You can have an incredible idea for a new app. The premise can be a slam dunk, but if there’s not a proper UX design approach to the development process, then it’s never going to reach its full potential. Does UX (user experience) really have that big of an impact on apps? It sure does.
When it comes to designing an app user will love from the start, creative and effective UX design matters just as much as the app’s function itself. When you’re looking for a place to start with startup branding and a new app, look no further than this definitive guide to UX design for mobile apps.
The user interface deals solely with the visual design of an app. User experience goes one step further and seeks to address everything the user will interact with, explore and utilize in an app. You can make a long list of the different do’s and don’ts of UX design, but let’s simplify things to keep the focus on how to use these concepts for an awesome app.
A great UX design should centre around one central premise: value. Is the app you’re developing valuable to the user? Of course, this takes into consideration a number of ways developers and startups create value. Maybe your app does something that no other app can do. In a lot of cases, it’s not a reinvention of the wheel that’s required to be successful in the app marketplace. It’s usually a mix of a number of things users look for in a great app.
Everything from utility to accessibility matters in the grand scheme of user experience. So does your brand’s reputation, which is why startup branding matters so much. If you have an app that works well and users enjoy it, then you’ll be doing yourself a lot of favours in the credibility department. Let’s dive a layer further and talk about the different UX features that users look for in 2021. It’s a good place to start brainstorming the next great mobile app.
Here are just a few features we recommend considering for your mobile app when it comes to UX design.
When it comes to mobile applications, you’re working with a lot less space than the traditional desktop experience. That said, make sure you’re not putting anything on the home screen of your app or even on the different pages that don’t need to be there. UX design optimization is a detailed process of making sure everything has, you guessed it, the value on your app’s screen layout.
There are some apps that set up their UX design with a two-hand experience in mind. In most cases, users aren’t using their phones with two hands. The increasingly on-the-go world we live in means you’re probably holding a coffee or bag in one hand and your phone in the other.
If you can simplify your UX design for controls and input options to be handled with one hand, you’ll be in a good place to let users experience your app even when they’re on the go.
The cool thing about UX design is that you can add features as you go and grow. When you find that something doesn’t work, then you can easily replace it and return back to a UX design users liked more. That said, don’t be afraid to push the envelope. Try new, daring things and you’ll find users really like when you give something new a shot.