12 Common App Design Mistakes You Need To Avoid

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The surging rise of mobile app users in 2017 has become one of the moments designers need to look at. It was the time when apps from Google Play and iOS App Store gained more attention. People from developers, companies to users are taking the app as media used in smartphones. Thus, it is safe to say that since then, the app trend and design work are skyrocketing. 

However, with the range of options and requests, many clients are also starting to look for a more intuitive app. New options of apps and websites constantly receive makeovers, which make poor and weak designs no longer desired. People are getting aware of what is called a better strategy for their brands and avoid certain mistakes. 

It is also worth mentioning that designers are demanded to acknowledge the changing trend and makeover. It makes designers need to be aware of some common app design mistakes. By knowing the ranges of errors, it helps designers to avoid the worst-case scenario. Here are some of the mistakes that every designer needs to avoid, no matter what:

1. Designing Without Purpose 

One thing that every designer needs to consider is purpose. No matter what the project is, purpose helps develop a path of the designing process. That is why you need to avoid working or continue to the design process without clear intention or reason. It is a pretty simple grounding on what to do with your app. 

However, there are still many designers that cannot avoid the mistakes of not having a purpose for their app. They are simply following a trend and develop from the stereotypical ideas. The errors can get worse when the designer only takes or makes an app design that looks like their inspiration. It makes the product meaningless. 

At some point, when a designer is too lost on following the trend, they will be unable to solve the problem given by the client. It is bound to be filled with distinct services and niches, which later crumble the overall project itself. It will be the app design mistakes that you need to avoid, no matter what the project is. 

In the designing process, purpose or goal will affect the overall creating process. It will create a guideline on how to reach, what to do, and where to go. It also helps designers to make every decision regarding the app process. If you can avoid the mistakes and have a clear purpose, each piece will turn into a coherent whole, communicate, and function as it is supposed to be.  

2. Disregard The Target Audience 

An avoidable and rather unprofessional mistake in app design that you need to know is not considering the target audience. Make a mapping target group and target audience at the beginning phase, so you can avoid the embarrassing mistake. It is highly related to the app's goal or purpose. So, if you can avoid the first blunders, you will likely have the target audience planned. 

But, with it so important? The reasons are not too different from the purpose mistakes. When the app was created with the target audience in mind, it will help build everything consistently, communicatively, and correctly. The idea is to make a design that hits the right target and helps achieve the goal. 

Designers should avoid dishonorable mistakes such as using inappropriate fonts, layouts, or colors for the brand. You would never want to create an app design with gloomy or bloody scary detailing for children. The blunders state the clear fault in catering to the target group. If you can avoid the mistakes, the project will eventually help increase sales or retention. 

3. Not Create Responsive Design

For today's usages and purposes, designers should avoid creating an app without any customer consideration. In many cases, mistakes are made by not creating a responsive design. What is it about? App design mistakes are rather common in society. The mistakes refer to the inability to cater to users' behavior and environment.

The terminology and the system itself focuses on how the strategy responds based on the orientation, platform, and screen size. In other words, the app’s design flexibility. You can avoid it by creating an app that is versatile to run on different platforms, such as smartphones, tablets, or OS. Thus, it helps the app to get more exposure and users. 

One thing that should be avoided is the google penalty. Since the surge of app users and ranges of platforms, Google is starting to introduce a search update for the said mistakes. Yes, sites or apps in mobile search that do not support responsive plans will get a penalty from the search engine provider. So, avoid it at all costs. 

4. Dragging Loading Time 

One of the mistakes that can happen due to the designer side of the connection problem is loading time. Sometimes, these mistakes simply cannot be avoided. It is especially true for those who want to create too-rich elements. However, when it comes to app design mistakes, you can minimize or lessen the chance by optimizing the content and layout. 

Many designers fall into a bad pit of mistakes when they are too focused on capturing customer attention and adding too much animation or script to it. The abundance of elements makes the performance plummet, thus dragging the loading time. The mistakes can make the first impression worse and make people not want to use it anymore. 

The best idea to avoid app design mistakes is to try the less is more rule. It works perfectly for almost any kind of project, including app or web design. You need to remember the goal, the focus, the hierarchy, and the primary element, so you would not overdo everything. The bad design mistakes in this case mostly happen because of too many images, icons, and elements. 

Some other mistakes that relate to slow loading are the sluggish server speed or unsupported app. If you want to avoid these mistakes, you will have to constantly provide updates to your app. So, your app will always follow the latest algorithm and system from the OS. But if the problem is on the server. Then check Application Dependency Mapping and take some load off. 

5. Chaotic Content Layout

One of the reasons why web developers and designers exist is to make a better layout. However, many new workers fused about the aesthetic and eventually lacked in creating a content flow. In this case, the mistake that you should be aware of and avoid is a disordered content layout. 

What kind of app design mistakes is it? Just as the name says, the content inside the app is scarce and unstructured. It is not only poor mistakes but also unprofessional work that fails. You should underline that content is what drives the customer. Your arrangement and structure can help the audience flow or not. 

That is why you need to avoid mistakes, especially if the app design project is pretty important for you. So how to do it? Designers need to think about the primary content, the highlight, and the link. The reasons go to the fact that many users will skip most of the page elements, such as the heading, subheading, keyword, bullet, etc. 

