Why User Experience (UX) is King in Mobile App Development

In today’s competitive marketplace, where products often blur together, it’s easy to see how a product focused on mobile app UX design can become a competitive differentiator.

As an ambitious entrepreneur considering ROI of UX, you must have heard the quote: “every dollar spent on UX brings between $2 and $100 dollars in return.” To augment this point, several trusted companies have done various industry studies underlining the positive ROI of investing in app user experience.

Companies like Airbnb, Uber, Apple, Mint and Google owe much of their success to their user-centered design approach which undoubtedly culminates in exceptional user experience.

Finally, it’s all about user engagement. But, if you are considering having a compact version of your website, let me spill the beans – it’s no longer good enough. In a study, 90% of users reported that poor performance was the biggest reason why they stopped using an app.

Thus, it’s important to “know user user”. Sounds simple, isn’t it? Though, what does the ubiquitous “knowing your user” mean? It simply means doing homework and digging deep to solve the un-solved real-world challenges of people.

Let’s take a look at why user experience design is important and how you can get the most out of your app.

But, first thing first! Let’s understand what User Experience actually means.

What is User Experience?

In layman’s terms, User Experience is how an end-user feels as they interact with a product or service. In context to mobile app development services, it takes into consideration the functionality, ease of use and more recently accessibility. It can be something as simple as color contrast, fluidity of animation or sometimes just how an app feels to use.

Primarily, the term is rooted from Donald Norman, a researcher in usability and cognitive science, who termed it while analyzing the explosion of computer-based jobs and ownership during the 1990’s.

Therefore, mobile becoming the dominant platform on which we operate, it makes sense to shed light on the user experience design of mobile apps.

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Why Does Your Mobile App UX Design Matters?

Considering the different screen dimensions and device sizes into account, it’s important to keep human anatomy limitation in mind. Look and feel are the major elements to pay attention to. By definition mobile mean “in motion” – thus, your mobile app needs to adapt to dynamically evolving environments.

Remember:

• Applying desktop standards and expecting good results won’t work. Moreover, it’ll help in understanding the mobile app’s purpose is different from desktop.
• According to a study, “smartphone use often overlaps with other activities. Swapping between different categories of mobile app may hinder productivity but maximizes enjoyment”. Don’t expect your app to be the pivotal point – the user is likely using your app while waiting or doing some other random tasks.

As seen, the targets and measurements of mobile apps need to be specifically customized for the mobile app user experience.

To your surprise, 72% of customers will be word of mouth for 6 people (at bare minimum) if they’ve good user experience. But, don’t expect your users to stick around if they don’t enjoy your product – after all, mobile app UX design is crucial to acquiring as well as retaining users.

Elements that can damage UX of apps are gradual build up of excessive features making it too complicated. Don’t worry, this can be easily prevented by investing in the early stage of UX in mobile app development and testing your prototypes to see how users use the mobile app.

The Trillion Dollar UX Problem whitepaper concluded that any investment made on mobile app UX design yields financial return with the possibility of up to $100 for every $1 invested. Thus, with increased customer satisfaction and minimal customer support contacts, there are huge savings to be found in the long run too.

Adding on, a report  from Forrester Research suggests that a well-defined frictionless UX design could potentially maximize customer conversion rates up to 400%. And, with more and more stakeholders understanding the impact it has on the ROI of their products, UI/UX app design is becoming more crucial, and can no longer be considered as an added feather in the hat. Indeed, it’s an important contributor to the business bottom line.

What Are The Subtle Differences Between UX and UI?

UX and UI work in collaboration with each other and share some common goals. But,  fundamentally they carry two different objectives and approaches to achieve them.

How to Improve Your Mobile App UX Design?

Let’s talk turkey!

When it’s about accessibility, clickable on-screen aspects must respond reliably. According to the Material Design Accessibility Guidelines, elements should have a vertical and width pixel density (db) of 48. This size provides users reliable feedback to their touch, assuring a good mobile UX.

Furthermore, UI hierarchy plays a pivotal role in the entire user experience. By integrating a clear and concise hierarchy of elements in accordance to priority, you’re ensuring that your user can seamlessly navigate the app and gather required information merely by looking at it.

