Tag Archive for: mobile app ux

UX Vs. UI: The Differences Explained

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All appreneurs and app developers need to know what UX Vs. UI differences mean in detail. And that’s because it’s easy to confuse these two terminologies since they seem so similar. But they’re not, and it’s common to unintentionally misrepresent these two terminologies when explaining them to the ordinary layperson. 

Obviously, as a professional developer, you would never want to do that, so it’s best to have a clear understanding. Below, we’ll briefly delve deeper into the matter and demystify all elements surrounding UX Vs. UI key differences.

What Exactly Is The User Experience (UX)?

Just as the term suggests, the user experience focuses on how the end-user interacts with a company, including its products and services. And yes, this means all aspects thereof. And not just the range of features or whether a product or service is satisfactory, but where it surpasses expectations.

So, the user experience and UX design also focus on delivering a high-quality experience. And that means that a company must excel in multiple disciplines to pull it off successfully. 

A company may need to have staff on hand or outsource for the following: engineering, graphic design, industrial design, interface design, and marketing, to name a few. And then seamlessly merge all these disciplines so that they naturally fit into the company’s business processes and brand image.

What Is The User Interface (UI)?

Most desktop, mobile, and web apps have some form of UI that makes it possible for users to interact with these applications. Every good UI will have easy-to-understand and attractive visual cues consisting of drop-down lists, buttons, icons, images, text, and even 3D objects that await user input. 

And once the user initiates an input action, the UI will provide the relevant feedback. This may result in executing a task, changing a page, or giving an auditory response. 

Usually, the most common input devices include the mouse, keyboard, and touchscreen. And the most common output devices include the monitor and speakers.

UX Vs. UI: What Are The Main Differences?

We’ve briefly explained what defines the user experience and the user interface. But here are the most significant differences between UX and UI: 

  • UX focuses primarily on the entire project, from concept to development and deployment. On the other hand, UI mainly focuses on the design of the app.
  • UX usually includes market research and pinpointing the needs of users. But with UI, it’s more about the design of all visual components and how they impact the user experience. 
  • UX is about ensuring that the app meets its objectives and provides the necessary functionality. And UI centers around the quality of user interaction with the app.

The Bottom Line

Understanding how UI Vs. UX differences can impact a project is essential. Especially, if you need to communicate these differences to clients, staff, and stakeholders clearly and concisely. So bookmark this article and refer to it anytime you need a refresher. Contact NS804 to learn how we’ll help you create apps with outstanding UX/UI that will awe your users!

Why Emotional Design Is A Game Changer For App Developers

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Implementing emotional design for your upcoming project can have a far-reaching impact. It can take your project down a path that will set it apart from competing apps. Instead of following the same trends as others, emotional design allows you to create an app that will leave users with a long-lasting positive perception. Below, we unveil what this concept encompasses and how you should apply it.

1. Focus On The User Experience 

As an appreneur, you’re looking at ways to make your app appealing and sticky. And there are several ways to go about this, one of which is focusing on the user experience (UX). But to get this right, you’ll need to grasp what problem you’re trying to solve. 

For example, you could be developing a filter app that automatically touches up users’ selfies. And your target audience consists predominantly of young women who want to snap the most amazing photos of themselves. Furthermore, these women don’t care about the technicalities involved in fixing their selfies and are looking for a quick and easy solution. So, your app’s user interface (UI) should be clean and streamlined while being devoid of any complex features.

But, likely, your closest competitors are also treading a similar path. So what should you do to make your app stand out? Well, many developers are capable of delivering apps, which are slick and minimalistic. Yet, it’s all too easy to follow these common design trends set by popular apps in the marketplace. And thus, you’ll end up in a situation where you’re following the herd instead of being a trailblazer.

Sticking to tried and tested design principles may make sense. After all, your users have become accustomed to navigating apps in a certain way. They also have certain expectations in how an app should look and function, which you can’t ignore. However, having a better understanding of design fundamentals can help you take your app to the next level.

