Building trust in temporary user experiences

It ONLY takes 6 words to build trust. "You can now close this page."   Hostinger added to their success screen that most products forget existing. So I just transferred a domain. Got the green checkmark. "Registrant change has been verified successfully." Cool. Now what? Do I wait for an email? Refresh? Click somewhere? Go make a sandwich?   Hostinger: "You can now close this page." Sigh. THANK YOU.   (𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 "𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥" 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥)   This is what I mean by designing the WHOLE experience. Don’t slap a checkmark calling it done when users are sitting there like: "Okay... so... am I done? Is something else loading? Should I stay here? What if I close it and break something?" The anxiety is real. Especially when money or data is involved.    Hostinger understood that success isn't just confirming the action worked. It's telling people what to do NEXT. Even if "next" is literally NOTHING. It doesn’t take much to say 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 5 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 / 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦 / 𝘚𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 /  𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘵. 𝘎𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 Give people C L O S U R E . Literally.   I talk about happy vs messed up path a lot, I know, but we also should obsess over this tiny but meaningful thing that influences a user’s experience. The happy path completion. What happens 2 seconds AFTER success. That moment where users go 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵? So let's practice this: Confirm what just happened (“Domain transferred”). Set expectations for what's next ("You'll receive an email in 5 min" OR "Nothing else needed"). Tell them if they can leave ("Safe to close" vs "Stay on this page"). Give them a next action if there IS one ("View your new domain" / "Back to dashboard")   𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘱. 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥.   Many products skip this assuming "It's obvious they're done. Look, there's a checkmark!" No. It's not obvious. Users don't know your system. They don't know if something's processing in the background. They don't know if closing the page will cancel the thing they just did.   Assume nothing is obvious. Design for the anxious overthinker at 12am who's scared they'll break something. If adding just six words to a success screen can make users believe you actually give a shit about them. Then JUST DO IT!  

I didn’t win my first users with features. I won them with trust. Here’s how I built it. ✅ I don’t start with a pitch. I ask questions. “What’s your biggest struggle with content right now?” “What have you tried that didn’t work?” This helps me understand their world—before I even mention my product. ✅ I treat early users as collaborators, not just customers. Their feedback is gold. They tell me what’s confusing, what’s useful, and what’s missing. They help shape the product roadmap more than any spec sheet. ✅ I follow up personally. After someone uses the tool, I check in. “Was it smooth? Where did you get stuck? What would make it 10x easier?” These small touchpoints go a long way in building long-term trust. ✅ I’m transparent about what’s ready and what’s coming. I never overpromise. Instead, I say: “That feature isn’t ready yet, but we’re working on it—and I’d love your input.” In a world of automation, early-stage trust is still built one human at a time. If you’re building something new, don’t wait for perfection. Start conversations. You’ll build something better, and more importantly, you’ll build belief.

Booking.com reminded me what most brands still get wrong. I was booking a hotel recently and when looking at reviews, they let me filter by traveler type: couples, solo travelers, business travelers, families. Because they understand something fundamental: I don't care if a family with three kids loved it. If I’m traveling alone, my requirements are completely different. So instead of drowning me in generic 5-star reviews, they showed me reviews from people like me. That's when social proof actually matters. But social proof is only one layer. After years of building trust in fintech, healthcare, and insurance, I've realised there are actually five layers: 1.Trust by Social Proof (done right): Filter social proof by who's reading it — what they do, what they're trying to solve. Make it specific to their situation, not everyone's. 2. Trust by Trial: Let them use it free. No credit card. Easy exit. Because if you've actually solved a real problem, they'll stay. 3. Trust by Affiliation: Investors. Regulators. Experts. NHS approval. FCA regulation. Credibility by association. People will delegate their trust if you've earned the right affiliations. 4. Trust by Design: Airbnb nailed this. Their entire platform is built on trust prompts. "Tell your host why you're coming." Suddenly there's rapport. Suddenly the guest understands the implicit contract: this is a community built on trust. You're not asking for it — you're designing the path to it. 5. Trust by Greater Good (without greenwashing): Why do you actually exist? At Pharmacy2U, we weren't just dispensing prescriptions at scale — we were bringing remote healthcare to the patient's doorstep. Faster access, and a freed-up NHS able to focus on what matters most. Trust is the most important commodity in relationships. And it should be the same for brands. But most brands treat trust like something you add at the end. A testimonial section. A security badge. It should be built into every single touchpoint: Your design. Your messaging. Your experience. Your why. That's when social proof actually matters. Because it's not just saying "people like you." It's proving that people like you are winning with this. What layer of trust are you actually building into your product? ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost to share with your network.  ⚡ Curious about scaling and entrepreneurship? Hit follow Maya Moufarek.

