Self-tracking apps are becoming more and more common as people’s interest in tracking and enhancing their health and wellbeing grows. But creating a successful self-tracking app requires more than just gathering data and showing it on a screen. Designers must adhere to UX best practices and strong web design principles to produce a user experience that captivates and inspires users to use the app consistently.
Here are some guidelines you can follow for creating self-tracking apps:
Keep It Simple
UX designers have to keep their self-tracking apps simple and easy to use. The app should be easy to understand at a single glance. To do this, UX designers need to keep the number of features to a minimum. Focusing on the core functionality of the app will make it easy to understand and use.
Navigation should be clear so that users can easily move around and find what they need. Labels should be clear but concise. Avoid technical jargon and use clear language instead. Clean navigation is not just a UX matter but also a core aspect of effective web design.
Clear Goal Setting
One of the reasons why people download self-tracking apps is because they want to set and reach certain goals. For example, they want to know how many steps they’ve taken during a certain time period, how much sleep their getting or how much weight they have lost.
This means the app should provide users with the metrics they need and show their progress towards the goal. Clear and motivational progress tracking is a lesson that both app design and web design teams can learn from, since it drives engagement and return usage.
Use Gamification
Gamification is the process of incorporating elements of games into non-game activities to increase engagement. Gamification can be used by self-tracking apps to encourage users to keep using them. For instance, apps can offer badges or prizes for reaching goals or finishing challenges.
Adding games can make an app enjoyable and fun. When you add elements like points, rewards, and challenges, users will use the app for longer periods of time and engage with it more. For example, receiving badges and rewards can be fun and motivating at the same time whenever you reach a goal. Elements like these also carry over into web design, where interactive features can increase user engagement.
Provide Feedback
The app should also be able to provide users with useful feedback. Users want to know that they are making progress towards their goal.
One of the best ways to do this is by providing graphs or charts that change over time. Feedback should be available whenever the users want. Most of all, it should be relevant and actionable. Data visualization—whether in apps or web design—helps users interpret progress more clearly.
Make It Sharable
Making your progress on a self-tracking app sharable on social media turns it into a powerful motivational tool. This is why self-tracking apps should be easy to share on social media. Being able to share your journey with friends will give users the support they need to keep going. Plus, it will make it easier for them to change their behavior using both accountability and encouragement they get from their social network.
UX designers can add social buttons on the screen to make sharing easier. This is a design element often borrowed from modern web design to increase reach and engagement.
Personalize the Experience
Self-tracking apps should be easy to personalize. UX designers should keep in mind that users have different preferences and want an app that’s tailored to their needs. For example, users should be able to choose what metrics they want to track, set their goals and personalize the apps’s interface.
Having access to this kind of personalization will increase user engagement and satisfaction. Just like in web design, customization makes the experience feel unique and user-centered.
Easy to Interpret Data
Aside from being easy to use, self-tracking apps should also be able to provide data that is easy to interpret. In most cases, apps will educate users on the metrics being tracked and how to use them. In order to do this, UX designers need to remember to use charts, graphs and diagrams to make it easier for users to visualize complex data.
Use clear and concise language when presenting data. Avoid using technical jargon and stick to simple words to make data easier to understand and digest. web design principles also stress simplicity in communication, making the content accessible to all audiences.
Invest in Accessibility
Self-tracking applications should be usable by everyone, including people with disabilities. This means developing the app with accessibility in mind. For example, you can have features like clear, high-contrast color schemes, alternative text for images, and keyboard navigation.
Being accessible to a wider range of people will make your app more popular and more people will engage with it. Accessibility is also a best practice in web design, ensuring that websites are inclusive for all.
Privacy is Important
Self-tracking apps frequently collect private information about users, including location and health data. It is important to make sure that this data is protected and kept private. To protect user data, apps should employ encryption and other security measures and offer transparent and comprehensible privacy policies.
UX designers should keep in mind that users are entrusting the app with valuable personal information. Ensuring their privacy means that this data is kept safe and inaccessible to other people at all times. The same principles apply in secure web design, where trust is key to user retention.
Keep Improving
A self-tracking app’s design process should be adaptive. Users’ comments should be collected and used to gradually improve the app. In so doing, you can ensure that the app remains relevant and helpful while also raising user satisfaction and engagement levels.
The best way to keep improving is to listen to user feedback. This will tell you what’s working and what is not. It is your most valuable asset because it will make your app better as time goes by. It will boost customer experience and pretty soon, your users will become your biggest brand ambassadors.
Bottom Line
The market for self-tracking and healthcare apps is occupied by companies like Nike and FitBit. However, they are not the only ones who can create successful self-tracking apps. The best practices we have gathered here could help you achieve the same success they have. Following our tips can help you design an app that is user-friendly, customizable and fun. And by learning from strong web design strategies, you can ensure your app looks great, functions smoothly, and keeps users coming back.