2. Enter Emotional Design

App developers not only need to understand their tools and when to use these, but they also need to broaden their horizons. They need to study human behavior and how people interact with everyday items. Objects such as a doorknob, foldable chair, or a hairdryer and how people engage with these offer many valuable clues into human behavior. Moreover, it’s people’s response to using these common everyday items that app developers need to observe closely.

But why is this so important? Primarily because people usually have an emotional response to their experiences. And these may be positive or negative, and people will inevitably associate their experiences with the respective objects and brands. And while app developers don’t make everyday items, this doesn’t mean that people don’t respond similarly to apps. Therefore, it’s crucial to pay close attention to the app user interface to engage and retain your audience.

And if you manage to drive a strong and positive emotional response in users, then you’re onto a winner. Fortunately, the concept of emotional design can aid you in optimizing the interactions users will have with your upcoming app.

3. Understanding The Three Levels Of Emotional Design

Emotional design is a concept detailed in a book written by Donald Norman. Published in 2003, In Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things, delves into how people interact with everyday items. The author reveals how all items have distinct personalities, even if that wasn’t the original intent of the designers of these items. And the same applies to digital creations such as websites and applications. 

Furthermore, the author reveals the three cognitive levels that designers will need to engage users. These include visceral, behavioral, and reflective, which can evoke positive responses in users if implemented correctly. And while it’s possible to use these three cognitive levels individually, they’re more powerful when used together.

4. Visceral Design

Depending on the visceral design of your app, you can jolt a positive user experience almost immediately. But what exactly is visceral design, and why is it so powerful? In a nutshell, visceral design involves all the visual cues in your app and how they affect the user. Visual elements, such as the colors, graphic design, fonts, and images, will profoundly impact your audience, even if they don’t understand why that’s occurring.

However, the savvy designer knows how to use these visual elements correctly and understands how they evoke a positive response. For example, bright colors and appealing graphic design often make users feel happy. On the flip side, a more subdued color palette and utilitarian design evoke a more serious tone.

5. Behavioral Design 

Unlike visceral design, behavioral design encompasses the value people derive from actually using the product. It encompasses all product functionality, performance, effectiveness, and expected behaviors from users when they complete certain tasks.

It’s possible to deliver a positive user experience if a user’s actions seem enjoyable and rewarding. That’s why your app must be fluid and responsive and make users feel empowered. And this experience needs to be consistent, even after updating your app, to build and retain trust. Moreover, ensure that users can achieve their desired goals with as few steps as possible.

6. Reflective Design

Lastly, we have reflective design, which focuses on users’ feelings after they use your app. Users consciously evaluate your app and try to ascertain all the pros and cons it offers them. And good reflective design will make users think about the app hours after they’ve stopped using it.

But how does one implement good reflective design? By utilizing gamification features that allow users to unlock achievements and attain badges. And while that’s a good starting point, you can further boost engagement and retain users by implementing social features. So make it possible for users to invite friends and share their achievements and experiences with others.

7. Methods To Boost Positive Emotional Responses 

Never lose sight that your audience consists of human beings with real feelings. And no matter how well your app solves a problem, you still want to evoke positive emotional responses in your users. Not only will this make your app more appealing, but more memorable too.

If appropriate, don’t shy away from using humorous elements in your app to make it more enjoyable. Add an Easter egg, which will surprise users since it’s something they didn’t expect. And if you have a knack for writing, add a few interesting story elements that will take your users on a journey. You can further enhance these elements with the inclusion of animations, illustrations, and special effects.

The user interface is yet another area that offers the savvy designer many opportunities to excite users. So add subtle or not-so-subtle cues in your app’s interface, which help improve its usability. And ensure that the design language that you’re using speaks to your target audience. Don’t use a bright and bold style if you’re targeting business users.

In Conclusion

Understanding how emotional design impacts users and how they perceive your app in the long term will only benefit your development efforts. And knowing when and how to implement the three cognitive levels will transform your app into an enjoyable and memorable experience. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you create phenomenal apps.

How To Measure App Performance To Release Better App Updates

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Anytime you roll out app updates, you should measure your app’s performance. The data you collect will reveal much about your app and whether it’s gaining traction with users. Moreover, you’ll gain greater insight into your app, allowing you to work on more meaningful future updates.

