A Few Interesting Remarks On Design, UX, and Business in General

Business, UX, and design are not a UFO, which lands in your yard. It’s simple!

Why is UX Design so Important When Building Apps?

Have you ever opened an app or a website and felt uncomfortable while using it? Probably, it happened less and less often nowadays. The main reason for that fact is the existence of the UX (User Experience) designer profession.

Usually, they create a comfortable interface for users. And they had to take into account lots of various types of different factors. Among those, for example, are:

Intuitive Experience. If a user finds the experience of using an app or a website comfortable once, he will probably keep using it in the future. When everything works intuitively and straightforward for them, you get more downloads, sales, new customers, etc.

Coherence & Continuity. When a user makes fewer efforts to get the required result and becomes satisfied faster, it increases apps and websites’ reusability. It will probably be worth a lot if UX designers make the path to “user success” shorter.

Platform Specifics. The most excellent way to obtain the best possible result for any app or website is to be highly optimized on any platform or device and have a wide variety of comfortable specifications for each possible configuration. A UX designer should collaborate with a UX tester in big companies to obtain the best possible results from a specification’s variety width.

The Deciding Factor. It may seem strange, but most people like to have some choice. Try to imagine a stupid one-page landing, which screams, “BUY THIS SODA CAN!” You probably understand that it won’t work for most of today’s users. So, that is the main reason to give people some choice to make. But straight enough for your app or website.

MVP Benefits for Businesses

Small business appears everywhere in massive amounts. But, unfortunately, most of them can’t recoup themselves and “dies” as a result. The best possible way for a startup to keep going today is to develop MVP (minimal viable product).

The main idea of this product is to study the situation on the market. But, there are many other different benefits that MVP may bring to a business. They are:

Initial Consumer Research. In case if MVP can’t find its consumer, you are probably make something wrong. By researching the consumers with a possibility for fast and easy changes in your MVP code, you will probably find many interesting data about them. The main idea is to react as fast as possible to any changes in customers’ needs and interests.

Testing Stage. As one of the most often used products, your MVP allows you to make various tests, which helps to determine the best interface look, features, and possibilities of other, more expensive versions of your products. Your User Experience developers’ and testers’ teams will get a lot of valuable data during those tests.

Cost Efficiency. Feature-rich applications may become a task for years of hard work, brainstorms, and data analysis. So, even if your PMV will be completely free, it allows you to gather lots of various data — it’s still worth it! Have no doubts.

Attracting Investors. Investors more often look at MVP than on a ready, high-price, and prepared to be sold products. Most of them want their money to rise with a young startup rather than give a stable income with a big.

Single-page App vs. Multi-page App: Choosing a Way to Deliver the Best User Flow

Web apps can potentially deliver lots of benefits for the user. There is no need to install them. They don’t leave registration trash on the computer. And last but not least, web apps are extremely easy and comfortable to use. If everything will go on like this, there is a considerable probability that desktop apps will soon be entirely abandoned.

Nowadays, almost every business is willing to launch at least one web application. Those might play the role of informative resource, marketing campaign pieces, or be an MVP. In any case, the usefulness of web apps is straightforward. But how to determine whether your app should be single-page or multi-page? Well, let’s try to think together.

What is a single-page application (SPA)? That type of web app downloads all the interface elements, content, and everything the user may need when entering the website. When you move further to the different parts of the web app, you don’t need to wait a lot of time before you can start using it. One of the most significant examples of different SPA is different social media, e. g., Twitter or Facebook.

What is a multi-page application (MPA)? That type of application consists of at least a few different pages, downloading separately after the user enters them. That is a great way to build a multifunctional platform containing a blog, forum, portfolio, product page, etc. Usually, those web apps have a significant size and transfer lots of data between a server and a browser.

Single-page vs. multi-page apps. What to choose? Everything depends on your wishes and the needs of your users. For example, if you are interested in creating a web app, which will contain a forum, blog, product pages, etc., then it will be better to use MPA as a basis. But, if you need something that works fast, easy to use, and has a significant effectiveness amount, SPA is an excellent choice for you. Anyway, there is always a place for experimentation!

