8 Keys to Successful iOS App Design

If you spend a lot of time on your phone, you probably have a lot of apps. Whether you’re a local business, a nonprofit, or a store wanting to expand your eCommerce capabilities an app can be a great way to generate new revenue and share your ideas with the world.

But you should consider iOS app design before releasing your app into the wild. That way, you can make sure people will want to use it long after they download it.

When you’re getting started, these are the key elements to keep in mind as you begin your planning.

1. User Interface (UI)

User interface (UI) design focuses on creating a program that looks good. When focusing on iOS app design, you should make it easy for people to navigate through your app.

But you also need to combine usability with a good experience. Even if your app is easy to use, if it doesn’t look good, it won’t be fun to use.

The user interface is what your app customers will see when they download it. It’s how they will navigate through the functionality throughout your app.

UI design is only one element though that partnered with user experience (UX) design is the foundation for a successful app.

2. User Experience (UX)

UX design goes hand in hand with UI design. When using a mobile app, you probably want your experience to be smooth and easy.

A good UX design helps users feel a certain way, and the design can help users do the things they need. UX focuses more on the path you take to solve your problem.

When designing an app, you should think about what your customers’ goal is. Consider how you can make it easier for them to achieve their goal. Building out this workflow is how you get users to complete the actions you want them to take.

Then, you can combine UX design with UI design to create the best app.

3. Data Protection

A good iOS app design should have a decent level of data protection. Apple has multiple levels of data encryption that developers can use.

You can offer minimal data protection so that your files are always reachable. But you can also require the device to always be unlocked to access files.

Depending on the type of app you have and it’s purpose, you may want more or less data protection. If you don’t collect any consumer data, having less encryption might be suitable.

But if you’ll require users to create an account or give other sensitive information, you should use an appropriate method of encryption to protect that data.

4. Easy to Update

If you want keep up-to-date with a professional app design, you should plan for how it will evolve. Apps need periodic updates to keep up with changing devices, operating systems, functionality needs, and app design trends. 

Even if you rarely add new features or permissions, you will at minimum need to update your app with new iterations of iOS.

The good news about the iOS App Store is that it handles updates for users. But you should make updates that don’t take too long.

Your users want to access your app when they want, so you should avoid updates that require a ton of time to complete.

5. Easy to Maintain

While good iOS app design makes it easy for users to update, it should also make it easy for you to maintain. You should be able to make small changes to your app without much hassle.

Maintaining your app means you can update it when necessary. You can also quickly fix any security issues that could come up.

Even the most successful app design can develop problems later on. Being able to maintain and update the backend of your app is crucial.

You don’t need to update your app each week or even each month. But you should know how to roll out updates so that you can continue to improve on and maintain the success of your iOS app.

6. Hassle-Free Payments

When designing an app, you should consider if you want to take payments. You can charge for users to download your app, but you can also offer in-app payments.

No matter how or when you charge users, you should make it easy to pay. If people have to jump through hoops, they may not want to pay for your app.

Apple offers many options for you to make money from your app. If you charge people upfront or in the app, you can collect money through the App Store.

That’s a great way to make money because most people have already connected a credit card to their Apple account.

7. Access to Support

If you want to offer a variety of features in your app design, you should include access to customer support. Your users may have questions when they first download your app, so they should have somewhere to send those queries.

You can offer dedicated support for your app, but you can start with a page of FAQs. If you have a website, you can put your support services there.

But you can also offer support directly within the app. You may also be able to work with Apple support for technical issues.

8. Helps User Retention

A good mobile app design will help boost user retention because your app will be easy and enjoyable to use. If you can make users come back, you can grow your app and get more downloads.

Alternatively, if your app is poorly designed and difficult to use, customers may decide that your app is too stressful to be worth it. So consider having your ideal audience test your app, then you can get feedback to help make it even better.

Mastering iOS App Design

If you want to create an app, there are a ton of things that you have to focus on, including iOS app design. The bottom line is an app with poor design will be difficult to use and won’t be successful. That’s where we come in. At Jackrabbit Mobile, we specialize in partnering with clients to design and develop iOS mobile applications to bring their ideas to life.

Do you need help designing an app? Contact us for a consultation.