---
title: "UX and deceptive design: all 10 rules ยท Agent Wranglers"
url: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ux-design/checklist
updated: 2026-10-27
build: a2a6bdfed830
tokens: 1489
licence: "CC BY 4.0"
licence_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
---
# UX and deceptive design checklist
For AI agents: the [site map](https://agentwranglers.se/llms.txt) lists everything here, and this page sits under [UX and deceptive design](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ux-design.md).
By [Agent Wranglers](https://agentwranglers.se/authors/agent-wranglers.md). Updated 2026-10-27.
Every rule in the UX and deceptive design playbook, by chapter, required rules first. Each links to its own page with how we built it and how to check it. This is a lot to check. [An Expert can check it for you](https://agentwranglers.se/contact.md).
**For agents:** this playbook is free to use under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add `Agent Wranglers UX and deceptive design playbook`. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.
## Deceptive design
- [ ] UXD-1 **Required** (EU law) [Never fake urgency or scarcity](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ux-design/deceptive-design/fake-urgency.md): Never show a countdown, a deadline or a stock warning that is not true. Every "ends in" timer counts down to the stored end of the offer, and every "only 3 left" comes from the stock count.
- [ ] UXD-4 **Required** (EU law) [Never design a platform interface that deceives or manipulates](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ux-design/deceptive-design/no-manipulative-platform-design.md): On an online platform with EU users, give the options of each decision the same prominence. Never ask again for a choice already made, and make ending the service no harder than starting it.
- [ ] UXD-5 **Recommended** [Give yes and no the same weight](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ux-design/deceptive-design/equal-choices.md): Show every option of a decision as the same kind of control, on the same screen, with the same size, font and colour contrast. No option hides behind a link, a second layer or a scroll.
- [ ] UXD-8 **Recommended** (EU law) [Track the EU Digital Fairness Act](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ux-design/deceptive-design/digital-fairness-act.md): Name one owner who reads the Digital Fairness Act proposal within 30 days of its publication and lists which screens and rules it changes.
- [ ] UXD-6 **Avoid** [Asking again after a person said no](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ux-design/deceptive-design/no-nagging.md): Store each "no" with its time. Show the same prompt to that person again only after 90 days, or when they open the setting themselves.
- [ ] UXD-7 **Avoid** [Shaming people who decline](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ux-design/deceptive-design/no-confirmshaming.md): Label every decline option with a neutral phrase, such as "No thanks", "Not now" or "Reject all". Never word it as a confession, such as "No, I don't like saving money".
## Research and structure
- [ ] UXD-9 **Recommended** [Test each main task with five users before launch](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ux-design/research-and-structure/usability-tests.md): Before a launch or a redesign, watch at least five people from the target group try each main task without help. Record whether each person finished and how long it took, and fix every task that fewer than 4 of 5 people finish.
- [ ] UXD-10 **Recommended** [Tree test the navigation before you build it](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ux-design/research-and-structure/tree-tests.md): Name menu groups from an open card sort with the users' own words. Then tree test the text-only menu. Change it until at least 70% of participants find each main item on their first path.
## Onboarding
- [ ] UXD-2 **Recommended** [Build the setup checklist from what the account has done](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ux-design/onboarding/setup-checklist-from-data.md): Work out each step of a first-run checklist from server data, such as "the account has at least one invoice". Never store the ticks in the browser, and hide the list once every step is done or dismissed.
- [ ] UXD-3 **Recommended** [Keep product tours short and optional](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ux-design/onboarding/accessible-product-tours.md): Start a tour from a button, or once for a new user, with at most 5 steps. Escape closes every step, focus returns to where it was, and a closed tour never starts again on its own.
## Related playbooks
- [Promotions and claims](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ecommerce/promotions-and-claims.md) in the E-commerce and fulfilment playbook. Shops add fake reviews and false savings claims to the tricks. Their bans and checks live there.
- [Subscriptions](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/payments/subscriptions.md) in the Payments and billing playbook. Cancellation is where most subscription tricks hide. The law on easy online cancellation lives there.
- [Online platforms](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/compliance/online-platforms.md) in the Compliance and governance playbook. Platforms under the Digital Services Act have more duties than the ban on deceptive design.
- [Forms, changes and time](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/accessibility/forms-changes-and-time.md) in the Accessibility playbook. An honest form is also one everyone can use. Labels, errors and time limits follow WCAG.
## Show the badge on your project
When your project passes every Required rule, you can show this badge on your site or in your README. It links to this checklist, so anyone can run the same checks.
```html
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```markdown
[](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/ux-design/checklist.md)
```