09 November 2017 | Jack Fisher
As a digital agency we are always thinking about what features make the projects we design and build truly great. When it comes to creating mobile apps, there are some key factors that we believe are crucial to their success. There are thousands of apps released every single day, and often they miss the mark. I’d like to discuss some of the key features of a successful app here. If you’re thinking about creating an app, you might want to consider these.
It provides value
Perhaps the most important factor in the success of an app is the value that it provides for the user. Think about all the apps that you use on a daily basis. Every single one of them is providing you with value in one way or another. What that value is varies from app to app. Perhaps it saves you money, helps you stay organised, or maybe it just keeps you entertained on the commute to work. The bottom line is that you don’t use apps that are useless to you, and so it’s important to nail this aspect at the start of the process.
Intuitive User Interface
Something that you probably don’t think about much as the end-user of an app is the user interface and how easy and intuitive it is to navigate. That’s because the apps you use on a daily basis all have an excellent UI that has been meticulously thought out to provide you with the best user experience possible. The only time you really think about the UI as a user is when it’s crap, and you probably don’t continue to use these apps for very long. Apps with bad UI design are frustrating to use and usually result in a swift removal from your device. That’s why it’s extremely important to recruit an expert in UI/UX to help with your app’s design.
Beautiful design
Like the user interface, the visual design of an app is an important factor that helps to provide a pleasant experience for the user. Apps that are visually appealing and have nice animations are a joy to use and encourage people to stay using the app. First impressions count, and if you’re not immediately impressed by the look and feel of the app, you’ll be less likely to give it a chance. At Pogo Studio we have an in-house designer that takes care of all the design work for our clients so they know they are getting a professionally designed app.
Available across all devices
Have you ever heard about a really great app and gotten excited about downloading it before realising that it’s exclusively available on a device that you don’t own? Frustrating, right? As the creator of an app, you are severely limiting your customer base by excluding the entire userbase of a particular operating system. It can be expensive to develop an app that works across all devices, often you are paying twice as much to get your developer to write two different versions of the code for one app. It doesn’t have to be this way though – at Pogo Studio we use Xamarin, a cross-platform tool that enables the development of apps for all devices using a unified codebase – saving you time and money. If time and money are important to you, consider using a developer that is qualified in cross-platform development.
It works
You might think I’m being stupid to include this in a list of essential features for a successful app, because obviously it needs to work. With that said, you’d be amazed at how many apps are available that simply don’t work. The definition of an app “working” is probably different from person to person, but at Pogo Studio we define it by an app that does what it says it will do in a fast and efficient manner, without crashing, displaying error messages, or having never-ending loading times. The key to this is to build the app using reliable and robust technologies. It’s important not to cut corners on this front, because an app that doesn’t work is a disaster for everyone.
There’s a lot to think about when creating an app. What I’ve covered here today are some of the key features that any great app should include, but this is by no means a complete list. If you are looking for some advice on developing an app, or you’d just like to hear more, get it touch with us at info@pogo-studio.com