Similarly, the App Store also has close to a million apps. In fact, apps are so popular that almost every business now has one. One of the biggest advantages of having an app is that it offers instant gratification to potential customers as everyone is carrying a smartphone. Also, there are absolutely no distractions when a user is interacting with a well-designed app. However, developing high-quality mobile apps is not simple. There are multiple platforms today and the developer needs to be experienced enough to develop for various screen sizes and operating Systems.
Here are 7 do’s and don’ts for mobile application development in 2016
Applications Need to Be Fast
There was a time when users patiently waited for various features to load and work. However, that is no longer the case. These days, consumers want everything with just a touch. If your app is not fast enough, users are not going to interact with the app even if you have spent a lot of money to get it installed on their devices. Ideally, an action should take less than four seconds to be completed on an app. If it takes longer than that, users are going to ditch the app and look for another one that is fast and responsive. User experience is the key when it comes to engagement. Interactivity and responsiveness of your app is going to determine the user experience which in turn affects the engagement. Your app should be fast enough to support expected user experience.
Do Not Ignore the Security
The smart phone market has grown tremendously. In fact, nobody expected smartphone industry to grow at such a fast pace. With the advent of iPhone in 2007 and android phones at a later date, the industry has grown exponentially over the past few years. Manufacturers have introduced a lot of new sensors in the devices. However, the popularity of smart phones has also attracted scammers and criminals with eyes on taking over the smart phones.
Every year there are stories in the media about big companies being hacked by these criminals and the user details on their servers are compromised. Users trust the app makers with sensitive information and it is the responsibility of the app makers to keep the user data safe at all times. It is extremely difficult to recover from a hacking attempt as reviving trust in a brand is not easy if security is breached. Therefore, if you are going to launch an app, you should pay special attention to the security aspect. Always keep in mind that competition is intense in this space and users are not going to give you another chance if their data is put at risk.
Target Various Platforms
Thankfully, the mobile space is fragmented only between android and iOS. However, there are different versions of these operating systems on various smart phones and tablets. It is important that your app works on all the platforms to ensure seamless user experience for everyone who chooses to install your app.
It is important to keep in mind that there are small subtle differences between various mobile platforms and each of the platforms should be targeted on an individual basis to ensure that the app runs optimally on that platform.
Keep Updating
Similar to the desktop operating systems, mobile operating systems also receive security patches and new features from time to time. It is possible that an app made for a previous version of the operating system may not work on the new version of the operating system. Therefore, it is important that you keep the app updated at all times. Your mobile developer will know when a particular operating system is going to be updated and whether your app is going to work with the new features or not. You should ask the developer to keep your app updated.
Do Not Copy Other Apps
There are a number of copycat applications available on various platforms. If your app is also a copy of another popular app, it is less likely to succeed and users won’t install your application. Even if somehow you manage to get some installs, users won’t interact with it as they tend to flock to the more popular that that offers similar features. Make your application unique and useful for the end user.
Focus on Function
Most of the popular apps on the market today focus on one single thing and are really good at that. For an app to be successful, it is important for it to be focused. It should not confuse users. Do not try to cram a ton of features into your app. Users do not like it. Keep in mind that there are a number of apps that are competing for a place on the home screen of the user. Typically, a user wants to keep only most used apps on the home screen. If the design of your app is minimalistic and it is extremely useful for the user, it will see a lot of interaction. However, if it does too many things but does not function well, users may install it but won’t use it much.
Do Not Ignore Customer Feedback
It won’t be wrong to say that most of the apps available today on various platforms have almost similar features. It is difficult for new mobile apps to gain traction on these platforms as there is so much competition in every single category. The only way to gain traction is to pay heed to the customer feedback. There are a number of analytics applications that tell you how users interact with your app. You should also regularly ask your customers about the problems they are facing with the app. The information provided by the analytics should be used by the developers to streamline the application for better user retention and for enhancing user experience.