Did you know that 49% of users in an observation study used their phones one-handedly? 36% cradled the phone, while 15% used it two-handed.
It’s doing research like this that will teach you how users use their phones and interact with mobile apps. And will inform you on how to design an app that works suitably for users of all kinds.
Keeping this in mind, we share with you 3 mobile app design tips below that you shouldn’t ignore when designing an app, whatever purpose it might have.
1. Keep the Navigation Simple and Discoverable
Even though the English proverb, children should be seen but not heard, is outdated, it applies to how your mobile app navigation should behave. The navigation should be seen, but not be too much in the user’s face.
It should be simple and easily accessible but should occupy very little screen space. Better if it can be swiped to the side and hidden when not in use. Think about how to do this on your mobile app so users don’t have to fuss with the navigation too much.
2. The App Should Be Responsive and Fast
No user ever wants to wait forever for an app to load or to take action on it. It can happen maybe once or twice, but more than that, and the user will soon delete your app and find something else to meet their needs.
Remember, once you have the user’s attention to your app, you want to keep it. There is too much competition on the market for you to waste this opportunity.
Do whatever you can to make your app fast. Decluttering can help. Or use a progress indicator to show users things are happening, albeit slowly.
3. Don’t Overuse Notifications – Be Timely
Notifications are so helpful in ensuring your mobile app users are aware of what they can do with the app. They can also be used to make the user visit the app daily and interact with it. This is crucial as it boosts your rating in the app store and brings in even more users.
So use notifications. But make them timely and non-obtrusive as much as possible.
Think twice before sending a message to the user. If you don’t need to send it, don’t.
Personalise the notifications to make them more engaging and interesting for the user. Or use story-telling in the notifications to ensure the user doesn’t turn them off completely.
Mobile App Design Tips – Always Build With the User in Mind
You’ve probably used dozens of mobile apps yourself. So you are quite aware of what you like in an app and what you don’t.
Make sure to keep the user in mind no matter what mobile app design feature you are working on and use the mobile app design tips mentioned above as well.
