5 Essential Features of a Top-Notch Mobile App

Over the last decade, mobile technology has literally transformed the way we perceive, communicate, and socialize with the world. Everything – from buying clothes, commuting, and messaging to buying groceries, sharing pictures, and ordering food is powered by mobile apps.

It is estimated that a whopping US$581.9 billion revenue will be generated from the mobile application market by the end of 2020.

In this article, let us try to understand some of the most essential mobile app features that make these top-notch mobile apps tick.

A) Design – Keeping it Simple and Robust

A simple, quick, and intuitive UI/UX design (User Interface/User Experience) is among the most important features of a mobile app. A great design helps the user to navigate through your application without getting confused or frustrated at any step.

A recent survey analyzing the usage statistics of mobile applications showed that 94% of app users thought apps having a poor design were untrustworthy.

‘Keep it simple’, is a general thumb rule that one can follow. Aesthetic graphics and images will help make your app visually appealing. Further, a well-developed app has a faster response time and is robust. It does not lag or crash often.

In conclusion, a minimalist, clean, and clutter-free user experience is the foundation of designing a top-notch mobile app.

B) Social Integration – Facilitating Networking

Understanding the habits, psychology, and behaviors of your high-end users is crucial to developing a successful application. With billions of people active on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, social integration becomes an extremely important feature to capitalize on.

Social integration allows users to share your application link or content generated on your application with their network. This helps your application reach a much wider audience quickly.

People also try out apps when someone recommends it. This causes a network effect that helps your app gain new users. Most applications fail to scale up, even though they might be solving an important problem. This is primarily because they fail to give enough importance to cross-platform sharing. Social integration is thus one of the vital features every app should have.

C) In-app Notifications – Staying Connected with the User

Another feature that every app should have is an in-app notification service. Notifications are primarily important for two main reasons:
Communicating with the user – Through notifications, you can convey information regarding application updates and announcements. This will lead the user to take the desired action.

Engaging the user – Notifications also plays a vital role in keeping users engaged in your application. They work like triggers tempting users to visit your application.

You can also integrate third-party notification API’s provided by companies like Onesignal or Twilio in your app. This will allow users to remain connected through the app and improve user activation.

D) Updates & Patches – Collecting User Feedback

A feedback service allows users to report the challenges or problems they are facing. You, as the app designer, can closely understand user behavior on the app and identify issues they might face. By analyzing this information, you can fix these flaws and improve the user experience.

Feedback services also enable product designers to make key decisions like elimination or addition of features.

The best way to build a top-notch app is to stay as closely connected as possible with your users. Users also feel valued and more connected with the app when they have a provision to put forward their views.

E) Security – Protecting User Data

While mobile applications have given us millions of benefits and made our lives comfortable, they also hold a risk of a privacy breach. Thus, we face a very real threat from cyber crimes like fraud, identity theft, and data misuse, to name a few.

While building an application, it is important to understand that users are trusting you with their personal details like phone numbers, email addresses, and location details. It is a responsibility to protect this data and hold security as a top priority feature.

This security can be provided through features like:

• Storing user data in an encrypted manner using a strong encryption algorithm
• Asking user permission before using any data
• Ensuring application data is stored with a legitimate service provider like Amazon cloud servers
• Sharing privacy policies with users
• Allowing users access to control what data they are sharing with you

Mobile phones have become an extension of our bodies. Looking back, a world without mobile apps seems like such an impossible time. As a result, the mobile app development market today is competitive. It has become easy to quickly build and replicate ideas. However, the user attention span has shrunk, and it is increasingly challenging to retain users from switching to other platforms.

The five integral features mentioned above should form the core of any mobile application. Building your app on top of this base layer can ensure a solid foundation. Missing out on them can be a cause for a competitor to take advantage and offer a better solution.

Author Bio:

Rajamanickam Rajan is the Director at Skein Technologies which is a leading software and mobile app development company in India. He has got expertise in Analysis, Design, Development, Testing, and Implementation of Hybrid and Native applications.

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