Did you know how many mobile apps are there? According to the statistics, there are more than 7 million mobile apps in respective app stores. How many could you remember on your fingertips? Only a few of them, right. Did you know why? The reason is that most of the mobile applications are designed without following a tried and tested approach. Mobile app developers tend to experiment quite a lot and want to develop an app quickly without paying attention to details and user experience. Here are seven mobile app development principles you must follow when developing a mobile app.
1. Start with Why
Having a clear objective and purpose makes the journey easier whether it is your life, business or mobile app. In the case of the mobile app, a clear purpose is what you need to create a winning application that is focused on the target audience. Ask yourself questions like “What you want to achieve with your mobile app?” Your mobile app should revolve around the purpose. Whether you are designing an app for content delivery, selling products or anything else, it should not divert away from it. In fact, its name, aesthetics, user experience and even the online description must reflect the purpose.
2. Simple Navigation and Search
Have you ever thought why do we use mobile apps? Despite being able to complete the same task manually, we use mobile apps for completing those tasks. The biggest reason is convenience. We can perform the same task with few taps in few seconds that took a day to complete manually. Your mobile app should make it more convenient for the user to perform different activities. Add a search bar to let users search for what they are looking for. Make it easy for users to jump from one app screen to another. When users can get things done quickly through your mobile app, they will return for more and that is what you want, right.
3. Choose Colors, User Interface and Icons Wisely
What is the first thing that draws you towards a mobile app? It is the name, icon, and description. Even if the user downloads and installs your app, your job is half done. The reason is that user will fire the app and the first thing that pops up is the start screen or login screen. Colors used on that screen can make or break your mobile app. Even if you manage to pass that test too, the theme, user interface, and user experience all make lasting impressions. All these elements should work in harmony with one another in order to engage users, drive conversions and deliver a perfect user experience. Choose colors, app theme, user interface and even icons carefully. That is where a mobile app development agency can help you out. These app design elements will shape the user perception about your mobile app before they even use it.
4. Cut the Clutter
After delivering some visual eye candy through colors and design, it is time to impress the user with app’s features and functionality. Remember that the mobile devices your app will run does not have the computing power and bandwidth of a super computer so make you app light and nimble. The lesser resource intensive your app might be, the smoother it will run on user’s devices and the better will be the user experience. Cut the clutter to make your app lightening fast. Take a closer look at the data flow of the app and tweak it to prevent your mobile app from using unnecessary processes and resources.
5. Smoother Functionality
Have you ever used an app that crashed and has many bugs in them? We all have been on the receiving end of it. What was your reaction? I am sure that might not be a pleasant one, right. Minor hiccups are passable but frequent crashes, bugs and app functions not working as promised will ensure that the user ditches your app forever. One bad app experience can cost you the user, therefore; you need to iron out all the flaws before putting your mobile apps up for downloads on the respective app stores. That is where comprehensive mobile app testing can save you from disaster.
6. Integrated Analytics
How could you judge whether your mobile app was a success or a failure? That is when you need analytics and tracking features. With sophisticated tools, you can extract every bit of information about your customers, their usage patterns and how the interact with your mobile app. Which features are most used and which are least utilized? All these things give you a clearer picture about your mobile app standing and help you to make future improvements because it will highlight areas that need improvements.
7. Marketing and Retention
With so many mobile apps already flooding the app stores, how could you make it stand out from the crowd? That is where the marketing of your mobile app comes into play. Although, most of the mobile apps manage to create hype and get thousands of downloads soon after the app is officially launched. An average app will lose 77% of its users after initial launch. That is where you app retention techniques come into play. In order to retain your app users, you need to offer them something unique so they keep coming back for more.
Conclusion
Pay attention to each aspect including user interface, colors, themes, and functionality to deliver an immersive app experience to the user. Do not forget to integrate tracking feature and market your mobile app before launch. If you develop your mobile app in accordance with all these principles, your mobile app will outshine other apps, have a much better chance of keeping the user engaged, and convert them into paying customers. Do you know any other app development principle that can help your mobile app goals? If yes, then share it with us in the comments section below.
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