How to develop mobile apps that are purposeful and pretty

If you look up “inspiration for mobile apps,” you’ll find a lot of eye candy. Several million pictures, to be exact. But you shouldn’t develop mobile apps only to please the eye. They need to do something, or else they’ll end up in the dustbin of forgotten apps. (It’s kind of like the island of misfit toys, but a lot more expensive.)

Before you start your project, it is smart to look for inspiration. But don’t just look at design or functionality. Look at – and try to improve upon – both.

Don’t reinvent the wheel – reimagine it

When developing ideas for app design and functionality, I typically start by studying how other people have accomplished similar tasks. When I do this, I think about aspects they did well or didn’t do well. I try to refine areas I don’t agree with, add areas that might be lacking, and remove unnecessary steps/interactions.

Don’t just look at your competitors. Look at similar transactions in completely different industries. And don’t just look at the big guys like Google and Amazon. A lot of smaller companies are doing a great job with app interfaces and functionality. Sometimes the smaller companies are more willing to push the design paradigm limits.

Develop user goals before you develop mobile apps

It is also crucial to set user goals – the things people should be able to do with your app. For example, say you’re developing a mobile app that your outside sales team will use to facilitate customer interactions. State those needs in the user’s voice:

• I want to check product specs.
• I want to check inventory levels.
• I want to access the database.

Break each goal into the simplest/smallest number of steps to achieve. The less clicks or touches (friction) the better. This makes it easier for people to use the app. Try to put yourself in your user’s shoes and think about how the experience feels; what would be frustrating to achieve or difficult to learn. User experience clarity and user interface clarity often go hand-in-hand. If you have a clean user experience, your user interface will most likely be very simple and clean too.

With this approach, you won’t be copying your competitors or making an app that’s all flash and no substance. Rather than playing follow the leader, you will be the leader.

Always, always ask whether you need to develop a mobile app

Through this process, you might answer another question that is very important: Do you need to develop a mobile app in the first place? We’ve covered the issue of native app versus web app already, so I won’t go in to great detail. But I will say this: If the purpose of your app is to deliver text and images, you don’t need an app for that. If you need to tie in with your back end or some device functionality (like the camera), an app would probably be better. The bottom line is that helping people achieve a goal in the simplest/smallest number of steps (not just developing mobile apps that look great) should be your top priority.

- Ryan

As a web developer and app developer for OSD, Ryan Mitchener builds dynamic and responsive websites with interactive front-ends, as well as Android applications.