MagicSolver

What Makes a Good App?

The apps world is an extremely rapid growing market, reaching approximately 900,000 apps in five years. But it’s not just the numbers that makes it impressive: it is the vast variety of categories that offer a better experience to users and that, in some cases, have even transformed the way of using our mobiles phones.

With the industry moving so quickly, however, there are implications that are important to take in account when you are thinking about developing an app. The high level of competition and the increasingly educated user base are the two main factors that should make you plan your strategy of development in order to decide what to offer from your product.

In short, things that wouldn’t have mattered to a user a year or two can today be the difference between success and failure. We are talking about a very “simple” question: what makes a good mobile app? What was the answer not very long time ago - smooth user interface, nice design, good graphics, cool music, an app that works without bugs or crashes and an app which doesn’t take up much space on your device - are nowadays just the standard requirements expected from users. So what can you do to give your app longevity.

What is the shelf life of an app?
According to Pinch Media, 99% of the apps downloaded are deleted after 2 days. But that’s the case, what would make users to keep an app? Here are some important factors that should be taken into consideration when planning the concept of the app:

• It should be engaging,


• Serve a purpose,


• Be Easy to navigate,


• Be Easy to use,


• It should be instantly accessible,


• It should have a clean interface, simple and not cluttered with too many design elements,


• It should be fun or entertaining.

The frequency of use
Another point to add into the app development strategy would be how to maximise the frequency of use. Social Integration is one of the latest trends, that will definitely serve as a way of promoting your app through word of mouth and friend recommendation; as well acting as a reminder to your current users to use the app while enjoying with their closer community. In order to do so, you should think about allowing your users to:

1. Share to social media – Because we all know that sharing is caring,


2. Interact with other users within the game,


3. Keep track what others are doing (in the game or with your app) via integrated logging systems.

Build loyalty
Once you’ve reached that user base, you’ll have to do a number of things to keep hold of them:

• Free updates are important because they add value to the users, particularly in freemium games,


• Check the functionality of the app and user feedback to see if there is something, even a small update could help to rectify,


• Users tend to like and stick to apps that are easy to use and feel up-to-date, so constant iterations should be on the cards.

Nowadays, both users and developers have higher expectations about apps than just few years ago. What started for some people as a ‘hobby’ is now a significant business model but that doesn’t mean you can treat your users badly. While developers are looking for monetization, users are looking for good quality apps that cope with their demands and expectations. So looking to bringing an added value to your app that differentiates it from the competitors, as well as offering a top quality experience really matters.