The functionality of the application, its speed, stability is vital for the success of your business. But let’s be honest, the first thing users encounter when starting your product is its appearances – the design of a mobile application.
In many cases, if the user initially does not have a strong interest in the app, a not-too-attractive design may push them to refuse from your product. On the other hand, a good design can increase their brand loyalty. However, note that it is not recommended to redesign only for the sake of redesign. If changing the appearance of a mobile application gives the end consumer absolutely nothing new or useful, then it is definitely not worth doing it.
Improving App Appearance
No matter how paradoxical this may sound, the redesign is not the responsibility of the designer only. Far from it. A serious redesign of mobile applications or development of an interface from scratch involves the participation of a whole team of specialists – a designer, marketer, business analyst. The process itself is divided into several voluminous stages:
- identify prior tasks
- draw portrait of the target audience
- set the required functionality of the application
- study the decisions of competitors
- testing the mobile app.
This step will predetermine the application logic. It is better to make all changes to the project at this stage, so programmers have not yet been involved in the development, and any changes are implemented much easier (changes are made only on paper, and not by directly editing the code).
So, how can you know that the time has come to redesign your app? To answer this question, we have compiled a list of events that may trigger the need for your app renovation.
Guidelines Update
Modern companies happen to often change their guidelines. It is associated with constant updates and improvements in technology. As, for example, Apple did when switching from iOS 6 to iOS 7. The earlier system was dominated by skeuomorphism, and all interface elements were similar to objects from everyday surroundings; then, it was replaced by flat icons and widespread translucency. This triggered the need to modernize the interface layout to make the application look organic since outdated interface elements will look extremely awkward against the background of the updated system and it will simply be old.
In the case of Google, everything happened according to a different scenario: the company developed its guidelines from scratch (material design), since they simply did not exist before.
Outdated Design
The old Install Wizard may look just as obsolete and inorganic on new versions of the OS, your app can do worse if you weren’t engaged in updating its design for a long period of time. It’s not necessary to catch up with every single trend in UX/UI design or to develop an interface from scratch, but it’s definitely worth periodically updating your product to modern standards. In many cases, companies hire professional mobile app developers to help them in this matter.
Migrating to a Different System
What system to choose for your mobile app: iOS or Android? Let’s say you created your app for iOS, and now think about porting it to Android. The most inexpensive way to transfer the modification is not to change it at all. There are clients who get accustomed to the design of an app interface of a particular platform, and they prefer to leave the design unchanged of a different OS too.
Of course, you can leave everything as it is if you develop an app on a tight budget. In all other cases, it is worth worth executing an application on the guidelines of the system, for which it is intended.
Complex Interface
If your app has a complicated design (even though it may perform many tasks very well), it can baffle an unprepared user. A huge amount of menu bars, sidebars and switches are not among the biggest development trends today – app appearance should be as simple as you can make it.
The average modern user is pretty spoiled by designer refinements, so often even luxurious functionality won’t be able to lure consumers to your application if it looks too complicated. The way out is to simplify the existing interface. Or act much more radically – break your massive application into several smaller ones in such a way that each one is responsible for a different volumetric function.
Company Rebranding
Have you changed your logo or corporate colors? Changed the contents of the brand book? Great! Only now the main thing is not to forget about the mobile application rebranding. If your old logo flaunts inside your app or the color palette is radically different from the corporate color of your company, this may cause confusion for the user. To avoid such situations, when rebranding, do not forget about enhancing your mobile app user experience.
Excellent Functionality, Poor Design
In the late nineties, an application could be forgiven for mediocre interface design and non-compliance with the basic principles of UI/UX design, since it might not have an alternative at all. Today, the market is full of alternative solutions from various app dev companies, even for the most specific tasks. Thus, it’s easy to guess which application the average user would prefer.
Final Word
In the world where trends change at a huge pace, it is important to go hand in hand with all the latest innovations. If you suddenly discovered that your app requires a renovation, SwagSoft is ready to help you with this task. We are an app development company located in Singapore with a team of dedicated professionals on board. No matter what type of redesign your application needs, our experts will help you decide on the best option and conduct a truly high-quality redesign.