How to Improve Your App’s User Experience In Four Steps
To build a successful and intuitive business application in a highly competitive market you need to perfectly understand how the user experiences mobile apps.
UX, or user experience, is aimed at designing apps that are easy to use, rather than at building apps for pure aesthetics. The key concept of UX is driven by the statement that the customer is always at the heart - app design is based on customer’s needs in regard to app’s overall performance, usability, interface and functionality.
Even the smallest details determine how the user experiences your app and, as a result, improve its usability and overall performance, adding value to your business. The tips below will help you engage your users and make their mobile experience better.
Revamp Your Login Screen
Web designers tend to believe that sign-up is essential for all kinds of apps. Of course, sign-up has a number of advantages, but on the other hand, it inevitably spoils user experience. Customers find it time-consuming when they are asked to fill in personal info for each app or service they install. You’d better not test their patience. Today many apps provide the opportunity to skip the registration for the time being in order to try the app out and decide whether it is worth it. Making the time-consuming registration process easier gives your business a head start, relieving your customer’s pain and making their app experience more enjoyable.
Be Careful with In-app Permissions
Despite their primary role in app functionality, permissions tend to scare customers away and impair your UX. If you do not want your business to lose potential clients because of recurring and distractive in-app permissions or scare them away trying to get access to their personal info, such as accounts and location, make sure that each permission is highly relevant and easy to understand. Bearing that in mind, explain the meaning of each permission in detail and make it appear only when it is really necessary. Do not be afraid to sound too obvious - you should always make sure that the user perfectly understands why your application needs this information. It is better to ask for permissions according to user actions, for example, when a user clicks “find friends”, he/she receives an app request to gain access to a contact list. In this situation, your customer perfectly understands why the app needs this kind of permission.
Pay Attention to Microinteractions
What makes a good app good? It pays attention to both features and details. Features attract the user, while details make the user stick with your app, retaining your business clients. Microinteractions are exactly those small details that provide a seamless user experience. If your app lacks attention to these details the user gets frustrated and, as a result, ditches the app.
How to make these small interactions appealing to your clients?
- Provide your users with feedback. The users have to feel that they are in control and be sure that the app behaves according to their wishes. They do not like being taken by surprise. Make sure that the microinteractions reflect user actions and acknowledge them when they are completed.
- Make system status visible to the user. Users need to be sure that you do not hide anything from them. Microinteractions describe the ongoing process and instruct the users how to make certain actions.
- Add creativity to app design. A pleasant visual experience is the key element of establishing an emotional connection with your customers and assuring them that there are real people behind your brand and products. Microinteractions give you the advantage to bring this satisfaction to your clients.
- Behave like a human. When the app speaks the same language as its user, it connects to the real world, providing them with a vivid and colourful picture of your products and services.
Make Share Options Transparent and Adjustable
Users are often willing to share personal information within apps and devices - that is why it is important to pay attention to how it is used, stored and shared.
Always explain to the user what they are going to share and with whom they are sharing it in order to make the process as transparent as possible. Avoid automatically placing “allow” checkmarks on all the sharing fields because the user can view it as a violation of trust to your business. In-app messages can be a good way of reminding the user about the sharing options.
If your client’s personal info or content is accidentally shared on social networks without their permission, there is a high risk that your business loses trust and receives a bad review, which brings many more challenges in the future. A good solution is to provide a variety of share options that users can switch on and off whenever they feel they want to share something.
Simply put, always analyse how the user is going to interact with certain functions of your application, and try to make the user’s experience as enjoyable as possible. Optimisation is a never-ending process, which brings immense value to your business in the long run.
Chief Product Officer
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