12 Things to Consider When Designing an App

7 min read

More than half of internet users worldwide use mobile devices. That number is increasing. While apps may never completely replace websites, they aren’t going away. Even if you already have a great website, you may soon need an app. With the increasing use of mobile phones, the mobile apps are becoming a huge opportunity for companies to reach maximum people and grow their businesses.

Of course, designing an app isn’t something that happens overnight. That’s why it’s best to plan carefully to maximize your time, efforts and investment. Your blank canvas isn’t really blank. There are three option, first is to make your application yourself (if you have a good command on coding), second is to hire app designers and pay them on monthly basis or you can also get mobile app design and development services. There are many mobile application development services providers in the marketing that are offering best app design services.

It is very easy to make your own mobile app. When you start designing the screen may look like a blank white box as you start moving elements and designing your app, it is actually a grid. The arrangement of items on the grid can be a big deal for the customers looking at and using the app, so be sure you take into consideration just how structured your starting point is. In this article, I would share with you some important thing you should keeping mind while designing your mobile app.

Readout this article to find out the 12 things you must consider while application designing.

Do Less with More Color

You don’t need to label every menu and every option if you use color wisely. Colors make a lot of difference in your overall design of a mobile app. Start choices with one color and use another to label submenus and diminishing options. It is suggested to not use a lot of colors in your design, select two or three colors and use them in designing all elements such as buttons, menus, text, images, etc. Just be sure to use colors that have a contrast with the rest of the app. Too many of the same color can make it very challenging to see and hard for the user.

The selection of colors is also very much depending on the target audience. Understanding the psychology of your audience you should choose your app colors accordingly. You can also Google “color psychology” to understand the impact of different colors, different color combinations help provoke some emotional responses and what individual colors mean to different people.

Logos Aren’t as Important as You Think

Don’t waste space on a giant logo on your app. As we know that the screen size of the mobile is very small, big logo size can mess up the things. Customize the application using your colors and theme and leave a small logo somewhere on the page and you should be good to go. So, keep the logo size as short as possible, you can also make a smaller version of your website logo for your mobile app. It is suggested to only use logo on the first page of the app, so need to put the logo on every page. You don’t need to hit people in the face with your logo on every page or option they visit. When it comes to mobile app designing try to be minimalistic.

Use Elements Consistently

If you start with an orange button, finish with an orange button. Just like on your website, you should set style elements and stick with the plan. Your buttons, colors, fonts, spacing and graphics should be consistent across the application and preferably be tied to your website as well for consistency. Your app design has to be symmetrical to be more engaging and attractive for the users. Use a simple and illustrative design to keep your design elements clearer and more visible to the users.

Don’t Forget White Space

Mobile users have small screens and often the best things are the things that aren’t cluttering up the screen. If you put a lot of content and element in your mobile app, it would clutter up the things and make your screen looks chaotic. Keep your application design simple and surround important items with plenty of white space to be sure they stand out properly. Don’t make the size of buttons and menu elements, otherwise, it would be hard for the user to click on them. So, it is very important to keep the design elements and features in the mobile application minimum to keep a white space that would make your content look neater and more organized. You should not clutter up things and keep your design simple.

Reconsider Titles

With the limited screen, you don’t want to take up too much space, but you also don’t want your users to get lost on your app. The best way to leave a breadcrumb trail for visitors is to find a way to discreetly show the title of the menu or page on the screen so that users can sort out where they want to go next without restarting. A title that disappears and reappears at the top of the screen is a great way to do this. The titles should be small and comprehensive that gave a clear idea to the users what services you are offering.

Use Creativity for Your Advantage

There are millions of apps on the market offering similar or even identical things. Your focus should be on what sets your application apart from all of the others. What makes you special? If you can use creativity to find new things to offer customers, your application will stand out from the competition. It follows that you’re going to have to do quite a bit of market research to understand what is already out there and what gaps there may be in the current marketplace. Set out to fill that gap or find a way to do something popular in a better way and you may have an easy start with your app development.

As far as the digital business is a concern, the competition is very high and it is very important for you to keep your mobile application unique from the rest. Find out what makes your mobile application unique, otherwise, if you are offering what millions of other apps are offering then you will be lost in the crowd.

Provide Immediate Feedback

App users expect action to generate an immediate reaction. That means you don’t get to play around with wait time. Allow users to interact with your application frequently and be sure that there is an immediate reaction to placate them, especially if a background process takes longer than they might prefer. This might just be an animated click or a color change, but something should happen with every click. Immediate gratification is very rewarding, and customers will respond accordingly.