But does it mean you can use simple themes? The way to avoid mistakes is not always simple design. The main point is to create a layout that helps lead to the main purpose. You can use minimalistic or simplistic ideas as long as it fits with the goal. It is also vital to ensure you have enough white spaces. So everything looks clear, uncluttered, and you avoid doom.  

6. Forgetting The Design Element

As said in some previous points, consistency is the key to good design. You can follow the trend, but you should avoid overdoing it and losing focus. In this case, your focus is not only on the goal but also on the project element. It is not a rare occasion that people forget about the actual design element and make a poor decision. 

It is a mistake that you need to avoid. So you can make a compelling design. There are many considerations that you need to do to avoid app design mistakes. You can start from the content elements, such as videos, photos, banners. Ensure everything can balance your layout and also support the content. 

Some other elements, such as images and icons, also need to have the same portion. Other mistakes that tend to happen are that adding items upon items that do not match with the overall theme. The worse is that some elements come with low resolution, which later kills the general aesthetic. You can avoid it simply by determining the theme. 

If you are going for a more professional app product, you can work with the same color palette. Or, if you are trying to create an app about nature, you can determine the primary element is related to plants. With that idea, you can avoid mistakes in choosing the images, icons, layout, background, color, and other aspects. 

7. Wrong Placement For Ads 

Since you already know one of the mistakes in app design is the layout, you will be aware of the ad placement and avoid mistakes. It is not a surprise that many modern apps rely on advertisements as a way to gain some revenue. However, it can turn into very amateurish mistakes if you do not place it properly. Why is it important to put the ads in the right position?

One of the reasons is how ads banner or pop-up can disrupt the user flow. Users might find the ads blocking the content and make them unable to use the app properly. It makes users uncomfortable using the app. If you want to avoid such app design mistakes, your answer is pretty vast. You can opt-out of the ads and focus on the content layout. 

But if you must include ads, the best way to avoid stupid mistakes is to not using a full-screen size ad. If you do, make sure that the close button is visible so people can close it easily. You can also make the ads never cover the app design. Put it in a place that will not disrupt the user’s flow.  

8. Messed Up Screen Resolution

There is a reason why you should avoid creating a non-responsive plan to optimize the screen resolution. It is not a surprise that designers make these mistakes due to the lack of broader sight. Imagine that your app design looks good in a smaller device but looks like crap in a higher resolution smartphone. It will kill the whole aesthetic aspect. 

In modern web or app design, you might have to consider the trend. Most good designers avoid making screen resolution mistakes by using the current optimized layout. It helps make the app look proper in both horizontal or vertical orientation. However, the mistakes are pretty hard to avoid. 

You will need to look for more information regarding the best resolution for the current device compatibility. Try to check out the W3 school's browser stats. You will find some popular inspirations with some statistics. Other than W3, you can also refer to some information and statistics from Google analytics.  

9. Do Not Provide Social Engagement

It is quite a surprise that many designers miss the fundamentals of app design, social engagement. Some apps only focus on the layout, fancy elements, and following the new trend. However, they are lacking in terms of connecting the app and the brand identity with the user. It makes the user and app relationship severed, which you need to avoid. 

The common app design mistakes mostly appear for the amateur product, which somehow only focuses on one of the aspects. There is no information, no content that increases engagement, and everything is plain. Those are some mistakes designers want to avoid. To do it, you can start by creating more attractive content and offer something that makes users engage in it. 

10. No Call To Action 

One of the reasons why the app cannot make a proper engagement is the lack of a call to action. If you are working for a client for a commercial app, CTA is one of the vital elements. The function is pretty much driving the customer or user to the right path. It can be to make them make a purchase or to help solve a problem. 

Having a good CTA is the key to customer engagement and retention. It is a good idea to avoid app design mistakes by keeping adding CTA in every project. It does not have to be a complicated element. You can simply make it simple and familiar, such as sign up, the ship now, contacts us, add to cart, or ask for more!  

11. Complicating Sign Up Or Registration Forms 

Have you ever found an app that demands registration or signs up? Signup or registration is pretty much the trend and also one way to secure retention. However, some designers fail to make the element. Their mistakes are due to the complicated process, which makes the app design look amateur. Avoid it by making the process simpler. 

However, the process and the detail for the registration itself might depend on the client’s request. If you want efficient work, make sure you know how much and what information is needed for the process. Does the user need to tell their address, favorite item, or anything? After that, consider how you make the data input easier to do. 

For example, if you need a lot of useful information that can take a few minutes, try to split it into different stages. App design, layout, and content can affect users’ interests. If you make it too overwhelming, people might cancel the registration process. So, avoid any complicated process and make it straightforward.  

12. Ignoring Development Budget

Do you think developing an app is very easy and cheap? No, it is not. Many people, clients, and designers disregard this detail. Thus, in the latter state, they have to cope with many possible mistakes due to the lack of budget. How so? One of the mistakes you need to avoid is spending too much time and money on features and patterns. 

The app design mistakes are supposedly avoidable if you plan the time. Talk and discuss with the development team before starting the project. Try to understand the needs and the time. So you can get an average cost for all of the processes. It is also a great consideration for you who want to avoid unexpected rates. 

Final Words

Understanding some of the common mistakes when designing apps makes one getting better. It also helps them be aware of the possible let-down during their work progress. If one can avoid mistakes, at least it will help them create a better design. So, always underline the purpose, target, content, and some other elements in it.