Improve User Experience for On-Demand Services Apps
On-demand apps make larger user penetration by ensuring to facilitate them far more than traditional services. However, businesses often struggle to attract and retain customers due to inefficiencies in providing sufficient user experience.
There are multiple factors which affect the experience of users while using mobile on-demand services. Following are the topmost factors that make or break customers for you.
1. App Speed and Load Sustainability
Google suggests that the apps developed to run on its Android operating system should take no more than 5 seconds for cold start and 1.5 seconds for hot start. The former refers to starting the app for the first time after download whereas latter indicates opening it afterwards. Almost similar is the time consumption on iOS platform in ideal cases.
There is a room for improvement in your app if it consumes more time than suggested by operating system officials. While the quality of code is the chief reason influencing app speeds, the ability of underlying servers to manage load is also a significant factor. Besides code optimization, the on-demand service apps should be scalable to allow seamless experience during peak hours.
2. Content and Search Personalization
In majority of the cases, ride-hailing consumers travel to a location where they have previously traveled as well. Similarly, food on-demand consumers repeatedly order food from a selection of their favorite outlet. Thus, users repeatedly acquire same services.
It is unwise to push users to enter same details over and over again. Instead, the app should provide automated suggestions based on the previous activity of users. The choices of consumers vary widely. For instance, two households might have an entirely different set of grocery items depending on the ages of family members and cultures. Thus, suggestions in on-demand grocery take crucial role.
3. Interface Navigation in On-demand Apps
There are businesses – for instance, on-demand home services – that offer more than one service. Such businesses require more pages and often additional subcategories. It is important for developers to keep the hierarchy of pages up to four levels. The usability decreases for every level beyond fourth level.
“The next big thing is the one that makes the last big thing usable.” (Blake Ross, Mozilla Firefox Co-creator)
Most of the on-demand consumers are unaware of the technical details associated with the app. Thus, the app needs to be a complete black box which hides the complex details and enable users to comfortably navigate to the desired page.
To ensure successful design, ODTap designers create multiple wireframes and subsequently produce prototypes of each shortlisted wireframe. This strategy enables us to prevent making changes at a later stage of development when any change costs considerably more time and money.
4. Color Scheme and Branding
Your on-demand services app might be offering remarkable efficiency with smaller launch time and faster processing. However, it would still be likely to lose consumers if the theme is not an attractive one. Although apparently color scheme and app logo design is insignificant, yet users build a perception with the first impression of app.
Learn about ODTap White Label On-demand Platform
A comprehensive branding of app would enable you to retain more users over the time because users are more likely to remember branded apps. The consistency between colors, logo, fonts, and other designing elements gives a pleasant experience to users.
5. Real-time On-demand App Features
One of the most crucial aspects in on-demand services apps is the availability of real-time features. In fact, it would be unwise to label a service as “on-demand” unless it features real-time updates.
While push notifications to share the status of a request are most essential, instant messaging is no less significant. Users are inclined to adopt on-demand model because it ensures quick provision of services. Real-time messaging enables on-demand agents to provide services within the standard time.
Furthermore, the availability of real-time driver tracking and route optimization is vital. Tracking allows estimation of arrival time as well as security of both driver and passenger. Route planning enables drivers to take the most appropriate path with real-time updates on traffic volumes and blockades.
6. Compatibility with Older Versions
Many models of smartphones are over a decade old now. In this period, the operating systems of Android and iOS have undergone large-scale changes. Thus, the behavior of apps developed today would widely vary on modern phones and older ones. It is highly expensive to maintain an app which runs smoothly on smartphones of all ages.
However, the app should be compatible with smartphones which are up to 6 years old. For the older versions, you may to provide lite versions of on-demand services apps. Uber also adopts this strategy by providing lightweight app which consumes as low as 5MB of space as compared to main app that takes around 180MB. If your on-demand app offers compatibility with phones up to years old, it is still covering a considerably large proportion of consumers.
7. Develop Consumer Journey
This factor is often overlooked despite the fact that it is single most crucial cause of making or breaking an on-demand services platform. Consumer journey is a map which reveals the sources that attract users and the ones that push them away.
Also Read: Unraveling the Boundless On-demand Universe
Assessment of consumer journey requires quantitative analysis of information collected from consumers regarding feedback and reviews about your on-demand services. Social networks, independent review sites, and discussion forums serve as decent data sources. Surveys and in-person interviews with a selection of potential users also serve well because there is a chance that some of the reviews might be coming from competitors.
Besides quantitative, on-demand business owners should also perform qualitative analysis. Such analysis provides the authenticity of collected data. For instance, the data sources should be reliable and information should be valid and current. A careful evaluation of consumer journey enhances productivity by cost reduction and consumer satisfaction.
ODTap is the leading on-demand startup developer. Our professionals are proud to help dozens of startups in developing technologies which enabled them to attain sustainability.
Do you wish to start an on-demand startup as well? Contact us today so that our experts can take you further.