1. How To Track App Usage Growth

As an appreneur, you’re not only concerned with releasing a quality app but also measuring its performance. You’ll want to keep tabs on app usage growth by implementing analytics and checking all relevant data points regularly. For example, you’ll need to know how many downloads you’re getting on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. And, also keep an eye on any sharp spikes or declines and quickly ascertain why these occur.

There are several powerful analytics tools that you can use, such as App Annie, Apple App Analytics, and Google Analytics. These will give you insight into how well your application is performing in the app stores. Of course, the more well-versed you’re in understanding this data and utilizing these analytics tools, the more likely you’ll improve app user acquisition. But if this seems intimidating, it’s best to work with a professional studio, such as NS804, to help you with your App Store Optimization (ASO) strategy.

2. Why You Should Track Feedback After App Updates

Users can potentially become your biggest fans but also your staunchest critics. The latter may not be fun to deal with, as nobody wants to hear that their app isn’t meeting expectations. However, you must set up a robust pipeline to gather and keep track of all user feedback, especially after rolling out app updates.

After all, a big part of maintaining a mobile app involves listening and responding to user feedback consistently. Your pipeline should allow you to comb through and respond to feedback as quickly as possible. Positive feedback means that you’re on the right track, but negative feedback reveals issues with your app that you need to address. If you do listen to feedback and address these issues, then you’ll increase app usage growth. But if you choose to ignore your users, you risk losing them and having your app stagnate. 

3. Why You Should Measure App User Acquisition Type

Many of the best analytics tools allow for greater granularity, allowing you to look at user data in detail. And this data can help you determine whether app user acquisition is either paid or organic. But you should also be measuring whether app updates spur further growth of your app. You may have added new features and made changes to the UI/UX to improve user retention, but you’ll never know for sure until you start measuring these data points.

4. How To Track Overall Engagement

You can track the overall engagement of your app by measuring average session length, daily active users (DAU), monthly active users (MAU), retention rate, exit rate, churn rate, and stickiness ratio. Here’s a quick breakdown of these and their respective formulas:

  • Average session length –  Amount of time users spend on your app: Total duration of all sessions in seconds during a set time frame / total number of sessions during that time frame 
  • Daily Active Users (DAU) & Monthly Active Users (MAU) –  The number of users who use your app: The number of DAU or MAU
  • Retention Rate – The number of users who use your app during a given time frame: Number of users at the end of a period – number of users acquired during this period / number of users at the beginning of this period x 100
  • Exit Rate – The number of users who leave specific screens: Total number of visits to a screen / total number of exits from a specific screen
  • Churn Rate – The rate at which users uninstall the app: 1 – Retention Rate
  • Stickiness Ratio – The number of users who return to the app monthly: DAU / MAU x 100

In Conclusion

Measuring app user growth should always be a top priority for any budding or experienced appreneur. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you with your app user acquisition strategy.

Boost Enterprise App Productivity With Offline Access

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Building a compelling enterprise app can be tricky. It should run well under a wide range of scenarios, even when Internet access isn’t a given. Nowadays, company employees require a seamless online and offline experience in their apps to retain a productive workflow. That’s why every good developer should rise to the occasion by creating applications that have useful offline modes. Below, we provide several pointers on how you should implement offline access for your upcoming app. 

1. Using An Enterprise App Anywhere

Developers go out of their way to support as many platforms as possible. Without a doubt, this is a smart move, as it maximizes the reach of their applications. Some users access apps via their desktops, while others prefer to use their mobile devices. But it doesn’t end there, as there’s a growing number of applications developed for the web.  

If you’re embarking on enterprise app development, then you’ll want to follow a multiplatform strategy. After all, a company’s employees utilize a plethora of devices during their day-to-day work. But it’s vital to take things a step further by allowing for offline access. There’s nothing worse than for employees to have their work interrupted while the Internet’s down or when encountering connectivity issues.

2. Offline Access Is A Necessity

Even if your app’s online features are indispensable, always have a backup plan for when Internet access is unavailable. Furthermore, design your app to function when the Internet’s slow or when users experience connectivity issues. 

