The Best Designs Trends for Your Mobile App
Whether you have not set up a mobile app for your business, or have one implemented that does not seem to be gaining the attention that you want, taking note of some of the top mobile app design tips is a great way to determine how you can build your online business better.
Take a look at some of the most common app design trends that companies are using to succeed in the world of mobile apps.
-Keep it Simple!
Remember your audience when designing your mobile app. Most likely mobile viewers are perusing your site while on the train, waiting at the physician’s office or at another time and place where they are limited as to how long they can search. So leave the unnecessary details and flattery out of your app. Too much clutter and unnecessary information is only going to overwhelm and frustrate app users on their phones, causing them to give up their search or look on other sites. Think of your company website and scale it down to the main functional options and arrange it in a minimalist fashion.
Take a look at the State Farm mobile app to the right. As you can see the initial page is based on the absolutely necessary features, including obtaining a quote, locating a local agent and filing a claim, all of which are likely to be used on the go by either current policyholders or those who are browsing to change their insurance while on their phone. Your target audience will certainly appreciate keeping your mobile app functional and easy to navigate, no matter where they are.
-Remember Fingertip Navigation
There is no mouse to help your audience navigate through your page, so you have to remember to make your app easy to navigate with fingertips. That means that icons, links and text need to be large enough to see clearly and follow. Again, when they are too small and too hard to follow you will lose the attention of your audience, especially for men who have larger fingers to accommodate.
The Alaska Airlines mobile site is a clear example of not only keeping it simple, but making your site easy to navigate with a fingertip. With too many options and clutter on the page users wouldn’t be able to check into their flight quickly and while on the go, which would eliminate the reason for having a mobile site.
-Introduce Your Audience to Your Site
Clever businesses in the designing of their site will incorporate an introductory or welcome page into their mobile app that summarizes the company or business. This is a great way to share the tone of your site and capture the interest of your audience from the start. Then, from there they can decide what information they want to search for or do on your site. Remember that you don’t want to overdo this page either. Less is more so you should keep the text and calls to action to a minimum.
As you can see, the Quazar Web Design mobile site offers a basic entry page that brings the company and site tone to the audience that views it. Not only do you have the opportunity to choose what you want to do on their mobile site from here, but they don’t overwhelm you with added details or text. There are some sites that will simplify their introductory page even further by simply offering one call of action that will take users to another page with more in-depth options.
-Don’t Forget Your Social Networking
Perhaps one of the most mandatory inclusions on your mobile app is the links to ALL of your social networking pages, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more. This will not only help to promote your company in general, but will lead to more followers and fans on your social networking sites. Be sure that they are placed in an easy to see and upfront portion of your site so that they cannot be missed, some sites will even have them on the bottom of every page of their mobile app.
Just as the Goodyear has done in this screenshot of their mobile site, any business should have their social networking sites clearly visible for all those who are going to visit your site. Now, those that log into their site can see that they have a Twitter and Facebook account, and even YouTube marketing, without the audience having to search to find these additional marketing tools.
-White Space is Necessary
If you have ever mistakenly clicked on the wrong link because there was too much clutter on a website, then you know how frustrating it can be to not have enough white space. While the term suggests that your site should be white and plain, it just means that you want to have adequate spacing between your links on a page, so that your site is not only visually appealing, but so there are no accidental link clicks to drive your audience crazy, especially if you are selling items on your mobile app.
Take a look at the way that Crate & Barrel utilizes their white space between these two beds that are for sale. The items are spaced apart well and flow fluidly on the page so that a viewer can see everything with ease. This not only helps with fingertip navigation, but it helps to ensure that there are no accidental clicks on items that your audience doesn’t want to see.
-Images and Videos Matter
Remember that if it is relevant to your business, you want to engage your viewer by other mobile means. While on the go, your viewer might want to have access to a video or film that your company hosts, so permitting access to these type of things is necessary on your mobile site. This doesn’t mean that you have to have every move clip, photo or song accessible to your audience, jus the most popular and relevant to your site at the moment.
Take a look at the way that the Disney Channel mobile site displays the television and video clips that are accessible through smartphone devices. By providing videos that their audience would regularly seek, they can engage children on the go and keep their attention. While some sites may want to keep their site a little more simple and decreased the number of videos and images on a single page, this is a great example of how you can share the media on your site with your audience.
Whether your app has already been created, or you have yet to design it, these are some of the most successful design schemes that can be implemented into any business mobile app. Remember that there is nothing wrong will taking ideas that have worked for other companies and implementing them in a way that is unique and relevant to your business. Start your mobile app redesign today, and watch your business grow!
Sources:
State Farm image from: http://www.mobileawesomeness.com/listings/gallery/statefarm/
Alaska Airlines image from: http://www.mobileawesomeness.com/listings/gallery/alaska-air/
Quazar image from: http://www.mobileawesomeness.com/listings/gallery/quazar-web-design/
Goodyear image from: http://www.mobileawesomeness.com/listings/gallery/goodyear/
Crate and Barrel image from: http://www.mobileawesomeness.com/listings/gallery/crate-barrel/
Disney image from: http://www.mobileawesomeness.com/listings/gallery/dis-2/
