Mobile apps are here to stay – today, we all use them for every possible task, from ordering food delivery to dating. By the end of 2020, the number of smartphone users is expected to reach 3.5 billion, according to a study. Creating a mobile application for your company can be a great idea to increase your audience and, consequently, your profits. But it is not enough to develop an app that is useful and responsive: you need to engage your users through app design that is attractive, clean and efficient.
Check out below four precious tips to increase the engagement rate from the design perspective while working with a web app developer.
Custom interface
Unlike customisation, which gives the user control over the appearance of the application, personalisation is done by the application being used. The app tries to provide the user with the contents, experiences or features that correspond to their needs.
Personalisation has become such an essential part of app design, in large part, because it creates bonds with the user. The main objective of personalisation is to deliver content and functionality that corresponds to the specific needs or interests of the user, without any wear on their part. Your application must be able to profile the user and adjust its interface according to the result.
A critical step in creating a personalised experience is to present users with highly relevant content. A very effective way to do this is through push notifications. Recent studies have indicated that this type of information increases your app’s engagement by 88% – also, 65% of users return to the app within 30 days when push is enabled. Netflix, for example, painstakingly analyses its customers’ viewing data to present tailored recommendations, while Spotify suggests playlists according to the pace you’re running.
Customisation has always been the high standard expected by users in their interactions, but the situation has turned, and today the current flows towards personalisation. This change is driven by the fact that personalisation imposes a higher cost of communication. When you think about providing an experience in which the user will be able to customise, it should be remembered that most users do not usually adjust their settings. In reality, less than 5% of them do this.
Colours
Colours are a crucial aspect of application design, as they can generate specific feelings in the user and help guide them through the application. They allow the communication of meta-information and can be used to distinguish different sections. Colour may seem like a simple tool, but its potential should not be underestimated.
Colour is arguably the second most crucial aspect of your application, after functionality alone. Human-device interaction is firmly based on interaction with UI (user interface) graphics, and colour plays a critical role in that relationship. It will help users see and interpret the content of your application, interact with the right elements and understand the necessary actions. Each application has a colour scheme, using the primary colours for its main areas.
Colour contrast is a crucial feature in the usability of a design and can be used effectively in your application. Designers often like to use low contrast techniques because they make things beautiful and harmonious. However, beauty is not always the best for readability. When you are using colours in the text, for example, be aware that placing two colours with a low contrast value next to each other can make the writing very difficult to read.
Minimalism
Over the past few years, user interfaces (UIs) have become less and less cluttered and more contextual. Preferences are shifting towards a more natural interface, reducing the UI to its primary and necessary elements. Now, users want to see design solutions progressively simple.
Minimalism is a perfect combination of form and function. It follows the “less is more” principle, where a design is stripped of everything, except for the essential components needed to complete a user’s task. Each feature in a project is deliberate, and each element serves a purpose. Embracing minimalism means seeking to simplify the interfaces by removing unnecessary items or content that does not influence the user’s actions.
Simplifying the colour scheme, for example, is a way to impact your design positively. This does not mean that your application needs to be black and white, but that colours should be used sparingly and effectively to create a hierarchy. Also, most people prefer simple combinations that depend on just two or three colours. The exaggeration in icons, buttons, number of fonts used, among other elements, can end up being “a lot of information”, distancing the user from your app.
Details make all the difference
Even things that seem insignificant like the colour palette, the style of the elements, how space is used, the typography and also the “empty spaces” represent a lot in the design of applications, directly and long-term affecting engagement and investment of its users. It is essential to have creativity, precision and a good dose of intuition to understand what will and will not work in the visual and interactive aspects of your application. Every detail, from the way icons, are animated to the way your user will need to slide their finger to perform a particular function, is the key to successfully engaging your customers. Design elements should motivate your users to return to your application.
Things to bear in mind
The competition in the mobile app market is increasingly fierce, so you must think about the differentials that your app can present so that it stands out among the rest. One of the most effective ways that few developers are dedicated to would come through creative and efficient application design, as appearance is the first characteristic perceived by users and will determine their fluidity and emotional investment with your product.
Author
Gabriela Damaceno is a journalist and head of online content for Media Shark. She is representing HK Certifiers. You can connect with her via Linkedin.