This philosophy is also beneficial when portraying text – eyes should be naturally guided by the order of the layout. The BBC UX Design Guidelines offer an amazing starting point to comprehend how much is needed when it’s about mobile app development. After all, you’ll never get a second chance to make a first impression, this is why visualized transitions are helpful when integrated into the onboarding process of your app.

Visual transitions in mobile app UX design help users understand their actions and their place in the app while navigating from one page to another. Indeed, it’s about the functionality of the app, understanding user needs and how your app solves the unmet gaps.

Now, the question circumscribes how one goes about enhancing their app user experience?

4 Golden Principles of Mobile App UX Design

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with 4 golden rules you must consider for a flawless UI UX app design:

1. Provide Visual Feedback to Users

When a user experiences anything digital, an appropriate reaction is much appreciated confirming their action was successful.

To brace the above said, animations prove beneficial in comforting users as it ensures them that they’re making progress and everything is working as intended. Additionally, function changes are also good touchpoints to leverage animations as they make the most of on-screen changes to introduce new features.

Furthermore, considering the complexity of your app, paying attention to user experience efforts on in-app navigation always pays dividends. Using animation in mobile app UX design to reveal or hide features can optimize the limited screen space, ensuring users intuitively understand the app’s structure and functionality.

Finally, focusing on user experience leads to better engagement and satisfaction.

2. Use Animations

Animations prove helpful in boosting in-app marketing, but it also enhances your brand’s awareness.

So, if you want your user to mirror an unparalleled app user experience with your brand – animation is your safe bet. Plus, if you make it fun and accessible, it can be the window your users need to try out new app features. Thus, incorporating animations with in-app notifications can offer users with useful reminders and prompts.

Remember, usability and consistency are key to great user experience.

3. Adhere To What Works

It actually means that it may sound tempting to push the boundaries of user design, but it’s more effective to start by understanding what already worked well.

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel – many top-rated apps succeed because they create familiar and user-friendly concepts. The example of Playstation’s controller design shows that after much experimentation, the most successful controller designs are based on a familiar design that users can easily recognize and learn.

In UX, familiarity and ease of learning are immensely valuable. By studying what worked for other apps and competitors, you can identify best practices. It’s important to maintain balance between leveraging familiar design elements and introducing new ideas, it’ll help your app stay intuitive while offering freshness when required.

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4. Accessibility is Important

With the growing demand of mobile apps, the demographics also grows. App developers use accessible tools for mobile app development to take full advantage of it. In essence, accessibility has always had a positive impact on everyone’s user experience.

Your developers can leverage tools like screen readers and voice commands to help users navigate within the app easily. Accessibility tools should never be an alternative, indeed imagine how beneficial it would when you integrate text-to-speech readers in your app.

In nutshell, accessibility helps shape a positive UX for everyone.

The Future of App User Experience

With technology advancing rapidly, the app user experience is no exception. Here are some key trends shaping the future of app UX:

1. Voice Interfaces

With the advent of AI and Natural Language Processing, voice interfaces are becoming increasingly popular. Apps are establishing voice commands to offer a more hands-free, intuitive way for users to interact with their devices.

2. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

AR and VR are revolutionizing app interactions by offering immersive, interactive experiences in a safe environment. Whether it’s virtual shopping or hands-on training simulations, these technologies are transforming user engagement beyond what was considered a sci-fi movie.

3. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

AI and ML are driving personalized app experiences, from tailored recommendations to predictive actions and intelligent automation. These technologies are reshaping user convenience, making apps smarter and more intuitive.

Lastly…

We’ve journeyed through everything from UX fundamentals to the emerging trends that are shaping the future of mobile app UX design. For passionate entrepreneurs like you, great app design isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s more about delivering user experiences that drive engagement, loyalty, and ultimately, business growth.

As you pave your way towards designing your app, keep these key principles top of mind:

• Prioritize user-centric design to address customer needs
• Leverage data-driven insights to make informed design decisions
• Stay agile and adapt to industry trends and technology advancements

Without any ado, invest in the right design tools and designing team at Apptunix  that create nothing less than extraordinary. Our crafted mobile experiences not only captivate users but also align with your company’s long-term goals. The app world is brimming with opportunity— we help you seize it to drive innovation and success.