Have you ever come across a fantastic app with a frustrating UX? Many business owners often overlook the importance of developing top-tier apps with an appealing interface and a great user experience. Ignoring these aspects will result in design flaws and a waste of resources because users will dislike your app. Thus, you need to have a proper strategy before developing your business app. Ensure you follow a professional app design guide to help you execute your product development project.
As much as app development might seem simple, you should set a few things to jumpstart your business well. You must have a great app idea to fill a specific gap, a realistic budget, and a competent development team.
Starting a business takes time, effort, and patience, but creating an app can be the ultimate boost to take your business to the next level. Your customers will bring you more seriously if you launch a top-notch app in the market.
To get inspirational ideas on building a killer startup, read this article and gain helpful insights for your startup.
Why Design Matters
Before we proceed, you need to know why proper app design is critical for your business. Today, the digital world is advancing, and many people have smartphones where they can get information easily. Thus, your app’s design matters because people will judge your business after a glimpse at its usability and features. If your app does not appeal to the intended audience, you might lose potential customers.
Designing a well-thought-out app will give your startup a competitive edge and assist you in attracting loyal customers. Conversely, an app with a poor design will chase your customers and harm your brand reputation.
Below are a few reasons why design is beneficial to your startup business:
- Brand Identity
The app design usually represents your brand identity. You need to create an appealing app that reflects your company’s vision, mission, and culture. Developing a poor app with a frustrating UX gives your potential customers a negative brand impression.
- Usability
Another reason why you need to consider the design is because of usability. Your app’s usability is dependent on the design. Users will immediately abandon your product if it is complicated to use. They will opt to search for a more user-friendly app that is easily navigable from your competitor.
Killer App Design Tips for Your Startup
Mind Interaction Design
You first need to consider the interaction design rules, an essential principle that usually translates into an exceptional design with a seamless user experience. Following these rules helps you to focus on developing interactive web products with logical user interfaces. The interaction design approach communicates effectively and uses modern technology to achieve an excellent UX. Here are the rules that govern and support this model:
- Focuses on major product goals
- Usability
- Logical signifiers
- Intuitive – easy to learn
- Efficient response time
Avoid Unfamiliar UI Patterns
While being creative is good, basic rules still apply in app development. Avoid reinventing the wheel when you can use familiar UI patterns already designed by experts. Most successful products have similar user interfaces for a reason. Users get frustrated when they open a complicated app with new patterns. Thus, they immediately abandon the app for a familiar product.
As a designer, incorporate basic patterns like color combinations and relatable icons or gestures. This will enhance usability and drive more traffic to your app. After using the standard user interface elements, you can spruce up your design with your creativity for an authentic look.
Consider Accessibility
Sometimes you might press the wrong button while using an app, redirecting you to an irrelevant section. This is quite frustrating and wastes time since you have to go back again. Since most users have smartphones, you must consider accessibility by developing a friendly design. Allow room for big fingers to tap and access the right pages with ease. The designers must not limit the touch buttons to standard guidelines. It is imperative to research and consider the customers’ needs by creating finger-friendly apps.
Understand the Power of Colors
Colors communicate different emotions to users, and that is why it is an essential design aspect. You must understand the right colors to choose your product if you want it to make an impact. Do not pick random colors because they look good together. Ensure the colors align with your brand identity and product goals while connecting to users. For instance, bright colors like orange, red and yellow are exciting, warm, and bold. In contrast, neutral colors like grey are calm and peaceful.
Today, designers are shifting from rich colors to subtle palettes that convey minimalism. Moreover, there is a common trend of incorporating white space on highly contrasting colors. So, combine your colors wisely to get a successful app.
Focus on Content
Whoever said content is king was never wrong. Your content needs to complement the design for a polished outlook. Thus, do not ignore the significance of content in your app. As much as interaction elements are essential, so is the text quality you will put in your app.
Make sure you have skilled copywriters on your team who will write brilliant and legible copy. Your targeted audience must understand the message clearly. So, you need to consider who your readers are, their location, and their needs to draft tailored copy.
Here are a few pointers you can use:
- Write content that encourages user engagement.
- Drive your point home with keywords first.
- Be consistent in your copy to maintain brand identity.
Consistency Is Key
Starting a business can be quite challenging. Thus, develop a killer app to help you attract potential clients and keep it running. If you want the app to be successful, simplicity is paramount. Avoid complicated interfaces that might chase the users away. Be consistent in your design and use the white space for effectiveness.
Ultimately, consider the little details we’ve discussed above in your user interface, and they will make a great difference in your app design.
