10 Things Developers Must Know Before Designing for iOS

At the end of 2011, iOS has approximately a 250 million install base and, according to a study by Ericsson, this number will skyrocket to 1.24 billion iOS subscribers in the next five years. It’s no secret that the mobile market is growing, so it’s no wonder that desktop and web application developers want to tap into this new market.

But developers of these stationary platforms need to understand that there is more to mobile development that simply porting their existing applications as is. Mobile users have their own expectations of how an application should feel. They are less forgiving of unnecessary clicks, taps, and pauses to get to the information they want. Developers need to be aware of these new usability standards to compete in the highly saturated mobile market.

The following list explains 10 guidelines that desktop and web developers need to consider when converting their applications to iOS.

1. More Icons and Optimized Text – Web users are used to following text to navigate an application, however mobile devices have less space for text descriptions. Instead, developers need to use more icons and buttons that are self-explanatory to guide the users. Think about using more graphical icons, white spaces, and only use text where it is appropriate.


2. Fluid Animations Instead of Pauses or Flickering – Mobile users don’t seem to have a lot of patience and pauses and loading time on a mobile application can earn it low marks from them. The mobile application should always have a flow, and if there must be a pause, fill that time with an animation effect that fluidly transitions from one screen to another.


3. Optimize Memory Management – Mobile devices do not have the same powerful hardware as a desktop computer so mobile applications should be designed to utilize a minimal amount of memory. Whenever objects are loaded or crated, they need to be released from memory when they are no longer on the screen so that memory can be reallocated. Fortunately, the design framework supports a lot of such memory functions.


4. Respond to Gestures – Mobile applications need to be designed with touching in mind. Use big, clickable controls, buttons, and sliders to allow your users to interface fluidly with the app. Use scroll bars to try to show everything on the screen. Don’t use smaller fonts or use more buttons to avoid scrolling. Make sure you take advantage of orientation changes so that the app will change depending on which way the user is holding the device.


5. Optimize the Controls – Again, mobile application developers have to contend with smaller screens and less memory, which means less room for buttons and controls. Try to consolidate the number of controls on the screen at once.


6. Minimize Input Effort – Users don’t like to drag their fingers all over a screen just to get a reaction. Design your mobile app so a light flick of the fingers is enough to register input.


7. Appropriate Use of Notifications – A common pet peeve of mobile users is the use of too many notifications. If there is a new version of an application, for example, don’t continue to remind the user of this. Only one notification the first time they open the app is necessary. If it’s an ecommerce app, you can use a notification to let the user know an order was made.


8. Optimize for Devices – While, the iPhone and iPad use the same OS, they are not the same device. You must ensure that your application runs well on both devices, understanding the strengths and limitations of each.


9. Focus Your App’s Purpose – Desktop and web applications have room for a variety of features, but the best mobile apps are targeted for just one purpose. Don’t weight down your app with extraneous stuff like advertisements, links to blogs, and other extras unless they are directly related to the purpose of the app.


10. Make use of Common Controls – Users expect convenience and consistency and common controls make for better code reusability and easier maintenance. For example, if the application has a menu bar, then it should be used on each screen of the application and always reuse the same common file.