If someone comes up to you and says they’ll design an awesome app for you that has zero chance of failing – do not trust them so easily. Such claims are red flags of foul play!
Even with pro developers, things may not always turn out as per the expectations. According to Gartner, less than 0.01 percent of all consumer mobile apps are successful. It is a huge task for marketers and developers to create and launch an app that strikes gold.
Given how a large segment of the population across the globe is jumping onto the digital bandwagon, we recommend all brands to make hay while the sun shines. Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or a big shot in industry, you cannot afford to compromise on the mobile application. Take all the necessary measures to create an incredible app for your venture.
Definition of a winning app
With the current number of mobile phone users crossing 4 billion, businesses are now overly curious to know what makes an app successful. Essentially, it is an app that smartly combines three features. These include:
- Market
- Product
- User
All these aspects must intertwine in a way that helps the app to generate great usability, unique value, and remarkable performance. A perfect blend of business-centric and consumer-centric features will enable the app to hit a home run in the saturated digital market.
What makes a winning app?
Now that we know the definition of a successful app, it is imperative to acknowledge how to design one. What is the secret sauce to success when it comes to the app design? Is there a particular approach followed by all winning apps?
The answer is, no.
The app industry is a prime example of dynamism and fluctuation. However, that doesn’t indicate your app will be dead in the water if it fails in the initial years.
Rovio Entertainment was a small gaming studio in Finland, back in 2009. It was on the verge of bankruptcy and had a mere 12 employees in the staff. Dozens of their ideas failed to make it, but the company did not call quits. In December 2009, Rovio released Angry Birds. The response they received was tepid from US and UK audiences.
The point being, the success of an app doesn’t happen overnight. One has to work hard and be consistent with the upgrades to make their mark in the industry. To ensure you do not fall under the list of misfortunes, we have highlighted some traits that make a bestselling app.
Let’s get down to them:
- Provide value
Give your prospects a reason to download the app in the first place. This requires comprehensive research before you finalize the design. Figure out the pain points of your customers and recreate an app considered ideal by them.
Unique value of your app may relate to its agility, price, features, or distinct service among a pool of other apps. According to Tobias Dengel, CEO of WillowTree, “User Experience is everything.”
He further explains that user experience drives the value of an app, not the number of features it contains.
Remember – redundancy in the virtual climate is way too fast. Your app has to combine consumer needs, business objectives, and tech solutions in a shrewd way. Also, when working on value, make sure your app has a fully protected algorithm in place. The story of AirG spam free apps and how this company paved its way out of the ill-fated scenario is an inspiration for many developers.
- Keep it simple
Do not expect all users of your app to be cyber geeks. If your app is complex and equals rocket science, it is heading to doom. Y Media Labs, founded in 2009, has created 150 apps so far. Their approach to design an app is to fathom how it will function in the real world. They also evaluate how the design will engage users who are distracted and on-the-go.
Going into the complexities may muddle up the core idea of an app. Think about the ultimate raison d’etre of this app.
Boil it down to the shortest sentences, clear CTAs, and illuminating graphics. Don’t fall into the wrong assumption of using white spaces to house more content. On the contrary, empty spaces on the app is a great way to balance design and organize content. It enhances the visual experience of the users.
The trick lies in knowing the right balance between white spaces and other elements of your app design.
- Frequent Updates
Performance is one of the vital components to evaluate the success of an app. In case your app suffers from slow download speed, complex CTAs, and cluttered pages, people will abandon it within seconds. Nearly one in four of the users state they will not try out an app more than once if it lags.
So, after you have released your app, your work doesn’t end. Stay in the loop with the customer responses on your app and make efforts to integrate those reviews.
There are multiple strategies you can use to obtain feedback from your users. Have a chatbot on the app or communicate via emails. Make sure you address all queries of the customers and reply to their comments on each tool you use.
Since its launch in 2004, QBurst has developed more than 250 mobile applications. The team has firm faith in the regular releases of apps they produce. It stays responsive to the customer needs by incorporating agile software development methods, like scrum.
Parting Thoughts
Sailing your ship in digital waters is a game of chance. You will often doubt the steps you take and the designs you create. Don’t give up. Vince Lombardi puts it quite brilliantly, “Winners never quit, and quitters never win.”
Execute each step with precise planning, and if you are not the techie, hire a team of professionals to do that for you. We hope you’ll find wonderful wizards to do that for you!