Many businesses generate an automatic response to the user’s questions in the inbox, this is also helpful if you are not available. Try to keep the response time minimal for better user’s experience.

Hide Your List

Most mobile apps are clever lists and menus. It is very likely that your app will be the same thing. So, to make your mobile application as user-friendly and attractive as possible, look for clever ways to disguise the list elements and make the application feel more sophisticated and attractive than a bullet list with clickable elements. That’s not to say that you should make your application so beautiful and unique that it ceases to be functional. This is an application that is designed to simplify a user’s online experience. Be clever and creative without losing functionality.

Check Platform Guidelines

The iPhone app development is different from android mobile app development. Don’t bother designing your mobile application without checking with the various mobile platforms first. The different platforms – iOS, Windows and Android – have their own visual guidelines and your mobile application should meet the needs of all of the mobile development platforms so that it can be used by all users on any device. It is recommended to spread your application to different platforms to improve the reach. If you can’t get excited about spreading your mobile application across all three platforms, you also get a big foothold in the application marketplace by becoming an expert in a single platform. Master one platform before spreading out into others and you may be able to economize your design process.

Starting with one mobile platform, gradually move it to the other platforms to cater to maximum audiences and grow your business.

Allow Frequent Interactions

Understanding your target audience is very important to make your mobile application more relevant you’re your audience’s interests and needs. An interactive application is an indicator of better users’ experience on your app. When users interact with your app, they will find more reasons to use it and enjoy it. Like buttons, retweeting and voting are all evidence of this. Give your users what they want by finding ways to “like” or save things on your app. Bookmark, pin, highlight, love, like or just select. The more your user does, the more he likes what he’s using.

So being a digital business owner, it is very important for you to give more reasons to your customers to use your app, the more time they would spend on your app, the more beneficial it would be for your business. Try to make your app more interactive and engaging.

Make Your App Efficient

Mobile apps need to move quickly. Mobiles are supposed to be faster than computers, and you certainly don’t want to risk angering users by designing a mobile application that is heavy and cumbersome to load and function. This also means your application should be sucking down the user’s data plan. Find apps that can be used without data or at least have some features that can be used without data to ensure longevity.

Designing an application can be a time-consuming process, but that’s to say you should feel overwhelmed by the process. Work with a designer or in house and let your mobile application be the next phase of your business model. If you do it well, you won’t regret it.

Final Words

This article is a detailed discussion on the mobile app designing and what are the things you need to consider while making any mobile application. You can make your own application or get mobile app development services from any application development company. It is recommended to not use a lot of designs, layouts and colors, select a few colors and use them in designing all elements such as buttons, text, menus, images, etc. Once you have made your app, it time to promote it through app marketing.

I hope the knowledge I have shared with you in this article is helpful and you will consider this while making your mobile application to make it more interactive and engaging for the users. If you have made an app, you can share your experience with us. If you have any question related to the topic discussed, feel free to ask us in the comments section below.

Do share this article in your circle, if you think the information shared is useful.

27 thoughts on

12 Things to Consider When Designing an App

  • Jenny Rev

    Hey Oleg

    Indeed a Great Post !

    These days having a well optimized and compelling App is an integral part of any business, but majority of small business do not really focus on it, which I think they should as world is moving towards App from Web.

    So regarding that, your points are crucial, so keep up the good work.

    Cheers
    Jenny

    • Oleg Calugher

      Hey Jenny,

      Welcome to Temok and thank you for the comment,

      Very true, an App is an absolute must for any business now and with each passing day their importance will only increase …

      thanks,
      – Oleg

  • Lawrence

    Well I had to design an app for my new website which is kinda forum. Seems like this tips are very helpful to learn new tweaks.

    Thanks

    • Oleg Calugher

      Hi Lawrence,

      Welcome to Temok and thank you for the comment,
      Glad to know that the tips were helpful, do let us know your feedback when you apply those tweaks,

      thanks,
      – Oleg

  • Jimmy

    Yes using appropriate colors are very important to make the app gain more attention from users. These post is very helpful for app designers and people who are going to work on their first app.

    • Oleg Calugher

      Hey Jimmy,

      Welcome to Temok and thank you for the comment,

      Yeah, attention to details like color combination, very minor alignment issues etc. helps a lot.

      Thanks,
      – Oleg

  • Rajkumar

    Have created few app designs recently and I think this post made me realize several mistakes I did in the past and I must say I have learned some awesome points from this post.

