How do I create a successful app that will get maximum downloads and conversions? We know this is the question on your mind when you want to create your own app. Whether it is a shopping app, gaming app, social media app, or even an on-demand services app, all have one common goal- to get maximum downloads.

One easy option to create a mobile app for businesses having their e-commerce website is to convert the website into an app. Swipecart helps you in this conversion process. It

provides you with a mobile app builder tool to easily transform your e-commerce store into a website easily and quickly.

With sales from mobile commerce touching 3 trillion U.S. dollars and 150 billion apps and games downloads in 2020, it is no surprise that businesses are looking to cash on this trend by creating their mobile apps.

But, what are the factors that make an app successful?

One thing is for sure, the mobile app has to provide value and a fuller experience to the user. There are some other factors too-

  • A friendly UI to provide better UX

  • Consistency and uniformity in the flow or superior navigation

  • Exceeds expectations of the shoppers

  • Provides data security

  • Is fast to load

  • Offers quick and easy payment options

A good mobile app has to rank high in functionality and also in terms of the user interface through its aesthetic appeal. Let’s see how to make a successful app that will entice users to download and use it.

1. Identify your audience

You create your own app for your audience. Before you start with the app architecture, establish who your audience is and what they want. If you are not clear with what you intend to establish and why you want the app, you will not have a concise idea of how to move forward. Finally, it may happen that the end-product does not match your user’s expectations.

Define your goal for your audience. Ask questions such as-

  • Who is my target audience?

  • Why am I building the app?

  • Why will people download my app?

  • How will my app be different from my competitors?

  • How different is my app going to be from the website?

Questions to these answers will make the goal clear and give you a path to move forward. It will also help you decide the budget and features and functionality of the app.

2. Offer value

Build an app only if it offers value to your audience. If you are selling products through a website, it makes sense to create your own app to provide a personalized shopping experience which a website cannot offer. The app should have a unique selling proposition and benefit the user to motivate them to download and shop from it.

Now, by USP, we don’t mean that your app should be so unique and one-of-a-kind. That option is not always possible. But what you can do is design the app in such a way that it provides an easy and fast shopping experience to users. Focus on loading speed, easy navigation, varied payment options, faster checkout process, ad-free screens, personalized services, and security. These are the basics of a good app design and these are the features and functionality that will set it apart from the rest of your competitors.

For instance, personalized messages in push notifications will keep them informed about new product launches, restocking of popular products, discounts & offers, or reminders on items left in the cart. Similarly, social media integration in a mobile app will help them share product information with friends and family and at the same time bring in new customers to download your app.

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3. Good app design

Take our word, don’t go overboard with the app design. Sometimes, trying to be different doesn’t work. It confuses the shoppers. Instead, stick to the tried and proven methodologies in the app design. If you already have a website, simply use a mobile app builder to convert it into an app. This way, you retain the essence of the website and make it easy for the users who are already accustomed to shopping from the website.

We understand that you can be creative while designing an app. But users prefer apps that have familiar design concepts. Take reference of some popular shopping apps and this will serve you as a guide to how your app should look and function. Here are some essential tips for a good mobile app design.

  • Use grids to design the app and define your element spacing. This will help you keep the layout neat, organized, and complete.

  • Use common color associations for buttons and elements. Remember, sticking to this will improve your conversion rates.

  • Keep the app design simple. Being minimal helps because users are viewing the app on a small device. A simple design keeps the users focused.

  • Optimize the app design for as many device screens as possible

  • Repeats structure and design of the elements on every other page. For instance, if there is a red BUY NOW button, keep the color and size the same on all pages. Users will start associating it with the buy option when you reinforce the same concept all over the app. It reduces negative friction and improves app conversions.

  • Separate texts clearly and use picture or page breaks.

  • Fix a font size and type for headings and normal text and maintain its consistency throughout the app.

Use available resources or prebuilt themes to create your own app. For instance, Swipecart provides you with themes while converting your website to an app. The benefit is that the fonts, elements, buttons, and all the design elements are predesigned and checked for responsiveness. This makes your app design task easy and fast.

4. Easy onboarding & fast checkout

Keep the onboarding process easy and simple. App signups are tricky, but it is needed. Optimize the account creation method so that you can collect user data and help users to move forward as fast as possible. Give users different signup options: social media login, email id, Google id, etc. This allows you to easily get their contact information, location, photo, and other details.

Do not force them to let out their card details at the time of onboarding. It can be done when they buy products for the first time from your app. Get rid of any barriers that may make them feel insecure. Make it friendly, easy, and fast.

When the user buys products for the first time from your app, give them the preference to save payment information. This will enable easy checkout during subsequent purchases. Also, automatic filling of shipping & billing address, email id, name, and other necessary details in the checkout form makes the checkout process easy and fast. Using a mobile app builder allows you to integrate third-party plugins into your app that provide automatic checkout form fill-up. This way you ensure a seamless checkout experience for your shoppers.

5. Safety and performance

Two-thirds of mobile app users clean the data on their phones at least once a month as per the 2019 Mobile Usage report by Connecthings. If your app is not secure, does not load fast, or has bugs and glitches in it, there is no way that you can escape a user from deleting your app.

How do you ensure that your mobile app is safe for users?

  • Proper encryption of source code and sensitive data such as personal information and payment details.

  • Secure the data-in-transit from attacks by using an SSL or VPN connection

  • Use mobile app data encryption techniques to prevent access of confidential data stored in the local database.

  • Encourage users to use high-level authentication

  • Use tokens to identify a session

  • Use penetration testing and threat modeling techniques to continuously test your app for bugs and glitches.

Work on securing personal information, payments, banking information, and access keys when you create your own app. Sort security issues by identifying threats and defining their security levels. This will ensure the proper protection of user information.

How to reduce mobile app load time?

  • Optimize visual content by minimizing the picture size and keeping the right formats.

  • Minimize HTTP requests

  • Implement conditional statements for apps to recognize which piece of content to load instead of loading all the contents at one go.

  • Combine relatable CSS and JS files into one to decrease the number of requests made to the server.

  • Enable browser caching by using W3 reserving or Google store.

  • Deactivate plugins that are obsolete or have bugs. Use Gzip to streamline interactions.

  • Pick the right server to decrease the app launch time.

  • Write neat codes to reduce complexity.

  • Use SSL and TLS to improve information security and improve server response time

  • Regulate app updates to make the apps load faster.

Recognize the factors that lessen the loading speed of the app and work on it to improve the overall performance. Use a mobile app builder to convert your website to an app. This automatically ensures a faster loading app and better conversion rates.

The Bottom Line

Grab your users’ attention from the beginning when they download and use your app. Follow the above tips to create a successful app. Remember, getting new users to download the app is just half the work done. You have to retain users and get them back to use the app as often as possible. Create your own app if and only if you are ready to work consistently on every aspect of customer acquisition and retention.

If you already have your e-commerce store on Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Wix, or Opencart, you can easily convert it into an engaging app with Swipecart. It provides you with a powerful mobile app builder tool to design layouts and place elements easily and fast. If you are interested in trying it out, you can call us for a free demo today.