5 UI/UX Mistakes That Will Hold Your Mobile App Back

 

Developing a mobile app is becoming essential for many businesses. In many cases, the mobile app is the business.

With so much time and money going into things like iPhone app development, you don’t want to expend all of those resources only to find that it doesn’t catch on or that it doesn’t drive the results your business needs.

For many apps that don’t live up to their potential, mistakes in UI/UX design are the key problem. This is one area where a seemingly minor oversight or poor design choice can have a huge impact on success. Fortunately, years of UI/UX design experience have revealed some of the more common issues that can make for an underperforming app.

The following are some of the common UI/UX mistakes that will hold a mobile app back.

Complicated UI

If users need to spend a lot of time and effort learning how to use an app, your UI is a failure. You want the features and functions of the app to be intuitive. In essence, you want people to be able to just look at the screen and know how to use the features without having to think about it. 

Try to put yourself in the shoes of a first-time user. Is it easy to figure out the basic functions of the app? Do you have to look around to find key elements that make the app work? If so, you might need to consider a redesign of the UI.

Depending on Long Tutorials 

Intuitive design is ideal, but there may be some need for tutorials. While a tutorial can be helpful, you do not want it to be too long. If users have to spend several minutes going through a tutorial before they can even use the app, you need to find a way to improve the onboarding experience.

One way to do this would be to use simple overlays that highlight features and control elements for first-time users. It is an easy way to provide new users with some of the basic controls and features without taking up a lot of their time.

Overdoing it With Features

A lot of businesses that are new to app development go a little too heavy on the features. While many features can improve an app, having too many can affect performance. It might make the app slow or glitchy. In some cases, an unnecessary feature might distract from the core purpose of the app.

Start by figuring out the features your app needs. These are the features that are essential to delivering on the promise of your app. Develop the app to meet these demands and then start looking at optional features that would be nice to have. Make sure your app works well for its core purposes, and then you can add new features and see how they work.

Ignoring Easy Sign-in Options

The process of signing up and signing in can be a barrier that will get many new users to quit before they even use the app. As a way to get around this, you should let people use the app without signing in if that is possible. 

As another way to make it easier for new users, you should take advantage of some of the easy sign-in options. Instead of forcing customers to set up an independent account with your company, offer options like signing in with Google, Apple and Facebook. 

Going Too Broad With the Audience

There are very few apps out there that are really for everybody. Most apps have a target audience. Maybe an app will have a few target audiences. If your app does not connect with that audience or meet their needs, it is not going to be a success. 

Defining your target audience should be one of the first things you do when you design an app. You need to know the age of your ideal user, their interests, spending habits and more. Once you know your target audience, you can refine your app to meet their needs.