If you've got a new service, or product, or if you enter a new vertical, even if your partners are ushering you into their market, expect skepticism. Even with the best partners advocating for you, decision-makers may hesitate and many companies will put you at the bottom of their priority list until you can prove your value. It’s crucial to get traction quickly, or risk being overlooked. Here’s what I would do to break through that initial skepticism and gain momentum: 1. Pilot Programs: Offering a limited-time trial can help, but only if it's designed to deliver clear value from day one. - Set clear success metrics with your customer before the pilot begins. Establish measurable outcomes like improved productivity, user engagement, or cost savings. - Don’t just give them the product—ensure their teams are trained and equipped to use it effectively during the trial. This maximizes the chance of success and measurable impact. 2. Feedback Loops: Regular, structured communication with your partners and customers is key to refining your offering. - Set up bi-weekly check-ins to gather both quantitative data (usage rates, performance metrics) and qualitative feedback (user experience, pain points). - Use this feedback to adapt your approach in real time. Whether it’s tweaking features, adjusting pricing, or improving support, make sure you’re iterating based on what you hear. 3. Case Studies: Success stories build trust and reduce uncertainty for potential customers. - Create detailed case studies highlighting real results from your pilot programs or early adopters. Focus on specific benefits—whether that’s operational efficiency, cost savings, or user satisfaction. -Share these case studies with future prospects to showcase the value and credibility of your service. Timely, relevant examples can turn a hesitant prospect into a committed customer. Gaining traction with a new service takes time, but with the right strategies you can overcome skepticism and build momentum.

In UX, we talk a lot about what users think, but we rarely study how their attitudes actually change over time. Most research still relies on one-time surveys like SUS, NPS, or post-test ratings. These snapshots are useful, but they tell us almost nothing about how trust grows, how frustration accumulates, or how confidence rises and collapses after a single confusing update. Attitudes are not steady states. They are trajectories shaped by experience. There are scientific ways to track those trajectories. Continuous-Time SEM lets researchers measure how satisfaction or trust evolves in real time, even if we collect feedback at irregular moments. A streaming app can trigger a question after each session and see exactly when enjoyment starts to drop, so recommendations can intervene before disengagement sets in. Latent Transition Analysis helps us understand how people move between hidden states such as novice, intermediate, competent, or stuck. Instead of guessing who needs help in onboarding, we can calculate the probability a user will progress or remain frustrated and then redesign tutorials to move them forward. Bayesian Hierarchical Models solve a common UX problem. What if we do not have huge samples like consumer apps do? With twenty or thirty enterprise users, traditional statistics break down, but Bayesian methods still model growth and decline in attitudes. They can reveal that confidence improves for new employees but decreases for experts after a redesign, a pattern that would otherwise remain invisible. Joint Modeling goes further by connecting attitude trends with real outcomes such as churn. It can show that a drop in usability or motivation predicts cancellation two weeks before users actually leave, turning measurement into prevention. One of the most powerful and practical tools is Hidden Markov Modeling. Instead of relying on surveys, it infers emotional states from behavior like hesitation, rage clicks, repeated backtracking, or abandoned tasks. It detects frustration even when people are silent, revealing emotional shifts that traditional surveys fail to capture. If you want to go deeper into these methods and see more concrete examples, I put together a full breakdown on the blog. You can read it here: https://lnkd.in/eY_Nwme2

