Product design in the form of an app is a tough deal that has to be cracked with utmost care. Making use of available data and a few strategies can help you go for a killer app UX design. The strategies we are about to show will not only help you build a memorable user interface, but also a user experience that is unparallel.
1. Look out for relevant patterns
Do take learning from other web products, or mobile apps. The placement of navigational elements is present on the sides, as well as bottom and top of an app. This is because the eye scans such areas firsthand, making it easier for eyes to scan through the app. When you disrupt the pattern, it creates a great confusion for users, adjusting UI placement.
There are no set patterns that designers need to strictly adhere to. However, it is wise to opt for similar patterns in the present ecosystem. You may change the positioning a bit, but ensure that it still appears soothing to the eyes.
2. Follow a checklist of usability factors
The app should be highly easy to use, and make it evident in the onboarding stage. There are certain criteria to check whether your app is capable enough to engage and retain the users or not. The inputs should be in the form of:
• How fast and efficient the app is?
• How effectively app conveys the message?
• What are the associated engagement factors?
• Does the app is capable enough to resist against bugs or errors?
• What is the learning curve associated with an app?
3. Have zeal to compete against strong competitors
You should be thorough with the strengths and weaknesses associated with your app. Also, check out the same with your competitors. Compare strengths and weaknesses of yourself as well as your competitors. Understand the areas where you need to improvise and the ones where you already are competent enough to capitalize upon.
While doing this, do not try to include everything that comes to your mind, and which are already present in the competition. Try to analyze from a user perspective. What do I really want from this app? Are all the useful features present, pleasantly enough to use the app? Just focus on expert sing upon those few functionalities, and you are doing well with your app.
4. Treat every project as if doing for the first time
Whenever you come across a project, it happens all the time when you get a déjà vu feeling, telling you that this is something you have already done before. Do not get overconfident with it, and take the project for granted. No matter how good you are with a certain project category, treat every project as a challenging job, whether small or big.
Every app tends to have different expectations, complexity levels, needs, fears, and user behavior. If you treat every project on same or similar levels, you might falter on one or more parameters, in spite how simple the project is. This is why you need to start every project with a fresh mind frame, without getting yourself diverted.
5. Keep your personal mindset aside and think as an end user
As a designer or developer, you might have inclination or liking towards creative or innovative designs. However, those designs appear difficult to deal with for users, as user friendliness gets compromised in bringing about innovation. Always, consider users in charge, and design accordingly.
6. Have your analytics data ready to scrutinize users
The first thing to note here is, your app is going to be accessed by real people and not by yourself. Especially this is important when dealing with huge projects. Users can belong to any category. In fact, they could be your sister, grandfather, mother, or anyone else. Know users background before proceeding with the designing phase. Such personalized data can help you comprehend how users will react to your app. This in turn also helps in telling you how visitors tend to use your app. So, how to extract such useful informational data?
• If running a call center, prepare a document with a different set of questions related to customer background. Additionally, ask for their documents as well for analyzing from your end. Scan for tasks they are not able to complete, or still unclear to them.
• If the content of the call is not documented, do hire someone who can listen to your calls, and get the job done retrieving necessary details.
• Do have a feedback module implemented, so that you can ask for user opinion on possibly everything.
• Understand the navigation, and how people go about through ha systematic flow. Additionally, keep track of which page has the highest attribution of leads, and what users need to do before going for a product purchase.
• Have people internally within your organization and externally to your organization, who can provide you data through a detailed research in their own ways.
7. Think about future strategies
Do have a design in place meeting the expectations, preferences, and matching the user behavioral frequency. Think about what app screens to refine to constantly bring about improvement in the exit rates, bounce rates, order completion time, form errors, order processing, and in turn the conversion rate.
Is there a reason not to use above strategies?
Many designers, developers, or app owners are extremely afraid of adapting to changes. Others argue that they are afraid of numbers, and hence do not want to keep track of what’s going on with the app. This result in the app being as it is, and hence left way behind the contemporary competitors. If you want your app to outperform with best in class user interface deploying user-friendly yet innovative UX, you need to go for above tactics put in a nutshell just for you:
• Positioning is the key to user attention, retaining it for a while.
• Keep ticking the usability factors, once completed.
• Be passionate about your project, and positive competition.
• Welcome every project with the same kind of enthusiasm.
• Put yourself in user shoes, rather than acting you.
• Analyze user data in detail, providing best-customized experience.
• Think about the future by overlooking what’s happened in past.
Shivani Ajmerani works for Fusion Informatics Ltd., a mobile applications development company that offers Custom iPhone, iPad and android application development services. She loves leveraging the immense potential of the Internet to achieve corporate goals.
