Want to build a great app - Take care these 10 things
WhatsApp — one of the most popular app — was launched in 2009. It was the time when app eco-system was still nascent and users were evolving with apps like WhatsApp, Gmail, etc. Since then app eco-system has boomed and now, there are more than 3.6 million apps, only on Google Play Store. In this scenario, standing out in such a crowded market is a formidable task.
- Now, users have developed a basic understanding of apps. They can make the distinction between good apps and bad apps.
- They have a very low tolerance level of low performing apps.
- They have a plethora of options to choose from.
How does one stand out in such crowded market? Is it possible to penetrate the existing market or it has reached the saturation point?
Every day, new apps are trending on Play Store and App Store in the different categories. Such featured apps capture the imagination of users every day which shows that the app ecosystem is not in saturation as yet and it's still growing. So, it is possible to build new apps and scale it around the globe.
How can you build a great app?
Any great product has three design aspects
- Visceral -- It deals with appearance and aesthetic part of the design
- Behavioural -- Behavioural design concerns with pleasure and effectiveness of the use
- Reflective -- Realisation and intellectualisation of a product comes under reflective design. Do you take pride in using a product? (That's why so many people take selfies with iPhone in the mirror with Apple's logo to post on Instagram) Does the product appeal to your self-image? Does a product bring meaning to your life?
At the visceral level, product designers are responsible to create an attractive first impression for a user to take action. Since an appealing graphic cannot sustain, any app has to perform at least one function in the effective and easy way which comes under the behavioural aspect of design. Finally, an app would be long lasting with high retention if you can associate your app with any intrinsic or extrinsic motivation.
Taking above three parameters as a structure, I come up with 10 points in the context of apps to design and develop great apps. Though, there is not one way to make excellent apps. Every good app is different in many ways. However, there are few basic traits which run across all good apps and taking care of below 10 points cover all three aspects.
Fun or Entertaining — Originally, phones were conceived for easier communication. Communication is still one of the major function of smartphones. However, with the maturity of app eco-system, its scope has expanded much beyond basic human needs. In fact, most of the time, we use apps for entertainment, fun, listening to music, etc. not just talking over the phone.
So, it becomes an imperative for every app developer and designer take care of the user’s entertainment need from the beginning of development cycle. Without regard to the entertainment need, phones will be like telephone and that would be a regressive idea, to say the least. Besides, Who does not like to be entertained!
Intuitive — A long back when electronic devices were not a predominant part of our lifestyle, all of us were forced to read a long user manual before operating the device. In fact, such practice was highly recommended by the device manufacturer. Such time has passed long back and now, the app developer does not have the same luxury.
Now, you cannot expect, rightly so, a user to read a detailed manual on how to use your app. That would be a travesty of the design process in the present context. Ideally, the app design should blend with your user’s intuition organically. A user must be able to navigate through your app entirely without any written guidance. Any onboarding guidance should be used in the rarest case. No one like to read a manual and it must be respected.
Engaging — A phone is part of our lifestyle and it is different from other electronic devices. The smartphone is a very personal device which has much higher sanctity. Apps bring life to the smartphones by engaging with user constantly.
On average, we open our phone more than 150 times in 24 hours. This is the power of phones and it is possible only because of the ability of the apps to engage with users. Apps are not like websites when it comes to engagement.
However, there is fine line difference between engagement and intrusion. Any engagement without user’s permission or without user’s interest amounts to intrusion. Even frequent engagement can lead to frustration. So, every app developer needs to careful to engage with users and always strive to strike the balance and never breach the limits.
Addictive — Anyone involved in business can vouch for the importance of loyalty to create a long-lasting sustainable business. In the context of apps, addiction shows the loyalty to your business. Growth does not matter much if an app is not able to lure the users to open the app on daily basis. The frequency of app opening determines retention rate for the app which can be only done by making your app so valuable to users that they feel incomplete without the app.
Though, it is easier said than done. In reality, it is a hard task to execute and you can never make an advance prediction about how can you make your app addictive with 100% surety.
Valuable — Today’s app users are very smart. Anything which does not add something to their life is not valuable to them. Adding value is crucial to the success of apps. It could be entertaining users, enabling a user to perform a task in an easier way, enhancing the productivity and help them to do more in less effort, helping to communicate better, anything which makes them feel good about themselves, etc.
Value creation is limited to your imagination only. Different apps create value in different ways. That is why we have millions of apps on various app stores and all the successful apps have one common trait which is value creation for a set of users. So, it is better to focus on value creation from the beginning itself and you will be better off.
Cross-cultural — We live in silos. At times, it becomes a formidable task for the development team to empathize with others pain point, values and culture. As a developer, you may think that these are trivial things not worthy of spending time and you have a tendency to either ignore or take these things for granted. This could be your biggest mistake. Investing in understanding cross culture can have the highest return on investment if it is done correctly. For example, just by localizing the app would add a high value.
Appealing Graphics — Humans have five senses and our visual sense is among one of them. A great graphics hit the visceral part of our brain. In any app, user’s brain will evaluate graphics first and app graphic could be the deal maker or deal breaker. An appealing interface creates a captivating first impression to install the app. Without having a graphics pleasing to eyes, a person will not even download the app, forget about using the app. However, a good graphic should not be at the cost of user experience. Otherwise, you may be able to create a very good first impression but it will not last for a very long. As a consequence, retaining users to keep using your app will be almost impossible.
In the context of apps, retention is always bigger challenge than user acquisition. Ideally, user interface and user experience should go hand in hand. At times, it could be contradictory and in such scenarios, it is advisable to give preference to experience over graphics.
Personalised — Different users have different needs and they use an app in different ways. Since you cannot launch different apps to satisfy different needs. The answer lies in the personalization of the app to the extent possible. Technically, you can create only one app however with the personalization you can provide multiple experiences for the different set of users. Your users will feel good about a very personal experience and you will get rewarded by retaining them for a longer period of time.
In the era when a person has multiple options to choose, personalization offers a great opportunity to differentiate your app. For instance, Amazon has only one website but every user has a different interface based on a personalized recommendation. It has given a great return to Amazon. Taking the cue from Amazon and personalizing the app to the extent possible will never disappoint you.
One point to note is that personalization is not same as customization.
Functional — Function defines the purpose behind an app to exist. It tells the users what an app does and how will it be helpful to the user to achieve their objectives.
Generally, we have a tendency to take obvious things for granted and in that hubris, sometimes, we forget to fix the basics. It becomes even more challenging task for individual developers. By in large, individual developers do not have the system, machinery, and resources to go for rigorous testing before launching the app.
On the other hand, it can be seen as an opportunity as well. Since you are small so you can be agiler and pivot much more easily. Your actions will not be scrutinized as much as big names. This brings flexibility which in turn can be very useful to conduct iterations and find the product market fit before going for aggressive growth.
Social — This is relatively new but important phenomena which cannot be ignored anymore. Nowadays, being social is not only for social media category apps. With the high penetration of apps like Facebook and WhatsApp, providing social feature become paramount for any app.
Building a great product makes the marketing much easier and cost-effective. Take care of these 10 points while building the app, it will yield benefits beyond your imagination.
PS -- Even if you are designing for first time users, taking care of these points does not hurt. It creates more value to end users irrespective of one's experience in using apps in the smartphones.