Tiny UX

There are a lot of reasons to make a web app instead of a native app and vice versa. Web apps are cheaper to make, work on all devices, and are easier to maintain. On the other hand, native apps are more popular with users, can use more phone features, and have a better user experience since you’re designing with a specific OS in mind.

Designing for an OS

Apple, Google, and Microsoft have interface guidelines for their mobile devices. The guidelines are all slightly different and when you’re designing a web app you have to find the middle ground between what various users expect when they’re interacting with it. Rather than watering down the user experience, design for one OS at a time.

Built-in Functionality

Native apps have access to device features such as the camera, gestures, photos, and push notifications. Building a native app also allows the option of in-app purchases which encourages users to easily purchase upgrades. Native apps can sync with contacts and push alerts about new information. Having an app on the phone integrates with a user’s workflow, which increases the chances of them coming back to it. Native apps tend to run faster and more smoothly than their web counterparts which keeps the user engaged.

Delighting the User

Some of my favorite apps have clever gestures and fun sounds that wouldn’t be possible with a web app. Clear is entirely gesture-based and you pinch and swipe to navigate and create new to-dos. When you refresh in Yelp, there’s a cute hamster getting into a spaceship animation. You can swipe in Pocket to see additional actions. These little details create a positive experience for the user and by association, a positive experience with the company.

The question comes up again and again - when is the appropriate time to use sliders in an application? Sliders are an interactive element which can be useful in certain situations. There are three main considerations.

Dynamic Results

One reason to use sliders is to interact with a set of results. If the results can’t be updated right away when a slider is changed, sliders are not a good option. An exception is when the slider is acting as more of a button bar with a small range of numbers.

Limited Range

Sliders don’t work well for large or very specific ranges. It isn’t as easy to select a specific number on a slider compared to entering a number into a field. Similarly, if a slider has a large range, the user won’t be able to choose a number as readily. Text fields aren’t as appealing as sliders but they’re more functional depending on what you’re filtering.  

Interactivity 

Is the data even something that the user wants to experiment with? Or do they have a specific number in mind? For the latter, they just want to type a number into a field and be done. They don’t want to mess around with a slider to get the exact figure that they want.

Kayak is a popular example of a website that uses sliders in their search filters. They use sliders for the departure time which is something that most people are flexible on. People are less flexible on how much they want to spend on a house which is probably why Trulia and Zillow don’t use sliders to choose your max price.

I guess I wasn't the only one who installed Facebook Messenger for the first time several months ago and promptly deleted it. Facebook means business this time and I installed the app again last week. I get that they want to increase user engagement but does using Messenger have to be so painful? 

I coordinated a movie night with some friends through the app and the experience was unpleasant to say the least. There is way too much crap on the screen at one time.

Clear is one of my favorite and most frequently used apps. I reference it multiple times a day and use it to plan short-term and long-term goals. I am a to-do list fanatic and I tried out several to-do list apps before settling on Clear. My issue with most TDL apps is that they're too complicated. I don't need sub-tasks, due dates, comments, descriptions, or any other bells and whistles. Before Clear, I was mostly using good old fashioned notepads for daily lists but Clear has completely replaced physical lists for me. It allows me to create multiple lists and cross off completed to-dos. A recent update added a Reminder feature which I use once in a blue moon but it's nice to have and it's fairly unobtrusive the rest of the time. 

I love how Clear is entirely gesture based. It uses almost every advanced user/design nerd trick in the book. You pull down to navigate up a level, swipe to complete items, and pinch to create a new to-do. It even allows you to enable edge swipes!