Best UX Courses Online: Our Top 10 List
“It’s a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” I couldn’t agree more with Albert Einstein. Almost none of the UX professionals I know started their careers as UX experts-to-be, including most of my friends here at UX studio. We aim to help you find the best UX course online to start off or improve your knowledge as a UX-er.
What made us psychologists, sociologists, teachers, lawyers, and representatives of so many other professions all so fond of the world of UX? You might prove me wrong, but I think we always have that curiosity and a passion for lifelong learning. I like to think of our blog readers as our kin: You also wake up every day keen to learn something new.
If my assumption holds water, you should really enjoy my little collection of the platforms I regularly visit to feed my curiosity and learn something new every day. I have collected some online courses on UX from my favorite websites. Some of them could truly win the prize of the "Best UX Course Online".
The tricky part is to find the "Best UX Course Online" for your needs. That is why we listed:
- the 10 best UX course online in our opinion
- a short description of them
- and who we recommend them to
Coursera: Introduction to User Experience Design
About the course
- Creator: Georgia Institute of Technology
- Free
- Duration: Approx. 7 hours to complete
As a huge fan of Coursera and academic omnivore, I’ve picked up all sorts of expertise there. Coursera is truly a great learning platform with free online courses as well.
Starting from international humanitarian law, I’ve gone through dispute resolution, and yes, UX too. I remember when I first looked up UX courses at the dawn of Coursera when they had only this one for UX.
An insanely easy-to-understand course that covers the very basics of UX design, it teaches the basic principles as well as the four-step design circle. Dr. Rosa I. Arriaga made her lectures super-easy to follow and the syllabus exceptionally straightforward.
Should I take it?
One of the most theory-based courses out there, it addresses those who would like to learn about the very basics of user experience design. It might not have tons of surprises for those already a couple of months in UX or regular readers of our blog. (Yayyy, thank you!) However, it always merits pairing the practical experience with some theory.
Coursera: UX/UI Design Specialization
About the course
- Creator: California Institute of Arts
- Paid - Financial aid available
- Duration: Approx. four months to complete (one month/course)
Coursera created Specializations as a series of related courses to deepen knowledge in a specific field. The UX/UI Design Specialization consists of four courses, a practical four-month introduction suited for those who have never done any UX/UI work before.
The four courses cover a full design cycle, including the basics of user research, from defining a project’s strategy and scope to creating wireframes and sitemaps. Produced by Michael Worthington, the first course (Visual Elements of User Interface Design) focuses more on the UI aspect of UX/UI: the graphic user interface.
It might hold more relevance if you have a taste for designing screens later on, but consider this four-week course essential if you aren’t going to create UI screens but want to be on the same page when working with a UI designer.
Components of the course
The UX Design Fundamentals course leads you through the stages of the UX/UI process:
- Ideation and articulation
- Mapping the ideas
- Creating wireframes and developing UI design
- Turning the static wireframes into an interactive prototype
While the first two courses concentrate more on the general aspects of the digital design process, in the third and fourth parts (Web Design: Strategy and Information Architecture and Wireframes and Prototypes ) Roman Jaster introduces us to the UX process details of the website design where you can further develop your skills by working on a large scale project.
They built each course of this specialization on a project which requires you to roll up your sleeves. In the UX Design Fundamentals course, you have to submit your app idea by the end of the first week, then map it out for the second, create a user journey on the third, and a clickable prototype by the end of the fourth.
Should I take it?
By this point, you see you won’t swiftly click through this specialization in its massive length. It addresses those who have time and dedication to learn, as well as some background in graphic design or visual design about UX but not so much experience.
Springboard: UX Design Course
About the course
- Paid
- Duration: approx. three months
Springboard doesn’t just collect and share some industry-specific knowledge or a set of skills. It candidly aims to help its subscribers launch a new career. It offers courses in various fields such as design, data science, cybersecurity, and marketing.
