What Is the Most Important Part of Mobile App Development?
Of the many elements in mobile app development, which should be your priority? A mobile app development agency in Chicago knows how to allocate resources efficiently, according to the needs of a particular project.
However, without a doubt, user experience (UX) is the most important part of mobile app development. This article tells you how it can:
- Help users complete their buying journey
- Support customer experience (CX) and user interface (UI)
- Lower business costs and increase returns
You will also learn one of the essential UX design practices to engage and satisfy your users. Let’s go!
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How UX Shapes Mobile App Development and Drives Engagement
Contrary to popular belief, UX is more than app design. It is the entire user journey — from discovering the app to downloading and using it. It includes usability, visual design, the user onboarding process, customer service, and support websites.
Here is how UX feels and looks in popular apps:
- Netflix is simple to navigate and use, but it also recommends content tailored to your tastes.
- Uber helps you find the nearest driver in minutes and helps you track their progress in real time.
- Apple Music easily creates playlists that can be accessed nearly anywhere.
- Amazon gives you product recommendations and provides a secure checkout experience.
- Google Maps helps you find the best routes, discover points of interest, and get directions.
Whether you are a well-known brand or not, UX in mobile app development matters to you for these three reasons:
1. Help Users Complete Their Buying Journey
The customer journey can differ across demographics, needs, motivations, and product knowledge. Either way, UX helps push leads deeper into the sales funnel until they become customers and loyal buyers.
The table below explains how it could work:
| Stages of the Customer Journey | What It Means | How Good UX Design Helps | Features That Promote Good UX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Your prospect becomes aware of the app’s existence and purpose. | It creates a positive first impression, encouraging users to explore the app further. Clear and intuitive navigation assists users in finding the information they need quickly and easily. | Attractive and consistent branding, Intuitive and easy-to-use interface, Clear and concise copywriting |
| Consideration | The prospect becomes a lead and considers whether the app fits their needs. | Good UX design provides detailed product information, helping users make informed decisions. | Detailed product descriptions, User reviews and ratings, Personalization features such as product recommendations |
| Purchasing or Decision | The lead is now a customer after making an app decision, such as buying the application or making an in-app purchase. | UX design reduces friction and abandonment rates. | One-click checkout, Multiple payment options, Secure payment processing |
| Retention | The customer continues to use the app and make purchases. | Good UX maintains a high level of engagement by increasing the value that customers get from the app. | Exclusive content, Personalized recommendations, Loyalty programs and rewards, In-app messaging and push notifications |
| Advocacy | The customer transforms into an advocate, sharing their positive experience with others. | It elevates the pleasure and satisfaction that can encourage users to share their positive experiences within their network or app community. | Social-sharing buttons, Easy-to-find contact information, User-generated content (UGC) |
2. Support Customer Experience (CX) and User Interface (UI)
UX is not user interface (UI) or customer experience (CX):
- UI is the graphical layer of an app. It is what users see and interact with on the screen, such as buttons, text boxes, images, and menus. This interface revolves around usability, aesthetics, and visual appeal.
- CX focuses on improving online and offline customer interactions with a business. It includes marketing campaigns, website design, customer support, and sales processes. It is also about understanding how customers interact with your product, their expectations, needs, wants, and more.
However, these two will not work well without UX. For instance, UX and UI are closely related aspects of app or website design that work together to create a seamless and engaging experience for the user.
- UX must understand the user’s needs and behaviors and create a clear and logical information architecture. It also inspires testing and refining the app or website to continually meet the demands of, and accommodate changes in, your market’s needs.
- UI taps into UX principles to create an attractive, engaging, and helpful visual design that supports the overall user experience.
Meanwhile, CX depends on UX for:
- Mapping out the customer journey
- Understanding the touchpoints where the user interacts with the brand to identify opportunities to improve the overall customer experience
- Creating a consistent experience across all channels, from visuals to messaging
- Providing a personalized user experience
3. Reduce Business Costs and Increases Returns
Small businesses can benefit from a mobile app, but it is not cheap. So how do you build a solid app that can generate good returns, slow the burn rate, and lower overall business costs?
One of the underrated tactics is good UX. When done right, it will:
- Reduce development costs by catching potential issues early in the design process. For instance, prototyping and user testing can identify usability issues before coding begins, saving you time and money by reducing the need for rework later.
- Lower support costs. Good UX can decrease the number of user-support inquiries and the need for user and even employee training.
- Expand the user base. One of the fundamental UX principles is accessibility, meaning it lets you cater to poorly served and unserved markets. These include people with disabilities, who often feel limited by their choices.
Go Beyond Demographics To Improve UX
The core of UX is users; most UX best practices, from usability to accessibility to consistency in design and messaging, revolve around them.
However, many marketers make the mistake of focusing too much on demographics when these data are insufficient. The best approach to UX — and the first item on your research to-do list for app development — is identifying user needs and motivations. This augmented reality (AR) experiment in German tourism stressed this point.
But how do you uncover such information? You can start by asking these questions:
- What motivates the user to engage with the app?
- What type of user experience do they expect?
- What kind of frustrations can they have while using the app?
- How would they like to interact with it (gestures, voice commands, etc.)?
- What problem am I trying to solve with my product?
- What type of user feedback should I be seeking?
- How frequently do users interact with the app, and in what contexts or situations?
- What emotions or feelings do users associate with the app?
- How do users perceive the brand behind the app, and what impact does this have on their motivation to use it?
Summing Up
UX is essential to mobile app development and can distinguish between success and failure. It helps users complete their buying journey, supports UI and CX, lowers costs, and increases returns.
But it is a complex idea that requires a highly experienced team of designers, developers, and strategists. Digital Authority Partners (DAP) can help you leverage the power of UX for mobile app development, by creating a unique user journey that engages, educates, and delights customers. Contact us now and let us help you create a more meaningful user experience.
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