What Makes a Great App?
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Today, with the development of digital, thousands of applications on the stores exist and continue to be released non-stop daily. There are thousands of mobile apps in the world and some of them are listed as “top apps” such as Facebook, Youtube, Lazada, Grab, etc. What makes these apps so popular? And stand out among thousands of others? What makes an app great in customer's eyes? A great name or a very modern interface may be part of it, but to be considered a top application, there are many factors. Through this article, let's find out what will be the prerequisites in identifying a great app on the market today.
Read on!
1. What is a mobile app?
Previously, web programming or web development has been a common trend of most economies in the world, until the appearance of smart mobile devices such as mobile phones, Ipads, Tablets, etc. Mobile applications were invented as an inevitable trend to meet the demands of society.
Mobile applications are generally available through application distribution platforms also called app stores, which began appearing in 2008 and are typically run by owners of mobile operating systems, such as Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone Store, and BlackBerry App World. Some apps are free, while some must be purchased.
The mobile application was initially provided for general information purposes and universal network services, including email, calendar, contacts, and the stock market and weather information.
However, the general demands of mobile users and the development capabilities of programmers have expanded into other categories, such as mobile games, factory automation, GPS and other categories. Location-based services, geolocation and banking, for tracking, ticketing and recent mobile health applications. The explosion in the number and variety of applications has created a large potential and market.
As for the details of the steps to build a mobile application, we will cover in another topic. Please look forward to reading in the next part.
2. What Makes a Great App?
It is not simple that one application can stand out from the rest, here are some of the most basic elements that make up an attractive application.
Versatility: Versatility is simple in this field, most of the mobile application market only runs 3 main platforms: Android, iOS and Window phone, 2 out of 3 platforms are Android and iOS are popular, there are a few people who still use Windows phones for work purposes. A versatile application is an application that can be run on multiple platforms without any difficulty. Or even users can easily transfer data and personal information when they switch to another device or to a new platform.
User Insights: the focus of each product is on the customers using that product. Understanding user behavior and habits through the personal information they provide and application usage behavior contributes significantly to improving and upgrading the application to be more practical with customer needs.
Consistent Color Scheme: the color interface is the first prerequisite to impress a new audience, the application has elegant and harmonious colors that will easily attract attention and stimulate the curiosity of customers. rather than an application with too high contrast colors, unsightly and burdensome to the eye. Depending on the purpose of the application, there is a suitable color design, which can be consulted with the audience during the initial stage of market information gathering.
Now that we know what it takes to make a great app, let's take a look at the key components of a successful mobile app.
3. Key Ingredients for a Successful Mobile App
It Solves a Problem for Masses
The core purpose of an application is to completely solve the original problem. For example, the Grab application solves the user's need to book a car instead of having to call through the taxi switchboard, now the appearance of the Grab application has solved the problem of booking a car for residents of big cities, or Facebook appears to properly meet and satisfy the interaction needs of most current users.
It's better to focus on solving only one problem facing the majority of the target audience, which is the opportunity that determines the success and survival of the application. There is a guideline for everyone to see how the leading giants in the industry have built their application ideas from just a paper idea to one of the world's leading useful applications.
Simple & Elegant
The common point of most great apps is the subtlety, attention to the smallest detail, from fonts, text sizes, colors, action buttons, etc. They will not ignore any detail and every little things so that each user's action brings consistency. A good application does not mean an application with too many complicated features, but a simple application, elegantly and logically designed, and brings useful value to users.
The best way is for the designer himself to experience his application in different environmental conditions (light conditions, sound conditions, …) and experiences the application like a real user, through that way they will easily capture and understand the user's experience when using their production.
Fast & Stable
The content and image quality posted on the application also directly affect the loading speed and response of tasks. So you must consider carefully focusing only on the necessary content, limiting the redundant pieces of content that have no informational value, and consider resizing the illustrations, optimizing the code to help increase the download speed and stability of the application. One of the key characteristics of great apps is that they're fast, stable, and flexible.
