People First Design is a simple, community-driven standard for developers and designers who want to create experiences that feel respectful, clear, and genuinely pleasant to use.
People First Design is a simple idea: build websites and apps for humans first, not clicks, tricks, or dark patterns. It's an open, community-driven guideline for developers, designers, and indie builders who want to create experiences that feel respectful, clear, and genuinely pleasant to use.
You don't need to be perfect. You just need to try.
Think of your creation through the eyes of someone using it. Your creation cannot favour metrics and profits over your users' experience. This means you are devoted to keeping UX ahead as long as your creation is not in the negatives.
As a wise person once said, "if you wouldn't show it to your grandma, don't do it at all."
No tricks. No guilt buttons. No fake urgency. No confusing opt-outs. No scams. No random data collection for no reason. Do not promote or include illegal or unethical content.
If a user would feel annoyed after realising what happened, don't do it.
Collect the minimum data requiredfor your site to work. If you don't need it, don't collect it. Explain data use in plain language — not lawyer soup. Follow as many privacy laws as you can, and allow anyone who can prove it to request a deletion of their data.
Don't hijack attention with popups, auto-playing audio, or endless nags. Interrupt users only when it truly matters, such as cookie consent or legal document updates.
Clear text beats clever copy. Obvious buttons beat sneaky ones. Users should never feel dumb for not understanding your UI.
Ads are allowed — within reason. People First ads must:
Plain language always beats legal jargon. For any data you handle:
If a user asks "Wait… what just happened?" — rethink the design.
The badge is a lightweight, trust-based signal that your project follows these principles. It is not a legal certification.
Using People First Design is completely optional and this system is trust-based. You do not have to give up personal information to use it.
If you plan to use People First Design in your project, you must: