Why Your Customer’s App Experience is Vital When Building your Mobile App

If you explore some of the mobile apps currently in the marketplace, you’ll notice a lot of beautiful interfaces and creative designs. As you move forward with your own mobile app, it can be tempting to place aesthetics ahead of functionality. But the best apps consider the entire customer experience, from the beauty of the app’s interface design to the intuitive functionality of the app’s features. Your main goal should be creating a product that users love and start to rely on. When your customers incorporate your app into their everyday lives, you’ll know your app has achieved its goal of providing a winning user experience.

Form follows function

Before app developers had access to the design capabilities they have today, apps and other software didn’t have as many aesthetic bells and whistles. They served a particular function, and they had to perform that function well in order to win customers - but looking good wasn’t a requirement. Today, there are plenty of apps on the market that are gorgeous but disappointing. You’ve probably heard the platitude that form should always follow function, and it’s never been truer for app design. If your app includes features that are visually appealing but offer little value to the user, reconsider whether or not you need them. Similarly, if you’ve opted to design a streamlined, minimalist app that isn’t intuitive to users, you’ll be doing your customers a disservice even if your app is lovely to behold. If customers can’t figure out how to use your product, you’ll lose their attention.

If you don’t understand your app, customers won’t either.

You should be able to articulate the goals and functions of your app, and you should be able to use it without thinking. After all, customers don’t have the time to figure out a complicated app, wonder at the product’s intended uses, or ponder the developer’s mindset. If you don’t enjoy overthinking software, you can bet your customers don’t, either. The best app design is intuitive, so customers can jump in right away. That way, your app will become a tool they come to rely on, rather than a frustrating experience they learn to avoid.

Seek feedback from your customers

An app isn’t complete until you’ve gotten some honest feedback on it from a diverse test group. Remember, one tester’s comments don’t mean as much as five testers’ comments. If multiple testers report that a feature is not intuitive, swallow your pride and revisit that feature. Talking to potential users, watching how they intuitively use your product, and gaining insight into their hang-ups and stumbling blocks is a valuable exercise in seeing your app through your customers’ eyes. After all, it doesn’t matter if you think your product is brilliant. Customers have to share your enthusiasm and be willing to adopt your app for their own goals and purposes.

At TechArk Solutions, creating an amazing user experience is our most important goal. Get in touch to discuss how we can design an app your customers love to use.