1. What is UX?
UX (User Experience) is an essential factor in the success of a mobile app. The term was coined by Apple engineer Donald Norman, in the 1990s.
Although it is a broad concept that encompasses an array of elements, we can define it as the interactions an end-user has with every aspect of the app. The user experience includes interactions before and after product usage (including brand, design, and function elements) and how those interactions evolve.
The goal of UX is to conquer the users by improving the quality of their journey, making it a pleasant and useful experience.
There are 6 UX principles for mobile apps that lead your app to success. Keep reading and find out what they are.
2. The 6 Most Important UX Principles for Mobile Apps
● Principle 1: Know your users and their needs
Why are user needs so important? The users are the people on whom your business depends, so having a substantial understanding of who they are and what they look for helps create a product or service that meets their needs and thus becomes indispensable.
Make sure you know why your clients need your app and how they will use it. Skipping this step will damage your business and send your efforts down the drain.
● Principle 2: Keep it simple and intuitive
You are probably wondering how your app format is relevant if what matters is achieving your client’s goals. Well, delivery is extremely important. A good analysis of your users’ needs does not matter if you fail to communicate effectively.
Simplicity is a fundamental principle of UX for a mobile app. The user must be able to navigate easily through the app.
Besides keeping the app simple, you must make it intuitive as well. No user enjoys feeling lost when trying to use a mobile app. By incorporating these two features into your product, you help your customers achieve their goals quicker and more effectively in a pleasant way.
● Principle 3: Use positive reinforcement
Positive reinforcement can create a more enjoyable user experience. Moreover, associating actions with positive rewards can help the user learn how to use the mobile app quicker without feeling stressed.
Positive reinforcement can also motivate the user to take action, which is usually a complex but essential step. Letting the customer know that they are doing things correctly (even in the details, such as successfully sending a message) keeps them informed on what is going on in the app and thus contributes to a pleasurable experience.
● Principle 4: Think about the user’s journey
Do you want your users to give up as soon as they enter your app? That is what happens when developers build dense apps that lack the necessary simplicity and intuition.
Navigating easily and reaching your goals quickly within an app is highly satisfying. That keeps your users attached to your product as they find it efficient and useful.
Representation is also an important part of this UX principle, so beware of the limitations of users.
● Principle 5: Use real data to inform your design
If you operate as a UX design agency, it’s crucial to ensure your UX design is efficient and appealing by analyzing the user’s whys and whats. “But what does that mean?” you might wonder. How you put together your app does not depend solely on visual appeal. It has to have value. And to achieve that, you must use real data.
A data-informed design relies on qualitative and quantitative sources, the former regarding the why, as in the motivations of the user, and the former, the what, concerning statistics. By grasping what drives the interest of your users, you can create a more valuable app design that meets the needs of your users.
● Principle 6: Always be testing
The sooner you start testing and iterating your product with your users, the quicker you get to the optimal version of your design.
This continuous process helps you detect issues and allows you to develop adequate solutions that improve app usability, utility, and accessibility.
3. Conclusion
A successful mobile app needs an excellent UX design. Without it, users will not feel supported while navigating the app and will most likely avoid it.
These UX principles for mobile apps can prevent that scenario. By applying each of them to your project, the user experience becomes enjoyable and, thus, your customers will want to stay with you.