Your enterprise app development strategy should encompass what apps company employees use throughout their day and how they use them. For example, some employees may need to make changes to data when offline. Developing the enterprise app with an offline-first design methodology means that it won’t need to access the backend server to implement these data changes.

Also, consider the many benefits that building an offline app brings to the table. Users prefer to retain apps on their mobile phones that have offline functionality. Offline apps load faster and use less battery than their online counterparts, which most millennials appreciate. Furthermore, users located in regions with slow or no access to the Internet can actually use your offline apps, giving you an edge over competitors that don’t have this feature.

3. Choosing Which Features To Offer Offline

During the enterprise app development process, you’ll need to prioritize certain features over others. And this is especially true when deciding what features must run consistently during your app’s offline mode. Making the correct design decisions can make or break your app, so choose wisely. Focus on mission-critical features essential to the smooth operation of the enterprise. Furthermore, study employee workflows carefully to determine what features serve them best.

If you’re developing e-commerce, file upload, money transfer, news, and on-demand delivery apps, then you should implement robust offline modes. When users lose Internet access, allow your apps to store mission-critical data offline. And when they gain access again, the apps will automatically complete or queue up all transactions and file transfers.

4. Handling A Push Notification App With Offline Use

When mobile users are offline, they won’t receive your push notifications. And this is unfortunate, as these notifications can help retain your existing app users. That’s why you’ll need to develop your push notification app with offline use in mind. Utilize a versatile analytics platform, such as Kumalos, which allows you to analyze how users engage with your app. By studying user data, you can carefully craft and schedule your push notifications so that they’re engaging and meaningful.

Alternatively, save user device information and whether or not they’re online in a server-side database. Detect when users get back online and run an automated request on your server to deliver the relevant push notifications they missed while offline.

5. Reduce Enterprise App Frustrations

Users expect apps to run flawlessly, especially in an enterprise environment. While they can put up with the odd bug that will be fixed in the next update, they don’t like dealing with apps that break entirely or slow them down. Don’t allow company employees to miss important deadlines because your app can’t perform specific tasks offline. 

Communicate what features users can access while offline through the User Interface (UI). Moreover, make it easy for users to quickly see what functionality they have available without breaking their workflow. Apart from updates, ensure that your push notification app delivers the latest notifications that users missed out on earlier.

6. Decide How Much Users Can Store Locally

Nowadays, most smartphones come with a generous amount of storage space. But this doesn’t mean that all that space is available for your enterprise app development projects. Most users store documents, music, and videos that eat up much of their smartphones’ available storage. 

When building your upcoming app with offline functionality, ensure that you only store essential data locally. If you’re developing an e-commerce app, store the most popular products offline for users to peruse. And if you’re creating a money transfer app, keep details of the recipient on the phone until completion of the transaction.

7. Saving The Current State When Suddenly Going Offline

Internet outages often happen when you least expect them. So make sure that your enterprise app saves the current state during such a scenario. Implement a dynamic or static cache, or even both, depending on the type of data your app handles. Data that’s updated regularly is stored in the dynamic cache, while data that doesn’t change often gets stored in the static cache.

Many apps utilize real-time data synchronization, which works well when online but not ideal when offline. However, there are workarounds, such as implementing modern synchronization protocols that facilitate specific data updates during offline mode. Do keep in mind that data synchronization comes with its own set of challenges. Too much syncing will drain a device’s battery quickly, whereas too little syncing increases the risk of losing data and missing important updates.

8. Create A Seamless Online And Offline Enterprise App Experience

Take a look at some of the best and most-used apps, and ask yourself what they have in common? Whether it’s Google Maps, Netflix, or Spotify, all these applications provide users with excellent offline modes. Users feel confident using these apps because they offer a stable and seamless experience both online and offline.

Focus your efforts on unifying both the online and offline aspects of your app. And don’t skimp on the User Interface (UI) & User Experience (UX) either, as you’ll need a consistent look and feel for its entirety. Your users should never feel like they’re using a completely different application when they go offline. Instead, they should enjoy using your app both online and offline regularly.