Personalized UX
The fact that users can personalize the application interface according to their preferences and habits will bring more and more absolute customer loyalty than a rigid application that is not fine-tuned as what you want it to look like. Today's applications focus on the personal interface a lot, for example, the application can adjust the background light and dark based on the time, weather, or according to the shopping behavior, using the application that is about to come.
Putting the most frequently used items at the top of the page not only helps maximize application efficiency but also creates a sense of friendliness and builds customer loyalty. They feel completely respected when the app always shows recommendations based on the interests of each audience.
Regularly Updated
Any application, no matter how modern the platform and methods and code is built, over time will encounter errors and failures. If fortunately, your application does not encounter any problems for a certain period, then updating the interface and additional features are also necessary because it is thought that consumers will always tend to update. new things, new trends, suitable for the taste of each current context. So keep in mind that your app is always up to date, not only to patch bugs but also to tweak the interface and features to keep up with the latest trends in this way your app will become more addictive day by day.
It's Designed for One Purpose
Be an expert in your field to be successful, the application that wants to impress users the most is the application that focuses on solving a single problem, for example, Lazada, Shopee is only for shopping, Tinder is for the sole purpose of dating, Momo or Moca is used as electronic wallets instead of cash. Once an application is designed to do its job, it will have to do its best or it will be knocked out of the market, which is very competitive.
With these types of mobile applications, we should not carry the mindset of “Our target customers are all over the world”. Worldwide equates to no focus, and instead of developing specific features and content that are sure to appeal to specific people, you won’t attract anyone because you try to create content that pleases everyone.
Secure & Reliable
One of the key points of a mobile application is security, because in the process of using a mobile application, users are required to provide personal information, even for applications with payment functions that require payment. must provide the pin code, bank account information.
Therefore, a safe application with maximum security method is a smart way to retain customers and increase the reputation of the application in the store. However, with the current level of advanced science and technology, there is no guarantee that hackers will not find security holes that attack, or errors arise spontaneously due to code conflicts. … Hire a trusted mobile app development provider to test your app and pre-remove any potential security threats. This way, you will avoid having your most confidential information compromised.
Valuable
The survival purpose of a mobile application is to satisfy a certain demand of a certain group of customers, its appearance must bring value to users, it must solve one or a few problems of their essential needs. Therefore, in order to win the trust and loyalty of customers, a good mobile application developer must know how to take care of his application to improve and increase the benefits it brings.
These are some of the components that make up an app's success. However, there are many other factors that contribute to the success of the application. For example, a list of mobile app features, a high-class mobile technology, and a solid marketing strategy play an important role in making your app stand out.
4. Frequently Asked Questions
- What makes mobile apps useful for users?
Of course a minimalist design, practical useful features, and friendly navigation. All of the above factors aim at a single common purpose of serving users, providing information in the most effective, easiest and most comfortable way.
- What are the essential features of a mobile app?
There are many essential features that make an app great, and not to mention:
- The system responds to information quickly, accurately, with very low latency
- Real-time
- Diverse, reliable and intuitive data sources with high analytical capabilities
- Push notifications
- Payment integration
- 24/7 customer support center
- What are the most successful apps?
A few examples of great mobile apps: Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Shopee, Tinder, etc. It can be seen that the common characteristics of these applications are all focused on addressing the practical needs of each group of their target customers from the beginning and they do well for that only purpose, so they have retained and spread their reputation around the world.
5. Conclusion.
To create a great app is no easy task. To create a pretty good product requires intellectual investment, but to create a great product always requires perseverance and patience. A great app built on a unique idea, a good understanding of advanced users and their behavior, psychology and habits, has good speed, response time and finally the intuitive user interface. The above article has listed a few of the criteria for the category of apps to the list of great apps that are popular.
Your business can consider the target customer, geographical location, the purpose of the application and design it accordingly, but the most important thing is to still focus on the customer and solve their problem. A reputable application provider – Groove Technology will help you easily plan a strategy so that your application is both the most optimal, the most economical, but still the most thorough solution of the problems posed.
Do not hesitate any longer, contact Groove Technology immediately so we can bring you the ultimate experience of technology!
