[playht_player width=”100%” height=”175″ voice=”Richard (en-US)”]
While using a mobile or web application, the first thing users encounter is its user interface (UI). If they find the UI dull, boring, or complex, they are more likely to use the app with half-heart. Or, worse, they may abandon the app.
On the other hand, if the UI allows users to navigate easily throughout the app and provides a user-friendly and attractive experience, then they will be encouraged to use the app. User experience (UX) and UI hold the key to the success of an app.
One of the most effective ways to make a mobile/web app alluring and user-friendly is to add animations to it. Even if the app takes time to load or has a lot of content, the animations can hold the attention of users and make them stay.
With numerous apps on the market that offer the same use cases like yours, you need to stand out among them to grow your business. An app that is well designed and well animated can be appealing and encourage users to get used to it.
Following are the main web animations that can make a mobile/web app more alluring and user-friendly.
Loading Animations
Regardless of the best practices implemented to make the app seamless, sometimes it takes time to load pages and other items. Users don’t like to wait and see that circle revolving around for ages. Developers can add short animations for the loading times that can make the waiting time at least entertaining.
While adding such animations to the apps, you should keep these simple, rather than adding unnecessary effects or designs.
Visual Feedback Animations
Visual feedback is considered an important feature for the user interface, whether it is a web app, mobile app, or a website. When people use a function or touch a button in the app, they want that button to respond. It helps them know that the app is working properly and ensure that they have touched the right thing.
All the functions and buttons in an app have their unique purposes, and they should be responsive in such a way that the people feel that the app is in control. For example, if a button enlarges on touch or activates a pop-up, it indicates that the app is working and the button and popup are connected.
Hence add attractive visual feedback animations to relevant functions in the app.
Navigation Animations
In the app development space, the use of icons or buttons to hide navigation menus is trending. A lot of apps today use the hamburger menu icon for saving the space on the main screen and allowing users to easily bring back menus just with a click.
You can use creativity here in integrating an animation that provides an eye-catching experience when users press that hamburger icon and navigate to other elements in the menu. It can visually connect the elements and make the transitions appealing.
Apart from hamburger animations, you can choose to use other navigational options as well, such as sliders or sticky bars, to name a few.
Swipe Animations
Swiping, among the features and other elements in an app, is a mainstream feature. Generally, the swiping feature is used for slideshows, galleries, and setup wizards. The animations used for swiping make the users feel that they are doing something that is changing the screen.
These animations are also helpful at the time of introducing the app to users for revealing main functionalities. When users interact with the app for the first time, it is a good idea to provide them with basic tutorials about it using swiping animations. This is a better way for learning as compared to mere text description or video.
Remember, the swiping feature can help you make a long-lasting first impression on the users. That’s why you should take benefit from it for sure.
Status of the System
Users always want to know the status of their device while using an app. Certain processes run in the background of the app, like fetching data from the server, calculations, battery consumption, etc. As a developer, you have to include a feature in the app that allows users to know the status of the app. It will ensure them that your app is not consuming much CPU power or crashing the system.
Add appealing animations to this feature, such as pull-to-refresh animation. Also, you should remember to use different animations for every feature, like using a moving track for an audio recording.
Animations for Fun
Fun animations have the potential to make an app stand apart from the competition if they are unique and visually appealing. These animations are considered secret tools, which can be used to make the users get used to the app and make the app recognizable.
However, the fun animations can also negatively impact the app if they are not used with sense. Developers should take care of a couple of things while designing fun animation. The animation shouldn’t hide any functionality or feature in the application, and these shouldn’t take a lot of time.
Animations for Transition
Transitions between two states in an app can be made clear and easy to perceive with the use of the right animations. Such animations work as an intermediate between the current and next or previous interface, holding the attention of users to things going on in the app.
Progress Status
There are several processes in an app that take time for completion or to take the user to the next step. Designers should use animations for such features to show the status of progress to the users.
For example, if the app is downloading an image, audio, video, or any other file in the app, it is better to show the downloading percentage or any other visual aspect to show the status of that activity. Such animations help users to know that the app isn’t facing an error, or it hasn’t gotten stuck.
Concluding Lines
Use of creative and right animations in a mobile/web app can contribute to its success. Designers and developers must pay attention to every visual aspect of the app and try to make human interaction more user-friendly, fast loading, and enjoyable.
Users expect more from apps nowadays, and outdated approaches no longer work. Try implementing these animations in your next app and see how users react to it.
If you have more ideas related to this, do let us know via the comments section below.
This is a Contributor Post. Opinions expressed here are opinions of the Contributor. Influencive does not endorse or review brands mentioned; does not and cannot investigate relationships with brands, products, and people mentioned and is up to the Contributor to disclose. Contributors, amongst other accounts and articles may be professional fee-based.