Final Thoughts

Several of the most successful and widely-used applications function flawlessly when online and offline. While there are many challenges in developing apps that provide a seamless experience, it’s worth the effort to meet and surpass user expectations. Contact us today to find out how NS804 can help you develop engaging apps with powerful offline features.

The Ultimate Guide To Improving Mobile App UX

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Elevating Mobile App UX

No matter the industry, the consumer or end-user generally has the ultimate power. Businesses and organizations, mobile app developers included, undoubtedly want to serve and gain as many customers or end-users as possible. Keeping this goal in mind highlights the importance of delivering an optimized user experience. To further this point, users will abandon mobile apps that deliver a poor mobile app UX within the first 10 minutes of use.

Mobile app design is, in and of itself, a beast of a task. Designing the user experience is no walk-in-the-park though. There are many aspects that a UX design team must consider when approaching the UX design. However, there is such a wide variety of elements to consider, it’s daunting to go into mobile app UX design without any guidance.

Therefore, successful UX designs stem from an understanding of the various aspects that need to be considered. The following guide outlines four pillars of UX design.

The Design Process

To begin the mobile app UX design process, there needs to be some semblance of an action plan to follow. Building a workflow for mobile app design helps streamline and standardize this process. The first step in realizing an idea for a mobile app is through the development of an MVP or minimum viable product.

The MVP serves multiple functions. One of the main purposes of an MVP is to provide a sample of what the mobile app will be to various focus groups. These focus groups then take a trial of the mobile app. From this trial, garner feedback that informs the rest of the mobile app design.

Through the testing process, mobile app designers gain valuable insights into the features that have been included in the MVP that users experience and trial. These insights will likely apply to a variety of elements such as the beginnings of the visual design, the actual features that are included, and the way the app addresses the problem that it is supposed to solve.

This a very important note to make. Any mobile app, no matter how big or small in scale, should aim to solve a problem. The way that the mobile app solves the problem needs to be evident in the MVP. Otherwise, focus groups, early adopters, and other test groups won’t be able to provide feedback on the actual core-functionality of the mobile app.

Elements of UX

Developing a strong MVP that yields positive feedback from test groups begins with the very first design stages. That includes understanding the actual framework of a successful and functional mobile app. Understanding the skeleton of a mobile app allows mobile app developers to ensure a design is comprehensive.

Two of these five core elements of mobile app UX design are: information architechture, and interaction design. These two aspects together organize the information of the mobile app in such a way that makes it accesible to the end user, and defines the various user-interactions within the mobile app.

These two functions are vital to building a high quality user experience. Information architechture is the way that information is both organized, and accessed within the mobile app. In other words, where do users need to navigate in order to perform certain activites within the mobile application.

Defining the information architechture will be important in building an easy to use and intutive mobile app. The interaction design, on the other hand, applies to the elements of the design with which users actually interact.

These aspects range from the text displayed, to the various symbols and any visual representations used (including brand logos), and other user-specific elements like device-preference. All-in-all the interaction design is a vital aspect of the mobile app UX.

Features to Include for a Strong Mobile App UX

In building a mobile app then, it’s important to identify where to start. This often happens on the back-end of things. The actual coding brings to life features in the mobile app.

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here. Using history as a teacher, there is a library of features to include in the mobile-app design that are proven to benefit the user experience. Pulling from this pre-existing library will start your mobile app design off on the right foot. Ensuring the inclusion of important features.

Some of these features will streamline a process, while others just emphasize simplicity and ease-of-use. Therefore, these features include: platform-specific-design, a simple and swift onboarding process that users can get through without much difficulty, short forms, avenues for feedback, a live chat feature, and helpful navigation systems.

Platform Specific Design

Contrary to what might seem most intuitive, mobile app designers should build the initial design with a native-platform in mind. However, it becomes crucial to then create a responsive-design.

In other words, a responsive design will naturally convert itself to be optimal for any device and any screen size. designing apps with a responsive design is the industry standard, and significantly broadens the marketability of your mobile app. Responsive design also ensures that user experience is consistent between and across different devices.

