Mobile apps are becoming an ever increasing way consumers interact with businesses. By some estimations both the iTunes store and the Android Play Store each have about 800,000 apps for download. This is a simple guide to help business owners thinking about creating a mobile app written to help them keep important considerations in perspective.
As the mobile app market is still young, you can find examples of good and bad mobile apps.
For this column I decided to use an example mobile app called Nevus, which was created by Malinee Saxena, M.D., a Minneapolis-area-based dermatologist. She contracted with Austin, Texas-based Rocksauce Studios to collaborate in its design and development. I picked this app and this design studio because the principles and information can be used across many types of businesses and with many design studios.
Mobile Apps – Keeping It Simple
Guthrie Bunn is Rocksauce Studios’ Chief Strategy Officer. Bunn has a number of pieces of advice for would-be app makers. Most importantly, Bunn believes that a mobile app maker creator needs to decide that they are going to do two to three things really well. He advises against trying to do too much with a mobile app.
Keeping it simple was the design philosophy of Dr. Saxena when she started thinking about what she wanted in her app.
- First, Dr. Saxena wanted people with suspicious moles and other skin “spots” to be able to keep a photo diary of their skin moles and spots over months or years so they could show any changes over time to their dermatologist.
- Secondly, she wanted to provide a reminder to reapply sunscreen when you are out of doors using the U.S. EPA’s UV index rating. This is based on knowing what the EPA UV rating is based on your current location as reported by your phone’s GPS.
- Lastly, she wanted to provide some meaningful educational information about how to apply sunscreen and keep one’s sun exposure reasonable by knowing when it is safest to go out in the sun. She chose very simple yet effective images that depict how much sunscreen to use on various places on your body.
This is a photo of Nevus’ “sunscreen monitor page. Notice how this page in the app is clean and easy to use. It has an alarm which can be turned on and off. It has a slider which helps you adjust the time between sunscreen reapplications based on body moisture and type of outdoor activity. Finally, this screen has a large button called the Sunscreen Visualizer, which shows the amount of sunscreen necessary for each part of one’s body. Dr. Saxena and Rocksauce Studios created a screen that was simple, clean and had easy-to-use features. Rocksauce’s Bunn believes that this simple design requires having a strong idea about what the mobile app needs to do as well as a disciplined, well-trained set of professionals to help a business get the most out of their mobile app.
Nevus UV - Sunscreen Alarm with easy to use controls
Mobile Apps Aren’t Websites – Use Screen Real Estate Wisely
According to Bunn of Rocksauce Studios, business owners and developers must change their thinking from a “website” mentality to a mobile app mentality when creating a mobile app. This can be harder than it seems. Websites can often be changed “on the fly” to adjust the look and feel. On a full website there is plenty of screen real estate to use. Think of this analogy: Building a full website is more like landing a fighter jet on a 10,000-foot runway whereas building a mobile app is more like landing on a pitching, moving aircraft carrier deck!
Below is a photo of the well laid out Nevus mobile app screen that Rocksauce helped design.
This Mobile App gives simple tips on how to apply sunscreen
Mobile Apps Require a Rigorous Process from Design to Completion
When Rocksauce and Dr. Saxena began working together, they used a multi-step process much like engineers use when building a complex software program, which a mobile app is. They started with a blueprint. The blueprint captured Dr. Saxena’s functional requirements and features and laid out the process of building the mobile app. Then the artwork phase began. The screens were prototyped for simplicity and user experience. After artwork was complete, software developers begin building the mobile app. Dr. Saxena liked this approach because it allowed her to complete the process with the best possible design and the quickest time to market. It also gave her much more creative control over the process.
Mobile Apps Should Be Developed for Both Apple and Android
The mobile smartphone world is changing on a day-to-day basis. Because of a number of factors, it is cheaper to design an app for Apple-based products than Android. The only downside is you will miss at least one half of your audience if you only design for one platform. So if you are going to build a mainstream app designed for a mass audience, you can’t neglect one platform over another.
Mobile Apps Require Marketing
Some mobile app developers believe when you put your app on iTunes or the Android Play Store your work is over. If you plan to sell your mobile app, you need to budget funds for marketing. Having a website like Nevus does is a good first start. Use social media like Facebook, Google+ and others to get the word out. Getting your brand recognized though complimentary channels is equally important. I downloaded the Nevus app for Android and saw that many others who downloaded Nevus also downloaded apps for outdoor activities like running, hiking, and swimming. I would expect Dr. Saxena to be interviewed by outdoor enthusiast magazines about her app, sunscreen, and skin cancer caused by sun exposure. Word of mouth is also very important. I have used the Nevus app several times. Most recently at an outdoor festival on Austin's sixth street. The day of the festival the UV index was 11 (extreme). The alarm went off to reapply sunscreen at 90 minutes and I did. I am now a firm believer in this app as I have a family history of skin cancer and do many outdoor activities.
Mobile Apps - Last Thoughts
I live in a progressive small town outside of Austin that has its own app. The mobile app provides information on area events and businesses. It is designed for local residents and the many tourists who visit every year. I use an Android phone. I am told the app works perfectly on Apple phones. On my Android phone the app barely works. If I were an average tourist trying to use this app to find an attraction and I was using an Android phone I might have a negative opinion of the city.
So my parting advice is if you can’t get a quality app built that connects you to your audience for both Apple and Android platforms, don’t build a mobile app at all.
Sam Thacker is a partner in Austin, Texas-based Business Finance Solutions.
Direct email: sam@bfs-usa.com.
