Six excellent UX training resources for all budgets

A UX professional’s real superpower is an insatiable sense of curiosity. It helps you formulate questions, find solutions, experiment, and deliver great insights—it’s what makes working in UX both exciting and challenging: you’re never done learning.

Whether you’re a seasoned UX veteran or a complete newbie, there’s always more to read, absorb in the world of UX.

Maybe you need advice on securing quality user participants for your research study, want to learn how typography can enhance your user interface, or require guidance on conducting remote user interviews. No matter the topic, there’s a wealth of resources out there to help you. 

However, not all resources are created equal. With something as crucial as UX, you want to make sure the courses and articles you learn from are reputable, easy to understand and, most importantly, helpful. 

Why learn about UX?

UX design and research are hot right now—and will be for the foreseeable future. For the past few years, LinkedIn has consistently rated UX design as one of the most in-demand skills. With excellent job prospects and earning potential, along with genuinely exciting work, getting into UX is a no-brainer!

Learning without limits 

We like to think of the UX world as a tight-knit but global community. There are few training providers and organizations that pop up again and again. They’re known for their credibility and insights, and they’re great places to go if you want to deepen your understanding of UX. 

So, don’t worry about scrolling through page after page on Google to find your UX answers. Turn to our handy list of top-notch course providers instead.

We understand that budgets for UX training vary a lot depending on the size of your company. Plus, if you’re delving into the world of UX in your spare time, you might not be able to spend a lot on training. That’s why we’ve neatly divided this list into two sections: free courses and paid-for. 

Without further ado, here are the top places to go for UX training so that you can get on the path of continued UX learning.

Paid-for options 

Nielsen Norman Group

The Nielsen Norman Group (NNG) is a user experience consultancy, training and research group that consists of some of the most famous names in UX: Jakob Nielsen, Don Norman and Bruce Tognazzini.

There are hundreds of certified courses available on NNG, along with a host of virtual events, such as 1-hour talks, seminars, and virtual conferences.

If you haven’t got the budget for an NNG course, don’t worry. The company’s website also has a free library of over 1,000 articles featuring research findings, advice, and UX methods, which is well worth taking a peek at. And don’t forget to sign up for their excellent email newsletter. 

IDF

Covering all three corners of the content, community, and course triangle is the IDF, a nonprofit organization on a mission to make design education accessible to people across the globe. 

They offer self-paced, professional-level courses while also giving you access to a unique and extensive library of free articles and textbooks. 

Coursera

Chances are, you’ve heard of Coursera. It’s one of those online training providers that covers everything—but it manages to deliver both quality and quantity. Coursera’s courses are taught by instructors from verified universities and companies.

There’s plenty of UX content to stuck into, including introductory courses from the University of Georgia and Michigan. Signing up to Coursera is free, but courses are individually priced. 

Springboard

Springboard is an excellent option if you’re looking to start a career in UX research. While it’s one of the more costly providers, we like Springboard’s end-to-end commitment.

Free options

UserTesting University

Not to toot our own horn, but we couldn’t create a list of course providers without giving the nod to our own creation: the UserTesting University. 

Our university contains free courses to equip UX practitioners like you with the skills you need to create better digital experiences, boost professional development, and promote UX awareness across your organization. 

We’re big believers in democratizing UX, so our academy has something for everyone. Our courses enable practitioners of all experience levels to enhance their professional development and provide the robust, actionable insights their organizations need to create better user experiences.

Udemy

This open online course provider has a library of amazing UX courses tailored to all experience levels. While some Udemy courses are paid for, its catalog of free, in-depth courses means this provider is great for improving your UX knowledge on a budget. 

Low on time? On a budget?

Check out these great, bite-sized UX resources:

• What is Wrong With UX? Podcast discusses what is wrong with user experience design and how to make products suck slightly less.
• Why’d You Push That Button? Podcast asks the hard, weird and occasionally dumb questions about how your tiny tech decisions impact your social life.
• UXBooth is a publication by and for the user experience community aimed at beginner to intermediate UXers.
• Gerry McGovern is a customer experience consultant and speaker, whose prolific writing is highly recommended.

Advance your skills and knowledge today

Ready to reach new heights and boost your skills? Try UserTesting University today. With our support, you can unlock the benefits of UX research at speed and scale, empowering your company to generate more UX insights while powering agile, customer-centric decisions.