SaaS UX Design: Exploring Best Practices with Insights from Mavic’s Case Study

UX design plays a vital role in the success of any digital product, helping to drive higher user adoption rates and ensuring sustainable growth over time. 

This role becomes even more critical in the context of SaaS products, where the complexity of features and workflows often presents a steep learning curve for many users. Without thoughtful SaaS UX design, users can quickly become frustrated or overwhelmed, leading to low engagement and high churn rates.

In this blog, Lollypop will explore the key benefits of great UX design for SaaS growth. We’ll also share SaaS best practices through a practical case study of Mavic — a Sales Force Automation platform developed by Tata Consumer Products Limited (TCPL).

Let’s dive in!

Why is UX design important in SaaS Products?

1. Increase User Acquisition 

First impressions matter. An engaging and user-friendly interface attracts new users and encourages them to explore the product further. Consistent and positive user experiences foster trust and reliability, making users more likely to continue using the service and recommend it to others. 

2. Improve User engagement

Thoughtful UX design SaaS keeps users engaged by making interactions enjoyable and efficient. Features like intuitive navigation, responsive design, and personalized content encourage users to spend more time with the product, increasing the likelihood of achieving their goals and deriving value from the service. 

3. Reduce churn rates

A seamless and intuitive UX minimizes user frustration, leading to higher satisfaction and loyalty. By addressing pain points and simplifying workflows, users are less likely to abandon the product. This reduction in churn enhances customer lifetime value and stabilizes revenue streams. 

4. Empower Users to be their best

Empowering users involves providing them with the tools and information they need to succeed. A well-designed UX offers clear guidance, accessible resources, and supportive feedback, enabling users to utilize the product effectively and confidently. This empowerment leads to increased satisfaction and a stronger connection to the product.

SaaS UX Design Best Practices

Now that you understand the crucial role UX design plays in the success of a SaaS product, let’s dive into the best UI/UX practices for B2B SaaS platforms to bring your success to life. 

To illustrate these principles, we’ll examine Mavic, a Sales Force Automation (SFA) app developed by Tata. About the context, despite the existence of SFA platforms, many sales teams in India still rely on manual methods to manage their work. By collaborating with Lollypop, Mavic set out to develop an innovative solution that bridges this gap, enabling Direct Sales Representatives (DSRs) to work smarter and boost their performance.

1.  Conduct thorough UX Research

Unlike one-time purchases, SaaS products thrive on long-term engagement and recurring value. To build features that users truly need, SaaS businesses need to understand user workflows, pain points, and goals. This can be achieved through UX research methods, such as observations, user interviews, surveys, and product analytics. 

By conducting thorough UX Research, businesses can reduce risk in Saas design decisions and ensure the product meets real use cases across diverse user segments.

What we did for Mavic:

Over 3 months, the team deeply immersed in TCPL’s sales ecosystem, employing diverse UX research methods to uncover genuine user needs:

• On Field Research: Conducted workflow observations and in-depth interviews to understand what users truly need from a digital tool and where technology helps or hinders them.
• User Journey Mapping: Traced the DSRs’ workflow—planning, pitching, tracking, and closing—to identify friction points and user behaviors that guided design decisions.
• Product analytics: Analyzed app usage data to pinpoint drop-offs, redundant steps, and high-effort tasks, enabling targeted improvements in speed, efficiency, and user engagement.

Key challenges uncovered:

• Resistance to change: DSRs preferred manual methods over digital tools.
• Cognitive overload: The old app’s cluttered, text-heavy screens buried critical information.
• Performance issues: Spending long hours in areas with poor connectivity, users faced a slow and unreliable app experience across different devices, making it difficult to use on the go.

With these insights, the team was able to develop effective solutions moving forward.

2. Structure Clear Information Architecture

Information architecture (IA) is the backbone of intuitive navigation. A well-structured IA makes it easier for users to find content, complete tasks efficiently, and feel confident using your SaaS product, especially when dealing with complex or high-frequency workflows.

How to conduct:

• Define the Feature List: Start by identifying all key functionalities your saas product design needs to offer, aligned with user goals and business objectives.

• Gather Detailed Requirements: Work with stakeholders and users to clarify what content, actions, or data each feature should include.

What we did for Mavic: During the define phase, we collaborated closely with Mavic to define a comprehensive feature list, along with further requirements. This informed the structure of the information architecture, allowing us to hierarchize features effectively. 

3. Simplify the Onboarding Experience

In SaaS UI UX design​, onboarding is a critical moment that often determines whether users stay or leave. It generally involves 3 main stages: account setup, data collection, and customer education. 

If the process feels confusing or overwhelming, users may abandon the product before experiencing its true value. A well-designed Onboarding UX Design flow should minimize friction, accelerate time-to-value (TTV), and lead users to early, meaningful achievements.

How to conduct:

• Streamline registration: Minimize fields, enable social logins, and use progress indicators to speed up registration.
• Simplify Onboarding Flows: Gradually reveal features, embed help, and allow users to skip walkthroughs.
• Personalize Experience: Segment users and tailor feature exposure with varied learning materials.
• Use Progress Tracking: Employ checklists, milestones, and progress bars to keep users motivated.
• Leverage User Feedback: Collect and analyze feedback to continuously improve onboarding.

What we did for Mavic:

Mavic’s onboarding begins with a welcoming screen featuring a clear “Log in” CTA. After logging in, users are guided through a product tour with helpful tooltips, which they can skip if they’re already familiar with the app. This approach ensures a smooth, user-friendly introduction to the platform.