*To build trust in complexity, offer small choices and fast feedback* I strongly believe product simplicity and predictability are a superpower. They give the user a sense of control, which is a gift when the world feels so complicated. But some things are legitimately complex. What gives the user a sense of control when predictability is hard to come by? My take: Giving the user a chance to *participate* in the process by laying out steps, enabling them to make specific choices, and offering a clear feedback loop on each small decision. This may make the flow longer, but it gives users a chance to viscerally understand what’s happening. A while ago I got an alarming privacy notification on an important account. I was immediately worried. But the product’s recovery flow calmed me down. Why? It: 1. Laid out all the steps I’d go through, giving me a clear roadmap for what to do. 2. Channeled my anxiety into actions, even if they were small. There were prompts like “Check whether password is compromised? Yes / No”. Is that a necessary prompt? Who would say “no”? But in the moment, the ability to participate in the process of securing my account gave me a sense of control. 3. Gave me fast feedback on each choice by turning each step green on completion. By the end of the list, I felt a sense of relief. Realistically, that product could have taken all those actions without my input. But getting to participate in each step gave me a sense of control. I saw the same thing with a new AI tool my team was working on. Our temptation was to take user input up front and come back with a solution. But our customers didn’t yet trust the magic black box of AI recommendations. Instead, what helped was inserting feedback steps explaining what we were considering and offering the user a chance to change direction at each step. It added friction, but it built trust faster. Then over time, we could remove those interim feedback steps and automatically make decisions. Compare that to a customer service page where you type a question into a contact form and get a message that says, “Thanks, we’ll take care of it.” You don’t really get an understanding of the overall process, a chance to make smaller decisions, or feedback on whether you made the right choices. I’m always stressed about whether I did it right! This applies to people too. When I’m building a relationship with a new manager or peer, I try to frequently outline what I’m doing and give them a chance to redirect. After a few weeks, we know each others’ style and I can stop. Action is the best antidote to fear. Especially when someone is stressed out and longing for control, it helps to ground them in a clear step-by-step process, give them a chance to participate in solving their problem, and letting them know the impact of each choice. That naturally creates some relief, and helps them channel their concern into action. (For regular updates, check out amivora.substack.com!)

Sometimes the smartest thing you can do for your users is make them wait. That sounds counterintuitive, right? In a world obsessed with speed, “instant” has become the ultimate UX religion. But psychology, design research, and even social media experiments point to the opposite: friction, when intentional, creates trust, thoughtfulness, and quality. 1. The Labor Illusion: Why We Value “Effort” When a chatbot responds instantly, users often dismiss it as scripted or mechanical. But add a short, 1–3 second pause (paired with a “typing…” indicator), and satisfaction scores rise. Why? Because the delay signals effort. Users feel like the system is “thinking” for them. This is the labor illusion: we value work more when we see (or think) effort is being invested. Too fast feels robotic; too slow feels broken. The sweet spot? Just long enough to feel intentional. 2. Even Social Media Learned This Lesson In 2020, Twitter tested a prompt: “Want to read this article before retweeting?” The results? - 40% more opens on articles. - 33% more people read before retweeting. One tiny pause. Massive behavior shift. It didn’t break the product. It improved it. 3. Where Friction Becomes a Feature Not all delays are good, but here’s where they shine: - Chatbots: Typing indicators and micro-pauses that humanize. - Surveys & Forms: Mental effort that filters noise and raises quality. - High-Stakes Actions: Confirmations before deleting, sending money, or posting. - Community Health: Pauses that nudge people to reflect before reacting. The takeaway: Don’t just obsess over removing friction. Ask: Where should I add it? Because sometimes, the best user experience isn’t about moving faster. It’s about giving people a moment to stop, think, and trust what happens next.

A user interview starts well before anyone starts talking. Earlier this week, a friend—customer of a big UK fintech—told me about a UX research session where she was the participant. Let's just say it wasn’t great. She logged into the video call to face 15 silent observers. Not exactly the setup for an honest chat about money. The weary researcher admitted it was his 12th call that day. He kicked off with generic questions she’d already answered on the screener: “What does your business do? How long have you been doing that?” Unsurprisingly, she didn't reveal any deep insights about herself on that call. I get that we’re all pushing for stakeholder buy-in, but don’t treat participants like lab rats. To me, every choice leading up to an interview shapes its success. I’m hands-on with every touchpoint. Here’s how I put that into practice: ✉️ The invite email Craft it yourself—it’s part of the conversation. Make it feel personal (no excuses with CRM/AI tools), introduce yourself, explain why they’re well-positioned to help, and recognise the value of their time. If it reads like a marketing template, expect a low conversion and quality of participant. 📋 The screener Ask a reasonable number of relevant questions (don’t be cheeky and turn it into a survey). DO NOT repeat the same questions in the interview—if you couldn’t be bothered to read their answers, what does that signal? Refer back, show interest, and make them feel like they’re not just one of 35 participants this week. ✅ The consent form/info pack This is a trust-building opportunity, not just a data protection formality. Use it to set expectations—who’ll be on the call, what you’ll be covering, and, if it’s a sensitive topic like money or health, let them know upfront. They should feel fully assured their data will be secure. 🖥️ Arrival on the call Imagine how it feels to dial in and see multiple faces already on screen, with recording or AI transcription already on. I insist on one observer max. If more people want to watch, gather them in a room or pay £30 for a broadcast tool (letting participants know, of course). At the very least, bring in observers after the participant’s had a warm welcome. I’ll stop here! In the past, we’ve written guides on opening a research call and making participants comfortable, you can find these over on Muir Wood & Co: Research and Strategy company page. I’d love to hear from other researchers—where do you go the extra mile to put participants at ease before the interview? And get in touch if you’d like feedback on your pre-interview process and materials. (Cartoon by Dall-E because my iPad battery was flat!)