How Mobile-First Web Design Is Different From Adaptive and Responsive

Nowadays, a great UX is one of the most critical factors that can potentially attract lots of new users, create sales, and lead. Its quality depends on many factors, but the most significant of them is the interface and design convenience. So, let’s find out what types of designs are used most of all.

Adaptive design. That type of design includes a few layouts of elements. Each complex of components tailored to various screen types and sizes. When a user opens a web app or a website, their browser automatically determines the screen aspect ratio, resolution, size of a screen and automatically adapts the whole interface according to those factors.

Responsive Design. If this type of design is used, the layouts of a web app or a website expanding or shrinking according to a device display width. It helps to save lots of money and time on developing the design, as mostly the layouts are staying the same for all types of devices and screen resolutions.

Mobile-First Design. This type of design leading specification comes from its name. The mobile design creates firstly, and then it is adjusted to the desktop versions of a website or a web app. In that case, there is a considerable probability that the mobile product will look much better than the desktop.

Why Is Mobile-First Design Essential for Business? Moving from small to more giant screens in this strategy allows avoiding over-optimization, which usually occurs when the process goes oppositely. So basically, it helps to save lots of different resources, including money and time. Also, more than 64% of modern people mostly use mobile phones for browsing and app use. So it’s a great idea nowadays to make a mobile version of your product first.

Tips for Creating a Mobile-First Design:

• Make a plan for project future development.
• Give a high priority to content quality.
• Try to make an overall tappable area as big as possible.
• Prioritize your mobile users’ needs first.

Ways To Increase Mobile App Engagement And Give Users Personalized Experience

Nowadays, most people prefer to use various types of mobile apps instead of traditional web surfing via a mobile browser. So, the more they use your app — the more data, sales, and new engagements you get.

It’s neither a secret that different people may have varying expectations from your product. So, you, basically, should try to create the most pleasantly, lovely, and enjoyable personalized experience.

So it’s worth it to increase these indicators by any possible opportunity. But let’s take a closer look at those success factors.

What is mobile app engagement? The formula of mobile app engagement (APE) counts these indicators:

APE = shares + comments + likes * visitors number

It helps determine your product’s overall popularity and assists various internet services, like Google Play Market, to properly arrange it. Generally, the bigger APE your application has, the more sales, satisfied clients, and money you will get.

Tips to increase mobile app engagement or main strategies to follow:

• Always prioritize your clients’ needs while developing.
• Try to organize the best possible UX.
• Optimize your app as good as possible.
• Сustomize your app to send an acceptable to the user number of notifications.
• Allow users to make choices, but just in a proper concentration — not too much and not too little.

Mobile app engagement metrics. If you have already launched your product and would like to measure its engagement, you may use special metrics tools. They help to collect, proceed, and count the engagement indicator for you. Measuring engagement will help you to understand better how to build your product further.

Mobile app engagement platforms. In some instances, you might also need to use different platforms to help you automatize some processes quickly and effectively. For example, they can help you with digital wallet integration, make user behavior analytics, and user segmentation.

Mobile App vs. Mobile Website: What is the Best Option for Your Business?

Nowadays, more than 64% of users prefer to use various mobile products instead of desktops versions of apps and websites. So, without any doubt, it is worth paying close attention exactly to mobile services development.

But what is the best way for your product to pop-up — mobile app or a mobile website? Let’s try to find out together!

Difference Between App and Website. An application is a sterling program, with a full range of various individual functions and features, original interface, and design elements. A website is a page or set of pages on the web, which has its own address and can be accessed only via a browser. So, differences between those stem from their digital nature.

Benefits of mobile websites for business. The main advantage of the mobile website for the business is its excellent accessibility. Users shouldn’t install anything or download any files. They only need to open any mobile browser to get a possibility to enter your website. Easy to access, a website may become a valuable window of opportunity for your MVP and main product sale.

