7 Most Common Mistakes in Applications to Avoid

November 21, 2022

Have you ever installed an app and ended up deleting it after a few minutes of usage? You are not alone. The reasons for deleting an app may vary. But what if I tell you that in most cases negative user experience can occur by one of these common mistakes? And it can be predicted by quality testing in the development stage. Let's look at some of the most common mistakes.

1) Ignoring the differences between iOS and Android

Perhaps we should start with the main mistake while developing a mobile app. This is an attempt to create an identical application for the 2 most used operating systems. Maybe you will ask, so where is the problem? The problem is not taking into account the difference between the systems. Because in this case, the app will end up not behaving as you want due to default settings. For example, operating system features or design specifics can affect the app's development process. It can be the font, the grid, or navigation differences.

2) Different operating system versions

The next mistake that can be made is not to consider the different supported OS versions. While developing an application, it is necessary to research the most used system versions in your target user base. It will help you to decide what should be the lowest supported version for your app, so as to cover most of the users. Also, let’s not forget that an app can have different behavior or show some hidden errors on different OS. Quality testing will help developers to fix these issues on time and your user will stay happy with the app. That’s why during the testing we use several mobile phones with different OS versions, which helps us cover and predict as many bugs 🪲 as possible.

3) Lack of optimization on different screen resolutions

Very often I can see that some buttons aren't placed correctly or text doesn’t fit the screen. It happens because of the not optimized design and page layout for the screen resolution. It can negatively affect the aesthetics of the app or also destroy general performance, which will lead to disappointing user experience. That’s why during the testing process it’s better to check the app on at least 2 devices with different resolutions.

4) No light or dark mode

A rather underestimated feature, which sometimes developers and testers do not pay attention to. Agree, it’s not the most pleasant thing to blind your eyes with a white screen in the evening while lying on the couch, although you wanted to look into your favorite application. Or the reverse side of this problem – the absence of a light mode won't allow the user to browse the application on a sunny day and make it a little more useless on your phone.

5) Mandatory registration

It is not uncommon for a user to go through a mandatory registration to gain access to some kind of date set or application functionality. However, is it not better for the user to at least have the opportunity to first try out the application, understand it, and register because they want to rather than make them suffer during the very first minutes? Unless you are Netflix or another giant the user is already familiar with and knows what to expect.

6) Missing Error State

Server failure and maintenance are not uncommon. Although employees within the company can be notified about this and already work on it, you should not forget about your user, who will see a white screen instead of the usual picture. Therefore, in taking care of the user, do not neglect special error messages and make them as clear as possible (for example, the simplest No internet connection). Also, don’t underestimate loaders for loading pages or low Internet speeds.

7) App Behavior on tablet or landscape mode on mobile

Of course, if it isn’t done on purpose, don’t forget that sometimes the user expects that they will have the opportunity to use your app in landscape mode. If the app won’t be checked well and the user will try the landscape mode, it can lead to a broken layout of the page or not functional button behavior. So it’s always better to test your app whether it works correctly in different modes.