Best Practices for Hybrid App Design

Apps are now mainstream, trusted way for delivering services and content. But in a crowded market, how would a mobile app becomes useful, relevant, and valued so it satisfies and retains users?

Here are some UX design tips that I think are key for creating really great hybrid mobile user experiences.

One Screen, One Task

Reduce user’s efforts have to put in to get what he/she wants.

Every screen which you design for the app should support a single action of real value to the person who is using it. Design each screen for one thing only, with not more than 1 call-to-action. This will make it easier to learn, easier to use, and easier to add to or build on when necessary.

For example, we can take uber. Uber knows that the goal of the user(who is using the app) is to take a cab. App does not ask too much of information to the user : it automatically detects users location based on GEO data and the only thing which have to be done by users is to select a pickup location.

Invisible User Interface

We should focus on the content and remove unnecessary elements that do not support user tasks. Thanks to the reduced attention span, users should be guided to the content they’re searching for, quickly. Content is an interface.

for this we can take the example of Google Maps — While redesigning Google removed all the unnecessary panels and buttons and Google said that the map is the interface.

Breathing Space

We should use negative space for drawing attention to important content.

White space or “negative space”, means the empty space between and around elements of a design or page layout. it is often overlooked and neglected. Though many designers may consider it a waste of valuable screen estate, but white space is an essential element in the mobile design.

White space is not only responsible for readability and content prioritization, it also plays an important role in the visual design. So, it can simplify UI and improve UX.

Navigation Made Simple

We should make navigation self-evident.

Our first priority should be to help users navigate for every app. Mobile navigation should be discover-able, accessible, and they should take less screen space. However, to make navigation accessible is a challenge on mobile app due to the limitations of the small screen and because of need of prioritizing the content over chrome.

Tab bars and navigation

bars are well suited for apps for few navigation options. They are best for use because they display all major navigation options and with one simple tap, with which users can instantly go from one page to another.

App should Appear Fast

We should try to make the app fast and responsive as much as possible. We can do things in the background to make it look like actions are fast. background operations actions have two benefits — they are not visible to the user and they only happen before the user asks for them. uploading pictures on Instagram is a good example for this. when the user chooses a picture to share, it starts uploading.

Proper use of Push Notifications

Everyday, users are bombarded with useless notifications that distract them from their daily activities and it gets annoying. Annoying notifications is the first reason for which people uninstall mobile apps (71% of respondents).

Mobile is all about making each and every message count. We should not send notifications “for the sake of engaging them” but Send them only if you think they are valuable to the user.

Conclusion

The most important thing which we should keep in mind when designing a mobile app is to make sure it would be both useful and intuitive. If the app  would not be useful, it has no practical value for user and no one will have any reason to use it. If app is useful but it requires a lot of time and effort, people won’t bother learning how to use it.