7 Mobile App Design Best Practices To Follow in 2020

Every year, millions of apps are released on the app stores. But only some apps are massively successful while others are futile. Do you know why?
Many factors contribute to the success of these apps, but the top reason for their success is considered to be their best app designs.

Recent statistics show that 56% of the users uninstalled their apps within 7 days of installation. Other sobering statistics show that 25% of the apps are used only once during the first 6 months.
The poor user experience and complex onboarding process are considered the prime reason for uninstalling the apps.

From the first impression to proper navigation on the app, UI/UX design plays a huge role in the success of an app. Thus, it’s becoming critical for UI/UX designers to create an engaging and effective app design.
Moreover, in a highly-competitive market, to make your app successful, you need to follow the best mobile app design practices.

So, how do you know which is a good app design practice?

Are You Following the UX, UI Design Best Practices?

Your answers to the following questions will help you find out the answer to the above questions.

Why wait? Let’s dive in!

1. Are You Making A Great First Impression?

The first impression of your app is crucial as it could also serve as an umbrella point for all the other app design practices. Onboarding is the first screen that your users come across in your mobile app.
Getting a perfect balance between creating the first impression and providing a proper onboarding experience is a tricky one. If the users are not instantly impressed, they will not open your app the next time. Thus, you should create an app that is immediately intuitive with exciting and engaging features to make the onboarding process a smooth experience.

2. Do You Think From The Users’ Perspective?

As a designer of the app, it can be easy for you to use the app and understand its features. But, when a user enters your app for the first time, they don’t have any idea on how the app should function or what it can do. If they do not understand the onboarding and features of the app, they will uninstall the app.
Moreover, there are certain ways that mobile users are accustomed to using their mobile apps on different devices.
Performing beta testing process lets you learn how others view your app from the beginning.

3. Are You Maintaining Consistency?

Consistency is one of the most significant factors which applies to UI design best practices. It is crucial to maintain consistency throughout the app to reduce any errors or eliminate confusion for the users.
But, what is consistency in a mobile app design?

1. To maintain visual consistency, use similar buttons, icons, typefaces, and labels across the app
2. For retaining operational consistency, ensure that interactive components function uniformly across the app
3. To retain external consistency, you need to use the same design across your different products like websites, mobile app, or web apps.

4. Can A User Use Your App Without Any Query Or Explanation?

Your app could have top-notch features, cool content, and exciting images. But all this won’t matter if your users cannot find it. Your mobile app should be more intuitive than your website.
Good navigation forms the basis of great user experience. If your app overwhelms users with puzzling navigation, it is less likely to stand out in the crowd. Every piece of information should be communicated and executed clearly.

Here are a few tips to achieve spontaneous navigation in your mobile app

1. Use recognizable icons and patterns
2. Use consistent navigation patterns
3. Keep the navigation simple and clear
4. Show the users their current location on every screen

5. How Is The Speed And Responsiveness Of Your App?

Users demand immediacy and they have no patience for an app that takes more than 3 seconds to load. With rapidly improving internet speeds, users are expecting instant results. When your app is slow, users will quickly move to an app that provides instant results. This is why it is important to make your mobile app swift.
Though your app is expeditious, certain inevitable features can have a significant impact on the response time.
During such times, to help the loading process less frustrating, you can ensure that some content appears on the page till the exact page opens. This content is known as placeholder text.

6. Does Your App Offer The Best Personalization?

Personalization is yet another important factor that plays a key role in improving user experience on your app. Personalization helps in showing the users what they like or what they are looking for. This, in turn, can build a genuine connection with the users.
There are a lot of ways through which you can incorporate personalization into your mobile app. For example, based on your user’s past searches, you can show them the recommended products or offer them deals.
A great example of personalization is Myntra. They use AI and ML to deliver personalized customer experiences. They use customer data, browsing, and searching behavior to curate lines and make a one-of-a-kind personalized store experience.

7. Does Your App Have Legible And Readable Content?

The key to a good app design is having clear and legible content and images. There are a few tips to make your content readable and images with clarity

1. Ensure that the font size is at least 12 points
2. Good options of fonts are Helvetica, Open Sans, and Montserrat
3. Keep the image size small and resolutions clear
4. Ensure that the aspect ratio is per the screen size

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, good mobile app design is all about finding the right balance between beauty and functionality. Using best app design practices can help in improving the engagement and retention rate of your users. We hope that the best practices mentioned above will steer you in the right direction and help you achieve that.