No matter how effective your user acquisition campaign is, how well your creatives communicate your product's values, or how many well-crafted push notifications you send, if your app performs poorly, users will try it once and never return.
Poor performance is considered the number one reason users don't return to an app. Keep this in mind as we explore several improvements you can make to ensure your app runs smoothly and provides a great experience for all users.
App performance depends on factors such as launch and load times, app size, frame rate, compression, and more. These technical terms might seem unfamiliar since we typically focus on the user experience (UX). However, excellent performance relies on a seamless synergy between both the front end and the back end.
First impressions are essential.
First impressions are crucial, as they leave a lasting impact on users. Optimize your app to load quickly. Imagine being hungry and opening a delivery app that takes several seconds to load. You might switch to a competitor’s app, and even if you don't, your user experience is already compromised. This can be especially critical at key moments in the user funnel.
Meeting users' expectations for app loading and responsiveness is vital for a good experience. The faster the app loads and responds to user commands, the better—every millisecond counts. Collaborate with your team to find the right balance of clean code, compression, prioritization, and features to enhance performance.
Prioritize essential elements.
Work with your development team to ensure essential items, like text, load first, followed by images. Prioritize elements to load initially, allowing users to interact with the app while additional content loads. Avoid leaving users in the dark with blank screens during loading. Use splash screens, animations, or other engaging content to keep users engaged while the app launches. This can prevent users from switching to other apps and encourage them to wait until the app is fully loaded.
Optimize for different network speeds.
Prepare your app for various network speeds, as users may not always have high-speed internet. Whether they are on the subway, in a different country, or experiencing a poor connection, users should access all app features. Review and adapt your app for different network speeds to improve user experience and retention. Ensure the app functions even with unstable internet, providing offline features to maintain usability during network disruptions.
Optimize image usage.
Images are essential for user interaction and app understanding but can consume memory and slow download times if not optimized. Use lower-quality images when appropriate to save memory and load time, balancing visual fidelity with performance. Implement image compression to maintain quality while reducing file size. Cache key images on the user's device to avoid repeated downloads, enhancing performance.
Avoid app crashes.
App crashes severely impact user experience and trust in your brand. Regularly monitor crash reports and statistics from Google Play and Apple Store, making crash prevention a priority. Address issues promptly to maintain user confidence and app reliability.
Optimize end-to-end performance.
Statistics show that 40% of users will switch to a competitor after a bad mobile experience. Optimize your app end-to-end to ensure the best performance possible. Poor performance affects not only user acquisition campaigns but also user retention. Performance should be a core focus for your app's growth.
At Rocket Lab, we aim to help you elevate your mobile application. Contact us for more information or any questions.
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