How many times have you downloaded a new app, but immediately uninstalled it after a few seconds of interacting with it? First impressions are everything when it comes to new apps. For me, if the app doesn’t have exactly what I’m looking for when I’m searching, it’s almost guaranteed to get the boot. After all, if the app’s UX is poor, I’m not going to sit there and try to get acclimated to it; I’m simply going to search for another app that does the job better. This is by far the worst scenario you could encounter as a mobile app developer. You invest so much time and energy into creating this app only for users to uninstall it almost as soon as they download it! So, as mobile app developers and designers, you have to really understand how your users behave and make sure that your app meets their needs, or else your app will be virtually useless. How do you do this, you ask? Here’s the inside scoop on how to make your custom app amazing.

1: Spend Time Perfecting the Onboarding Experience

Studies show that across the globe, more than 30% of mobile apps get uninstalled, and about 25% of all app installations are only used once. As a designer, it is absolutely imperative for your app to be impressive in all aspects because if it isn’t, it’s going to be uninstalled and forgotten. Period.

So how can you make the first initial moments of interaction captivating enough? Let’s talk introductory content. This is your chance to not only make a good first impression, but also a lasting one. For some apps, it might be appropriate to display some sort of tutorial that explains its key features. Other times, simple animations or videos may work towards making your user’s interactions more enjoyable and go more smoothly as well. However, if employing some sort of tutorial, make sure that:

1. Users are able to opt out. People may already be familiar with your app and want to get started right away.

2. There’s a display length indication. Showing your users that they can sign up in two steps will put their minds at ease, as opposed to having them scroll through endlessly.

3. Descriptions are short. Keep things simple for your users; this is the first time they’re using your app, and you don’t want to turn them off with a lot of text.

The first few minutes of interaction with your app are crucial in gaining loyal users. Make sure to put time into making those first few moments great!

2: Emphasize Your App’s Main Feature

People always have a specific goal in mind when downloading new apps. For instance, if you’re searching for a photo editing app that makes your selfies suitable for Instagram’s square photo interface, you want an app that does just that. However, if you open the app and can’t immediately find this specific feature, how likely are you to sit there and try and figure it out? Like I said before, you might as well just uninstall it and find something that works even better, right?

Avoid this by presenting users with the features that directly relate to the goals they have in their heads. If your app makes your selfies suitable for Instagram, make sure that that option is one of the first ones your users see. Take the GOGI mobile golfing app for example. Once developers were able to really put the focus on the goals of the audience and think about what it is that the audience would like to accomplish, GOGI was able to recraft their brand and capture the attention of a younger audience. As mentioned by Business2Community, keeping a “one screen, one concept” mindset might help you in your design process and streamline your app’s navigation. Keep the most important features on the first screen, and place secondary/advanced features or choices on the following screen.

3: Think of the Thumb

Maybe you’re wondering how to efficiently display your features in your app. First things first, you should make a list of your app’s functions and rank them in terms of importance. This will help you decide more clearly where to place the certain features/buttons on your screens and help you design the overall layout.

Since content placement on a mobile screen is crucial for enhancing the overall user experience, the design process must go beyond just fitting everything onto the screen and should also focus on how phones are physically held and how fingers generally navigate screens. The majority of mobile users navigate their phone screens using their thumbs, and as such, navigation buttons should be placed more towards the bottom of the screen for easy accessibility. Furthermore, consider the fact that people’s thumbs move in particular ways. So when you design your app layout, keep in mind how much and how fluidly your thumb is capable of moving. This will help you place buttons and interactions in a more strategic way, e.g., sliding, selecting a list etc.

**PRO TIP: Don’t forget to implement a “back” button as well. Nothing is worse than reaching a section of your app and getting stuck in a place where you happened upon accidentally. This, of course, depends on the platform upon which you’ve developed your custom app. For instance, for iOS apps, it is expected that the “back” button be placed in the upper left-hand corner, as opposed to androids that have built in “back” buttons on the phone themselves.

