It is estimated that the number of mobile phone users worldwide will exceed 5 billion in 2019. And this undoubtedly indicates that for software developers, mobile devices will become an important medium that they have to cherish and utilize. And, at the same time, the myriad rumors about mobile app development are becoming increasingly popular among developers. Although, these rumors may have a negative impact on them creating a better user experience.
Therefore, this article will share with you 9 common rumors in the design and development of mobile applications, hoping to help you:
1. Mobile users are always busy
When it comes to mobile users, most people picture them as a busy bunch. Indeed, in some cases, this understanding is indeed correct. For example, on the way to work, they are always on the phone while waiting for the car. However, it is not accurate to assume that interactions between mobile users and software applications all take place in similar contexts.
In fact, a multi-screen text study conducted by Google in 2012 found that 60% of mobile phone usage occurs in the user's home. Moreover, the research of comScore, a well-known Internet information service company in the United States, also shows that the peak period of mobile phone usage is from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. So, at this point, should mobile users be identified as the people who use mobile phones a lot at home would be more suitable? The answer is of course no. We should analyze the target audience and their behavior to understand how they prefer to interact with the software, so as to better design the product to meet their needs.
2. The mobile app experience is self-contained
Many developers believe that the mobile app experience is self-contained and does not need to be integrated with other channels. But the fact is that mobile phones are just one of many device types that can affect user experience (for example, desktop devices, tablets, smart watches, etc.). A good mobile application should allow users to freely switch between different device media and continue their experience smoothly.
For example, according to Appticles data, 37% of users search and research relevant information on their mobile phones, but switch to desktop devices to make purchases. Therefore, if you are designing an e-commerce app, you need to provide a responsive design that makes it easy for mobile users to switch to their desktop or laptop to continue the experience.
What's more, the ultimate goal of user experience design is to achieve a "seamless experience" on all devices.
Therefore, in the software design and development process, do not treat the mobile application experience as completely independent. Synchronizing user processes across devices is also a top priority in creating a seamless experience. Because such a design can make the user feel that the entire software experience is smooth and comfortable.
3. Native apps are better than hybrid apps
For software developers, before actually starting application development, they first need to decide what type of software they want to create – is it a hybrid application or a native application? In fact, the difference between these two application types is quite obvious: as the name suggests, native applications are mobile software designed for mobile platforms (ie, mobile devices using Android/iOS systems). Hybrid applications are web-based applications that users can run in a browser.
Many developers firmly believe that native apps are far superior to hybrid apps when it comes to providing the best user experience for their users. The general controversy is about how fast they run and what they can provide. Because developers believe that native applications are faster than hybrid applications, the functions they can provide are more advanced and advanced. The fact is that some of today's hybrid apps have better performance and can help developers easily create powerful mobile applications. And they don't require product teams to spend extra time building separate apps for each mobile platform. Therefore, when it is necessary to make a choice between two application software types, it is best to weigh their pros and cons in advance, and choose the type that is best and most suitable for the product strategy according to actual needs.
4. Users are reluctant to scroll through app pages
Although this design rumor is not very popular at the moment, there are still a considerable number of product teams who believe that the most important page content should be placed on their landing pages. But the reality is that real landing pages no longer exist. Designers do page scrolling design naturally. To be precise, on the mobile side, mobile users b2b data are full "rollers". Page scrolling has become the most popular interaction method after page clicks.
When loading a mobile page, people can't help but start scrolling immediately.
5. Users always use the software while connected to the Internet
In places like the US and Europe, people are used to the ubiquity of the Internet. However, this network situation is not yet possible on a global scale. Therefore, software applications for emerging markets must be able to operate normally under extremely poor or intermittent network conditions in order to meet the needs of users. So if you're planning similar emerging market applications, make sure your product works without a network connection (but data caching is allowed). Of course, don’t forget to optimize the product itself for faster loading (for example, by minimizing the image or the content of the page, reducing the size of the page and speeding up the loading).
6. Prototyping is an extra step in product development
Many product teams believe that software development can skip wireframing/prototyping and go straight to programming. However, although this method can achieve the purpose of saving time in the short term, in the long run, it will eventually bring some serious problems, which is not desirable. Mobile software development is a very complex process that requires product teams to focus on all aspects of design - such as information architecture, visual design, interaction design, and more.
Considering all possible product requirements and every aspect of the design is nearly impossible without creating a design prototype. You need a tangible and visual design to run, test, and see how the relevant software design actually works. And at this point, creating a design prototype can provide you with a very effective solution. Therefore, software development also requires prototyping in order to better test and iterate the application design according to user needs to achieve its optimal state. At this point, Mockplus, an excellent prototyping tool, can help you make prototypes better and faster.