Mobile App Design – 4 Basic Rules

Mobile app design today is a great start to growing a profitable business. Applications are complete with responsive websites because they have many advantages. The design of a mobile application in most cases is more understandable to a person than the design of a website.

That’s just the high popularity of applications and their variety does not mean at all that they are all of the same quality. Therefore, in order for your offer to become popular, you need to work hard on its creation. It is very important to know all the design rules for such applications. Next, we will analyze the main ones.

Increase the speed of use

Nothing deters users more than application delays. Even the most unique features and offers will not help if the application does not load well. As the analytics shows, few people have the patience to search/wait for several minutes for what you want to offer them.

So don’t make customers wait more than a few seconds if you don’t want to lose them forever. Moreover, today there are many methods that will allow you to significantly speed up the application:

• First, optimize your images. They are necessary and important but they also have a serious drawback – they can take too long to load.

• If you need to post a large amount of content, first prioritize: select those elements that must appear immediately after entering the application. The rest of the content should be displayed as the user scrolls through the page.

• It is also worth optimizing the number of advertisements, even if they are a source of profit. After all, their abundance can lead to the fact that the site can load more slowly. If you can’t completely eliminate ads, try to keep them to a minimum.

• Also refrain from using loading indicators, which only make the application heavier. The alternative is a variety of animations that will distract the user and increase retention.

Give users maximum control

When developing, you need to constantly remind yourself that you are creating an application not for yourself or friends, but for clients who will potentially be interested in using it. These people are accustomed to completely controlling their mobile phones. Therefore, they want their applications to be as simple as possible and not contain complex elements that are problematic to keep under control.

To create a high-quality application, you need to know the features of mobile application design. Companies like Fuselab Creative UI/UX design agency can help you with it.

So, the interactive elements you add should be easy to read. If a person understands how a particular button works, this significantly increases the feeling of control. Therefore, avoid using elements that make it difficult to use. 

All elements should be the right size, while aiming to make the click as obvious as possible, leaving enough space between the buttons. Also, work on making the buttons work correctly. Pay special attention to the “back” element – it should return the user to the previous page, not the home page.

Also, work on navigation: it should be as simple and intuitive as possible. Ease of navigation is the main requirement when creating applications. After all, the user must clearly understand where to go and how to move in order to achieve the desired result. 

It is also necessary to adapt to which system users are used to iOS or Android. 

Tips to help you create a popular app 

You need to understand how to design a mobile app. For example, do not mix patterns. After all, despite the fact that users are well acquainted with different templates, mixing them can lead to the fact that a person gets confused and exits the application.

Also, follow these guidelines:

• Add a small line at the top of the screen to tell users where they are at the moment. Informing about the current location simplifies the process of using the application.

• Navigation should be visible at any time during the use of the application. Otherwise, the user’s memory will be overloaded, which will reduce the average duration of stay in the application.

• Don’t go overboard with using gestures to control the app. They are appropriate as additional features.

• If your application has just appeared on the market, you should not add the mandatory registration feature on the first login. After all, this in most cases causes mistrust and disappointment. Users at the first acquaintance with your product are simply not ready to spend their time on registration and so easily give you personal data. 

These are just some of the requirements for the design of a mobile application that is critical to know. When creating an application, you should strive for aesthetic appeal and thoughtful functionality. The end result will fully pay off all your efforts.