4. Think of User Context

When you think about mobile users, it’s important to think of them as users on-the-go. People multitask; they’re running to catch the next train or are looking for directions to get to the nearest bakery. You’ve heard time and time again that you should “know your target audience,” but it’s more than just optimizing for different age groups, you really should understand the everyday user’s behavior in relation to your app. So, let’s say you release the next new banking app. While you may think tapping and swiping the screen are the most obvious choices as part of the user experience design, it may benefit you to think in a more unconventional manner. Think about the behavior of the average amateur baker here. If I’m baking a cake, I can guarantee you that somewhere in the process, my fingers are covered in either batter or frosting, and frosting-covered fingers don’t work well with phone screens! Consider incorporating gestures as a form of navigation instead of the usual tap/swipe scheme, e.g., using voice commands or waving your hand over the screen; you never know what your user could be doing!

5: Always Let Your User Know What’s Happening

Immediate feedback is actually very important in making that first impression when considering the effectiveness of an app. Error messages reduce user confusion and help them successfully navigate throughout your app. When the user is easily able to understand where they went wrong and what they can do to fix it, their experience will be a lot smoother!

6: Be Careful with Your Colors

Color plays an enormous role in user interaction; it helps users interpret your app’s content as well as understand the proper navigation of elements. With the vast amount of colors to choose from, selecting a color palette may seem daunting. But having a clear idea of what your app needs to accomplish may help you determine what colors may be appropriate to incorporate. For instance, if you have a medical app, perhaps a calm, soothing blue color would work more in your favor rather than a harsh red. Knowing your app’s specific functions can give you some sort of starting point. From there, you can decide whether you want to have a monochromatic color scheme, where the colors are based off one main shade along with its shades and tints. This type of scheme is very simplistic but also very easy to understand. However, it is important to have at least one contrasting color in your scheme to denote a task that may be important or one that needs attention. The more contrasting the color, the more likely it is to grab your user’s attention. Consider the ScriptSave WellRx app. After the implementation of the new interface (which includes a monochromatic color scheme with a pop of purple), the app has received more than 400K downloads and has been named as one of the top “10 Apps Increasing Healthcare Access For Low-Income Patients” by Mashable.

*PRO TIP: Consider design aspects such as text stroke or patterns to tailor your content for those with visual impairments. Colorblindness comes in different forms, so text that’s differentiated through certain indicators or shadows will help guide most of your users through your app with ease.

7: Stay Consistent

After you’ve chosen a layout and color scheme, don’t go changing it between interactions. Introducing a muted, pastel color scheme at start-up and then switching to neon colors will be very jarring to the users. As mentioned before, color aids in the interpretation of your content, and you don’t want to confuse your audience with inconsistencies in font sizes, page layouts, or color schemes. Keep the same layout and functionality throughout your app. If you need to change the state of a screen, try incorporating some type of animation or transition.

*PRO Tip: Transitions are not created equal! A dissolve/fade is a bit more simplistic and straightforward than perhaps a wipe or slide, as one of these can give a more playful vibe that may not be suitable under all contexts.

8: Research Your Competitors

Researching your competition is an important step that needs to be incorporated in your mobile application development process. Understand what makes competitors successful and what doesn’t. Having unique features and user experiences will separate you from the rest, so try to think outside of the box. What have these other apps accomplished and where are they lacking? See how you can develop your app into something that performs even better than the existing ones while still staying true to your voice and vision.

Final Thoughts

Creating the perfect app takes time. Be sure to fully research and continually test your app to make sure it’s the absolute best it can be, and make sure to run through each of these tips in order to achieve maximum results! After all, you can never get a second chance on a first impression!

Author Bio

Bianca is a digital designer at Aumcore, a digital marketing agency offering 360° marketing solutions from custom mobile application development to user experience design. She has a background in video production and web design and enjoys making animated videos.