--- title: User Experience Matters—Add a Professional Feel to Your FileMaker App description: User experience matters—add a professional feel to your FileMaker app image: https://blog.gomainspring.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/campaigns_fmwebdirect-1.png --- [![Mainspring, Inc.](https://blog.gomainspring.com/hubfs/MainSpring_June2024/Images/mainspring-logo-cybersecurity-it-services-automation-qjudg0lgsu8o3zserelwpic5pgl0i7mbxusowrykj8.png)](https://gomainspring.com/) [mailto:hello@gomainspring.com](mailto:hello@gomainspring.com) - [About](https://gomainspring.com/about/) - [Our Team](https://gomainspring.com/our-team/) - [Industries](https://gomainspring.com/industries/) - [Partners & Certifications](https://gomainspring.com/partners-certifications/) - [Careers](https://gomainspring.com/careers/) - [Solutions](https://gomainspring.com/solutions/) - [Cybersecurity](https://gomainspring.com/solutions/cybersecurity/) - [ProSuite™](https://gomainspring.com/solutions/prosuite/) - [Automation](https://gomainspring.com/solutions/automation/) - [FileMaker Development](https://gomainspring.com/solutions/filemaker/) - [Apple Device Lifecycle Services](https://gomainspring.com/solutions/apple-services/) - [vCIO](https://gomainspring.com/solutions/vcio/) - [Cost Management](https://gomainspring.com/solutions/cost-management/) - [Support & Help Desk](https://gomainspring.com/solutions/support-help-desk/) - [Case Studies](https://gomainspring.com/case-studies/) - Pricing - [ProSuite™](https://gomainspring.com/pricing/) - [Evolve™](https://gomainspring.com/pricing-evolve/) - Resources - [Blog](https://blog.gomainspring.com/) - [Media Resources](https://gomainspring.com/media-resources/) - [Downloads](https://info.gomainspring.com/resources) - [News & Events](https://blog.gomainspring.com/news) - [Contact Us](https://gomainspring.com/contact-us/) # User Experience Matters—Add a Professional Feel to Your FileMaker App ### Subscribe to Our Blog - [Home](https://gomainspring.com/) - Resources - Blog Topics: [Tech stuff](https://blog.gomainspring.com/topic/tech-stuff), [FileMaker](https://blog.gomainspring.com/topic/filemaker), [Strategy](https://blog.gomainspring.com/topic/strategy), [User experience (UX)](https://blog.gomainspring.com/topic/user-experience-ux), [Automation](https://blog.gomainspring.com/topic/automation) ![FileMaker 14 WebDirect example](https://blog.gomainspring.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/campaigns_fmwebdirect-600x359.png?width=600&height=359&name=campaigns_fmwebdirect-600x359.png) FileMaker makes it easy to [create custom apps](https://gomainspring.com/business-strategy/custom-software-how-to-get-it-right/) that are individually tailored for businesses, and our application development team has had the opportunity to work with some neat solutions that clients have put together. When working with these custom apps, and helping to extend their systems, we often find that just a little bit of polish can go a long way toward a really positive user experience (UX). So here are a few of my favorite, simple ways to improve UX... #### Don’t need it? Hide it! FileMaker’s ["Hide Object When"](https://www.filemaker.com/help/14/fmp/en/html/edit_layout.10.23.html) feature makes it easy to hide interface elements when the user doesn’t need them. A perfect use of this would be to hide objects in modes and contexts where they’re not going to be used—like a print button in find mode. The goal is to remove visual clutter and ensure that any function presented to a user is valid and ready to use at the time it’s shown. #### **State** your intentions A [display state](https://www.filemaker.com/help/14/fmp/en/html/edit_layout.10.9.html) is a set of appearance attributes, like fill color, font styling and shadows, that are shown when a certain condition is met. For example, the hover display state will show whatever appearance you’ve defined for it when the user’s cursor hovers over the object. It’s easy to ignore these, but you shouldn’t! Communicating information to the end user about what they’re currently doing is text book UX-focused design. #### Use icons, but make sure to include text![app sample](https://blog.gomainspring.