Recently, we introduced a persistent “Create Feedback” button in the sidebar of our app. The idea seemed solid—feedback is a core feature, so making it the primary call-to-action (CTA) felt like a smart move. However, instead of boosting engagement, it left our users confused. Even worse, many didn’t use the button at all, which led us to some important realizations about user experience and interface design.
Despite being one of the most important features, the button failed to generate the expected engagement. Several users even reached out to ask how they could submit feedback, completely missing the button in the sidebar. The confusion made it clear that our approach to this CTA wasn’t working.
So, why did it fail? It turns out that our users were accustomed to a specific pattern within our app. All of our other modules had their CTAs embedded within the module itself. Whether it was submitting data, accessing reports, or any other feature, users would engage with the action directly inside the feature they were using. By placing the “Create Feedback” button in the sidebar, we broke that pattern, which caused friction.
Our users had built a mental map of how the app worked. They expected to find CTAs within the modules themselves because that’s how they had always interacted with the platform. By introducing a key action outside of that flow, in the sidebar, we unknowingly disrupted that familiarity.
This brings us to an important UX principle: people are creatures of habit. When users get used to a certain interface structure, they rely on it to navigate efficiently. A sudden change—even if it seems like an improvement—can create confusion if it doesn’t align with their expectations.
Another issue was that the sidebar button lacked context. Sure, it was visible, but users didn’t necessarily know why they should click on it. The lack of in-module guidance made it even less obvious. Without additional prompts or visual cues, a sidebar button can easily fade into the background, no matter how important it is.
In our case, the button would have likely been more effective if it had been embedded inside the feedback feature itself—just like the rest of the app's CTAs. Users would then encounter it at the right moment, when they’re naturally inclined to submit feedback, rather than having to make a conscious decision to click a sidebar button.
This experience gave us a valuable insight: a CTA’s effectiveness isn’t just about its placement; it’s about aligning with user habits and giving context. Next time, we’ll take a more user-centric approach to changes, keeping their behavior patterns in mind while ensuring CTAs are clearly tied to their in-app actions.
In the end, it’s a small misstep but a significant learning opportunity for future iterations of our app’s design.
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