Smartphones have become an essential part of our day-to-day lives. According to World Digital Report, UAE residents browse the internet using their mobile phones for an average of 40 hours a week.
People use social media, gaming, and other lifestyle apps on their phones. As mobile app development is booming, it is becoming a challenge for businesses to create more interactive apps.
Users have tons of options for each category of mobile applications. It’s no wonder they delete about three out of ten applications within a month of installation.
You need to develop an app that doesn’t get removed from users’ phones like those poor apps. The mobile apps that secure the most downloads and active users have one thing in common — An incredible UI design.
We will discuss how mobile app UI UX design differs from the one on the desktop. Stay with us as we draw on the analytics and experts’ views on creating the best design.
Table of Contents
Don’t Drain the Reservoirs of your Users’ Cognitive Energy
Users use a certain amount of brain power while navigating the app. Our brains only have so much energy to process information. So when a mobile application throws a lot of details toward the user at once, it overwhelms them and may compel them to leave the app altogether.
So make sure your application doesn’t cause cognitive overload for the users.
Tidy Up your App’s Screen
Have you ever seen a mobile app with so many buttons, tabs, and content on its pages that it feels stifling? Decluttering is the most important part of a killing UI design.
Contrary to what you might think, a screen cramped with images, icons, and information doesn’t help a user and rather annoy and frustrate them.
A decluttered user interface is key to user interface design for desktops. But it’s the lifeline of a mobile UI design. Focus on your UI design and try to spot items that aren’t 100% important. Delete those items and get a clean user interface.
A decluttered app screen will help users understand what each page of your app is about. Here are some tips to follow to get a simplified user interface design:
- Only add information that the user needs to know
- Use minimum interface items to make the user feel comfortable with the product
- Display more options by using the method of progressive disclosure
Minimize the Number of Tasks If Possible
Some elements in a design need user effort, for example: deciding to purchase or entering their personal information. Try to offload those tasks as much as possible.
Some apps save the data entered the first time in their database and automatically refill that data whenever needed again. You can also set intelligent default options by utilizing the data at hand already.
Split Tasks into Small Steps
We have talked about how mobile design should be uncomplicated. Sometimes, a task consists of multiple steps that can overwhelm the user.
The trick is to break those tasks into manageable actions/steps. Ecommerce apps use this technique to simplify complex tasks by dividing them into a series of small subtasks.
On the other hand, if you ask the user to perform all these actions/sub-tasks on the same page, the page will become overloaded and look ugly.
Some applications link two distinct actions using subtasks as well. For instance: you are checking out products on a page (one activity) and purchasing a product (second activity).
Pros in mobile app development and design use connect these two activities in the design and present them to you one by one.
It helps users proceed through that one task more smoothly without having to pull their hair.
Use Screens That Most Apps Naturally Use
There are some screens like “what’s new,” “getting started,” and “search results” that a lot of applications use. Users become familiar with those screens as they have practically become standard screens.
Their benefit: the user will impulsively proceed with them as they are used to seeing and navigating through those screens.
If you incorporate those familiar screens in your UI UX design, users would engage with your app more easily.
Reduce User Input
Typing on small screens isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Some people find it irritating and make errors in the process. Mostly, users are asked for their input to fill out a form.
The number one recommendation to minimize user input is to delete unnecessary fields. Just get minimum data from users. ‘Shorter is better’ should be your mantra in form design. Merge many fields into a single simple-to-fill one.
Secondly, give input masks. Use field masking to help people format entered data. When you hover on a field, a mask shows up. It lays out the content automatically as the user fills out the field.
It facilitates a user to focus on the field they are filling and easily spot mistakes.
You can also use intelligent features like auto-complete. Most users find entering their address the most troublesome part of any sign-up form.
Tools that enable the forms in your app to automatically fill in a user’s address come in handy here. These tools employ both address pre-entering and geographical location to give precise recommendations depending on the user’s location.
Bottom Line
You have to design winning user interfaces for your smartphone application to create an ultra-immersive experience for your user. As the competition in the mobile app development market balloons, businesses should step up their game.
It’s time to stop relying on a mediocre UI design developed by your in-house app designers and try to hunt for talented designers to get a successful user interface design for your application.
Developing and designing a mobile application to help your business thrive isn’t a task you can compromise. Luckily, you can find trusted designers/agencies that take your project and deliver the best design for your company.
