Everyone knows an application needs to deliver an enjoyable and intuitive experience. If it doesn’t, users are unlikely to want to use your app. They will vote with their feet (or their thumbs.) If you have low adoption rates of your app, you’re not going to see a return on your investment. Fact. But, have you thought about this in terms of monetary value?
It’s no secret that many companies are investing heavily in great UX and design. To understand how this equates to value, the Design Management Institute have created the Design Value Index which attempts to measure how design contributes to company value. They have found that over the last 10 years, design-centric US companies have seen an increase in returns of 219% over the Standard & Poors 500.
The companies in the index are huge organisations with significant resources at their disposal. But, there are lessons to be learnt here. If you are building a website or a mobile application, how confident are you that it will be adopted, loved and shared?
Imagine the development costs of all those apps languishing on app stores because users don’t like the user experience? I can guarantee there are thousands of apps out there that have made a loss because the UX isn’t up to scratch. Don’t be one of them.
How do you ensure the UX is intuitive enough for people to adopt your app?
1. Think ahead of the game – we live in a world where people are interacting with applications in such a way that there is little distinction between the physical world and the application – just look at virtual reality. You’ve got to think about how people will engage with the application today and in the future. The tech giants of today are already doing this by transferring their core user experiences to all user touch points, for example Apple Car Play taking iOS into the car industry, Apple TV, Hive and more in the home.
2. Create something unique – if you want your users to have new experiences you need to create something unique, but don’t abandon the intuitive and the familiar altogether. Think about taking a hybrid approach combining familiar features (giving users a basis on which to start exploring your app) and then build on those to introduce new, unique features that set you apart from the competition. Finding the right balance between the familiar and the unique is part art and part science.
3. Don’t make your users joints ache – nobody wants to spend all day trying to create an account or trying to decipher the Enigma code to buy their weekly shop. This is why you need to streamline processes and ensure minimal steps. Simplification and the reduction of redundant steps are key to retaining and converting visitors.
4. Provide information when it’s needed – the user interface (UI) gives clear, immediate feedback to indicate that the action is happening, and was either successful or unsuccessful.
5. Don’t make them think – users don’t have to experiment or guess the interaction. Functionally, the UI delivers the expected, predictable results, with no surprises. Users don’t have to experiment or guess the outcome.
Next step
You may not have the design resources that IBM or Starbucks have, but by prioritising user experience you’ll see high levels of adoption. Get in touch and see how we can help your business with improved user experience.