When I first dipped my toes into UX design — overwhelmed by the amount of theory, advice, and “must-know tools” — I felt lost. I needed real-world examples, inspiration, and voices from people who were doing the work. Over time, I discovered a handful of websites that became my go-to. These sites didn’t promise magic shortcuts. Instead, they offered honest lessons, thoughtful analyses, and real interfaces to learn from. One of them, PageFlows, became a constant companion for inspiration. Whenever I hit a creative wall, I open PageFlows UI/UX design inspirations and scroll through real screenshots of apps and web flows.
In this article, I’ll walk you through my top picks among UX design sites. I’ll share why each matters, how I use them, and what makes them different.
Foundations and Research-Backed Guidance: Nielsen Norman Group and Smashing Magazine
When I want to understand why a design works or fails, not just what looks good, I start with Nielsen Norman Group. NN/g was co-founded by recognized experts in usability and user experience.
Their articles and research reports dig into real user behavior, common usability mistakes, and best practices grounded in human-centered thinking. Reading their material feels like going back to school — but in the best way. It helps me avoid dogmas and base design decisions on evidence.
Smashing Magazine plays a complementary role. It feels more informal, more “in the trenches.” There, I find practical advice on UX, UI, accessibility, performance, and front-end development.
Sometimes I open Smashing when I’m building a prototype and need quick guidance on spacing, load performance, or responsive layouts. Their tone is friendly, down-to-earth, like talking to a colleague.
Together, these two sites give a firm base. One teaches UX thinking at the research level, the other offers hands-on tips for building real products.
Community Stories and Shared Experience: UX Collective, UX Planet, and design-showcase platforms like Dribbble
Not all learning comes from research. Sometimes inspiration hits when someone shares their story — a tough UX problem, a clever solution, mistakes they made, or design dopamine. UX Collective gathers essays, case studies, and reflections from real designers around the world.
I often find myself reading long, late-night posts about how someone rebuilt their onboarding flow, or struggled with accessibility, or re-imagined a checkout process. Those read like confessions, not tutorials. More real. More human.
UX Planet offers frequent, short-form articles. They are less heavy than research papers and more approachable. When I have a few minutes between tasks, I scan UX Planet for quick reads: a new voice, a fresh angle, maybe a small design trick worth trying.
Then there are sites built around visuals and community sharing. Dribbble, for example, is more than a portfolio platform. It shows how designers actually think with pixels.
I sometimes browse Dribbble when I need mood-board inspiration or want to see how others solve spacing, typography, and micro-interactions. Seeing live examples helps me imagine what’s possible beyond theory.
These community-based sites remind me that UX isn’t an academic exercise. It’s messy, human, iterative.
Design Inspiration – Real UI, Real Flows: PageFlows, SiteInspire, and other galleries
There were times when I had no clue how to start a design. Blank canvas. Anxiety. Then I turned to inspiration galleries. PageFlows is special because it collects actual UI flows — from real apps and websites.
Browsing there helps me see how designers structure multi-screen journeys, how they guide users step by step. It’s a shortcut, not to copying but to understanding flow logic.
Another helpful resource is SiteInspire. It curates beautiful web-design examples across minimal, creative, e-commerce previews, one-page sites, and more.
Sometimes I use these examples to kick off mood boards. Other times to explore layout ideas – how to use whitespace, typography, and visual hierarchy.
For quick idea sparks, I also survey lists of “top UX/UI inspiration sites,” because they aggregate dozens of galleries, pattern libraries, and design communities.
These lists save time – one click opens many doors.
Using galleries doesn’t mean copying. For me, they are more like mirrors. They show what’s been tested, what’s been polished, but rarely perfect. Then I ask: Can this work for my user? My product? My constraints?
Learning, Skill-Building, and Career Growth
Working in UX often means constant learning. Tools change. Trends shift. User expectations evolve. That’s why I often return to blogs and educational resources built for growth. For example, some blogs designed for beginners and intermediate UX practitioners offer clear step-by-step guides on how to think about layout, user flows, testing, and prototypes.
I remember a time when I tried to improve my onboarding flow for a small project. I read an article on UX Magazine about usability in onboarding, learned about progressive disclosure, and used that insight to restructure screens. It made a difference. Users seemed less overwhelmed. Engagement ticked up a bit. Sometimes a single article can unlock hours, maybe days, of work.
Also, reading these resources broadens one’s perspective. You realize UX isn’t only about looks. It’s about research, empathy, behavior, and iteration. And sometimes even about ethics and accessibility.
Where It Led Me
Over time, I’ve built my little UX library of favorite sites. From research-heavy texts to quick-case stories, from visual galleries to community voices — each serves a purpose.
If I were to advise someone starting out in UX, I’d say this: combine research with real-world examples. Let evidence guide you. Let stories and portfolios inspire you. And don’t be afraid to browse many sources.
The sites I outlined: Nielsen Norman Group, Smashing Magazine, UX Collective, UX Planet, PageFlows, SiteInspire, Dribbble, helped me learn, fail, succeed, and keep on learning. Maybe they will help you too.
