6 Mobile Design Principles You Should Know
When the user opens the program, it should be easy and quick to find the required content. This is the main principle based on which all section navigation should be built. There are certain mobile design principles, which are at the center of attention nowadays.
Show the Value of Your App from the First Seconds
To engage users, provide the information they need directly on the first page and accompany it with clear enough calls to action. Indicate your main advantage. Place the text in a prominent place. This will generate strong interest from users.
Mobile Design Principles – Convenient and Simple Application Menu
It is difficult for users to navigate through the menu sections when it does not coincide with the accepted principles of categorization. Menu sections should have a clear marking. Their contents should not even overlap. This is especially important as people often only access menus after finding the information they need using the search tool.
The User Should Be Able to Go to the Previous Page
While interacting with the mobile application, the user may need to go back a step. Thus, the “Back” button should be on every page so that a person does not have to start all over again, going to the main page and losing all the information entered. Fine-grained navigation controls always help conversions. The screenshot below shows that the “Back” button is available only at the first stage of working with the application:
Mobile Design Principles – Add a Manual Positioning Option
Auto location always saves time. However, sometimes it is necessary, for example, to find a store that is located in another city. In this case, the person will need to select the location manually. Make sure to make this option convenient and easy to use. The app shown in the screenshot on the left cannot manually change the location, while the app on the right does.
Make the Transition from Your Application to the Browser Comfortable
The user can be very easily confused if the application suddenly “throws” him into the web browser. The truth is even worse when the layout and design of the elements on the website and in the application are very different from each other. It can be off-putting. Problems can also arise if the transition takes a very long time. Therefore, if a transition from an application to a web browser is necessary to solve user problems, make sure that the arrangement and design of the elements on the page are similar and so that this happens as quickly as possible.
Mobile Design Principles – Users Should Immediately Recognize Elements
This refers to our ability to “recognize” familiar events or pieces of information, like in a dating app template. At the same time, remembering results in a greater “cognitive load” that involves extracting related details from memory. By showing users things they can recognize, you increase usability over having to remember items from scratch.
For example, using icons in an interface is powerful because it instantly recognizes a character. If a standard warning sign icon is displayed in a dialog box, it immediately prompts the user to pay attention. The next action can be destructive. But if the icon should make users remember and decipher its meaning – for example, raising a hand instead of a warning icon – this reduces efficiency and usability.
UX also has the concept of value vs. pain. It’s about how much investment the user is willing to invest in finding out where the icon is leading. Most people do not want to learn and memorize what an icon means in one application if many different applications are used every day—the best mobile design principles for icons. Always label them with text. Labeled icons ensure that meaning is conveyed quickly and easily and that they are consistently understood. The most popular apps of big brands do it.