Benefits of mobile apps for business. A mobile app is essential for almost any kind of business nowadays. About 65% of mobile users prefer using apps instead of websites. They help to create the best possible customized experience for your users and become the main attractor of new sales, customers, and engagements nowadays.

Mobile app vs. mobile website comparison:

• A website is a little bit harder to optimize, keep safe, and develop than an app.
• Websites usually didn’t need as many updates and patches as usually required apps.
• Apps allow you to gather more valuable data about customer needs and wishes than websites.
• Apps, especially MVP, are incredibly comfortable for features testing, which can not be said about websites.
• A website should be more like a business card for your product or service. In most cases — an app is a product or a service in a nutshell.

What Is a Design Concept and Why Do You Need It?

A design concept is an essential part of any successful future startup. Generally, it’s an abstract idea of how your product should look before launching, what features it should include, what elements of the interface will be included, etc.

Making a design concept helps a lot understand your target audience (TA) and helps to understand better how to adapt more effectively a final product according to their needs. So let’s discuss the concept of a design concept more accurately.

Why Do You Need a Concept? An excellent design concept can potentially significantly improve your release version product quality, attract lots of users, and give you a steady stream of data to analyze. The better and more you think before the release, the more resources you will put into your concept — the better results you will get after the launch.

Generally, all the further UX/UI development is based on your concepts’ various types of elements. So, it would be best if you didn’t think something, like: “Let’s launch, and then we will see what to do, though!” Remember always — planning is in the first place.

Concept Development. There are a few stages of design concept development, which can vary a lot depending on the specifications of your product. They include the following steps:

• Making decisions about the general project mood.
• Selecting colors, fonts, other designers’ elements.
• Discussing buttons, features, and other functions.
• Putting it all into one piece.

Concept development may also include various other types of different stages of planning and brainstorming. Everything depends on your TA needs and wishes.

Wrapping Up. At the final stages of designer concept development, it’s essential to collaborate with programmers, UX, and UI engineers, to create the most successful as possible. So, the main qualities of your concept should be the following:

• It should be easy to embody.
• The concept should be concise and brief.
• It should be client-oriented.

Why Should Business Outsource Mobile App Development?

Probably you already know that there are lots of different companies that exist today, which offer a service of mobile app development. As everybody nowadays realized the advantages of digital products, many business owners decided to start building apps. But, maybe it will be better to outsource the development and support of the mobile application.

Mobile App Development Outsourcing and Its Options. As more than 3,5 billion people are nowadays using various types of smartphones, developing mobile products is one of the best possible business decisions of almost any kind.

But is that worth hiring a whole bunch of new people for your company or outsourcing an app or a website development? Well, you always have such an opinion, so keep it in mind.

Outsourcing App Development: Advantages and Risks. Here are the main advantages of outsourcing your mobile app development:

• Cheapness
• Suitable for various single-time projects
• Possibility to choose among a large pool of specialists
• You can use different platforms, like Upwork, Fiverr, People Per Hour, and others

And here are the main disadvantages of outsourcing an app:

• Specialization low width. You need to hire at least two freelancers for each platform: IOS and Android.
• Sometimes, a lack of guarantees may occur. That’s why you should use various types of official platforms to hire freelancers or use a bid and well-known outsourcing companies.
• Various problems with team time management may occur, as may occur lots of different issues with differences in time zones.

How to Outsource App Development Without Risks. The main idea is to use freelancers and companies which build highly-professional, sustainable relationships with their customers. Different platforms for freelancing, like Fiverr, Upwork, People per Hour, allow clients to leave feedback about the freelancer’s work quality. Read carefully what other clients think wrote about your candidate, and then consider whether to work with him or not.

In-house vs. Outsource App Development: Comparing the Costs. Well, everything depends on your own and your users’ needs and expectations. But in most cases, outsourcing app development to freelancers will cost less.