    Thanks

    • Oleg Calugher

      Hey Raj Kumar,

      Welcome to Temok and thank you for the comments,
      Good to know that you are an App designer and you have found these tips helpful.

      thanks,
      – Oleg

  • Mandy Allen

    Thanks for this comprehensive list of tips. I don’t have any ideas for an app at the moment but a couple of people have asked me about where and how to create them so I will direct them here to give them some ideas.

    Enjoy the journey!

    • Oleg Calugher

      Hey Mandy,

      Welcome to Temok and thank you for the comment,
      Good to know that you have found these tips helpful and thank you for recommending this article to your contacts,

      thanks,
      – Oleg

  • Joy Healey

    These are tips that can apply to designing an app and design in general.

    I particularly like your point about not wasting space with big logos. It’s so annoying to have to scroll to what you want to see.

    I’ve no plans to develop an app personally, but – with the advice you give here – I’ll watch for more ways to use apps from my own business.

    Joy – Blogging After Dark

    • Oleg Calugher

      Hey Joy,

      Thank you for the comment,

      Yeah, and from the blog owner’s point of view – when people scroll through their call-to-action etc. that makes sense but scrolling through logos and banners makes no sense.

      Thanks,
      – Oleg

  • Praveen Rajarao

    That is a nice list Oleg. I had outsourced my smartphone app development to a team, but it is taking so much time that I doubt they are able to understand what I am trying to get from them. It is just not working out. I hope I learn it myself and start off coding.

    • Oleg Calugher

      Hey Praveen,

      Welcome to Temok and thank you for the comment,
      Temok too does app development, the link is already available at the top part of the article,

      Yes, I agree – communication is always the key in any sort of development … else the final product will never be as expected.
      Hope it works out for you,

      thanks,
      – Oleg

  • Ruth

    I’ve been using photoshop for app designing but most of the work will be pretty easy as I know the whole process. But these points are very helpful to learn the important things.

    • Oleg Calugher

      Hey Ruth,

      welcome to Temok and thank you for the comment,
      Good to know that you are an app designer already and found the tips helpful,

      thanks,
      – Oleg

  • SEO Services India

    Well I had to design an app for my new website which is kinda forum. Seems like this tips are very helpful to learn new tweaks.

    Thanks

  • Harish Negi

    Do we have any plateform like wordpress for making app, so that a non technical could also make an app easily. Pls answer

  • Salauddin Bepari

    Hi Oleg,

    It is true that Mobile device users are increasing day by day and for this reason, we have to design Mobile friendly apps.
    Actually, Everywhere you turn these days people are talking about mobile apps. Apps for this, apps for that.
    And if we keep in mind the 12 consideration of yours when we design any kind of apps, it will surely be an amazing app.
    Thanks for sharing your valuable information about app designing.

    With Best Regards,

    Salauddin Bepari.

    • Oleg Calugher

      Hey Salauddin,

      Thank you for the comment,

      Mobile users have grown tremendously over the past few years and in time it is only going to increase further. Moreover, as many buying decision are carried on by the consumers on the cell phones – it is becoming increasingly important to build mobile friendly sites and apps.

      thanks,
      – Oleg

  • jitendra

    i liked the last point..the app should be efficient…if the app is userfriendly and fast the user will always give highest rating to that app…..so save your user time and design an app which should give faster result to your customer…!!!

    • Oleg Calugher

      Hey Jitendra,

      Thank you for the comment,
      Yeah, UserExperience is the most important thing – if the user is happy, he will surely use the app and recommend it to his connections,

      thanks,
      – Oleg

  • Dhaval Parmar

    i liked the way to saying here..the app should be efficient…if the app is userfriendly and fast the user will always give highest rating to that app…Thanks

    • Oleg Calugher

      Hey Dhaval,

      Welcome to Temok and thank you for the comment,
      Very true, if the user is happy with the app, he will surely give good ratings,

      thanks,
      – Oleg

  • Arjun Rahul

    Hi Oleg
    This is a wonderful and beautiful article you have.
    Great job. I’ll like to be informed more often

  • Malisa

    Hi,
    thanks for showing this amazing list of things to remember while making apps,
    such an amazing article,
    good work (:

    • Oleg Kaluger

      Hey Malisa,

      Welcome to Temok and thank you for the comment,
      Good to hear positive feedback, do let us know when you implement the tips,

      thanks,
      – Oleg

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