BEST PRACTICES IN MOBILE APP DESIGNING
There are many things to consider while designing a mobile app. The way people interact with the app, their expectations, fast loading time, the growing list of devices, etc. Let’s go through some of the best practices to follow while designing a mobile app.
KEEP UI SIMPLE AND EASY TO UNDERSTAND
The most important thing to keep in mind while designing a mobile app is to keep the UI simple. The app is going to be used on a small device, so removing or restricting unnecessary UI elements will help the users to focus on the primary elements of the application. There is no need to show all the information at once. Too much or unnecessary information will distract the user’s attention. The users should be taken directly to what they are looking for like materials for a given task, options, etc. In other words, the user’s tasks should be addressed clearly. Please make sure the users will be able to perform their tasks without any guidance or confusion. This will improve the user experience and retention rate.
The interactive elements and non-interactive elements must be recognizable for the user. Always try to give a familiar look and feel for the UI elements, this will help the users to easily understand what it is meant for or is it clickable or not. Moreover, reducing the user interface complexity will improve the loading speed of the app.
USER-FRIENDLY NAVIGATION
Navigation plays an essential role in mobile apps. It should be effortless for the users to reach the content, page, or feature they are looking for without any guidance. They must be able to interact with the right app elements seamlessly. Make sure it is clear, well structured, intuitive, and appropriate. Adding the name of the page in the navigation bar would be helpful for the users so to know on which page they are on now. Menu labels should be proper and meaningful without creating confusion. The menu item’s order is based on the priority of each page and the common actions taken by the user. The calls to action and links should be placed according to the relevance. A back button which takes the user just one step backward has a crucial role in navigation. In some cases, the user may need to go back just one step backward of the flow. So if they are taken back to the homepage instead of that it will be frustrating for the user. They may lose unsaved information. Indicators have a special role in making the scrollable menus user friendly by showing the correct length of categories. Using progress indicators to show the length of a process enhances user experience. The navigation elements should maintain enough spacing around to make it easy for the users to tap. It should be finger-friendly. Keep in mind that the minimum target size is 44 pixels wide and 44 pixels tall. The search field plays an important role in apps. Some users prefer to search rather than navigate. So if there is no proper searching option they will get frustrated and you will lose a large number of users. Also, provide sorting and filtering options for the search results.
TYPOGRAPHY AND COLOR
It is better to use a single typeface. We can use different variations like light, regular, semibold, bold, etc of the same font. By using these variations and colors we can even set the priority of text content. The selection of fonts is also very important, it should be readable and also apt for the kind of app you are designing. For Apple iOS the recommended font is San Francisco and for Android it is Roboto. So if we are using those fonts it would be easy to go in line with the guidelines.
The background color is also important because for example, if you place a white-colored text over a light color background, it won’t be easy for the user to read. So the color of the text should be selected according to the background. The contrast of a button is fixed following a basic rule. High contrast is used for positive actions, medium for negative, and low if the action is neutral.
SELECTION OF IMAGES & ICONS
Use only HD quality images for design. Because the image should maintain the aspect ratio and look the same in large and small devices, it should not get stretched and lost quality. The selection of the icon is also essential. Even without labels or text, it should depict the meaning. It should be simple, familiar, and easy to understand for the user.
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