6 Mobile UI/UX Mistakes to Avoid

Everyone, be it an individual, business, or organization, puts a lot of time and effort into creating a mobile app. Everyone wants their apps to succeed, but many fail, and one of the primary reasons is that app users do not like the design and find it challenging to fulfill the basic needs for which the app has been developed. Good marketing might get some initial download numbers, but if the app’s UI and UX are not good, users will uninstall the app. And for real success, it is not only the number of app downloads that matter throughout but also the number of active users.

Here are six of the most common UI/UX mistakes that, instead of encouraging users to return to the the app, force them to uninstall it forever because of its horrible user experience.

1) Same Design For Different Platforms

Nothing is more annoying to the user than finding an Android app designed to be an exact duplicate of its iOS counterpart. Every platform user must feel the same way when they see a non-native app appearing. Consistency in the platform should supersede consistency in the product. The mobile UX is unique and requires specialized design and interaction patterns for different platforms.

2) Bad Speed and Performance

Speed and Performance are perhaps the most crucial aspects of user experience, but unfortunately, they are largely ignored. According to Brad Frost, a famous UX designer, “And it’s largely ignored because it’s invisible. Teams spend much time polishing the aesthetic experience and enjoy diving into the latest development tools but ultimately neglect how fast the experience loads and performs. It’s up to us to prioritize Performance in our projects to better serve our users.”

3) Forced Registrations

Users hate filling out lengthy forms during signup. Apps must avoid a multi-page signup process, asking users to fill in many details. Also,  when users go through a signup process or hand over their email or social credentials before the app has demonstrated any clear benefit, it causes many users to end the session without registering and is usually followed by app uninstall. The app must show the user its value and prompt user engagement so that registration will be natural, not compelled.

4) Overdetailed Tutorials

Information without context is hard to digest and very easy to forget. If the user experience requires an explanation, prompt the user when the feature is being used. One of the biggest yet common UI/UX mistakes in many apps is that they flood new users with a detailed tutorial about everything the app can do on the first launch, alienating many users.

5) Not Doing Real Device Design Testing

When designing a mobile app user experience, it is critical to continually view and interact with the design on the device itself. Make sure the UX is working as intended. Or else, in the final test release of the app, it is found that everything is of different size, that perfectly placed button can’t be reached with a human thumb, the button at the bottom is not visible at all, etc.

6) Not Designing for the Audience

When designing an app, designers must know who they are designing it for. The average age of App developers is in the age range of 30 to 55, also known as Generation Xers. On the other hand, the two largest demographics (in the US) are Baby Boomers (55+) and millennials (Under 30). For a great user experience, the app should be created keeping in mind the users it is supposed to serve the majority.

Conclusion:

While creating an app, one should focus on developing and designing an app. Certainly, aim to provide unique user experience design. Mobile UX is less about technology and more about emotions.