What are the most common issues with mobile app interface designs ?

  • Replies:2
Techno Exponent 2
Techno Exponent
  • Forum posts: 1

Jul 27, 2016, 4:05:52 PM via Website

Web designers transitioning to mobile creating interfaces optimal for click and precision mouse movement, but not for touch.

Web designers designing on huge desktop interfaces and not previewing designs on actual phones. This results in buttons and text being too small to read on small mobile devices. Touch targets can also be too small or too close together as a result.

Creating screens that are too complicated for mobile. Mobile screen real estate is at a premium compared to web / desktop. Designs must be simplified or broken up into several screens.

Translating a web interface verbatim into mobile. Mobile use cases are different than desktop. On the web, you are sitting down in front of a monitor or laptop whereas on mobile you are on the go using the phone on one hand. You have a lot less time and even less attention span.

Not understanding existing design patterns that consumers are used to on mobile.

Not understanding the differences and nuances of each platform (iOS vs Android).

Not thinking about phone orientation.

Vaughn Paul

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8
Christie Rodriguez
  • Forum posts: 70

Oct 10, 2016, 1:06:56 PM via Website

Thanx it was a good info, I will add the actual issues of any App:
1. Screen Transitions: Tap, tap, tap and now I have no clue where I am in the app and I have to tap a few times to get back to where I started or the home screen. Less is not always good in this case but most apps don't put enough thought into this.
2. Buttons: As phones get bigger, the top navigation paradigm doesn't work, especially with single hand operation - most buttons (especially search) are just not usable. Single hand operation is the most common, yet often overlooked use-case.
3. Signup: When an app asks me to signup as the first step, I almost always ditch it, unless I know exactly what it does for me and am convinced that I need it. For most new apps, welcoming the user with a signup is bad, yet people do it partly due to ignorance and partly due to greed (they want registered users).
4. Icons: This is debatable, but my stance is icons are useless without labels - they're good to accent a label but not replace it. Many apps easily put a '+' button and the user has to guess what it means. Sometimes the '+' is intuitive, but it's not in many many cases.
5. Forms: Filling out forms is the last thing you want to do on a phone, yet many apps make you do that (without a good reason). If a task is not as simple as a tap or swipe, it better have a very strong reason. Otherwise you lost the user.
6. Sounds: Some apps go overboard with sound - a chime for refresh, for a task completion, etc. It can get a bit irritating. Unless there is a strong reason, don't use sounds.
7. Settings: Many apps just can't get the settings, especially on / off switches right. It's confusing what the current setting is, and whether the change took effect or not. Interactions like having to slide a small circle to change a setting drive people nuts. And some apps have a save button somewhere which you'll see after a scroll, and since you didn't know your change never got saved. !$!!!

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6
Vaughn Paul
  • Forum posts: 9

Nov 4, 2016, 1:05:05 PM via Website

I am listing some issues with mobile app interface design:

  1. Unnecessarily providing more features
  2. Problem loading while doing micro interactions
  3. Problems in sign - up screen
  4. Incorrect navigation
    1. Using similar UX as competitors.

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