4. Implement Progressive Disclosure

Progressive disclosure is an interaction design pattern that introduces information and features gradually, revealing them as users move through the product. This approach helps lower the learning curve, keeps the interface clean, and enhances the onboarding experience—especially for new users.

Instead of overwhelming users with every feature upfront, guide them step by step, releasing key information only when it becomes relevant.

How to conduct:

• Focus on essentials first: Show only the most important features early on; keep advanced tools hidden until they’re relevant.
• Use behavioral triggers: Unveil new features based on user actions (e.g., after completing a task, reveal related tools).
• Choose the right UI patterns: Accordions, tabs, Stepper, and contextual modals are effective ways to progressively reveal content.

What we did for Mavic:

In Mavic’s saas platform design, we applied progressive disclosure through various UI elements—accordions to hide help content, tabs to organize order types, and pop-ups to display item categories only when needed. This kept the interface streamlined while making deeper functionality available as users progressed.

5. Design Intuitive Interfaces

In B2B SaaS UX design​, where users often engage with the platform daily to complete critical tasks, an intuitive interface is essential. A well-designed UI reduces the time needed to learn the system, lowers support costs, and builds user trust. When actions feel familiar and predictable, users can focus on their goals rather than figuring out how the product works.

How to conduct:

• Use familiar UI patterns: Stick to industry conventions for buttons, icons, and layout to reduce the learning curve.
• Maintain visual hierarchy: Emphasize primary actions and de-emphasize secondary ones using size, color, or placement.
• Limit complexity per screen: Avoid overloading the interface—break tasks into smaller, digestible steps.

What we did for Mavic:

• Typeface: We chose the Poppins font for its clean, modern look and high readability—ideal for sales reps working on the move.
• Color Palette: A bright, high-contrast color scheme was applied to ensure screen visibility under sunlight and support quick task recognition.
• Iconography: Purposeful icons were used throughout the app to reduce cognitive load and make navigation more intuitive. 
• Illustration: Friendly illustrations added personality to the interface, creating a sense of familiarity while keeping the experience engaging.
• UI screen: Each screen was thoughtfully designed to be simple, focused, and clutter-free, enabling users to complete tasks efficiently.

6. Build Engaging Dashboards

Dashboards are often the first screen users see and a major touchpoint for daily engagement. A great dashboard design presents useful insights and actions at a glance, helping users feel in control and productive.

How to conduct:

• Establish a Clear Visual Hierarchy: Prioritize the most important information first, while minimizing distractions by using size, color, size, contrast, and spacing strategically.
• Select the Right data visualization design: Match your visualization to the message—use bar charts for comparisons, line charts for trends, and scatter plots for correlations to ensure clarity.
• Maintain Design Consistency: Use consistent typography, color palette, and iconography to create a cohesive visual identity. Keep spacing, alignment, and navigation uniform across all pages.

What we did for Mavic:
Looking at the Mavic dashboard, key data is organized into separate tabs, allowing users to switch between daily, monthly, and 3-month views effortlessly.

In the monthly view (middle), the screen surfaces essential insights at a glance: Total incentives earned (₹6,950); Geo adherence (50%), which is qualified for incentives; Sales performance, which is visualized as progressive milestones, gives users a clear sense of achievement and encouraging continuous improvement.

7. Ensure Responsive Design Across Devices

Users interact with SaaS products on various devices. Responsive design ensures a consistent, seamless experience across screen sizes, which is vital for accessibility and user satisfaction.

How to conduct:

• Flexible Grid Systems: Use layouts that automatically adjust to different screen sizes, ensuring content fits well on all devices.
• Test Across Screen Resolutions: Regularly check the interface on various devices and resolutions to catch and fix layout or functionality issues.
• Optimize Performance: Ensure the product loads quickly and runs smoothly, even on slower networks or less powerful devices.

For Mavic, the platform was crafted to be fully accessible on both mobile apps and web browsers, allowing field sales reps to choose their preferred device without compromising usability or performance.

You may want to read more: How to Build a Minimum Viable Product for SaaS?​

Final thoughts 

Effective SaaS UX design can drive meaningful results for your product. Thanks to the collaborative effort behind Mavic’s UX design, the app has achieved impressive milestones:

1. 85% user adoption within the first 6 months
2. 40% reduction in order-taking time
3. 22% monthly sales growth fueled by real-time insights and performance tracking
4. Increased distributor engagement, improving communication, and minimizing inefficiencies

If you’re looking for saas ux design expert​ support in building a powerful SaaS product, Lollypop is here to help. As a globally recognized SaaS UX design agency, we specialize in crafting intuitive, user-focused designs that accelerate business growth.

Contact us today for a FREE consultation and see how we can elevate the best SaaS UX design​ for your product.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is SaaS UX Design?

SaaS UX Design refers to the process of creating user-centered experiences for software delivered via the cloud (Software as a Service). It focuses on making complex tools simple and intuitive by understanding user behavior, streamlining workflows, and ensuring consistency across interfaces. A good SaaS user experience enhances usability, boosts engagement, and ultimately drives user retention by making digital products easier and more enjoyable to use.

2. How much does it cost to design a SaaS product?

The costs of saas design services can vary greatly depending on their complexity, features, and level of customization. At Lollypop, we offer flexible pricing packages tailored to suit businesses of all sizes — from startups and SMBs to large enterprises. If you’re interested in a customized quote that fits your specific saas product design needs, feel free to reach out to us.