Improve your mobile app UI UX

With 2020, we are venturing into a new phase of the smartphone era. Consumers are growing more and more aware of the tactics businesses adapt to attract customers and keep them in the buying loop.

Consumers also have options. If your product is not satisfying their needs, they will have another product to satisfy their needs.

Now the question arises, how do you retain them?
How do you not lose your customer to your competition?

The answer is pretty straightforward if you ask me.

The answer is an improved user experience. But how do you deliver a quality user experience to the user through a mobile application?

More graphics and less text?
A simple layout?
What is it that you must do to retain your customers?

I know you think that the User Interface and User Experience need a revamp. But the cold, harsh truth is UI and UX go hand in hand.

In essence, both UI and UX contribute towards a single goal – usability. Usability triggers directed action for the user and in turn, gives them the necessary flexibility to explore your product better.

While UX parameters stimulate usability by intuitive and real-world evidence, UI uses graphic elements to ease the process of navigation by providing a cohesive picture that is convenient for the user. Despite being two distinct processes, they need to function like a well-oiled machine

Best Practice #1 An Appealing User Onboarding Strategy

With User Onboarding, you are literally holding your newly acquired customer’s hands and helping them use your product to the product’s maximum potential.

Your user onboarding strategy should guide the user and help them explore the mobile application better. On the phone, the screen space is limited. You cannot treat it like a desktop.

Let’s take an example here. We have all used LinkedIn. So let’s just start there.

User Onboarding Strategy

The purpose of LinkedIn is to connect job seekers with companies that are on the hunt for the right talent, or for like-minded individuals to interact on the platform. The former motive outweighs the latter.

When you sign up on LinkedIn, it asks you for the following:

  • Your name,
  • Your location and postal code,
  • Your photo,
  • Email confirmation,
  • People you can follow, i.e. thought leaders in your industry or notable influencers who have been creating quality content on the platform, and
  • Export email contacts and help you get started by adding them to your connections

The user onboarding session allows you to fill out the bare necessities and get started with interacting with your work peers. These six pointers are not the only things you need to do to optimize the profile, but as the user spends more and more time on the platform, they slowly get into the groove.

user onboarding session

LinkedIn sends out prompts from time to time to complete the profile to help the job seeker find the right opportunity for them.

The last thing you want to do is overwhelm the newly acquired customer with a long form and unlimited fields that they must fill out to start using the platform. This makes them want to hit the nearest exit.

Instead, doing it in bits and pieces allows them to accomplish small bits of exercise at a time.

App developers are anywhere and everywhere. However, they may not always be the right person for the job.

It would be best if you had someone who understands your needs and guides you towards achieving usability that is best aligned with your business model. Alphalogic is your best bet. Reach out to us here!

Best Practice #2 Provide the User with assistance

Design thinking approach

In short, be accessible.

Accessibility and your willingness to help will engage them better and add value to the service you are providing.

What is the best way to remain accessible and provide help to your customers? There are quite a few if you ask us.

  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  • Information boxes
  • Support Sections
  • Real-time tracking features
  • Live chat calling facilities or emails where they can reach out to you

All these strategies have collectively deployed by several groceries and food delivery applications to earn credibility and helped them garner customer trust.

Best Practice #3 Clear and concise in-app copy

Clear and concise

I know. You probably don’t hear this from UI designers enough.

But here’s the deal: long-form content or long-form copy does not belong in mobile applications. If you include too many words, the format becomes cluttered, and it confuses the user.

By providing clear and concise in-app copy, you stand at a better chance of making the sales. A lot of great products are making the same mistake, and it costs them valuable sales.

The buttons, the descriptions, and the feature descriptions and disclaimers often take away from the essence of the message.

Therefore, audio-visual means of communication, including icons, graphics, and notification sounds, are being utilized through and through in the mobile applications market. When you retain only the essential, key trigger words, it helps you render a clean, compelling look to the application without disturbing too many elements on the app.

Plus, if the text is long and tedious, they will not be read anyway. Then why put it there in the first place? Replace it with short, crisp words and gain targeted action.

Are you looking for UI/ UX consultation for your mobile application? Let the best talent out there help you out. Book a consultation here today!

Best Practice #4 Push notifications strategy

Push notifications strategy

This is the newest trick in the book.

But with an effective push notifications strategy, you can leverage recurring traffic and a spike in DAU and MAU. The beauty of this tactic allows you to notify your users of anything and everything that is new.

One of the few apps that have been doing an excellent job with their push notification is Dunzo, an all-in-one delivery application. Their push notifications alert you about the deals and discounts, any additions to the app, including new restaurants around the block, as well as new sections, including branded stores.

If there is one key takeaway from their push notifications strategy, it is to time them perfectly with occasions including the day of the week, the month as well as introducing the element of humor from time to time. This will help you from bombarding your customers with repetitive, boring messages and coming across as spammy.

Best Practice #5 Eliminate technical glitches

Technical glitches

This one is a no brainer right there. Technical glitches are not a pretty sight for any user or app developer.

Like security, monitoring for technical glitches is another massive killer. It damages the product’s reputation like no other. And if you are trying to reach out to the enterprise crowds, then it is the shortest means to get frozen out within seconds. Hence, it is only wise to check and test your application thoroughly for technical glitches.

Following are some best practices that we support at Alphalogic:

  • Check you memory management system
  • Cache essential data so that they load at lightning speed
  • Check all possible points of failure
  • Undergo rigorous testing so that you know where the pitfalls lie
  • Ensure that all the APIs and libraries that you are using are up to date
  • Check and double-check your app’s compatibility with operating system upgrades

Realistically, it is impossible to create a completely bug-free mobile application at one go. It requires time and effort to eliminate technical glitches effectively. Therefore, much like security, resolving technical glitches for mobile apps is an ongoing process.

Best Practice #6 In-App Feedback

App Feedback

In-app feedbacks are the perfect means to gauge the customer’s pain points. These inputs you get via in-app feedback forms need not be necessarily published on the Play Store or App Store. However, they serve as excellent reference material and market research to plan for your next app major app upgrade.

Furthermore, with in-app feedback forms, you ask for feedback well within the application. Therefore, they need not head to the app stores to provide feedback. When you introduce small elements of convenience, you increase your chances of getting quality insights from your customers.

What are some innovative ways you engage your existing customers to keep coming back for more? Or, maybe you have tried and tested some of these existing best practices recommended above? Let us know how that worked out for you in the comments section below.

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