Throughout the UX Design course, you’ll build your project. As a result, you’ll have a multiple-page design to add to your UX portfolio. This course will lead you through the whole design process: conducting interviews, building personas, producing wireframes, and eventually building a testable prototype.
You’ll also get a personal mentor who’ll have week-to-week meetings with you and lead you through the course. The mentorship and feedback of a seasoned UX professional seem to take the time and money invested into an online course almost as valuable as real-life training.
Should I take it?
If you already plan to launch a career in UX but don’t have the time or the opportunity to participate in offline training.
UX Design Institute: Professional Diploma in UX Design
About the course
- Creator: UX Design Institute
- Paid: €2,250
- Duration: 6 months
UX Design Institute offers a university-accredited online UX course that ends with a 2-hour exam. The course is made up of 10 modules that cover topics from user research, design principles, design patterns, to prototyping and wireframing. There is a section focusing on a project and portfolio building. So, by the end of the course, you will get to know the full scope of working as a UX designer and a professional portfolio that will be very useful when you begin looking for jobs. The final exam is made up of 120 questions for which you’ll have 2,5 hours.
To make sure that the course is fresh and aligned with the reality of working in UX, the UX Design Institute set up an Industry Advisory Council, with members like Slack, Intercom, Mastercard, Dell, and Hubspot.
Should I take it?
If you are looking for an online UX design course that gives you a university-approved diploma, UX Design Institute is a great option. On top of learning about the entire design process, your skills will also be tested via a 120 question exam in the end, which is a good way to validate what you have learned.
Skillshare: Introduction to Axure RP for UX/UI Designers
About the course
- Author: Sarah Khan
- Paid - Skillshare subscription (one-month trial available)
- Duration: 1h 3 min
Some of you come across UX for the first time here on our blog. Equally as many seasoned UX researchers and field-trained project managers do, too. (Btw, did you know we wrote a complete guide to the product design book for you?) World-class UX/UI designers also come looking for inspiration in their spare time.
If you fall into the last category, you’re probably looking for a shorter course to broaden your skillset or to get inspired by some short courses. Skillshare perfectly serves that purpose. Creators can share lectures of some minutes to one hour where they specifically focus on one tiny skill to master
Designed for those who have never used Axure before, Sarah’s course patiently and thoroughly leads us through its main features. You’ll learn about adding elements, text properties, layers, and more. It even covers how to save RP files and what to do once it comes to publishing and collaborating with Axure.
Should I take it?
If you don’t have the time or urge to explore Axure for yourself slowly, but need a prototype immediately, go for this course.
Skillshare: Streamline your workflow: The efficient UI/UX design process in Figma
About the course
- Author: Nicole Saidy
- Fee: Skillshare subscription (one-month trial available)
- Duration: 28 min
In as little as half an hour, Nicole will guide you around in Figma. You can learn how to use it to create a consistent and scalable prototype, including interactions and styling your design system.
Should I take it?
If you are about to create and collaborate in Figma, this super-fast track will get you familiar with its basics. As a UX-er just getting into Figma, this might be the best UX course online for you.
Skillshare: Mobile App Design from scratch with Sketch 1, 2, 3
About the course
- Paid - Skillshare subscription (one-month trial available)
- Author: Maxime Cormier
- Duration: 43 min, 59 min, 1 h 17 min
This project-based, three-part online class covers the full design circle. It starts from ideation and goes through to creating a prototype and iterating it, including the creation of the app icon. Maxime and Adrian promise not only to familiarize us with Sketch but also learn how to think as a professional designer by the end of the course.
Should I take it?
If you have a Mac around, this course makes a perfect starting point to get to know Sketch. As Maxime also gives a great introduction to the design process, it might help not only designers but art students, entrepreneurs, and product managers as well.
Learnux.io: Usability
About the course
- Author: Michal Mazur
- Paid (periodic sales available)
- Duration: 3 h 30 min
Passionate about sharing his expertise in UX design, Greg Rog launched his learnux.io educational platform for UX experts in 2017. He made his courses all strictly practical, hands-on guides to particular tools.
