People are so used to high-quality and easy-to-use apps that anything else gets deleted pretty quickly if something makes the experience difficult. And this comes entirely down to how an app is designed.

Design is integral to development, and within this are layers of interconnected aspects that influences how an app is designed.

Of course, you can always use templates. But you might find users aren't exactly happy with that. Customization is often needed, to get the sort of results you want and ensure users interact with the app in the way you hope. In this section, there are four main areas you need to consider when designing an app:

• 01 User Interface (UI) and visuals:

  UI means how the app will appear to the viewer, the user, those viewing and interacting with it. As part of getting an app designed and developed, you need a designer to create a mockup of how it will look, along with a run-through to help you understand the different things users can do.All of this depends on your overall goals. It also depends what type of app you are developing (e.g. On-demand, e-Commerce, social network, a basic app, etc.). UI covers everything from the layout to the number of screens, colors, elements, shapes, typography and designing the features users interact with, such as buttons and forms.

• 02 User Experience (UX):

  Design that ignores people gets ignored. UX includes how an app works, which means understanding your market/target audience, what they want and need, and making it as easy as possible for them to use the app. This means taking into consideration everything from where the user's eyes are going to to, the psychology of color, and the placement of buttons.

• 03 Branding:

  When you think of great brands, such as Nike, Apple, McDonalds, Mercedes, they have all invested in branding. Brands have monetary value, and can positively impact the growth of a company. Branding within an app, and on the channels promoting one, should be the same as your company website and other materials.

• 04 UX Writing:

  And finally, something that is often overlooked, is the writing — known as the copy — on every page or platform promoting the app (alongside marketing materials and content to promote it over the long-term), and within the app itself.

Creative copy must sell the value proposition, and really promote and sell the benefits of downloading this app. The quality of this copy must flow through the entire app. It’s an integral part of the user experience, which is why you ideally need to hire a writer yourself, or the right partner agency developing an app will already work with one on-staff, or can recommend several.

Next, you need to consider the platform an apps developed on, and how that influences the cost of development.