Since the dot-com boom in the 1990s, the software as a service (SaaS) model has completely changed how businesses connect with consumers, build their brands, and grow revenue. Early SaaS applications focused on functionality over form, emphasizing text-heavy layouts. Today’s SaaS products prioritize sleek interfaces and an optimal user experience that not only attracts users but keeps them coming back.

Yet designing a top-quality SaaS product isn’t straightforward. Inconsistent or cluttered design can easily frustrate users, threatening both satisfaction and long-term success. Drawing from two decades of SaaS design experience, I’ve found that focusing on a strong UI and a seamless, user-driven experience at each design phase is critical. Here’s a look at three best practices in SaaS design—ensuring cross-device consistency, leveraging user research, and avoiding feature overload—that can help your SaaS product shine.

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Ensure Cross-device

The SaaS model has redefined how users access information online. Before SaaS, improving software systems required external storage like CDs or floppy disks. Today, users expect to access SaaS applications from any device with a stable internet connection, whether they’re on a computer, tablet, or phone.

Cross-device consistency is essential here. For users, it removes the need to adapt to multiple interfaces, which enhances productivity and simplifies onboarding. For SaaS providers, this consistent experience builds credibility and trust in the product and brand. With users increasingly trusting a consistent SaaS product, adoption and positive brand perception often follow.

To learn more about creating multi-device experiences, visit Google Design's Responsive Design Guide.

Prioritize Responsive Design

Responsive design is at the heart of cross-device consistency. With the rise of remote work, accessing SaaS applications from any device is even more critical. Tools for collaboration, project management, and communication are now expected to work seamlessly across devices, supporting productivity anywhere, anytime. This means your SaaS interface and layout need to adjust fluidly to different screen sizes and resolutions.

Take Shopify as an example. This SaaS e-commerce platform leverages responsive design, providing a visually consistent experience for merchants across different devices. Shopify uses flexible grids, breakpoints, and fluid design techniques to maintain a uniform layout and spacing. Breakpoints are set to adjust the design according to screen size, while fluid units ensure content adapts to any screen dynamically. You can read about Shopify’s responsive design approach in their official design documentation.

Adopt a Visual Language

To ensure visual uniformity, your design should encompass branding elements like typography, color schemes, icons, and other familiar interface components, establishing a strong, cohesive identity across devices.

Reusable UI components, such as buttons, cards, or form fields, can play a huge role in achieving this consistency. Each component should share the same styles, behaviors, and interactions, guiding users with clear visual cues. For example, consistent hover, focus, and active states on buttons help users know what to expect across all screens.

Google Workspace is a perfect example of visual consistency across desktop, web, and mobile versions, using its distinctive colors and the Google Sans font to create a cohesive look. The card-based design and floating action buttons across Google apps ensure familiarity and easy navigation across platforms, allowing users to focus on tasks instead of adapting to new interfaces.

Tailor Navigation and Features by Device

Ensuring a consistent experience doesn’t mean replicating every feature on every device. Different devices come with different constraints, from screen size to input method. For example, Google Sheets on mobile omits some advanced features available on desktop, like custom scripts, to avoid clutter and enhance usability.

By tailoring navigation and features, you can prioritize ease of use. For instance, mobile interfaces can use collapsible menus instead of expansive ones common on desktops, and include touch-friendly gestures and larger buttons for easy interaction. For more tips on mobile-specific design, check out this guide from Nielsen Norman Group.

Identify and Close Experience Gaps with User Research

SaaS products designed without a strong understanding of user needs often fail in adoption and satisfaction. Successful SaaS companies design with users in mind. For instance, Slack has made user research a core part of its design process, gathering feedback through interviews and usability testing to create a highly intuitive, widely loved platform.

Using a user-centered design approach involves analyzing feedback to identify what users want to achieve at different stages of their journey. It’s more than simply asking, “What’s not working?” Going beyond this, SaaS designers should inquire about the broader customer journey and overall performance goals. The Nielsen Norman Group has further insights on user-centered design.

While working on a cloud-hosted platform for engineers that later shifted focus to product managers, we discovered that existing features didn’t align with new user goals. By going back to basics and conducting user research, we gained insights into their preference for spreadsheet-style task organization and adjusted the UI to allow more flexible table and field organization. This change could not have been identified without early user feedback, and it ultimately helped us serve our audience more effectively.

Avoid Feature Creep and Focus on Core Functionality

Scaling a SaaS product requires handling increased user demand, data volume, and evolving market trends. Feature creep—adding too many features without a strategic focus—can result in a cluttered UI that overwhelms users and dilutes the product’s value. This pitfall often stems from pressure to compete or fulfill every customer request.

One way to avoid feature creep is to zero in on core functionality during the early design stages. This approach keeps the product vision clear, conserves resources, and centers efforts on features that provide genuine value.

Notion is a prime example. When Notion launched in 2016, it focused on essential functions like note-taking and task management for small tech and startup communities. These core features were well-received, enabling Notion to build a loyal user base. Only after establishing this solid foundation did they expand with more advanced features, ultimately growing into a popular all-in-one productivity tool with a valuation of $10 billion. You can explore Notion’s journey as an inspiration.

In my own experience as a UX lead for an IoT platform shifting toward Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS), we embraced the “fail fast” methodology. Instead of investing in feature-heavy designs, we created a minimal viable product (MVP) and tested it with users, quickly learning which features were truly valuable. This “fail fast” approach encouraged continuous learning and helped us stay focused on delivering what mattered most to users.

Creating Successful SaaS Products Begins with the User

As the SaaS industry continues to grow, the opportunities for innovative, user-friendly design expand as well. Navigating the unique demands of a SaaS company and its user base requires a thoughtful approach that prioritizes the user experience.

By following these best practices—maintaining cross-device consistency, leveraging user research, and avoiding feature creep—designers can create SaaS products that are not only competitive but also sustainable and user-friendly. These principles can guide SaaS products toward meeting their users’ needs, improving user satisfaction, and achieving long-term success.

For more insights on crafting impactful SaaS experiences, visit capiproduct.com and follow our updates to stay in tune with the latest SaaS trends and design strategies!