Keep people using your app with strong UX Design

When you hear Mobile app UX, what comes to mind? Something only a tech genius would be worried about? The truth is a mobile app, because of the dynamics of the new business age is so important to mobile marketing that everybody should be familiar with it.

But what makes it so important, apart from the fact that unlike books, apps are accessed not only by their cover but by the interaction of a host of dynamic features like navigation, color schemes, fonts, and their ease of use.

It doesn’t matter if your application was made with state of the art technology or provide the most engaging content, it would be difficult to get very far if usability is not put into consideration in its design because it’s ultimately responsible for the audience’s impressions of your app.

User experience, as you’re probably aware, is essentially the process of breaking down complex systems and making them easy and accessible for users. To put it into perspective, try to remember the last time you took a long walk in the park.  Each step requires complex interactions between nerves, muscles, tendons. But when you’re strolling through the park, you don’t really reason all of that – all you do is just to walk. The same principle applies in UX, the essence of a good UX design boils on its ability to make sure that people don’t have to think about all of the things that go into their journey through the app – like the color choice, fonts or even scrolling speed. UX also affects how people use the product and influences their impression of you as a business owner.  Simply see it as what determines if they use your app or not.

A good UX design not only increases conversion rates because it makes it easier for users to achieve their goals (e.g., learning a new language or making a purchase) quicker and better, it is the driving force that keeps bringing people back for more exciting experiences. Easy usability makes a happy customer, and a happy customer will always come back. As well, a bad UX can make people frustrated and unhappy, and when people are not happy, they uninstall.

How do you make sure your app intrigues and keeps the audience’s attention while retaining your vision and identity? Whether you’re trying to build a new customer base or trying to keep old customers, these are just about a few questions to ask yourself to ensure you are overlapping your visions with the usability of your app.

“People ignore design that ignores people.”

— Frank Chimero, Designer

The Why? What? And Who?

The first thing to note before owning an app is why?! The why question is age-long and for a good reason because in it you understand the direction of the project, the target audience, and the process of linking the two.  Before you begin, first by asking yourself why you’re making the app, what kind of app is it, and who are you making the app for. Answering these questions will help you design a mobile experience that’s right for both your brand and your target audience’s goals. You will also have a better idea of what resources you’ll need to build your UX.

Now that you know why you made your app and who you made it for, it’s time to make sure they enjoy what you have developed. There are several ways to create the best experience for people and to help them discover information in your app, but it all depends on your app’s goals.

1. Make it Easily accessible: Only ask people to register for your app if it’s relevant or necessary. People get tired easily when the app keeps asking for login access every single time. Like we said earlier, put your self in the client’s shoes, you certainly wouldn’t like to go through that every time. So after people register, minimize the number of times they need to enter their password. If someone forgets their password, make it easy for them to sign back in. You could email them a link to reset their password or have them set up touch ID for easier sign-in.
2. Always explain to the users why you may require private information so that they can be kept in the loop: This way, they know how releasing such information will better their experience, which also makes you seem more like a jolly good friend and less like a big brother. They as well feel confident about releasing such information to you.
3. 3. Design your app navigation in a nonlinear way: That way, the users can navigate easily without having to go through any hierarchy. Let them skip to different sections or features without starting over or losing unsaved data. You could also build an in-app search feature or set up predictive text, root word recognition, or autocorrection to make it easier for people to find what they’re looking for.
4. A good UX allows people to complete their goals without hassle, and that is without having to leave your application. Make sure your app’s features (like the keyboard) is responsive and work with different mobile screen sizes and allow people to zoom in to see texts and images better.
5. Entry forms should be a breeze: Enable autofill and auto-capitalization. Also, have relevant keys like “.com” and advance people automatically as soon as they are done with a section. You need to point it out to them if they make any mistake or commit an error right away.
6. To make your app more approachable and human, try to avoid using jargon, and make sure that your content has little to no complex and technical terminology.
7. Also, consider providing confirmation when a user completes an action by showing visual feedback. Prevent people from leaving your app too soon by keeping all relevant features in-app. If for example, you have a ticketing app and a customer of yours is checking out movie showtimes, automatically, a calendar should pop up showing screening dates and time.

Lastly, test run every feature to see if what you want is accomplished – first as you, then as the user. This will ensure that both your users and your brand fulfill their goals.