Be it booking flights or shopping on Amazon – none of us waits to get back home and switch on our laptops when our mobile phones have it all. With 53% of search clicks coming from mobile apps, companies are switching from websites to responsive mobile apps by the minute. And with that, the demand for adept mobile app developers is on the rise too. The task of developing mobile applications is a blend of science and art, where programming languages merge with visual palettes to create a seamless app. Most App developers live in a bubble, assuming that all it takes to develop an app is a basic understanding of the programming language. But that certainly is not all. As a developer, you need to make sure that it serves the purpose it was built for and that it runs smoothly, to start with. If you want to create a high-end mobile application, then it is high time that you come out of the bubble and stop repeating the age-old app mistakes that most developers do. Image source: Lvivity To err is human – true. But to make the same mistakes over and over again is not acceptable at all, especially when a company’s business results are dependent on it. So here are ten commonly committed mistakes that you must stop doing NOW. 1) Including irrelevant features Did you know that 77% of users uninstall an app within 3 days of installation? The culprit for this has to be the extraneous additions that you crowd the app with. The very basic of a user-friendly app is to keep it simple. So as a developer, you need to have a clear understanding of the absolute essentials and stick to them. Talk to your clients to get a clear perspective of the concept of the app that they want. Moreover, you need to go by the rule that the users of the app are not very tech-savvy. So keep things simple. 2) Using complicated layouts Although the mantle of designing the app does not rest on you, yet you would want to keep things simple for the designer. Remember one thing – a successful app is the result of both efficiency and visual value. So choose a framework that will make it easier for the designer to tap the potential of UI/UX. Avoid coded stack of programs because when these are loaded with design, the app will become even slower. 3) Not focusing on the audience The key to developing a successful mobile application is to focus on the demographic factors of the users. For example, if the app caters to aged people, you need to understand that old person are not very familiar with complicated features. So keep it as simple as possible. Again, if the app is for millennials, you need to pay attention to features like share. Considering that they want to share everything that they are doing – from listening to songs on Spotify or binge-watching a series on Hulu – they need an app mistakes that connects them to all the social media platforms. 4) Neglecting cross-platform development Unless an app is present on all platforms, the chances are high that it isn't covering the entire milieu of the targeted users. While most developers tend to limit their mobile app to iOS and Android framework, you need to remember that several people are still using Windows and Blackberry. For example, most corporate users side with Blackberry. Again, if the audience is geographically limited to the US, then Windows is a must considering that 1.8 million used Windows phones. To build your mobile app on cross platforms. 5) Not running enough tests Practice makes a man (also, developers and apps) perfect. Remember that mobile app development is more like an A/B testing procedure – you need to test it numerously to see how it is doing. There are bound to be bugs and glitches that you will be able to identify only through trial and error method. So run checks to remove and fix the bugs accurately. The more you test, the more faults will your product disclose. You must check for user engagement, retention rate, the average session rate, etc. Check the heavy-weight features that are causing the application to crash. 6) Creating a copy of the website The very reason why there is a demand for mobile apps is to have an alternative to the site on two different platforms. So, making the app a copy of the website does not add value to it. Although clients might want to add features and functionalities of the site to the app mistakes, you must inform the client how a website-similar mobile app doesn't contribute to enhanced user-experience. Another misconception that developers have is that a responsive website and a mobile app are the same things. So you need to break away from the fallacy and build an app that carries the essence of the website but offers a more mobile advantage. 7) Ignoring Speed Optimization 86% of users abandon or minimize an app and never come back to it if it takes more than 5 seconds (yes, you read that right!) to load. Therefore, one of the most vital things that you need to keep a check on while creating mobile app mistakes is the average session time. The time your app takes to load can make or break your application. As I have mentioned earlier, do not add unnecessary features to the app. Keep it as light-weight as possible to ensure speed optimization. If the loading time of the app is low, the rate of user engagement automatically shoots up. 8) Overlooking the touch interface One of the main reasons why apps face failure is due to poor touch-screen factor. Most mobile app developers UK fail to understand the bridge that exists between touch-based interface and mouse-based interface. As a result, they develop an under-performing app mistake with limited design aesthetics. If you want your client to reach out to the maximum number of users out there, you must prioritize these factors and build an app that responds well to touch as it does to click. 9) Including Animation in the Intro The buffer-zone is worse than the friend-zone. We all hate the sight of the circling ring of buffering, don't we? So you need to understand how a user would feel when a large file takes time to load right after they launch your app. Yes, I know that you want to create the best first impression. But not at the cost of speed – trust me, you would not want that. Similarly, users are impatient, even the intro animation of a few seconds will irritate them. So do not crowd the app with intro animation. And even if you do use one, make sure that you fix the bugs to make it as smooth as possible. 10) Not taking feedback All kinds of work need multiple feedbacks, and yet, mobile app developers UK give this a miss. You need to understand that the app is being created for general users. So their criticism is indispensable in this case. So ask your friends and other colleagues to run the app and share their complaints and problems with you. Multiple iterations while developing bits and parts of the app mistakes can save you a lot of time in the end. Mistakes are an integral part of a developer’s life. What is important is that you take lessons from your shortcomings and never repeat them in your future projects. But now that you know of these common mistakes, steer clear off the path to stand apart from the rest of the crowd. And even if you do make mistakes, do not be too hard on yourself. So what are you waiting for? Break a leg already and take a shot at it.
