One of the most popular features of the digital era is app. Everybody uses one app or the other, they are unavoidable as every phone we buy is packed with them. Business owners and organizations take advantage of the bliss that apps bring by reaching and acquiring customers. Currently, there are about three million apps existing, each day comes with tales of a new app that promises to better our lives.
Our phones’ play stores host various apps, some with low ratings that they were forced to shut down like Vine, Everpix, Friday etc. while others have achieved great success e.g.Facebook, Uber, Shein and so on. There are many reasons why those apps stay afloat and we are going to look at a few of them.
The first question every app builder must ask themselves is “What value does the app offer?” The aim of technology is to make our lives easier so every successful app solves a problem. Facebook brings us closer to our friends and loved ones, Shein takes us shopping in the comfort of our homes. Your app stands the risk of sinking if it is not addressing an issue or even curbing boredom like the Houseparty app did during the lockdown. Additionally, answering this question helps you know who your audience are which aids marketing process.
This is an important factor in creating a good app. The UI interface must be eye pleasing because first impressions matter. Studies have shown that people spend more time on apps that are soothing to the eyes and the best way to achieve this is to use simple designs. The app ought to be easily navigable, make the menus obvious. Users should achieve their goals in not less than three taps and the loading time should not be more than ten seconds because we live in a fast-paced world and everyone is in a hurry. To keep users stuck on the app, there must be regular needful updates. Unnecessary updates might drive users away like the case of the popular 2014 Yik Yak app.
There are several apps that are inaccessible to android users. There are others that are accessible to android users but some of the features are restricted. Android users make up a large percent of smartphone owners and when an app is created for only IOS users, the creators of that app lose this percentage of people, causing the app to decline.Facebook was able to achieve its number one spot as the most used app in the world because it opened its gates to both android and IOS users.
Freebies excite everyone. People have enough bills to payalready, adding an app to that list turns them off. The big guys like Instagram, AliExpress, Tiktok etc. are well aware of this fact. Their success can also be accorded to the zero charges that comes with using the apps.
In conclusion, there are other reasons that contribute to the success of an app but when these things mentioned are in place, the app can ride the wave.