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/app-sample-600x491.png?width=600&height=491&name=app-sample-600x491.png) Icons can be a visually pleasing [cue](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/icon-usability/) to the user, but they generally need to be accompanied by a [text label](https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/jensenh/2005/11/01/the-importance-of-labels/). Icons that… - Aren’t immediately recognizable - Represent something that doesn’t happen often - Don’t offer any hint …are likely to be ignored. You’ll definitely want to use an icon, but be sure to let end users know what its function is with a label! #### Put together a color scheme Picking colors is hard, and a harsh or ugly color scheme can really turn users off. Use a color scheme generator like [Adobe Color](https://color.adobe.com/) to find colors that work well with each other. Alternatively, if you’re having trouble trusting the colors you’ve picked, you can leverage the opinions of a vast [community](https://color.adobe.com/explore/most-popular/?time=all) of designers and use one of the popular ones. #### Make UX pay dividends With good UX, users won’t be fumbling around to accomplish tasks, and you’ll likely see an increase in your app’s interactions, as well as your overall productivity rates. We see this [time](https://gomainspring.com/client-story/paper-to-ipad-technology-streamlines-massivefire-inspection-effort-in-bangladesh/) and [time](https://gomainspring.com/client-story/taking-the-edge-off-manufacturing-woes/) again in our projects and believe it’s a direct result of a professional custom app. ### About the Author ![Mike Beargie](https://blog.gomainspring.com/hubfs/mainspring_mike_beargie_004_CROPPED-913x1200-1-250x250.jpg "Mike Beargie") Mike Beargie has been with MainSpring since 2013 and has over 10 years of application development experience. As a developer, he creates solutions for clients in a wide variety of sectors across the U.S. and abroad. Prior to working at MainSpring, Mike worked as the lead developer for a consulting company, serving high profile political, special interest and nonprofit clients in the Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio, markets. Mike regularly presents solutions and best practices to the FileMaker development community around the country, and is well known as an answer man online as well. In 2014 and 2016, Mike was recognized with the FileMaker Excellence Award for community contributions. Mike is a man of many hobbies, including woodworking, home brewing, art and music. [More Articles by Mike Beargie](https://blog.gomainspring.com/author/mbeargie) ### Related Articles ## Getting Started We’ll discuss your business, needs, and expectations to get you on a path to better IT. [Contact Us](https://gomainspring.com/contact-us/) [![Mainspring, Inc.](https://blog.gomainspring.com/hubfs/MainSpring_June2024/Images/mainspring-logo-cybersecurity-it-services-automation.png)](https://gomainspring.com/) [MainSpring, Inc.](https://gomainspring.com/) 8 E. Second Street, Suite 205 Frederick, MD 21701 [301.948.8077](tel:3019488077) [hello@gomainspring.com](mailto:hello@gomainspring.com) © 2026 [MainSpring, Inc.](https://gomainspring.com/) All rights reserved | Designed & Developed by [ONEFIRE](https://onefire.com/) | [Privacy Policy](https://gomainspring.com/privacy-policy/) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Mike Beargie", "url" : "https://blog.gomainspring.com/author/mbeargie" }, "dateModified" : "2024-06-14T22:58:58.564Z", "datePublished" : "2016-05-18T18:12:12.000Z", "headline" : "User Experience Matters—Add a Professional Feel to Your FileMaker App", "image" : [ "https://blog.gomainspring.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/campaigns_fmwebdirect-1.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.gomainspring.com/filemaker-community/user-experience-matters-add-a-professional-feel-to-your-filemaker-app", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.gomainspring.com/hubfs/mainspring-logo-cybersecurity-it-services-automation.png" }, "name" : "MainSpring, Inc." } } ```