Essential Factors of UI/UX Design for Mobile App Development

UI/UX Design

Essential Factors of UI/UX Design for Mobile App Development

User Interface and User Experience are two aspects of your app you simply cannot compromise on. They can make or break your impression on consumers, as both play a vital role in user engagement.

Keep things too simple, and the users will leave out of boredom. On the other hand, they may leave your app confused and frustrated if you take things a bit too far in terms of complexity.

If you want your mobile app to outshine the rest, you will need to know which UI/UX design aspects can make it possible during mobile app development.

This blog will explain those essential UI/UX factors, but first, here’s what UI/UX means.

SEE ALSO:

What Is UI/UX In Mobile App Design?

UX and UI are used interchangeably, but they are different concepts. UI stands for User Interface, which we use to interact with a mobile application. The User Interface includes every graphical interface component of an app, be it a button, an image, the search bar, or the menu.

It controls the ultimate look of the mobile application and its effect on users. In other words, the top-level features and highly-capable backend won’t matter if the UI fails to represent them well.

On the other hand, UX is short for User eXperience or how the application feels while we use it. In essence, UX is defined by these two words: ‘User Experience’. UX design plays a crucial role in mobile application design services, as it helps determine how users will interact with an application. It can be the differentiating factor between an intuitive or a confusing interface and navigation.

Vital UI/UX Components In The Mobile App Development And Design Process

You can better understand what you need to achieve in design by thinking from an end user’s perspective. We’ve put together a list to help you understand how you can create an excellent impression:

Simple Navigation

Users aren’t the most patient when it comes to complicated apps. They are more likely to abandon your app if they find it too difficult or time-consuming to understand how to use the app.

Therefore, the mobile app development process should involve steps to make navigation intuitive. Your users should find it easy to perform essential tasks in your app. They need to learn your design quickly, which requires clear pathways. This way, they can easily find what they are looking for intuitively, without needing tutorials.

Greater Visibility

There is no place where people do not use their phones. Indoors, outdoors, in vehicles, while they eat, even before they sleep – you’ll catch them glancing at their screens everywhere.

Keep this in mind when designing the UI/UX of your app. You must ensure all the elements are visible, regardless of the lighting in the user’s environment.

Easily-Reachable Controls

A significant percentage of the smartphone-using population relies on their thumbs when using a mobile app. This implies that considering the thumb’s reach zone is essential when designing.

Placing commonly-used features in such areas is recommended. On the other hand, less common features, such as the delete button, are better when placed a bit further. This is to prevent users from accidentally touching them when not needed.

Also, consider similar hand-related aspects, such as left and right-handedness, to help you ensure a great mobile UX.

Better Control

Make the user feel in control of the mobile app for better response and frequent engagement. The more they can personalize their journeys, the greater the sense of control they gain over the system. Apps can provide suggestions or warnings, not make the users’ decisions for them.

Your interface can incorporate status information and other types of feedback without disrupting your users’ workflow. Moreover, users are likely to respond better if they get the freedom and transparency to use an app a bit as a guest before compulsory signup.

Reduced User Data Input

The smaller the device, the more cumbersome it gets to type on it – especially when a few extra letters get in the way of what you’re trying to say. Autocorrect might be a solution, but it sometimes does more harm than help.

One way to decrease the mistyping issue is by keeping data entry to a minimum. You can do this by providing users with shorter, more straightforward ways to get things done.

For instance, you can make forms shorter and easier to fill by asking for fewer details and adding a ‘remember me button. Effort-reducing features like autocomplete and location detection speed up and improve the overall experience.

Effortless Experience

The key to ensuring maximum user satisfaction when using your app is to make their journey as seamless as possible. However, it isn’t as easy as it sounds since you have to understand the natural flow of every task and what the user feels ‘right’ doing.

A seamless experience lies in the invisible elements that give the app its flexibility through functional and responsive designs. You will have to focus on accomplishing user objectives quickly and conveniently through minimal friction. One of the best ways to do that is by providing users with access to content regardless of an internet connection.

The app can also use the phone’s native features to fulfil tasks, such as the camera for scanning codes and the GPS to identify locations. Interactions with designs should be smooth and meet users’ needs efficiently.

Test And Optimize

Start testing early and frequently, so you can optimize more often for a successful app. Explore different combinations of layouts and design features to know what works best.  

Using real users to test your products will help you develop them with a user-centred approach. As you test your design, you will find new ways to make it more user-friendly.

You can also save time and money by rectifying any errors as you uncover them. As they say, “a stitch in time saves nine,” and the right mobile application design services will follow such practices.

Conclusion

Less is more regarding UI and UX in mobile app development.  Attention spans have reduced considerably, which means users have little patience for lagging systems and poor experiences these days. Therefore, make sure to consider all the above-mentioned factors if you want to keep them engaged. 

Author bio – Tom Hardy is experienced in mobile UI/UX and currently works at SparxIT. He is always curious about the next big trend in mobile app design and loves to write about it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *