6 Key Features of a Successful Mobile Application

Even as the devices are becoming more sophisticated, the frequency of people using mobile devices is only growing. As of March 2017, there were 2.8 million apps available at Google Play Store and 2.2 million apps in Apple’s App store, as told in Statista.com. Not being a user, if you are running a business, then a mobile application should make it to your list of must-haves for if you are to have some degree of conversions for your business.

Having a mobile application is not an option anymore, but having one doesn’t guarantee what a business craves for like good sale numbers, conversion rates, and measurable ROI.

Certain features are to be present to make a mobile application successful. A successful app is always a good app.

A mobile app reflects your brand persona and values, but it should not be limited only to that. When I say a good app, it is something, which is designed beyond the purpose of a particular business domain to comprehensively serve the end user’s needs.

In this blog post, we learn about all those features that should be present in making a successful mobile application.

Key Features for making a Better Mobile Application     

1. Design Simple User-interface (UI)

At some point, it is the number of downloads and updates that matter to speak about the success of your mobile application.

Mobile UI is the graphical touch-sensitive display on Smartphones or Tablets, through which users interact with the device features, functions, apps, and content.

The content window size should be maximized, while on a smaller screen the UI should not unnecessarily dominate the screen size. If a mobile application developer is attending to the UI aspect, he should think in user’s perspective. Easier the audience finds using your app; better will your performance in the market.

And remember the basic guidelines used in the mobile application development should be consistent across the mobile OS.

2. Compatible with both Android & iOS Platforms

Out of the 432 million SmartPhones sold in the last quarter of 2016, 352 million used Android (81.7%), while the other 77 million ran on iOS (17.9%).

Basically, these two OS are the most dominant in the market. If you want your business mobile application to be successful it should compatible with both Android and iOS operating system.

If you are an entrepreneur with a small budget, then it is worth to know that mobile app development is not expensive. PhoneGap, ReactNative, and NativeScript, these modern cross-platform app development frameworks are making the process affordable.

3. Good Loading Speed

Be it a website or mobile application, the lack of speed will definitely kill conversions.

According to Aberdeen Group:

“A 1-second delay in page load time equals 11% fewer page views, a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction, and 7% loss in conversions. (In dollar terms, this means that if your site typically earns £10,000 a day, this year you could lose £250K in sales).”

Also, Gary Illyes, Google’s webmaster trend analyst has revealed that mobile page speed could be the vital part of Google’s Mobile-first indexing.

All these numbers and predictions point to that one fact, everyone is working towards providing a better user experience.

The purpose of using a mobile application over desktop websites is to have convenience through mobility, but not at the cost of speed.

A second delay can influence the thinking of a mobile application user and make him change his actions or decisions.

The mobile application should be meticulously tested for performance. The developers need not wait until the completion of app development for the testing process. The bugs and other performance related issues can be fixed as the development process is progressing.

4. Greater Emphasis on Privacy & Security

When the privacy has been compromised, the severity of consequences is very huge.

Creating a secure mobile app should be on the top of your list, as mobile security is one of the top concerns today. Your mobile application developers should constantly perform security testing and provide not just good user-experience but a safe one.

The security flaws must be addressed right from the earliest stages of app development process. Chances are there might be multiple security issues in the app design and development stage. There should be a detailed review of designs and code, so it will easier to fix flaws before it is incalculable.

Basically speaking, the app developers should understand and follow best practices for developing high-quality secure apps.

5. Support during Offline Mode

The internet is ubiquitous, but it is not cheap. Every time if the users need internet to access your mobile application, then it’s not convenient at all.

You can set up an app cache manifest, which directs the browser to display the already downloaded pages and not display error when there is no network connection. With such arrangement, the mobile application users can easily read their emails or other messages without internet/WiFi.

Another way to make the mobile app work in offline mode is through retaining browser cookies. Clearly, this second option is the most basic approach and can meet only simple storage requirements.

6. Social Media Integration

No matter what business you are in, your mobile application should be shareable.

Your mobile application will only have a mere existence until you give it recognition through social media integration. Just understand this; an app will easily make it to the audience only if it is integrated with a relevant social media platform.

Let’s say you are creating a business application, you can integrate with LinkedIn, and in less time you will receive more recognition and thus a good number of active users.