The user experience (UX) is one of the most important parts of mobile app design. It is crucial to invest time and resources in the creation of an app that customers (hopefully, a lot of them) will want to use. A successful app can be made or broken based on the quality of its user experience.
In this piece, we will explore the significance of providing a positive user experience to app users, as well as the influence that this factor has on the overall success of an app.
What is User Experience?
The term “user experience” refers to the entire experience that a consumer gets from using a particular product, service, or system. In the context of the development of mobile apps, this refers to the experience that end users have when using the mobile app. An excellent user experience is one in which the user is able to effortlessly accomplish their objectives, and the app gives a smooth experience (or so to say – the journey through the app is ‘smooth sailing’). We all know that some apps are just intuitively easy to use, and we seem to instantaneously find everything we need even if we haven’t used the app before – that is what a great user experience is. On the other hand, some apps are a real pain – you are looking for a thing that you think would be located logically in one place, but you can’t seem to find it – that is what a bad user experience looks like.
Why is User Experience Important in App Development?
Most probably, you’ve heard a lot about user experience before in the context of website development. But considering that most of us use mobile phones more often than laptops and that there are apps for everything we need, it just makes sense to make sure that the app developers follow the best user experience guidelines to ensure a smooth and pleasant journey for the app users.
We’ve summarised the Top 4 reasons why providing a positive experience for app users is so important. But feel free to drop us a message and add more reasons which we can look at in another article.
- User Retention
Providing a positive experience for users can help keep them as customers, which is one of the most important benefits and is what each app owner really wants. When users have a good experience with an app, they are more likely to continue using it and to suggest it to their friends and family. Think of a time you’ve suggested an app to a friend or a colleague – we’re pretty sure that one of the things you said was ‘it’s easy to use’. On the other hand, if users have a negative experience with the app, they may become frustrated and stop using it altogether (and even suggest some alternative apps to their friends and family to avoid disappointment, so your competitors win, you lose. Nobody wants that.).
- Competitive Advantage
The modern app market provides customers with a diverse selection of possibilities from which to pick. Offering a better user experience than the competition is one way to help your app stand out from the crowd and bring in more customers. We all know that the app stores are ‘full to the brim’ with apps to cater for almost every need (and wish) you might have – food delivery apps, fitness apps, public transport apps, weather apps, shopping apps, etc. So what makes you choose one app over another? You try several and then stick to the one that has the best ‘flow’, the one that is easy to use – the one with great user experience.
- Increased Engagement
An excellent user experience can result in the more frequent use of the app. Positive app reviews increase the likelihood that users will use an app more frequently, discover more of its features, and give it their feedback.
- Brand Reputation
A brand’s reputation is significantly influenced by the user experience. A brand’s reputation can be damaged by offering a subpar user experience, but it can be strengthened by offering a superior one. Believe it or not, word-of-mouth still plays a very big role today. Today via social media, people’s opinions travel far and fast, so what you want people talking about is how great and easy to use (or slick) your app is, and not how painful it is to use it or how difficult it is to find anything on it.
How to Improve User Experience in App Development
Understanding user needs, objectives, and behaviours deeply are necessary for improving user experience. The following advice can help app developers to improve the user experience. These are the same 3 steps that our team of app developers and app designers take to make sure that your app is loved and recommended by its users.
1. Conduct User Research
Understanding user needs, objectives, and behaviours can be achieved by doing user research. Using this knowledge, designing an app that satisfies user needs and offers an excellent user experience is much easier than trying to develop something good ‘blindfolded’.
2. Design for Ease of Use
For an app to offer a great user experience, it must be designed for simplicity. Using clear, brief language, offering simple navigation, and making it simple for users to execute tasks are some of the things to begin with when developing an app.
3. Test and Iterate
The app has to be tested and improved to help find and address usability problems. The design and user experience of the app may be continuously improved with the help of user input – collect feedback regularly and be open to user suggestions. You are building an app for other people to use (and potentially – for billions of people to use it), so definitely keep your mind open to what their suggestions for improved user experience might be.
Useful Resources for Developers
And if you are an app developer yourself, here are some online resources to help app developers improve the UX of mobile apps:
- A Comprehensive Guide To Mobile App Design by Smashing Magazine – this article provides practical tips to improve the UX of mobile apps.
- A User-Centered Approach by Adobe XD Ideas – this article offers insights on designing mobile apps with a user-centred approach.
- UX Tips for Better User Engagement by Toptal – this article offers tips to improve user engagement and retention in mobile app design.
Looking for App Developers and App Designers?
If you’re thinking about building an app or not sure whether your app has the right user experience – reach out to us, and we will help you. Our team of app developers and app designers can analyse your current app and prepare a report with suggestions for the app user experience and app functionality improvements. If you want to be more involved in the process yourself – we run app development and app design discovery workshops. Or, if you don’t have an app yet – reach out, and we can help you to build an excellent app from the ground up.
