Importance of UI Design Within App Development

Our world has always been obsessed with image. 

From worrying that we’ll be judged in the street by passing strangers to a hunt for validation on social media platforms like Instagram, we’ve all bought into the trending culture. 

Today, though we might not know it, image has even started affecting our decision-making. 

Already, consumers have admitted to choosing one product over another simply because of how it looks - including for expensive products like iPhones. 

⁠Why is UI Design Important?#

Whether we all just want to look good and feel great, or simply blend in there’s no denying that “image” is a powerful motivator. 

It affects multiple areas of our life and there’s reputable research to show that we’re considerably less likely to purchase something if it doesn’t look good… let alone use it. 

In the software industry, potential users are bouncing all the time because a website or application “looked bad” and therefore seemed untrustworthy. This is placing a rapidly increasing amount of pressure on developers. The UX and UI design of your platform is now an essential part of the buyer’s journey. 

If you don’t get it right, you’ll lose a sale - which can have larger consequences for your business. 

A previously loyal customer that’s bombarded with a messy homepage and the ugly, bright colour scheme of your new mobile application is going to second guess their decision to shop with you. Doesn’t that sound terrible? 

To avoid this, then, you need to start funnelling resources into UI design during app development. You don’t want to get to the stage where you start losing expensive leads because of poor visuals and functionality. 

What is UI Design?#

UI design is the deliberate modification of the appearance of a piece of software to optimise its image in correlation to its purpose. Not only would it look good, but it would make sense to your audience. 

Buttons would be correctly positioned, and features wouldn’t be buried under hundreds of useless contents. Because of this, apps with carefully-considered UI design are considerably more likely to convert, have a higher return on investment, and make money.

The Objectives of UI Design in App Development#

With app UI design, you’re working to influence the perception of a target audience and cater to their needs in order to increase the likelihood of them making a sale or otherwise converting. 

The last thing you’d want to do is crowd a potential customer with too much information (like using extravagant text and images) and distract them from their mission. 

You should aim to:

• create trust;
• maximize user engagment;
• increase retention rates
• improve useability;
• build upon your branding;
• ensure marketing consistency.

These will all contribute towards your larger business goals. 

Ultimately, if you can nail your app’s UI design, you’ll be able to start generating loyal users who are going to pass on referrals and recommendations. This can increase traffic over time and transform your sales trajectory.

Soon, you’ll be living the dream.

The Best Practices of App UI Design #

When it comes to UI design, there are some best practices that can’t be ignored.

Brands like Uber and MailChimp are leading the way with their strategy, having put together specific visual guidelines that all their new software has to adhereto. 

This has proved to be a great asset in ensuring uniformity across the board and has had significant measurable results. Therefore, you should take a page from their book and strive for:

1. Consistency, making sure your application matches your branding.
2. Simplicity, using an obvious layout and easy-to-understand CTAs.
3. Minimalism, eradicating any features that aren’t necessary.
4. Effectiveness, helping your users achieve their goals.
5. Efficiency, reducing content that increases loading times.
6. Harmony, trialling different visuals to create the best overall result.

At the end of the day, you want to build an app that performs. 

This isn’t possible if users aren’t able to understand where they need to go or struggle with an overcrowded interface. You want to consider their needs and build your app accordingly.

If you tick the boxes for the features and functions you want your app to have, you don’t need to go overboard. You don’t have to be the next big innovator; you just need to provide value to your audience. A no code builder, like AppMachine, saves you a lot of time and money in this process.