Mobile applications account for more than 50% of the time spent by users on digital media. The mobile app industry is growing at an alarming rate and is expected to cross $ 77 billion in revenues by 2017 throughout the world. With more than 85% of users preferring mobile apps to mobile websites, it is important to understand that there are a number of factors which drive mobile app sales including the platform, marketing efforts and design.
Whether you are looking at planning your fitness regime, playing games, listening to music, planning your schedule, boosting your business, shopping online, preparing your budget, or pretty much anything else, there is a mobile application which can help you. But this doesn't mean that every mobile app is destined for success. App design is very important. Here are a few other things to consider during this process:
Do you really need a mobile app?
Before you start designing your app, you need to ask yourself if you really need one. You should know if there is a market for your app. Sometimes, it may make more sense to create a mobile optimized website instead. This will help target various platforms instead of just mobile customers like an app would.
Standalone apps do make sense if you know what your ultimate goal is and the audience which you are trying to attract. Carefully consider the features you will be integrating into the app at this point.
Mobile app usage
Prior to designing mobile applications, it is important to know the type of people who are going to be using it, where it will be used and the target market. The apps design will depend largely on what is expected by the users. For example, an app which helps find restaurants in the area will need to have a GPS feature. An online shopping app will need to have a checkout feature.
User engagement and customer profiling are important to determine your reach as well. This will give you a decent idea of the features you should include in your mobile app and how you can improve its visibility. These aspects should be clear at the pre-design stage itself. So put in sufficient research before building an app.
Basics of mobile app design
Knowing the ultimate purpose of an app is very important. This will help make it easier to select the proper platform. Colors and shades need to be combined carefully. Fonts should be properly understood to ensure the app is clean and tidy.
Consistency is key with a mobile app. Mobiles have various resolutions, screen sizes and pixel densities. The app needs to work with all of them with the utmost consistency.
When an app is being designed the clickable area and layout need to be determined based on how various phones are held. Usability will increase greatly with apps that have preferred options like swiping, pinching, etc.
So now that you know what to look for out for while designing your mobile app. What are you waiting for? It's time you started designing your own one.
