6. App Design Principles Part 3: Usability & Conversions
App Design Principles: Part 3 (Usability & Conversions)
- 49% of users held their phone in one hand and used their phone with one thumb.
- Average width of an adult thumb is 1 inch (2.5 cm), which converts to 72 pixels.
- Apple recommends a minimum target size of 44 px wide 44 px tall; Microsoft suggests a target size of 34px with a minimum touch target size of 26px; Nokia states the target size should be no small than 28×28 px.
1. App Design Principles Part 3: Usability
Follow these app design principles to provide better user experience and give your users exactly what they’re looking for.
I. Speak to your users, using their language.
Vague and unfamiliar terms (brand terms, for example) only seems to confuse app users. Call to action labeled with brand-specific terms is difficult for casual users to understand.
So instead of using vague terms that your users may not comprehend, make the message of your app clear – meaning both the communication and functionalities of the app has to be clear; it will reduce the cognitive load for the user, providing better user experience and helping sustain users longer on your app.
Image Credit: Think With Google
II. Interpret your visual information using visual keys and text labels
A recent research found that icons (used in app’s menu, store locator, cart, account, and even for actions like sorting and filtering) are not universal, and hence, not all users understands them.
On the other hand, it was found that icons with labels were much more user-friendly, and hence, more likely to be used.
Also, an app that used visuals without a key made app users more confused as they didn’t know what to do with it.
Make sure to label your icons and visuals to minimize confusion among your users.
Image Credit: Think With Google
III. Make your app responsive on important actions.
Lack of visual feedback may lead to guesswork, especially when people are buying through their mobile devices. Apps that don’t provide visual cues to their action – inserting an item into the shopping cart, payment being processed – will confuse users.
Make sure to provide visual keys – animation or any other visual cues – to minimize these confusions.
Image Credit: Think With Google
IV. Give user control by letting them zoom as they want
Sometimes, an app can automatically zoom images to give the user a better view of the item. It may work on PC or laptops, but not on mobile devices. For many app users, the automatic zoom feature is frustrating as they are forced to look at only a certain part of the item or the image is partially cut off the screen.
On mobile devices, users want to be in charge of the zoom level when they view an image.
So reduce their frustrations by giving them control; allow your app users to zoom items and images as they prefer.
Image Credit: Think With Google
V. Ask user’s permissions at appropriate time/context.
Users that deny permissions vital to the app’s proper functioning can get stuck performing a task. Ask their permission in context and let them know benefits of granting access to your app. Users are also more likely to give you permission if you ask permission when they’re performing a relevant task.
Image Credit: Think With Google
2. App Design Principles Part 3: Conversion
Mobile app development is continuing to be more sophisticated and complex than ever, and hence, more users are expecting better app experiences (or a “smooth in-app” experiences) whenever they’re searching, learning, reviewing, and purchasing a product.
Here is how you can create great user experiences that boost conversions.
I. Give previous searches and recent purchase information
Many users often make the same searches and similar purchases, particularly in most frequently apps.
You can save their time and effort by making recent purchases and searches available on your app.
Image Credit: Think With Google
II. Allow app users to sort and filter user reviews
Reviews from real customers help boost purchases through your app.
For example, if a user sees a large number of positive reviews about a particular product or service, it will help them become more confident to buy that item.
- To help your users get the “real story” about an item, allow them to sort and filter through the reviews.
- Let them browse the most positive, more negative, and most recent reviews to find any common patterns.
- Users also love when you include verified reviews from users who purchased an item from you. (Think customer review on Amazon).
Image Credit: Think With Google
III. Allow users to compare shopping items.
People shopping through an app like when they can easily compare different items they’re interested in buying. If you don’t have this capability in your app, they’ll be forced to first add their items into the shopping cart and compare later. Or worst, they’ll have to remember the name of each item to compare.
This isn’t a big problem on the web – you can easily solve this problem by comparing products on different tabs. But on mobile devices, in-app features such as comparison shopping feature can prevent users to do all these additional workouts, which will eventually help drive more purchases.
Image Credit: Think With Google
IV. Offer users more than one payment options.
When making a purchase, app users want to know that their favorite payment options are available. Apps that offer payment options – Apple Pay, PayPal, and AndroidPay – remove the need for the users to fill additional forms during checkout and makes them feel secure and safe.
Image Credit: Think With Google
V. Make it easy to add new and manage payment options.
Long and complex payment steps and storage can quickly frustrate users. Simplify these payment features to relief your users from their pain.
For example, design and develop a credit card entry landing page that has features like credit card scanning and number pad entry. Allows users to add more than one credit card and let with a function to toggle between them.
Image Credit: Think With Google
