Apps have become an integral part of any brand or business. In fact, research shows that users that have a poor experience with an app tend to look negatively on the brand that the app is tied to. This is why it’s important that your business has a great app. A big part of what makes a great app is the user interface or U. It can even be argued that UI can make or break an app, affecting how it’s used and the overall experience of users.
Creating a good UI for an app requires work and intention so we’ve put together a few tips to help you develop effective and intuitive UI patterns for navigation. We hope this information proves to be useful when it comes to informing your app design choices.
Full-Screen Flat Menu Navigation
This is a straightforward UI pattern that’s mostly used for apps that are focused on skill-building and knowledge sharing. This no-frills approach to UI categorizes the content and makes it easily accessible to users. And while it may not be the most visually appealing UI on the market, it makes up for this in unparalleled simplicity and ease of use.
Listy Type Menus
This pattern allows designers to streamline the home screen, ensuring that the most important content is front and center. It does this by moving non-essential elements off to a side panel. But this doesn't mean that these elements will be inaccessible - they can still be easily accessed through additional navigation such as a sub-menu or button. This is a great way to manage many elements, without having to get rid of any of them.
Bottom Bar Menu
The bottom bar is a sticky menu that is most identifiable by the hotkeys that are pinned to the footer of the app. This is a great way to give users direct access to features that highlight the value of all that your app has to offer. While this is quite useful, be sure to avoid putting more than five keys on your bottom bar menu as it can easily become cluttered if there are too many keys on it.
Top Tab Menu
On the flip side, the top tab menu is the direct opposite of the bottom bar menu. It pretty much functions in the same way, just in a different position. This is a great way to give users access to the basic and most essential features of the app without them having to go through a slew of different menus.
Conclusion
Good app design isn’t just about how an app looks. While visuals are important, you also want to make sure that users have a great and intuitive experience when interacting with the app. This doesn’t mean that you have to reinvent the wheel and come up with an entirely new approach to UI. On the contrary, using tried and tested UI in an effective way will ensure that your users have a positive experience when using your app.
If you’re looking for a partner to help you get the most out of your business’s digital platforms, reach out to Everestek today. We provide innovative enterprise technology solutions to help your business navigate digital spaces. Our “all in one” delivery capability leverages 20 years of unique business know-how and technical expertise to implement digital solutions that are focused on user experience, automation, and quality.
