Mobile apps have seized the world — they’ve changed people’s daily lives, their shopping habits and the interaction between companies and customers with a single click. The statistics show that around 2 million apps were available in leading app stores last year — it evidently confirms that people are going mobile.
But great mobile apps aren’t cheap — if you consider building a mobile app for your business you should make it serve a purpose as no person likes buggy apps.
Imagine you invest to build an app for both platforms and then you discover that very few people downloaded the app and even less could be counted as retained users.
So basically, your app lived only for a single day.
To prevent the headache, let’s list a few simple mistakes which you should avoid at any cost:
Simple Mistakes to Avoid
No Plan or Target Audience Scheme
Before you decide to start building an app, you need to set up a plan. As this is an important decision, take some time and think about some details like why are you developing an app? What do you want to achieve? Who is your target audience and their current habits?
Always bear in mind your target audience: age, gender, interests, geographical location etc.
If you stop and think for a second, the entire development process will be much easier as it will be built on the foundation of clear and simple values for your potential users.
Android, iOS or other?
Surely you want for your app to reach as many customers as possible but building an app instantly for both platforms can cost you an arm and leg.
The truth is that almost every app gets modified along the way — there is a long way from MVP to the final product, especially since each app needs user feedback to perform the updates and adjust it to serve the users better.
Although Android and iOS apps rule the existing app market, you should always think about the market you’re targeting and what works the best for your users.
The best plan of the game is to figure out what works on one platform and only then add others.
Marketing Plan?
A marketing plan should start way before the launch of your app — more precisely, in a pre-launch phase. It’s always a good idea to start a buzz around your app (or just an app idea) to test it and let the people become your fans and wait for the launch eagerly.
Some of the things you can do are to create a landing page, increase your web presence through social media, create a promo video that catches the core of your app and embed it into your social posts as well as the content.
So mingle a bit and share your ideas on social media as it can help you boost your conversion up to 80%.
Too many features
Many businesses strive to include as many features as possible in their app but that is a cardinal mistake. Mobile apps are meant to allow users to quickly accomplish the task that would otherwise take longer. You need to think about the core features necessary for your app to streamline the user experience and perform the very same features quickly and without delays.
As you move on with your MVP app, you can add more features along the way relying on the user feedback and behaviour.
Bothersome UI and performance
Don’t get pulled into pure aesthetic when building an app — if you choose a pretty layout but complex for your users to grasp, it will probably be uninstalled and deleted.
Always strive for a unique experience by choosing a simple and clear layout with functionalities that are easy to understand so to ensure maximum user engagement.
Performance also plays a pivotal role within mobile apps — if your mobile app takes forever to load, uses too much device memory or drains the battery, it will deliver unsatisfactory user experience thus leading to destroying an app reputation. The users will leave negative reviews and other users will decide to download some other app rather than yours.
In case your app shows signs of poor performance, you must sort these problems out as soon as possible so to be able to stay in the game.
According to 62% users, if apps underperform, they will be deleted instantly.
Insufficient testing
Prior to releasing your app, you MUST test it for possible crashes and bugs. Making sure that your app is not failing and has been beta tested extensively will surely provide a positive brand growth for your business.
Negative Feedback — oh noooooo!
Don’t ignore negative feedback from your users — those are the reviews you want so to be able to resolve the issues. Of course, you cannot please everyone but those reviews contain valuable insight on possible problems and which is more important — they reflect the opinion of your users and thus you can learn a bit more about their behaviour as well as their preference with the app working process.
Don’t be pushy or annoying
If you want a great app, you should avoid in-app ads although they are working wonders for app monetization. Those ads are loaded with graphics and can impact app usability. If you still need to use those ads, then testing is mandatory so to ensure that those ads are customized as per app layout design and doesn’t compromise on its user experience.
What’s more, pop-up notifications can be really annoying if used excessively. These can be a powerful medium to help your retention rates but be careful — only send these notifications to the right user and at the right time.
Rate me, rate me…
If you continually ask your users to rate your app, you will definitely end up getting on their nerves.
Those requests should be relevant and should come at the right time e.g. if the users want to uninstall your app or if any major update is available. If you wish positive ratings, you need to keep those requests on a lower pace so to give users a chance to onboard your app without nuisance messages.
The same goes for updates — if you introduce new updates every other week, it will be inconvenient for the users and you may risk losing them. Always check if the update is really necessary and if it is, then let the users know why it is important to get the update.
So all in all, don’t impose the need for rates or updates — let it come spontaneously from users.
Copycat
Today, app stores are swamped with mobile apps and many of them are similar in features or service they provide. You cannot simply copy and paste other software tool elements into yours and hope for success over the competition.
You’ll know that you’ve done a great job if your app is unique — offering a range of functionalities or features like no other apps. If users figure out that your app is just a copy of other apps, your app will not survive in the crowded digital market.
So, take your time when planning and try to offer your users an exclusive opportunity to benefit from downloading and using your app.
Wrap Up
If you want to enable your app to succeed amongst massive competition, don’t take the easy route. If you avoid these mistakes, you will tailor a path for success for your mobile app.
The key is to walk a bit in the users’ shoes and thus create an app which will add value to your customers’ lives. Sticking to an idea where you ensure your app corresponds to the user-driven goals will guarantee your development process doesn’t go astray.