Ten tips for designing mobile apps

It may be easy to write an Android or iOS app, but it's not easy to design for success, and the user interface is critical to the success of a mobile app. Perhaps you will say, why the interface so rough Flappy Bird can rounds, but that is a special case, the production of sophisticated design beautiful application is the mainstream of the mobile sector. For this, how to design a better application, here are 10 tips.

　　Tip 1: Clear topics directly

A good application is to focus on doing the best thing. When someone asks you what the app is for, you can describe your app in just one sentence, without having to use other "details" to repeat it. In addition, when users start to launch the app, they can know the purpose and purpose of the app in a short period of time. If the user has browsed through four levels of menus before they can actually operate, then the fate of your app will be uninstalled.

　　Tip 2: Use the Back button

On Android, the return button provided by the native system allows the user to always return on the same path. On iOS, the back button is software-controlled, so always remember to provide a return button when you do the app, and in the upper-left corner of the interface as the user wishes. In short, to the user's habits as the center, to meet their expectations.

　　Tip 3: Consider the screen appearance after keyboard activation

Most mobile apps have one or more screens that are entered using the keyboard. Unfortunately, many designers do not consider how the screen will look when the keyboard on the screen is activated. So, when you're testing your app, make sure that even if the keyboard is active, there's enough space on the screen to display the content, so users can know what they're doing.

　　Tip 4: Thoughtful consideration of using placeholders

If you have only a few data entry fields in your app, a good placeholder in the field will make your app look cleaner. If you have multiple data entry fields in your app, using placeholders instead of field labels can make the layout look confusing. Once the user enters some information in this field, they don't know what the information should be unless they are well known. Therefore, always pay attention to the use of placeholders.

　　Tip 5: Challenge new features with caution

In the old days of application design, software developers were always adding functionality to the app as much as possible. They measure the success of the application to focus on how much functionality is included in the app, but the revolution in the Mobile world has already changed that.

In a desktop app, adding a slightly more useful feature to a submenu might feel like a good idea because it's likely to be a major differentiator with other apps. But in mobile apps, using this approach will only make your app's interface messy. So when challenging new functions, consider whether you will pound foolish.

　　Tip 6: Put the label in the right place

In iOS, the Primary tab navigation does not look like a label. The icon is at the bottom of the window and is used primarily for users to switch pages in the app. So iOS users don't want it to be at the top of the window, but Android users do the opposite. In Android, labels are typically placed on top of the app and can scroll left and right. The key here is that if your app relies on a "tag" as the primary navigation in your app, you need to decide which location to place the label on, depending on whether the target platform is iOS or Android.

　　Tip 7: Note the button size

There is a tendency in simple design, in order to add a new event we will reduce the size of the button or font, so that the screen to adapt to all content, in fact, this is a very bad behavior. I don't know if you have such an experience, and when you try to use a Web page that's not designed for your phone on your smartphone, you'll find it's a pain to click on the right link on this page. So, you have to make sure that the buttons are large enough to be easy to use even if the user is working on a smaller phone.

　　Tip 8: Consider the button position

When the user is holding a smartphone, the thumb can easily touch the bottom half of the screen. And right-handed access to the right is the simplest, left-handed opposite. So, if you design the application is one-handed use, it is necessary to remember where the position of the button is the most convenient.

　　Tip 9: Provide the information users need

Whenever you are prompted for input, take into account what information users need to make decisions and take action. If your user interface does not provide this information in the same location and prompts them to enter it, they may need to cancel and navigate to the location of the information before returning to make the decision. This is a very unpleasant experience for the user.

　　Tip 10: Picture resolution

Modern smartphones are surprisingly high-resolution, and they look really beautiful. But if you use a low-resolution image as an icon, your app will look coarse and blurry, especially when compared to native operating systems. A better approach, however, is to use vector-based images so that the image can be extended to any resolution.

Ten tips for designing mobile apps