UX Design is crucial, not only because users expect quality in an increasingly crowded market space, but because bad UX yields poor results.

1. Understand the psychology of user behavior: without understanding your target user’s mental model, you risk creating a product that lacks usability and usefulness.

2. Test designs and concepts iteratively: without testing and validation, you risk basing design decisions on assumptions, rather than data.

3. Strategize for conversion, adoption, and retention: what does “conversion” look like with your product? Clicking a call to action? Buying the product? Think through metrics to measure efficacy.

4. Establish KPIs for sales and marketing: products are a series of projects. Once you’ve designed something, the real work begins. Establish KPIs to continue improving your product and carve out your niche.