Over the last few years, the app market has become increasingly competitive. As a result, the app businesses are finding it difficult to survive, let alone the growth.
In order to compete & grow in the mobile apps industry, it is very important to learn about those features that make an app successful.
If you too are planning to create a mobile application to execute your idea and transform it into reality, you must take some time to deep-dive into the understanding of important features that your app must have to be successful.
After analyzing dozens of successful mobile applications, I have compiled a list of 8 common features that most of those successful apps have.
Here, I would like to share those features with you.
#1 Problem-solving
The ability to solve a problem is perhaps the most essential ingredient of any successful mobile application.
If you look around and pay attention to any of the popular mobile applications, you will find that it will definitely solve some problem(s) of the users.
If it’s a car hire/hailing app, it would solve the commuting problem of users.
If it’s a social app, it will solve the networking & connectivity problems of users.
Likewise, if it’s a productivity app, it will help the users to stay productive & achieve more.
Does your app development idea solve any kind of problem for the users? If not, do add this important ingredient and increase the chances of your success.
#2 Simplicity
Simplicity is another important feature that every successful mobile app has.
Simplicity of an app can be in two forms:
- The Simplicity of features for better user-experience.
- The Simplicity of designs in terms of user-interfaces.
The simpler, the better!
Here comes the role of your designer and mobile app developer.
Yes, your app developer can help to make the designs and flow of your app simple & easy-to-use. As a result, you will get high user-engagement rate and lower uninstall rate.
#3 Platform compatibility
If you look at any successful mobile app, you will notice that they are available on both the major platforms (iOS & Android).
In order to ensure the wide coverage of the audience, it’s important to build the app for both the platforms. Especially, if you know that your target on audience uses both iOS & Android devices, you can’t afford to miss out any of the platforms.
Of course, when you choose to build a native mobile app in 2 different platforms (iOS & Android), the cost of your app development may increase significantly.
However, if you don’t have enough budget to spend or if you want to start with less investment, you can also go for a cross-platform technology such as hybrid apps development.
#4 Free download
Offering free mobile apps increase the odds of users downloading your app. Everybody likes apps that are free to download.
No matter how simple your app is or which problem it resolves, unless the users download your app, they won’t get to know about its features. Isn’t it?
Therefore, the primary objective of any app business should be to increase the number of installations. And this is what most of the successful mobile apps have done. They are free to download.
Now if you are wondering how on the earth I will make money if I won’t charge the users to download my app.
Don’t worry.
There are many other ways to monetize a mobile application such as:
- Running advertisements
- In-app selling
- Freemium model
- Subscription-based model
Recommended post: 7 Ways to monetize your mobile application
#5 High engagement rate
Enhanced user-engagement is another common feature that all the successful mobile apps have. They are user-friendly & intuitive. The more engaging a mobile app is, the higher will be the number of users.
How can you or your app developer build an engaging mobile application?
Well, below are some of the best ways to create a user-friendly & engaging app:
- Taking care of the responsiveness of your app.
- Using high-resolution images.
- Using appropriate fonts.
- Maintaining brand consistency.
- Allowing users to participate in the form of feedback, surveys, etc.
- Using appropriate call-to-action elements.
- Taking care of thumbs’ & fingers’ accessibility.
- Testing the app for crashes.
- Goal-driven design.
Recommended post: 9 Tips to create UI designs that your app developer must follow
#6 Personalization
Knowing what the users want and delivering them the contents/information/options according to their preferences is considered as personalization in any mobile application.
All successful mobile apps have an excellent way to personalize their users’ experience because of which they get a high retention rate. In other words, users love their apps.
There are many ways in which you can provide personalized experience to your mobile app users. Below are some of them:
- Personalizing search results.
- Showing geo-location based options.
- Showing interest-based options.
- Showing recent-history based options to the users.
#7 Feedback
Allowing users to provide their feedback is another important element that every successful mobile app has.
You can also ask your app developer to create a feedback section on your application and encourage the users to provide their valuable feedback.
Here are 4 major reasons why you should collect in-app feedback from your users:
- Feedback system enhances the user-engagement rate of your app.
- You get first-hand reviews about your app directly from your users.
- You make your users feel important by seeking their feedback.
- You get to know how you can improve your mobile app for better user engagement.
#8 Regular updates
Last but not the least, all the successful apps keep upgrading their previous version and re-launch their product with new or enhanced features.
The mobile application development is not a one-time thing.
You do need to upgrade your app whenever:
- There is any new feature added to it.
- There is any bug that has been fixed
- There is a rebranding or redesigning of your app.
- There is any adjustment of your mobile strategy.
- There is any improvement of user experience.