12 Tips for Successful Mobile App Designing
Reading Time: 7 minutes As technology is enhancing at a sky-rocketing speed, consequently the device usage has also increased. Today, you can see a tremendous number of individuals holding a mobile phone in their hand or browsing Instagram all day long. From searching the name of a new baby in Google to booking tickets for movies, concerts or plays, we are dependent on apps for almost everything. There are hundreds of thousands of apps in the Google Play store and app store. You will also get a variety of apps for a specific service. Therefore, it becomes difficult for people to choose one app from the ocean full of apps.
Most of the time an app is judged by its rating and reviews. But there are other criteria that serve in ascertaining the quality of the app. What users want in their mobile app? The basic element which is essential in the app is its design. The user interface must be convenient and connective at the same time. Developing a mobile app is not at all easy. There are several measures that must be taken into consideration while creating an effective mobile app. If you are also in a hustle to create an app that can be helpful for your users, scroll down! We have some amazing mobile app design tips and tactics to share with you.
Table of Contents
- Depths and Layers in the Design
- Typography – Bold is Beautiful
- Consider Security Standards Along with 508 Compliance
- Never Miss out the Micro-Interactions
- Cards and More Cards
- Create Consistent Design
- Create Self-evident Navigation
- Be Careful of the Size and Placement of the Element
- Create Thumb-friendly Tap-targets
- Never Forget the Thumb Zone
- Make Use of Skeleton Screens for Creating Agile App
- Onboarding is Essential
- Ok, now you know the basics and much more!
Depths and Layers in the Design
Material design is one of the most trending in mobile app designing these days. The pattern is largely followed by Google too. Moreover, this design allows an impeccable user navigation experience. Here, the most attractive feature is the development of the layers. Layers have some natural-looking elements such as shadows which makes a huge difference. The layers are also helpful in communicating with the audience. The top layer consists of the interaction tools while the base layer has all the information regarding the apps.
Typography – Bold is Beautiful
Simple is always attractive. The same thing applies to the fonts which you see in your devices. Thus, one can use Sans Serif typography in mobile apps. Today, people do not have time to read every word of the content patiently, so they need something which is easily readable like bold fonts. With bold fonts and simple typography, the user can get a comfortable navigation experience. Ensure that there are no faults in the Grammar of the app as it pisses off the users. Once everything is checked, choose the contrasting background which is the heart of the mobile app design.
Consider Security Standards Along with 508 Compliance
In most cases, the security of the app is considered during the later part of the app design which also delays the project. However, one must be very careful while designing the UI of an app. The individual must consult the backend team for choosing the right set of data to integrate into the app. By considering the security standards, you are making a more reliable and robust app for the users. For conforming to the security standards of the app, you must integrate strong mobile app development services and take assistance from a well-known mobile app development company.
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Never Miss out the Micro-Interactions
Micro-interactions are signs that get ignored more often but they are the most essential part of the user interaction. This also helps the users to perform the task in the most simple way. You can make the micro-interactions by sending the messages to the user or liking their particular post. Users generally get delighted by such interactions. This is one of the big differentiators of a nice mobile app designing task.
Cards and More Cards
You can see a trend of cards as it is adopted by the website such as Soundcloud and Facebook. Also, it is one of the most essential parts of material design. Cards are used to organize and create content in the most convenient ways. Every card is designed to perform a different task. For example, if you are watching a video, the next card will have a link to a different app.
Create Consistent Design
It is important to keep consistency in the app. The images, interface, buttons, designs, and colors must be in a consistent pattern from the top to the bottom. When you are changing the uniformity pattern in the app, you are affecting the user experience. Moreover, by welcoming the consistency in the app, you can eliminate all types of confusion for the end-user. With uniformity, you are providing a consistent appearance to the overall app which also enhances the look of the app. Ensure you are combining the functional consistency in the app along with the visual consistency. Additionally, assure that the items and the elements are the same on the entire website.
Create Self-evident Navigation
Even if you are putting the most compelling features in the application, it would be of no use if the users are not able to find it. Never hide any of the features. Also, avoid the gesture-driven navigation as many users are not able to find it easily. Make sure the navigation is consistent in order to keep a balance. Developers hide the menu on individual pages. It is not a good idea as it might confuse the user. Always use the current location. Many app designing fails to indicate the current location which can also be a huge problem in app design. The users generally have the trouble to find their current location.
Be Careful of the Size and Placement of the Element
It is easy to see the elements which are bigger and larger. Therefore, it becomes simple for the user to put the cursor in those huge elements. It has all kinds of assumptions pertaining to the techniques and designs of the user interface. Ensure the click targets, links and buttons are easily visible to the end-user. Above-all the navigation must be placed on the corner or the edges of the screen.
It is necessary to assure that the users do not have to click on the target again and again. When you are thinking of placing the element with the right size and placement, use the interaction model as an example. If your site needs horizontal scrolling instead of vertical scrolling, you have to decide how to cue the users for any unusual interaction.
Create Thumb-friendly Tap-targets
When you are designing the actionable features in the mobile interface, it becomes crucial to make the elements big so that the users can able to tap it easily. Moreover, the touch area is mostly 7-10mm so that they can be tapped effortlessly with a finger. The tap lines are visible to all the users. The users can also know whether they are hitting the right target or not. In the app designing process, it is important to place the elements in a proper distance. There must be an accurate spacing between the tap targets to avoid any type of wrong input.
Never Forget the Thumb Zone
When the developer is designing for the thumbs, he/she must consider the individual pattern of holding the devices rather than making huge target buttons. The thumb can sweep the screen of mobile devices but only a third of the screen tapping is effortless which is also recognized as a natural thumb zone. Other zones may require the change of grip or finger stretching to reach the territory area. By following the current hand placement of the end-users, one can find an accurate safe zone for modern devices.
Make Use of Skeleton Screens for Creating Agile App
Your app must be both responsive and fast but that doesn’t happen most of the time because of poor network and many such critical issues. There are times when the internet connection is slow. If you are not able to reduce the line, you must make the wait time more pleasant. Here comes the role of skeleton screens, also known as temporary information containers.
A skeleton screen is an engaging version of the page where the data is constantly loaded. They are more interesting, unlike animated spinners that enable the users to focus on data loading. The skeleton screens focus more on progress rather than the wait time.
Onboarding is Essential
Even if you are focusing on the fonts, user interface, speed of an app, you cannot ignore to create the onboarding for the app. It must not be generic and help the people who will use the app. Designers must also recognize onboarding as an advantage to develop an entry gate for first-time users. Make sure the onboarding is only used if it is imperative for the initial users.
Ok, now you know the basics and much more!
Developers have tons of work to complete and they have very little time to showcase their outcome – mobile application. In such a hectic schedule, it is important that the application does not suffer on the basis of quality and security. No matter how good elements and content you put, if the designing and functional work are not done right, it will eliminate all the hard work. We hope the above-given app designing tips will inspire you to create agile applications including on-point user experience.
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Co-Authored With
Harshal Shah is the CEO of MyAppGurus – Mobile App Development Company. He has an overall experience of more than three decades in the IT industry. His area of interest lies in writing interesting pieces of content mostly on topics relevant to different types of mobile app technologies. Through the write-ups, he tries to guide the readers to comprehend new practices pertaining to mobile app development.
