1 Start with an End Goal

It is important to have an end goal before beginning to build a new app. Many times, there are different teams involved in the app design – sales, marketing, PR, IT to name a few. We often notice that during discussions, the original mission of the app is forgotten. Your mission is your end goal, and that should always be a backbone behind the app.

Here are some questions to ask –

1. What do I expect the user to have with this app?
2. What does my company expect from this app?
3. Is this a sales driven app? Or is this only for information and another purpose?
4. What monetization options can I explore to drive sales?

 

2 Follow New and Latest design trends

Technology changes daily. There are new trends in design every day. This is important because your users are interacting with new UI on a regular basis with many leading websites and apps. It is equally necessary to meet their expectations as well as making a cool app.

Here are some questions to ask –

1. What third party tools and controls I can use?
2. What killer websites and apps that my users typically follow?
3. How can this app benefit my users?

 

3 Know your user

Your user is always smarter than you think. You are going to have your mobile app compete not only with your competitor’s apps, but all other apps that are on the mobile device of your users.  Different types of users and their behavior demands different user experience.

For example – a user always on the go may like faster navigation. Senior users may appreciate different fonts and colors. It is important to know your user base and include some customization in it.

Here are some things to look for –

1. What features, pages of the website are accessed most by your users
2. Who is your typical user? Age, mobility, time spent on mobile, typical tasks performed in-app,
3. What customization can you provide so user can custom change some settings

 

4 Keep It Simple

The good thing about the mobile app is that you can release the new version quickly. The bad thing about the mobile app is first impression matters. As per a study conducted by Localytics 26% apps are used only once after the download.

If apps are not working or hard to use, the user is going to stop using it. So it is important to keep it simple. We usually tell our clients to consider ‘simple navigation, rich features.’ We have noticed that most of the apps developed on this principle have more usability and adaptability than other apps.

What can you ask for keeping it simple –

1. How many features in my app require more than two clicks?
2. What screens, information can I convert to pictures, graphs, sliders and such controls?
3. How much control am I giving to users?
4. Is my app enabling them?

 

5 Minimalist does not mean lack of features

The minimalist approach is truly a philosophy. App users like a minimalist approach in most of the business or daily use apps. However, you should not confuse this method with the lack of features.

There are some great, feature rich apps with minimalist style. And then there are a lot of apps with the lack of features. It is a good idea to visit the app store and review some of the top apps for their features, User experience and ease of navigation.

Questions to ask for feature-rich app –

1. What features can I offer that are not on my website?
2. Am I meeting user requirements in a mobile app that is not on the site?
3. How can I provide required and latest information to the users quickly?