作者：Mariya Yao

人们在2012年下载应用超过300亿欠，但一般智能手机用户每周使用它们的时间仅为15分钟左右。更糟糕的是，Localytics调查发现，22%应用仅被开启过一次。

为何开发者在应用中投入如此多资金和心血之后，用户粘性依然如此之低？

当然，这个问题的答案很复杂，但不可否认的是，有大量公司在应用开发过程中确实在日复一日地犯同样的错误。

误区1：在展示价值之前强迫用户注册

在你向用户提供任何明显的好处之前，要求他们经历一个注册流程或交付自己的社交认证信息的时候，你就已面临流失用户的风险。

举个例子：Pheed和Tumblr这两款应用都是热门社交媒介平台，允许用户向好友和粉丝传播图片、视频和其他内容。

Pheed(from iphonelife)

Tumblr(from androidpit.com)

但Pheed会迫使用户在看到任何内容之前进行注册，而Tumblr却是在用户未注册之前就立即展现最新流行的内容。

误区2：过于详细的指南

新手指南是移动应用中极为常见的元素。有时候你得使用及时的解释说明引导用户，但不幸的是，多数移动应用指南过早覆盖了太多信息。

如果你需要一大堆标签来阐述应用功能，那等于是在承认你的UI设计很糟糕。

你的目标应该是针对预期用户设计一个清晰而直观的用户界面，并且以最少的辅导内容进行导航。

我看到另一个常见的指南问题是误将重点放在解释UI细节上，而不是传递应用的整体价值。根据我的调查，潜在用户一般都会忽视那些细节，因为他们只是草草浏览教程，更情愿直接与应用互动。

误区3：不常见的界面元素或手势控制方式

设计直观式UI的一个关键是理解何时运用标准设计模版，以便更易于用户了解你的应用。例如，用手指在页面间划动，以及箍缩照片已经成为智能手机用户的一种操作习惯。除此之外，Android和iOS都提供了其多数应用所采纳的、详细的人性化界面指南。

我的客户通常因忽略了这些设计标准，选择了一些人们不太熟悉的手势控制方式、会消失或隐藏的菜单，以及没有意义的闪光视觉元素而“过度设计”应用。在测试中我们发现，多数人认为这些意外元素令人困惑和抓狂。

即使是那些制作精良以及赢得设计大奖的应用，对大众用户来说也未必具有实用性。比如Clear这款计划表应用，就因以肢体手势取代常规的视觉控制方式而备受赞誉。

clear-tutorial(from webcredible)

这款应用采用了6个预排屏幕以及交互式的指南教用户如何使用。

通过调查我发现，智能手机用户所记得的指南内容不会超过10%，即便是智能手机达人也不例外。他们频频操作失误，不记得如何创建新列表或删除任务这种基本功能。

如果你想最大化使用性并减少使用障碍，最好遵循用户已经习惯的用法设计。不要偏离正轨（游戏邦注：除非你有非常充分的理由），并且要确保对非常规的设计进行充分测试。

误区4：让用户填写冗长的表格

新用户下载了你的应用，浏览了你的指南，可能还试玩了一些基本功能，现在是时候让他注册了。

你想尽可能掌握每名用户的情况，所以你要求他们在你所提供的表格中填写更多详细信息（实际上你并不需要如此多信息）。

这是大忌。也许你认为要求他们多答点问题并没有什么害处，但要知道正是这种细节可能让你流失用户。Expedia和百思买等大型公司就已因这种不必要的表格而流失了数百万销量。

总之，你在表格中每多追加一个空行，你的用户完成率就会相应下降。而在触屏较小，输入更为困难、更易出错的移动设备上，用户流失率则更容易恶化。另外，现在的用户时间更为紧迫，比起在家里和办公室的电脑上，他们在移动设备上更容易分心。

总结

但也要记住没有哪种设计任何时候都适用于任何产品。例如，你若拥有一个知名品牌，那就可以使用神秘一点的开启屏幕以获得成功，或者你的用户特别有耐心，就是喜欢通读复杂的操作指南（你运气够好才能找到这种用户）。

要留心最佳方法并找人多次测试你的移动设计，以便尽早发现其中的失误。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Mobile design: Avoid these 4 common user experience fails

Mariya Yao

People downloaded over 30 billion apps in 2012, yet the average smartphone owner only uses about 15 of them every week. Even worse, a study by Localytics estimated that 22 percent of apps are only opened once.

