If you’ve finally decided to make the leap into the world of mobile marketing with an app for your business, taking this step can prove extremely profitable. With more users switching from traditional cell phones to smartphones every day, it is more important than ever that small business owners cater to potential customers through these devices. However, when creating a mobile app, there are a few dos and don’ts that can ultimately make the difference in a successful app your potential customers will love and one they may want to avoid.
Do Keep It Updated for the Latest Platforms
When it comes to apps, there are few things more frustrating than constant crashes, timeouts, and outdated interfaces. Whether you’re catering to iOS, Android, Windows users, or all of these, it’s essential that you keep your app updated on all applicable platforms to ensure a positive user experience.
Do Keep It Intuitive and User-Friendly
If you’ve ever opened an app on your smartphone and had no idea how to navigate it properly, then you already know how frustrating it can be to use an unintuitive app. Your users are likely to feel the same way if you don’t make all aspects of the app flow together seamlessly. Keeping your app as user-friendly and intuitive as possible is the best way to attract potential customers.
Do Keep It Simple Enough to Run Smoothly on Most Smartphones
With technology advancing regularly, smartphones are constantly boasting improved specifications. However, not everyone upgrades their smartphone every year or has the budget to purchase the highest-end technology on the market. As a result, it’s important to avoid getting too processing heavy with your app, as doing so can create a very slow and unpleasant experience for some of your users. A great way to test your app is to try opening it on one of your older smartphones if you’re currently sporting the latest tech. If the app runs slowly on an older phone, chances are that it may not be a hit with some of your users.
Don’t Go Overboard with Animations
While intro animations can certainly be fun and add a flair of sophistication to your app, they can actually delay the user from accessing the app. That’s because intro animations technically can’t begin until the app is already loaded. If you must use animation in your app, it’s a good idea to make it quick, subtle, and appealing enough that the user doesn’t mind waiting the extra second or two. Think about the websites you visit that have this intro animation. It may be fancy and professional-looking, but it also requires you to wait a few seconds to access the website you’re visiting, and some users won’t wait.
Don’t Use Low Resolutions
As a rule, design your app for retina, high-resolution, and pixel-dense screens first, and then scale down. While pixel-dense smartphones look great with high-resolution apps, they look equally grainy and terrible with low resolutions. Conversely, lower-resolution smartphones may not support high resolutions, but do very well with lower resolutions. Consider this: most high-end smartphones on the market have a higher resolution and pixel density than most TVs did seven years ago.
Don’t Leave Users Hanging
One of the biggest “don’ts” in the world of mobile apps is leaving the user out of the loop while the app is loading or processing. In many cases, this can cause users to think the app is malfunctioning. Instead of keeping your users waiting on a blank screen while the app is loading, you should use loading indicators and animations to show that the app is working. A progress indicator is even better than a loading screen, as it lets users know how much longer they need to wait for the next screen.
When it comes to creating an app that is user friendly, intuitive, and up-to-date with all the latest operating system updates, following a few guidelines can help ensure your design is a success. Keep in mind that the goal of your app is to drive existing and new customers to your business, so the easier it is for your users to perform tasks such as getting an estimate or contacting you, the better.
