5 Tips to Tackle Mobile App Usability Issues

It takes a lot of marketing strategies and budget to get users to install your App. Once they do, it takes them the first few minutes to decide whether or not they want to keep it on their phone. And the deciding factor is usability. 

Is the App fulfilling the purpose the user initially installed it for? Is the goal of installing the App completed? What else can it offer the user? Is it easy to use? Is it error-free? These are the questions you need to ask before marketing your App. It helps your App become a part of your user's daily life, inspires loyalty and even encourages in-App purchases in the long run. 

It all comes down to usability. Your App should be effective, efficient, engaging, error-tolerant, and easy to learn and use.  

Common Usability Issues to Avoid:  

As much time, planning, effort and cost goes into developing an App, a few usability issues often get neglected. Some of these are excessive links and submenu, unclear UI, slow loading time, incompatibility across platforms, poor error messages, unclear navigation, scroll-jacking, and complex processes. 

Top 5 Tips for you to Tackle Usability Issues:  
 

Platform Usability: Your App should deliver a good experience across different platforms, phone models, and operating systems. So, ensure that your App is tailored to work on each phone you intend it to work on flawlessly. It should have a native feel and allow users to interact intuitively.  

Easy Navigation: As soon as your users open your App, they should know the next step and how they can reach their goal. The immediate next step should be almost obvious. Users seldom want to 'figure out' how the App works, so make the App as easy to navigate as possible. It'll not only enhance your users' experience but also increase their chances of completing a purchase or availing of a service.  

Minimize the Steps: Minimal is optimum. So, while creating a UI Style Guide, remember to cut down any steps that seem like extras and make it as immediate as possible for users to complete a goal. If two steps can be merged into one screen or command, do it.  

 Also Read: Create A UI Style Guide For Designing A User-Friendly App  

Clear and concise UX Copy: Make every word count in your UX Copy. The Call-to-Action Buttons, Error Messages, Definitions, Labels, Instructions, and Chatbots should all be the users' knights in shining armour and guide the users through the App. It doesn't only improve usability but also helps you connect with your users, increase your recall value, improve user engagement and keep your users coming back for more.  

Also Read: How to Improve User Engagement of your Mobile App through UX Copy  

User Testing and Feedback: No one can validate how the users will react to your App better than your users themselves. So, performing User Testing and Gathering Feedback from users in real-time is the best way to ensure that your App is, in fact, user-friendly. Not only does it validate your existing App, it also gives you insights into the improvements you can make. Further, based on the feedback, you can add additional features in the future to make it more relevant for users. 

In addition to these top 5 tips, emphasis should also be laid on reducing scrolling, landscape orientation, providing value, goal funneling, readability, loading time, etc.  

Final Word 

Your App's usability is directly proportional to the time it will remain on your users' phones. The more usable your app, the longer you can retain your users.  

You might also like: What Makes a Good User Experience?  

Would you like to know how to improve your App's usability and deliver an enhanced App experience to your users? Connect with our team!  

At Hashbrown, our team has experience developing innovative Mobile Apps with high usability for clients from diverse industries in the most cost and time-efficient way. If you've got an idea and want to turn it into a well-developed App with higher usability, connect with our team!   

View Our Extensive Portfolio of Mobile Apps and explore more about Our Mobile Development Capabilities!