With all the money and effort being poured into mobile right now, why is engagement so low?

While the answer to that question is certainly complicated, a number of common mistakes companies are repeatedly made in the app on-boarding process. We’ll be discussing user experience and more at VentureBeat’s upcoming Mobile Summit.

Can you guess what any of these apps actually do?

Mistake 1: Forcing registration before demonstrating value

When you demand that users go through a sign-up process or hand over their social credentials before you’ve offered them any clear benefit, you risk losing them right off the bat.

Pheed (left) and Tumblr. Both apps require you to register before you use them.
Consider two apps: Pheed and Tumblr. Both are popular social media platforms that allow users to broadcast photos, videos, and other content to their friends and followers.

While Pheed forces you to signup before you can see anything, Tumblr immediately displays new trending content you can interact with as an unregistered user.

Mistake 2: Overly detailed tutorials

Tutorials are quite common in mobile apps. Sometimes you do need to guide a person along with a timely explanation, but unfortunately, most mobile tutorials inundate them with too much early information.

If you require a ton of labels to clarify your app’s functionality, you are basically admitting that your U.I. is a failure.

The new Flickr app gets it right

Your aim should be to design user interfaces that are clear and intuitive for your intended audience and require minimal coaching to navigate.

Another error I commonly see in tutorials is a focus on explaining U.I. details rather than communicating the app’s overall value. In studies that I’ve done, potential customers typically miss those details because they blast through the tutorial, preferring to play with the app directly.

Mistake 3: Unusual interface elements or gesture controls

A key part of designing an intuitive mobile U.I. is knowing when to apply standard design patterns to make it easier for users to get to know your app. For example, swiping between pages and pinching to zoom on photos is ingrained in the habits of smartphone users. Additionally, Android and iOS both offer detailed human-interface guidelines that are adopted in most of their apps.

Often, my clients “overdesign” their apps by ignoring standards and choosing to apply unfamiliar gesture controls, vanishing or hidden menus, and flashy visual elements without context and purpose. In testing, most people typically find these unexpected elements confusing and frustrating.

Even apps that are beautifully crafted and win design awards are not necessarily usable for mass-market consumers. Take Clear, a to-do list app that garnered acclaim for replacing standard visual controls with just physical gestures.

The Clear app: Six walkthrough screens for a to-do list. Is that good mobile design?

The Clear app has to use six walkthrough screens and interactive coaching to teach users how to use the app.

In studies I conducted, smartphone users couldn’t remember more than 10 percent of the tutorial content, even if they were smartphone savvy. They frequently got lost and couldn’t remember how to perform basic functions like create a new list or delete a task.

If you want to maximize usability and reduce friction, stick to designs that users already know how to use. Don’t deviate from familiar patterns unless you have compelling reasons to do so, and be sure to test unconventional designs thoroughly.

Mistake 4: Make customers fill out lengthy mobile forms

Your new customer has downloaded your app, made it through your tutorial, maybe even played around with some basic functionality. It’s time to register.

You want to learn the most you can about each user, so you ask for a few more pieces of information in the signup form than you really need. No biggie, right?

Wrong. While you may think that a few extra little questions are harmless, major companies like Expedia and Best Buy have lost millions in sales from drop-offs due to unnecessary form fields.

In general, for every additional field you add to a form, your completion rate will take a hit. This dropoff rate is exacerbated on small mobile touch screens where typing is frustrating and error-prone. Additionally, users are far more time-pressed and distracted on mobile than they are on desktops at home and the office.

What’s the takeaway?

Keep in mind that no design works 100 percent of the time for 100 percent of products. For instance, you may find that your brand is so well known that you can get away with a mysterious start screen, or that your customers are a particularly patient bunch who relish reading through complicated tutorials (good luck finding them).

The important takeaways are to be mindful of best practices and to test, test, test your mobile designs with the people who use them in order to catch possible mistakes early.（source：venturebeat）