Why Focus Might Be an Essential Part of Your App Functionality Plan

Let’s have some real talk, no holds barred reality check. There is no barrier to a user when it comes to uninstalling an app they dislike using or don’t use often. Removing apps is easy and modern-day users hate clutter. Not to mention no one likes to use up their precious smartphone memory if they don’t have to. If your app doesn’t function well in a way that serves the user, it’s going to potentially face the chopping block. And long term that means reduced user figures and potentially the long-term failure of the app.

Insight data suggest the average smartphone user has around 5 apps they use regularly and consider essential on their phone at any given time. Also known as the favourite 5. They then have a secondary belt of apps which while not considered essential to everyday life, they wouldn’t get rid of if they didn’t have to and consider useful. So, in order to ensure a long user life span for your app, you need to make sure your app is appealing enough to breach one of these two levels of love from the user.

The question with many apps when considering how to make the app essential to the user, is do we create something that solves a number of issues or focus on solving one problem and solving it well.

The reality is there aren’t a great deal of apps on the market that do a well-rounded number of separate tasks well. When you look at the most successful apps on the market today, you’ll notice all the big dogs have decided to absolutely own their one specific and dedicated function.

Whilst there are many examples to choose from, Instagram is a superb example. Owned by none other than Facebook, the king of social media platforms, it would have been very easy for Instagram to become a fully functioning social media app in its own right. While Instagram is considered a social media platform, in reality the app is a dedicated photography app. It terms of functionality the app only allows for a very basic profile set up and instant messaging. Otherwise everything about the app is focussed around taking, editing and sharing imagery and photography. The interactions are based around the images themselves and the editing software including the image lead story posts are all there to help you create. The app even removed the ability to see the actions of others through it’s ‘following activity’ tab as it was hindering user’s freedom to post and engage with images as they wished without it being overly public.

If you want to create an app which a user can’t live without, focus on doing one main objective well and becoming the go to user choice for solving that problem or offering that service and your app will live long and prosper.