Notes Stack for UX Researchers & Designers
Great design decisions start with great research. Notes Stack turns your browser into a research notebook — annotate competitor products, capture usability observations, and organize findings by website, all from the side panel without disrupting your flow.
Why UX Researchers Choose Notes Stack
Research happens in the browser. You're reviewing competitor sites, analyzing user session recordings, reading design systems, and browsing inspiration. Notes Stack captures your insights exactly where they happen.
- Annotate competitor websites — Open any competitor's product page and write structured notes: navigation patterns, visual hierarchy, microcopy, accessibility issues. Those notes stay attached to that specific URL.
- Heuristic evaluation checklists — Use task lists to create Nielsen's 10 heuristics (or your own criteria) as checkboxes. Walk through each page and check off what works and what doesn't.
- Group findings by site — Use the "Group by Site" view to see all your annotations organized by domain. Instantly compare observations across competitors.
- Rich formatting for detailed notes — Use headings, bold, blockquotes, and bullet lists to structure your findings professionally. Copy-paste into research reports later.
Tips and Tricks
Start a new note with a task list of your evaluation criteria. Duplicate it for each competitor site. As you review each site, check off items and add annotations below. This keeps your analysis consistent and comparable.
Create one stack per research project or sprint (e.g., "Q1 Competitive Audit", "Checkout Redesign Research", "Onboarding Flow Analysis"). This keeps findings from different initiatives separate and easy to find.
Switch to "Group by Site" view to see all your notes organized by domain. This gives you an instant bird's-eye view of how many annotations you have per competitor and helps you spot patterns.
When you find effective microcopy, error messages, or onboarding text on a competitor's site, use blockquotes to capture the exact wording. This makes it easy to reference later in design reviews.
If you have upcoming usability testing sessions, set reminders on your research protocol notes so you're always prepared. The notification will link you right back to your prep notes.
Platforms That Work Great With Notes Stack
- Figma — Add design critique notes while reviewing prototypes and design files in the browser.
- Miro — Capture observations while reviewing affinity diagrams or journey maps.
- Hotjar — Annotate session recordings and heatmaps with your usability observations.
- UserTesting — Take notes while watching recorded user sessions directly in your browser.
- Maze — Add context notes alongside quantitative test results.
- Competitor websites — The primary use case: annotate any live product or marketing page you're analyzing.
A Real-World Workflow
- Start a competitive audit — Create a "Competitive Audit" stack. Open Competitor A's homepage.
- Evaluate systematically — Create a task-list note with your evaluation criteria. Work through the site, checking off heuristics and adding observations under each.
- Capture key details — Use blockquotes for notable microcopy, bold for critical issues, and headings to separate page sections.
- Move to the next competitor — Navigate to Competitor B. Create another task-list note in the same stack. Your previous notes stay attached to Competitor A's pages.
- Compare findings — Switch to "Group by Site" view and review all annotations side by side by domain.
- Export for the team — Export the "Competitive Audit" stack to CSV and bring the structured data into your research report or presentation.
Turn your browser into a structured research tool. Every insight captured, every finding organized, every observation right where you found it.
Ready to get started?
Add Notes Stack to your browser and start capturing ideas right from the side panel.
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