How to design a seamless user experience on mobile

UX Design tips for mobile experiences

The mobile-first era is here to stay – on average, users will spend over 90% of their mobile data on mobile apps. The options are endless and often it’s a customer’s experience that will determine the difference between a mediocre or top performing app. At each step of your customer’s mobile journey, these design tips will create a memorable experience and help increase conversions on your mobile interface.

At first glance

Like any first impression, looks play an important role. A UX Designer should aim to leave a striking impression on your customer and ensure your customer has a positive and effortless first experience, similar to a first date, with these pointers:

• Less is more: On mobile, you only have a few seconds to grab a customer’s attention. Ensure your app’s splash screen loads quickly and avoid overwhelming users with an overload of information. One way of doing this is to use icons to remove unnecessary text.
• Flaunt your best: Prioritise the most essential features on your home screen. This helps a first-time customer find what they want instantly without complicated steps.
• Keep your navigation visible: Your app’s primary navigation menu should be visible, intuitive, and coherent across the app. Make sure the menu is consistently placed in the same location.

Score a second date

According to Statistica, 20% of apps are abandoned after one use. For most customers, convenience can encourage repeat usage and conversions. Improve your customer loyalty and retention by guiding your customer through to conversion with user-centered designs. Here are some pointers:

• Make text entry easy: It’s taxing to type on a smartphone. Where possible, leverage mobile functionality such as the camera and location services to decrease the need for typing. Nick Babich, UX Planet Editor-in-Chief, also suggests text on mobile should be at least 11px to be readable without zooming.
• Include search options: An easy-to-use search function is helpful on mobile. Provide multiple ways to search such as keyword searches, image searches, and product scanning where relevant.
• Cater to multiple payment options: Enable efficient payment options such as card scanning and express payment processes like Apple Pay, Android Pay, and PayPal. This will reduce the effort to complete a payment. In case of ongoing subscription fees, include an option for automatic recurring payments.
• Allow customers to personalise their accounts: Give customers control over their data by granting access to your settings and transaction history. Spice things up by adding options for content. According to Altexsoft, “by offering an experience tailored to each customer’s lifestyle, you foster an emotional connection to an app that will result in increased retention rate.”
• Make use of widgets and notifications: Notifications should be personal, timely, and highly relevant to the customer. Widgets should have narrow functionality that can be digested as required.