505 - SB2 - App UX Research

I decided to research into what makes an app successful in terms of user experience because if it fundamentally doesn't work then it won't matter pretty it looks it doesn't do the job. The Apple website has a lot of useful guidelines and suggestions to take on board when designing for the App Store on IOS.

'Delay sign-in as long as possible. People often abandon apps when they're forced to sign in before doing anything useful. Give them a chance to fall in love with your app before making a commitment to it. In a shopping app, let people browse your merchandise immediately upon launch, and require sign-in only when they're ready to make a purchase. In a media-streaming app, let people explore your content and see what you have to offer before signing in to play something.'  

This has made me reconsider my initial wireframe design with the app loading straight away onto the log in page so I am going to explore other options in order to keep users interested as I myself have been put off from using apps when they make me log in immediately. With saying this I need to consider if the main purpose of the app is identify plants, or to keep a track of the ones you have and connect with others because in this case the social would be more prominent and therefore a login straight away make sense.

'Unlike my granddad, most users tend to use their phone with their thumbs. This is an important consideration when laying out an application flow. For example, if a user is a filling out a form, they should be able to navigate through fields in the lower part of the screen.'

This is another important thing to consider especially for those who have larger phones, they wouldn't be able to reach the top of the screen to first login and although it's a small thing subconsciously it would annoy someone.

'We often take if for granted that App users learn from their experience and are familiar with how how Apps behave.  So take advantage of that familiarity and use it within your App. Everything in the right place - Make sure your buttons are clearly labeled and that they behave as they should.  So in our example, we have back button in the top left corner, action button in the top right (this can also be a menu or home button) with navigation along the bottom.'

I need to consider how the app will be navigated around and the easiest way to start designing this is thinking about the most popular pre existing apps and the gestures used on IOS itself as that is what people are used to. If the controls and back/home etc are in familiar places the user will feel comfortable with the app straight away.