His mission: Share up-to-date tutorials for cutting edge-technologies helping fellow designers, his way of giving back to the community. (Nice work, Greg!)
The platform can prove useful for the ever-eager PMs too, as a very high-end info platform informing them of the latest trends and allowing them to always remain on the top of their games.
A UX course for those eager to learn what UX really involves. Author Michal Mazur, touches on basic ergonomics and cognitive psychology in this course, as well as explains the concept of usability.
The 18-lesson course also covers the definition of usability, the best practices of designing interfaces, and the most relevant findings to cognitive psychology to reveal how our brain perceives objects and how it affects our understanding of the world around us.
Should I take it?
Definitely. Whether a developer, a designer, or a product owner, your personal and your team’s success depends on you creating a product people will love. If you are one of the above this might be the best UX course online for you.
Understanding and bearing in mind usability as one of your priorities will most certainly bring you closer to that goal.
Learnux.io: Flinto
About the course
- Author: Greg Rog
- Paid (periodic sales available)
- Duration: 5 h 37 min
Flinto allows you to create transitions and microtransactions for your prototypes, which will enable you to showcase your project’s functionality perfectly. The course starts with the very basics: introducing the basic working techniques, then animations and microinteractions. In the second half of the course, you’ll see Flinto in action by Greg demonstrating its use on a smart home app.
Should I take it?
This course benefits those with some background in UI design who would like to level up their prototypes. If you want to create artwork UI screens for your clients, you need it.
Learnux.io: Zeplin
About the course
- Author: Greg Rog
- Paid (periodic sales available)
- Duration: 31 min
For the designer or PM who’s ever experienced the “joy” of writing specifications, most likely you’ll also find Zeplin one of the best things that could have happened to the handover process.
This course gives an excellent intro to using Zeplin. You’ll learn the basics of how to use it for developer hand-off. Greg will also introduce you to the secrets of working with resources from Sketch as well as handling version history.
Should I take it?
Designers, developers, team leaders, and all who want to make the process smoother when it comes to designer-developer handoff can make great use of this. To them, this might be the best UX course online.
+1 Google Search: Source of all knowledge
Yep. Obvious today, but I still remember the day years back when I realized Google didn’t just search keywords but also gave answers to properly posed questions.
Because even if you are looking for the best UX course online, you start the search in Google (this is not sponsored by Google it is just a fact).
More often than not, you don’t need a whole online course to move on with a task, just a quick answer or a quick hint to move on. In this case, I always have a neat, clean little Google page open.
Most times I get stuck with something, I’ll find a blog post (even our UX blog could answer some of your questions) or a short video in an instant.
The list goes on, but you get my point. If you have some spare time, check out the ones I collected or let me know what online courses you’ve liked recently.
The best UX courses online
To sum up, you can find the best UX course online out there, even as a newbie at UX and as a skillful designer seeking inspiration. I have far from completed my collection but wanted to give you the gist here. Our choices:
- Coursera Introduction to User Experience Design
- Coursera UX/UI Design Specialization
- Springboard UX Design Course
- UX Design Institute Professional Diploma in UX Design
- Skillshare Introduction to Axure RP for UX/UI Designers
- Skillshare Streamline your workflow: The efficient UI/UX design process in Figma
- Skillshare Mobile App Design from scratch with Sketch 1, 2, 3
- Learnux.io Usability
- Learnux.io Flinto
- Learnux.io Zeplin
For even more tools, head over to Interaction Design Foundation (IDF), a 17-year-old Danish NGO dedicated to making design education accessible through free-to-access resources, online UX design courses, and an international design community of 456 local groups spread across 92 countries.
5- day Product Design Course in Budapest
In recent years, we realized that many of our clients are in need of a holistic understanding of what UX is. This is why we decided to hold an offline UX course in the heart of Europe - in Budapest. Should you want to improve your team's UX approach in a couple of days - you are welcome to check out the course details.
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