excellent for developers/engineers. Generous free tier (1M events/month free).
- Statsig [Freemium] - Modern feature flagging and A/B testing tool. Free tier covers up to 2M events/month; Pro starts at $150/mo.
- GrowthBook [Freemium] - Open-source, warehouse-native A/B testing. Highly customizable. Free "Starter" plan for up to 3 users.
- Optimizely [Paid - Enterprise] - The heavy-hitter for large enterprises. Expensive custom pricing (often $36k+/year); no real free tier.
- Crazy Egg [Paid - ~$29/mo] - Originally for heatmaps, now includes simple A/B testing. Good low-cost entry point.
- AB Tasty [Paid - Enterprise] - Focuses on marketing and client-side testing. Custom pricing only.
Games that test your eye for design and ability to predict user behavior.
- Guess the Test [Freemium] - A game where you guess which version of a design (A or B) won the A/B test. Free daily tests; Pro membership for full archive.
- Can't Unsee [Free] - A game where you must choose the "correct" design between two very similar images (tests knowledge of alignment, typography, and contrast).
- User Inyerface [Free] - A "worst-practice" UI game that challenges you to fill out a form that is designed to be as frustrating and confusing as possible.
Like Victor Ponamariov. Deep, actionable advice often suitable for developers and product designers.
- Refactoring UI [Paid Book - $79+] (Adam Wathan & Steve Schoger) - The gold standard for "developer-focused design." Highly tactical blog posts are free.
- Nick Babich [Free] (UX Planet) - Prolific writer who breaks down specific UI elements (e.g., "The Anatomy of a Perfect Button").
- Erik D. Kennedy [Free] (Learn UI Design) - Long-form, illustrated essays that demystify visual design logic.
- Smashing Magazine [Free] - The heavyweight champion of technical web design and UX; bridges code and design.
- Brad Frost [Free] - Creator of "Atomic Design." Essential for understanding design systems and architecture.
The "Medium" ecosystem equivalents to Built for Mars. Note: Medium allows limited free reading before asking for a $5/mo sub.
- UX Collective - The largest and most respected design publication on Medium.
- Writer to Watch: Fabricio Teixeira.
- Julie Zhuo (The Year of the Looking Glass) - Former VP of Design at Facebook. Focuses on product thinking and management.
- Jared Spool - The "godfather" of usability. Writes aggressive, insightful articles challenging the status quo.
- Prototypr.io - Focuses heavily on the tools and code side of design (Figma plugins, CSS tricks).
- Taras Bakusevych - Writes excellent, visual-heavy comparisons of UI patterns (e.g., "Dropdowns vs. Radio Buttons").
High production value, often single-author blogs.
- Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g) [Free Articles] - Academic, research-backed rigor. The definitive source for usability data.
- Checklist Design [Free] - Curated checklists for UI elements (e.g., "What do I need on a Login page?").
- Humane by Design [Free] - Focuses on ethical design and respecting user attention/privacy.
- User Guiding Blog [Free] - Practical style focusing heavily on onboarding flows and user adoption patterns.
Curated lists of the best email newsletters and resources.
- Conversion Stash - Experimentation Newsletters [Free Directory] - A comprehensive, curated list of 25+ active newsletters dedicated to CRO, A/B testing, and experimentation. (Includes CRO Bites, Experimental Mind, and The Variant Club).
- Experimental Mind [Free] - (Kevin Anderson) One of the best weekly roundups of experimentation and analytics news.
The "Bibles" of CRO, Psychology, and Gamification.
- Conversion Stash - CRO Books [Free Directory] - A massive list of 50+ books on CRO, experimentation, and behavioral psychology.
- Trustworthy Online Controlled Experiments (Ron Kohavi, Diane Tang, Ya Xu) - The definitive guide to A/B testing from the teams at Microsoft, Google, and LinkedIn.
- Making Websites Win (Karl Blanks & Ben Jesson) - A very practical guide from the founders of Conversion Rate Experts.
- You Should Test That (Chris Goward) - A classic framework for conversion optimization.
- Don't Make Me Think, Revisited (Steve Krug) - The book that started it all. If you only read one, read this.
- Experimentation Works (Stefan Thomke) - Excellent for understanding how to build a culture of experimentation in a company.
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Robert Cialdini) - The foundational text on why people say "yes."
- Thinking, Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman) - Essential reading on the two systems of the mind that drive decision making.
- Predictably Irrational (Dan Ariely) - Explores the hidden forces that shape our decisions (often irrationally).
- Nudge (Richard Thaler) - How subtle changes in "choice architecture" can significantly influence behavior.
- Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products (Nir Eyal) - The handbook on the "Hook Model" (Trigger -> Action -> Reward -> Investment).
- Actionable Gamification (Yu-kai Chou) - The deepest dive into gamification frameworks (Octalysis) available.
- Evil by Design (Chris Nodder) - A fascinating (and slightly dark) look at how UI patterns use the seven deadly sins to manipulate users.
- Hacking Growth (Sean Ellis) - The bridge between product, marketing, and engineering.