Top 5 Easy Mistakes to Avoid in Your Mobile App
Even after a download, getting people to use your app is an uphill battle. Fewer than 25% of users return to an app one day after opening it for the first time, and fewer than 11% return after the first week. That first impression is everything, and a single frustrating user interaction can be the difference between your app’s success and failure. Here are a few common mistakes to avoid that we see all the time when clients come to us requesting a fix to their pre-existing apps.
1. Forgetting to Onboard Users
When a user opens your app for the first time, think of it like a job interview: the app needs to dress appropriately, tell its story concisely, and convey its value to the interviewer (your user). One slip-up, and the app won’t get hired to do whatever job you spent all that time and effort advertising it as being able to do. Instead of a thirty-minute job interview, you have thirty seconds. The best way to convey an app’s value proposition and functionality quickly is via a specific onboarding flow when users open the app for the first time. Dropping a user into an app without onboarding is often a recipe for them never coming back.
2. Complicated Navigation
The faster your user can get to where they need to be, the more likely it is they will arrive there. Seems simple enough, but apps frequently have too much clutter in their navigation. More often than not, your users are only trying to complete a few basic tasks. Focus on getting them to the finish line instead of impeding their progress with complicated navigation.
3. Dead Ends
Don’t forget your back buttons, close outs and other basic navigation items. Getting stuck on a screen is never fun. In a similar vein, don’t become overly reliant on swipe gestures for users to get unstuck.
4. Unclear Calls to Action
“Calls to Action” are the buttons, messages, alerts, and notifications that compel your users to go where you want them to. If they are hidden, too plentiful, or inconsistent, your app becomes much harder to use.
5. Unmapped User Journeys and Excess Screens
Before you design your app, list out the top 3 tasks you want your users to accomplish. This can be everything from “read an article” to “record their own video and upload it” to “purchase my product”. Map out how they will complete those tasks, and optimize their journey to get there. Focus on minimizing the number of screens, but don’t forget that lengthy forms and information-packed screens can also give users fits. A balance is required to maximize conversion.
It’s a tough app world out there, but these 5 quick tips should increase your product’s chances for success.
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Riccardo Pellegrini is the CEO of Crossfield Digital, a premier developer of mobile apps and websites that provides creative services and digital strategy to clients ranging from early-stage entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 companies. With offices in New York and Miami, Crossfield Digital partners with businesses that span the finance, retail, health, sports, entertainment, media, and gaming industries. Crossfield’s teams of senior developers, designers, and project managers take a hands-on approach to ensure that clients receive premium technology products on time and within budget. Crossfield is a member of the RSE Ventures family of companies. Visit www.crossfield.com for more information.
