In today’s market, user experience is the deciding factor between adoption and abandonment. A poorly designed SaaS won’t get a second chance.
A confusing interface, overly complex workflows, or a lack of consistency can be enough to push your users… straight to your competitors.
Here are 6 clear signs your SaaS application needs a serious UX overhaul.
1. Your users open a support ticket for… everything.
If your customers need to contact support just to figure out how to:
- Create an account,
- Set up a profile,
- Or launch a key feature…
…it’s a strong signal that your product is more complicated than it should be.
A great SaaS guides users naturally, anticipates their needs, and keeps support as an exception, not a survival tool.
2. Your churn rate is skyrocketing.
If users create an account but:
- Never activate their free trial,
- Only use one feature out of ten,
- Or unsubscribe after just a month…
…it’s rarely just a marketing problem.
It likely means your product isn’t meeting expectations — or at least, not easily enough.
3. Your workflows feel like a maze.
If your users need to:
- Click 10 times to perform a simple action,
- Dig through four nested menus to find a key feature,
- Or guess what the next step should be…
…then you’ve got an information architecture and navigation problem.
Good UX turns complex journeys into clear, fluid, and intuitive experiences.
4. Your users can’t find the value.
If, after several days or weeks of testing, users still say:
“I don’t really understand what this is for…”
…that’s a huge red flag.
A quality SaaS makes its value proposition obvious — ideally, within the first few minutes. That comes from:
- An engaging onboarding,
- Quick wins users can see right away,
- And features that are contextualized, not buried three menus deep.
5. You’re adding features just because customers ask for them.
Beware of feature creep:
- Every new client requests a feature → you add it.
- The result? Your product turns into an overloaded Frankenstein app (Franken-apps?).
Building a great SaaS means knowing when to say no. In fact, restraint is sometimes more important than novelty.
Every feature should be designed, prioritized, and integrated into a coherent product vision.
I love this classic Henry Ford quote:
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
Your customers are an invaluable source of insights for product design. But they don’t own your vision — you do.
6. You measure satisfaction… but don’t act on it.
Sending out satisfaction surveys is pointless if you don’t integrate user insights into your product decisions.
A high-performing SaaS doesn’t just collect data. It tests, validates, and iterates continuously to meet real user needs.
Bottom line: a high-performing SaaS is user-centred
A SaaS product is more than a set of features.
It’s an experience that should feel:
- Simple
- Intuitive
- Efficient
If you recognize yourself in even two or three of these warning signs, it’s time to invest in a structured UX approach to improve your user journeys, reduce friction, and maximize your product’s perceived value.
Let’s talk on LinkedIn!