Swift Onboarding

Users want to get to the crux of the matter. Dancing around introductory screens and a convoluted on-boarding process is almost guaranteed to send users running for the hill. While it is important to bring new users into the community that your mobile app has developed, it is also important to prioritize the time that users spend on your app.

Bogging down the user experience with a hefty or unnecessarily long onboarding process shows users a disregard for their precious time, and will send them to a competitor. Plus, the faster you get the user to their goal, the more likely they are to come back time and time again.

Short Forms

Gathering information from your mobile app users is just as important as delivering the actual functionality of the mobile app. In order to weave information forms into the mobile app that are both natural, and user-friendly; forms should be designed to be concise, and yield valuable insights into user demographics.

Understanding the most popular demographic that uses a mobile app will further inform marketing strategies, and other important aspects regarding the distribution of the mobile app.

Navigation

The navigation bar is a point of much debate in mobile app design. The two main types of navigation menus are: hamburger, or kabob. Both are viable and come with their own strong points.

Regardless of the style, mobile apps only need one main navigation menu. That way users know where to look.

Current Mobile App UX Design Trends

In addition to everything else that’s been covered, designers also need to consider current trends in mobile app design when developing a mobile app. The trends of mobile app design are forever in flux. Some of the popular design trends today, could very well fizzle out within the next few years.

However, keeping up to date with the latest in mobile app design trends will not only inform the initial design, but can also inform and direct future iterations of the mobile app. That ensures that future versions of the app include updates to keep the app relevant and aesthetically pleasing for each and every user on the app.

Start Developing UX with NS804

NS804 is the premier mobile app developer of the everyday person. Making mobile app development services more accessible than ever before. NS804 will help bring your mobile app idea into reality. Or, if you’re a do-it-yourself type of person, make sure to check back at NS804 for more valuable information regarding how developers can optimize the user experience.

How UX Fits Into Mobile App Design

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Mobile App Design and UX

Indeed mobile app design is no simple-feat. There are many elements to consider at the onset of developing a mobile app. Generally, beyond the function of the app itself, designers answer questions like, “how will the app feel?” or “what will the mobile app experience be like?”. These are questions that are addressed through a variety of components known as the user experience, or UX.

Firstly, components that make up the user experience include visual design and usability. Further, these components break down into a wide variety of elements. Specifically, the visual design incorporates symbols, logos, the color scheme, and how much contrast there is. Meanwhile, usability refers to more functional aspects of a mobile app.

Mobile app usability refers to a series of components that simply make the app more user friendly and intuitive.

Visual Design

The visual design of a mobile app is any and everything that appears on the screen. In other words, the visual aspect of the mobile app is one of the most critical. Visual design is the very first aspect of your mobile app that new and potential users will interact with. Hence, it’s also going to leave your users with their first impression of the app. Just like in life, it’s important that users walk away feeling good after their first interaction with your mobile application.

The visual design is also crucial because of the way it reinforces a brand. The app design should include an aesthetic that supplements the existing brand perception and further improves customer loyalty.

Usability in Mobile App Design

Usability is extremely critical in building a successful mobile app. This term refers to the way a mobile app operates. In other words, how the different functions of the application are utilized by the end-user.

There is a variety of important factors that create usability within a mobile app. Developing a strong information architecture is one of the foundational building blocks of a mobile app with a high usability score. Information architecture is the way that information is organized and accessed within the mobile app. In other words, information architecture defines the operations used to access information stored throughout the mobile app.

To streamline this part of the design process, some mobile app designers will develop from templates, or use low-code tools that shorten the overall project length. Whether you’re coding entirely yourself or using the help of low-code tools, however, crafting an intuitive and user-friendly information architecture will surely elevate your mobile app to the next level.

Perfect the UX in Your Mobile App Design

Nobody is perfect, but we can all strive for perfection. Design a mobile app that delivers the best possible user experience with the help of the experts at NS804. NS804 is the premier source for information on user experience, information architecture, and everything mobile app development, dedicated to making mobile app development services more accessible than ever before. Vist NS804 today to start realizing and creating your dream app of tomorrow.