Want more bookings? Study user psychology. Here’s what separates good booking experiences from great ones: 1. No-friction moment. Unlike browsing, booking is a commitment. Commitment triggers fear: “What if I can’t cancel?” “Is this the best price?” “What happens after I pay?” Unresolved doubts = abandoned carts. 2. Transparent pricing. Hidden fees or unclear terms kill trust. Clear, upfront pricing: ✦ Low bounce rate on the payment step. ✦ Reduces refund requests and support tickets. ✦ Builds long-term trust for repeat bookings. We’ve seen 30–40% drop in checkout abandonment just by surfacing “total cost” earlier. 3. Reassurance elements. Cancellation policies and refund clarity: ✦ Reduce last-moment hesitation. ✦ Increase conversion rates. ✦ Position your brand as trustworthy. 4. Urgency without manipulation. Use scarcity wisely: ✦ Highlight real-time availability (“Only 3 spots left!”) ✦ Show time-sensitive offers (“Book before midnight for 10% off”) ✦ Don’t fake it, users notice. 5. Final step feels like a win. The last click should feel rewarding, not risky. ✦ Use positive confirmation language: “You’re all set!” vs. “Submit”. ✦ Show a summary of what they’ve booked. ✦ Add a personal touch: “We’ll email your confirmation shortly!” This final moment shapes the user’s first impression of your brand and sets the tone for future interactions. A great booking experience doesn’t just help users complete a transaction. It helps them feel good about doing it. Because when people feel confident, they don’t just book once. They come back. They refer others. They become advocates. So, if you're building a booking flow, ask yourself: Does this feel safe? Does this feel easy? Does this feel fair? If the answer is yes to all three, you're not just designing a form. You're designing trust. ♻️ Share this to help others design a better booking experience. 🔔 Follow Artem Borysenko for more updates!

The only moat that actually matters in AI products right now is trust. Let's start with a story about a 4th grader... Brené Brown has this story she tells on The Diary Of A CEO about her daughter coming home from school one day completely shattered. She had shared something confidential with a couple friends at recess. By the time she got back to the classroom, the whole class knew. Thirty kids laughing and pointing (poor kid). When she got home, she slid down the front door in a heap, sobbing, and told her mom she would never trust anyone again. Brené's gut reaction was "damn straight, never trust anyone again." But she knew that wasn't the right answer. So instead she reached for a metaphor about trust her daughter already understood. Her daughter's teacher had a marble jar. When the class made good decisions together, she'd drop a marble in. When it got full, they'd celebrate. And Brené told her: trust is the marble jar. Every time someone keeps a secret, they get a marble. Every time they show up for you in a small way; scoot over to share a seat at lunch, remember your grandmother's name, check on you when you're sick... they get a marble. When you have something really important to share, you look for the friend whose jar is full. John Gottman says the same thing from 40 years of relationship research: trust is built in small moments. This perfectly describes how building trust works for intelligent products. The user comes in with intent and your job is to compress TTT (Time To Trust).  You deliver quick value: a useful answer, a recommendation that fits, a warm welcome, a summary that saves time... In that moment, you've earned something small: the right to be useful again. They come back. And this time, they share a little more. Each small disclosure, each micro-win you deliver in return, adds a marble to the jar. Quick value → trust → more context shared → personalized help → deeper engagement → deeper trust. In a world of commoditized AI, the agents and products we trust most will be the ones that are intentional about building a relationship with users. One marble at a time.