Tips to Increase Usability on Web and Native Apps
I’m going to start off this post by saying that native apps have many, many advantages to them (greater stability, performance, security, integration with existing features on the phone, and more!). Web apps too, have their own advantages; the ‘better’ one depends on the task.
What characteristics would improve your app’s usability?
1. Make sure your layout is responsive.
1. Make sure your layout is responsive.
This is especially important if you are creating a web app, or a native Android app.
Web apps: Responsive layouts are crucial for web apps. Not only will your app be viewable on a multitude of different desktop resolutions, but users will be using your app on their smartphones as well (read: the user experience should be similar on all desktops, as well as all Apple, Android, Blackberry, and Windows smartphones and tablets). A recommended approach is to make your website dynamic.
Native apps: I specified the importance of a responsive layout for Android apps because unlike Apple’s iPhones and iPads, Android devices do not have specific screen dimensions. To give you an idea, there are 4 common screen density-independent pixel (dp) resolutions (1 dp = 1.5 px), extra large, large, normal, and small. Within each dp, are different screen widths. For instance, there are 3 common sizes for 320dp screens (240×320, 320×480, 480×800). In short, for your native app to have high usability, it will need to fit on many different screen sizes.
2. Screen real estate is valuable, so while you should keep your screens uncluttered, you should also provide easy navigational tools.
With screens shrinking in size (and then increasing, due to an increased adoption of tablets and larger smartphones), screen real estate is important. Keeping your apps uncluttered will help users accomplish the task quickly. However, in the case that the app is not simple enough in nature to adopt a minimalist design, easy navigational tools should be provided (drop-down menus, slide in menus, etc). See Occam’s Razor in UI Design: Minimizing Complexity for more about uncluttering your interfaces.
3. Don’t break out of patterns.
If a usability pattern has been established (whether it is by apps in general, or within your own app), don’t break out of it. For instance, if most of your screens had a search button in the top-right corner, all future search buttons should also be in the top-right corner. An example of a general pattern to not break is to make sure things that aren’t buttons shouldn’t look like buttons.
4. Minimize guessing.
Guessing is frustrating, time-consuming, and makes it difficult to learn how to use your UI. To minimize it, always provide feedback. If your app is loading, provide a visual spinner. If there is an error that is stopping your app from running, inform your user about what they could do to help (e.g. turn on wifi). Mokhov (2011) recommends guiding the user towards their next steps by making those areas more prominent (e.g. larger button).
5. It’s annoying to type for too long on a smartphone, so make sure users only type if they have to.
Keyboards on smartphones are small. Keyboards on any touchscreen lack tactile feedback (a slight phone vibration per tap just doesn’t do), so minimize the amount of typing users must do. For instance, sign up forms should only ask for required information, which usually brings it down to around 4 fields ([user]name, email, birthday, password).
References
Apache 2.0 (2012, Dec). Supporting multiple screens. Retrieved from http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/screens_support.html
Hacker, W. (2012). Boost your mobile e-commerce sales with mobile design patterns. Retrieved from http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/12/19/boost-your-mobile-e-commerce-sales-with-mobile-design-patterns/
Mokhov, O. (2011). 10 essential web application usability guidelines. Retrieved from http://speckyboy.com/2011/03/31/10-essential-web-application-usability-guidelines/
Webcredible. (n.d.). 7 usability guidelines for websites on mobile devices. Retrieved from http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/mobile-guidelines.shtml
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Infographic: mCommerce in Tablets vs Smartphones for the Holidays
Christmas is coming fast, and more and more people are opting to use mobile technology to shop for their loved ones.
Check out this video of holiday shoppers discovering a new way of using iPads!
Charts: Worldwide Smartphone Market Share and Trends
Key Facts about the Mobile Environment
- Android (GOOG) and iOS (AAPL) powered 85% of all smartphones shipped in the second quarter of 2012 (2Q12)
- BlackBerry (RIMM) and Symbian (NOK), two pioneers and former leaders of the smartphone market, both saw their market shares fall below five percent. Although Blackberry’s market share has fallen drastically, they have been focusing on developer relations, increasing their app inventory, and streamlining their Blackberry 10 operating system
Android
- Success in the market can be traced directly to Samsung
- Samsung devices accounted for 44 percent of all Android smartphones shipped in the 2nd Quarter of 2012
- Samsung totalled more than the next 7 Android vendors combined
- Many other Android vendors are re-establishing
Apple
- Posted double-digit growth
- Demand for Apple’s flagship smartphone has cooled off now that the device has been available since October
- iOS remained the solid number two operating system behind Android worldwide
BlackBerry
- One of the pioneers and former leaders in the worldwide smartphone market
- Currently revamping their operating system and transitioning to Blackberry 10
- Seamless app porting from the Android system to Blackberry 10 could allow them to obtain app inventory very quickly and retake market share
Symbian
- For years the world’s most shipped OS
- 62.9% drop registered was its sharpest year-over-year drop ever
- Due to Symbian decline, Nokia decided to make Windows their primary mobile operating system
Windows
- Narrowed the gap between itself and BlackBerry
- Share gains it made last quarter are due mostly to Nokia, which almost doubled its Lumia/Windows Phone shipments sequentially
- Windows Phone is still a distant competitor to Android and iOS
- Microsoft will need to generate additional momentum from Windows Phone 8 devices, which will be introduced October 26th, 2012
Linux
- A category largely comprised of Samsung’s Bada shipments
- Declined on a year-over year basis as Samsung’s smartphone sales are increasingly Android centric
- Linux OS dependent vendors such as Panasonic are also migrating to Android, which contributed to the year-over-year decline.
Source: http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23638712
Charts Relating to the US market:
Source: ComScore
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