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UI/UX Design: Best Practices for a Successful Mobile Application
Last update: 3 October 2023 at 09:24 am
The opportunities of the mobile application market are such that since 2019, a new concept has emerged: Mobile First.
This concept refers to the fact of prioritizing technical developments for mobile use. We develop the mobile version first before moving on to the desktop version. For UI and UX designers, the tone is set: we give priority to the mobile experience.
And if the mobile experience has become so important, it’s because, for the past few years, our smartphones have become the extension of our hands. As a result, mobile applications are booming.
The importance of creating a mobile application
The global market for mobile applications has never been as strong as it has been in recent years. And this growth is not going to stop.
In 2021, more than 230 billion applications have been downloaded worldwide and more than 170 billion dollars were spent by users on the various stores.
These figures, although in strong evolution compared to 2020, have not grown as much as the average screen time. Users spend an average of just over 4.5 hours a day on their smartphones. That’s a 30% jump from 2019.
This impressive data speaks for itself, mobile apps have become a daily staple. We use them to assist us in each of our tasks, whether for entertainment, information, or shopping.
It is therefore essential that a company, wishing to develop in the e-commerce sector, looks at mobile applications. In a world as connected and competitive as ours, the creation of a mobile application can boost your business and become a real asset.
But before your mobile application and your users become inseparable, you need to know the characteristics that make an application a must-have in the eyes of users.
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Find an agency!Designing a mobile application: the challenges of design and user experience
Usability and design are the key success factors of a mobile application. If these two aspects are neglected, you will see your users lose interest in your application as quickly as they downloaded it.
To avoid such an outcome and design an application that meets your market’s expectations, you will have to work on your user interface for both design and usability; also known as UX and UI design. But in concrete terms, what does this mean?
These two notions are often confronted, but they are perfectly complementary. Indeed, UX design corresponds to the elements put in place so that the user of a site or an application benefits from the best possible experience.
UX design: User experience design
UX, which means “User Experience”, is based on the different feelings of the user while browsing your web tool. To know these feelings and adapt the design later, UX designers will conduct user research in which they will evaluate the effectiveness of their user interfaces.
In this design process, UX designers will create specific functionalities for your website or your app, and connect them together through a unique path adapted to your users’ needs known as the user journey.
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UI design: Graphic design elements
UI design, on the other hand, is the visual design of the interface.
UI design, otherwise known as “user interface design”, focuses on the visual side of the interface. The UI designers will work on all the essential graphical user interface elements that are in accordance with your visual identity.
They have to think about :
- The placement of colors,
- Typography,
- Buttons,
- Etc.
They make the user experience imagined by the UX designers beautiful, pleasant and instinctive.
As you can see, UX and UI design go hand in hand. These two notions must adapt to each other and bend to their respective constraints to give the best possible result. If your research work takes into consideration user flows, and visual elements to create a user-centered design, your users should get hooked on to your application in the blink of an eye.
To design the application that will make your business take off, you can take a look at these basic best practices.
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Find an agency!UI and UX design: 5 practices to follow
Although there are many practices available to you, there are a few guidelines you can follow for a mobile application that is well-designed, ergonomic, and impactful.
Take care of your first impression
From the very first seconds of use, your target users will determine if they will continue to use your application or not. You must impress your users as soon as they open your app. You need to be clear and convincing so that you don’t lose your users as soon as they install it.
To do this, you can set up an onboarding process. This process allows you to explain simply to your users how to take control of your application. In just a few words, you explain the main features of your tool and guide your users in their navigation.
By utilizing a robust product onboarding tool, you can streamline the user experience and empower your customers to grasp the core functionalities of your application quickly.
Make navigation easy
For an optimal user experience, you need to make your users’ lives easier. The user’s journey, navigating through your application, moving from one place to another, should be as smooth as possible.
To simplify navigation, limit the number of user interactions needed to get to your main function. Use simple elements like drop-down menus to help your users find their way. Show them where they are in your application.
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Design your interface for one-handed use
Your users are all different and so are their device screen sizes. Wide, small, curved, foldable, high-resolution screens, etc. you will have to create a responsive design with your UX and UI for the different cell phones out there.
Nevertheless, all your users will use their phone, and thus your interface, in the same way: with their hands. Even more, the majority of them will use your application with one hand. You will have to take this constraint into account when designing your UX UI and make your buttons as accessible as possible.
The top corners of the screens are the most difficult places to access. Place your buttons, and more generally all your links, in the lower corners.
Keep your interface simple
To design a maximum experience, think of simplification to the maximum. Use gestures that everyone knows (zoom in, zoom out, swipe, tap, etc.), favor simple icons, minimize your texts, etc.
The more simplified your interface is, the more immersive your users’ experience will be.
Animate your elements
Your main priority will be to create user loyalty. To do this, you’ll need to think about your elements in great detail. And one thing users don’t like is loading times.
By animating your icons during your loading screens, you reduce the risk of your users abandoning your application.
Elyum, mobile application UI UX design specialist
Mobile application design remains a complex process. To develop your project with peace of mind, entrust it to professionals in the field like Elyum.
Choosing Elyum to create your mobile application guarantees its successful development. Our web and mobile agency adopts working methods that allow you to follow the progress of your project, from its conception to the testing phase and its promotion. Our project managers and our teams of developers will assist you in developing the best possible graphic design.
We develop our mobile applications on XCode and Android Studio, the development platforms specific to each of the two mobile giants: Apple and Android.
These two distinct developments allow us to ensure the perfect functioning of your application on both the App store and the Google Play store.