As you develop user interfaces, choose color schemes and determine UI designs for your apps, here are some key mobile app design tips to consider. Learn about key errors often found in poorly designed apps, and learns the tips to make your apps better. With better design principles, your apps will fly off the shelves of the app stores.
Companies are in a hurry to get more mobile apps built. Business managers are dreaming of ways they can engage customers on their mobile phones, administrators are inventing new ways to complete business tasks while executives are on the road, and operations leaders are seeking ways to leverage tablets on active workroom floors.
Unfortunately, more apps don't necessarily make work easier. Often, users are extremely disappointed with how new business apps perform, and as a result, they don't adopt and use new apps. We've identified 5 problems - and thus 5 tips - that you must consider as you design new business apps.
Design Elements to Consider When Building Apps
As you're designing web and mobile apps here are some design elements you should consider that will improve performance on different mobile phones and different size mobile screens. By thinking broadly about how users interact with apps, you can greatly improve user experience and app performance.
Mobile App Design Tip #1: Do Not Ignore Responsive Design
Tablets and smartphones have very different screen sizes and are used in very different situations on mobile devices. For example, smartphones are often used when a user can only utilize one had to hold the phone and capture or manipulate data. Make sure you take responsive design and smaller screen size into account when doing app design.
Design Tip #2: Do Not Make the Screen too Busy
As smartphone screens get larger, you may be tempted to add more to the app to utilize the bigger screen. This is not necessarily a good interface design.
Real users want to get in and out of apps quickly to do business tasks. Don't make them get lost or hunt around for next steps. Help them get what and where they need, quickly.
Mobile App Design Tip #3: Do Not Be Inconsistent
When designing a mobile app, keep a consistent layout throughout your mobile app. Use consistent toolbars, icons, colors and styles (rounded boxes or square boxes, for example. Keep the layout consistent -- if the toolbar for most screens is usually on the top, be careful about suddenly moving it to the bottom or the size of the screen. If your design becomes inconsistent, you risk confusing or frustrating mobile app user with your design.
App Design Tip #4:Do Not Transfer your Design Directly from iOS to Android
Both iOS and Android are popular and heavily used, but mobile app development that works well on one, may not work well on the other. Be sure to field test designs on EACH OS carefully before the hard launch.
Design Tip #5: Do Not Mix Fonts
In a fast moving, mobile world, UI/UX designers should make it fast and easy for users to read information in the app and make quick decisions. Keeping fonts consistent allow users to process quickly and won't slow them down as they process new fonts and styles.
These mobile app design tips aren't a comprehensive list, but are an easy list of 5 to bookmark or post nearby your desk and keep in mind as you design new mobile apps. By following design rules, even developers without design or user experience, can begin to improve their mobile app design skills.
Developing Apps With Outstanding User Experiences
Mobile app design is only one part of building a great app. You also need an easy way to build, an easy way to deploy, and a method that lets you quickly make changes and constantly iterate mobile app designs. Learn how Alpha Anywhere can help you build well-designed mobile apps quickly and effectively.
Use The Best Software to Design Better Apps
Whether your expertise is in development or design, Alpha Anywhere is the best mobile app design tool for business. And we've made it easier than ever to get started with our new Alpha Anywhere Community Edition. This full featured and FREE development environment to help YOU succeed in the mobile app marketplace. We also have a team of experienced app designers and developers who have produced tutorials on how to build and design a mobile app for free.
Further reading on design:
The app design process takes into account how a mobile app appeals visually to a user and perhaps more importantly. It inspires an app's use and interaction.
Learn about the relationship between planning, building, testing, and refining of the inner workings of an app and planning, building, testing, and refining of an app's look and feel. Both aspects of app creation are critical to successful completion of business apps. Read more about mobile app design for beginners.
Comment