Top 5 Critical Mistakes To Avoid While Designing Mobile Apps

Mobile app development can be challenging. In order to design a mobile application that is capable of delivering effective results, a lot of work and analysis is needed. With the advancement of technology and its rapid adoption by people, websites and mobile apps have become common. The app development company has achieved tremendous success in recent years. Today, most people are connected to the internet and own a smartphone. Therefore, apps are the easiest and most convenient way to reach different groups of people in this case. So, an app must be developed effectively and efficiently to serve its purpose. Apps that are poorly designed or lack basic features can result in both a loss of time and money. So, it becomes crucial to develop an app that has a holistic approach and is capable of achieving its goal. However, there are various mistakes that app developers do while designing apps. In this article, we will discuss the critical mistakes one must avoid while designing mobile apps. The top 5 critical mistakes that one should avoid are as follows:

1. Poor UX/UI design

There is a myth that mobile apps can be successful only if they are designed creatively. However, a mobile app is successful if it is easy to be used and navigated by customers. People today have very short attention spans and usually switch to other applications, if the current app takes too long. Therefore, simplicity is key. So, an app should be such that it can deliver the highest quality UX/UI experience to its users. Poor UX/UI can frustrate customers and stop them from using the app. Below are listed some of the ways through which one can improve the UX/UI design of your app.

• The quicker the app loads, the more it will be preferred by users.

• An app with a simple and creative layout can increase visual engagement to a higher rate

• Convenient navigation system

2. Unable to identify the user’s need

The biggest mistake one can make is to design an app without properly identifying the needs of their target audience. One should not design an app based on their perspective and expect that it will become the user's favourite. Before designing an app, one must do the required research and conduct a detailed analysis of the customers that they are targeting. It is imperative to conduct the research in a holistic manner considering all the variables including demographics, geography, motivation, attitude, and behaviour. One must also need to be aware of the fact that there is high competition in the market and a single mistake can cause them significant harm. So, it is advisable that before designing an app one should know some of the aspects like:

• Who is the target audience?

• Do the users actually need an app?

• How valuable are the features provided by the app?

• What is unique about the app?

• Will the app be able to address the end user’s needs?

3. Overloading the app with features

One of the common mistakes that app developers do is overburdening the app with irrelevant features. Some of the app development companies think that if they add more and more features to their app then the app would succeed. However, this is not the case. It would be very difficult to distribute an app with a lot of unnecessary features since it would degrade the user experience and be difficult to sell. Many companies with ambiguous goals and visions settle for feature stuffing. They become enthusiastic and incorporate as many features as possible. But, stuffing random features would only lessen the effectiveness of the app and one would achieve nothing. So, one should try to keep the app simple and not try to incorporate too many features right from the beginning. Eventually, one can integrate some features but not at the expense of the user experience.

4. Ignoring the feedback from the users

Feedback plays a pivotal role for the app development company. There is a rapid change in people's needs and wants and the business needs to keep up with it to stay in the market. Collecting feedback from users is the easiest and most convenient way to improve the app. The reason is that one can serve users to their utmost ability by keeping their needs and demands in mind. If one ignores the feedback of the users, then one might not know what the users want from the application. In addition, one might not know what types of features the users would like to see added. So, the business should pay attention to the customer's grievances and treat positive feedback as a motivation. It is pertinent to analyse the negative feedback received to know the exact reason for such feedback. Weaknesses should be addressed and improved as soon as they are discovered.

5. Concentrating only on user acquisition and not retention

One of the most common mistakes that an app development company makes is focusing on only increasing the download count of the app. They feel that the more downloads the app gets, the more successful it is. They only focus on acquiring users but pay insufficient attention to the retention rate. Customer retention is more crucial than user acquisition. If your users are quitting the app and not staying with it, what is the point of user acquisition with so much effort? So, companies should focus on retention rates. Some of the ways through which they can do so are as follows:

• Providing good experience while on-boarding

• Using the push notifications to the fullest extent

• Attracting the attention of the users by offering them discounts and conducting different loyalty programs

• Rewarding the users for giving feedback.

Conclusion

App development is a complex process, and it might take a long time to develop an effective application. A poor app is developed due to a lack of basic understanding of users' needs and the ignorance of crucial aspects. Thus, this article covers the top 5 mistakes that one should avoid when creating an app and also provides measures to boost the effectiveness of the app.