Contact us anytime to know more — Kuldeep K., Founder & CEO CISIN
Customer satisfaction is paramount, meaning you must meet the demands of better app performance at every level. Users expect a seamless, smooth experience on their phones.
Apps that launch in less than two seconds are expected to perform at a high level, enhancing their utility and functionality. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult for organizations to meet consumers' expectations regarding their apps.
Cost and potential are the two main challenges to meeting these expectations. Apps that aren't performing well can be improved, but app development cost is a concern for many companies.
Even if you spend a lot of development time and effort solving these issues, the app may not live up to its potential. This lack of potential causes consumers to abandon the app.
All of this has a bottom line, which is a positive user experience. A positive user experience will increase the conversion and retention of users.
Hand-held devices are the backbone of modern technology. Organizations that focus on app performance and customization will see growth and progress. Mobile phones have enabled wireless communication between people who are far apart.
The wide coverage provided by different cellular networks allowed users to remain connected.
Over time, everyone began to carry a mobile phone around with them. Over time, innovations have influenced mobile phone technology.
This has made many functions more convenient and user-friendly. Mobile phones have the latest apps that simplify daily tasks and processes. One cannot imagine a world without mobile phones.
Why Mobile App Optimization Is Essential
Originally, mobile phones were used to communicate over long distances. Now, they are a tool for accessing everything anywhere, anytime, with just a few simple clicks.
Mobile apps make life easier than ever. These apps mustn't negatively impact the users' lives. It is for this reason that optimizing the performance of mobile apps has become a necessity.
Imagine that you're too hungry to sit in a restaurant, so you grab your phone and order food from the restaurant of your choice. The app does not work properly.
You are not able to place an order. After the problem, will you ever use the same app again? No, right? When asked why optimizing a smartphone app is important, the answer that comes up most often is retention.
A mobile app for any service can be a platform that facilitates communication between the user, the service provider, and the app. This is done through easy navigation and a proper interface. Communication is key to maintaining a good relationship.
A better communication platform will lead to a higher user retention rate.
What Factors Affect Mobile App Optimization?
When a developer decides that they want to optimize a mobile application, many factors need their attention.
#1. User Expectations
Think about your customers when you develop a mobile application. The process should be based on the users or customers as the primary factor in the development procedure.
People want a simple user interface and a fast app when using a mobile application. Remember the same principles when developing mobile applications.
#2. Adaptive Nature
People use mobile applications regardless of where or when they contact their service provider. They can use it at home or while on the move.
The coverage of cellular networks is not the same everywhere. When you Hire a Mobile app developers, they must ensure that your application can adapt to the changing network coverage provided by different network providers.
#3. User Loss
If your users are unhappy with the app, they will not return. This is a factor to consider when developing an app.
You and your client will not be able to recover a lost customer if your client loses their users. Be prepared. Building mobile apps in line with users' expectations will be well received and result in positive feedback online.
What Makes An Application Effective?
You need to consider more factors than the app speed when evaluating mobile application performance.
- Apps load in as little as 2 seconds.
- The app is compatible (system requirements, screen size, resolution, etc.) with the device it is being used on.
- Memory and battery consumption that is reasonable.
- The app is easy to use and navigate with UI and UX.
- The app does not lose user data or progress in the background.
- The app seamlessly integrates with third-party applications and services such as camera, Bluetooth, and calendar.
What Can Cause Performance Issues With Mobile Apps?
Common reasons for your application not being optimized are those related to the server side, the main thread of the application, and the interface.
Server Side
- HTTP requests are frequent and large, resulting in unnecessary data.
- API latency and errors.
Main Thread
- The main thread of the app is undergoing heavy operations.
- Database operations are carried out on the main thread.
The Interface
- The shadows are not rendered correctly on the interface elements.
These are the most common and frequent reasons an app is slow or has performance issues. There are often cases that are unique to each solution.
Checklist For Optimizing Mobile App Performance
You'll find a list of universal methods that will improve your app's performance and enhance the user experience.
#1. Cache Data Effectively
It is important to cache files and computations to speed up an application. Storing data and operations on the device's hard drive allows instant access and eliminates performance problems in the event of a network disruption.
Define periods of adequate caching. It's reasonable, for example, to cache the product catalog until an administrator updates it. A user profile can be cached only during a single session.
It is also important to balance caching and loading data so that the user does not see outdated information. You should also not cache all the data if there is only limited storage space.
#2. Image Optimization
The larger the image, the better for the user. It makes no sense in reality to use images that are larger than the size of the screen.
Images and graphic elements optimized can help reduce lags and improve content loading on the screen. You should therefore make better use of image compression and resizing. Compression is a way to reduce the weight of an image without reducing its resolution.
Resizing is the opposite. It means changing the image's size to fit it into the app. It doesn't necessarily mean choosing the smallest possible size but finding a good balance.
If a picture comes in multiple sizes (profile pictures, news feed photos), it's best to select the larger one.
#3. Reducing Mobile App Load Time By Up To Two Seconds
The first app interaction between a user and an application creates a powerful impression, which impacts the user experience.
According to different studies and benchmarks, you should aim for an app launch time between 1.5-2 seconds. It is important to check if any resource-intensive tasks are performed when the application starts. You can delete outdated data in the cache.
You can delay any heavy activities not required for the app's launch until after the first screen has been rendered.
- Do not load data at the beginning of the app, but rather when the first screen is rendered (e.g., user profile).
- Use placeholders to load data slowly by first selecting the most critical elements.
#4. Keep The High Standard Of Code
Remove any frameworks that are no longer needed. Outdated and unnecessary code can increase the time it takes to launch your app.
- Keep an eye out for memory leaks, and fix them as soon as possible. If unnecessary objects are not removed from RAM, the system will shut down an application due to a lack of memory. Memory profilers can be used to optimize memory usage and track the lifecycle of objects.
- Correctly render shadows It is better to calculate the size and characteristics of the shadow once rather than drawing it multiple times as you move around the screen. We recommend that you research the best practices for your platform, as each platform has different techniques with the development team for digital products.
- Prioritize heavy initialization and reduce bottlenecks. Remove blocking tasks from the main thread and move them to background threads.
- App Energy Consumption can be monitored at different stages of operation when the app is running or in background mode.
- Create offline modes for data access even if the network connection is lost. This ensures the security of information, reliability, and comfort for users. Best practices include providing the content and functionality that users require offline by analyzing the user's behavior, saving the users' progress in the app, indicating the network status is offline, and designing an empty state to be used offline. It is also beneficial to music players and map users to be able to download content so that they can work offline.
- iOS apps Reduce the number of calculations that are performed offscreen. This can happen when you use visual effects, such as rounded corners or shadows. It may happen when you add some visual effects (e.g.Offscreen rendering can affect performance in such cases).
5#. Optimize Client-Server Interactions
- Design API so that the user does not receive unnecessary data. Divide content into objects and divide them by their purpose. Request these when necessary. This method reduces the amount of loaded data, resulting in a faster app.
- Always keep in mind when designing and developing APIs that people use 4G connections and 3G and even slower, less stable connections. Divide complex requests into smaller parts to be performed gradually, and test your application on a bad network.
- Reduce the distance between an end-user and a data source by using CDN.
- Implement pagination for large data sets. Instead of loading 100 items in the feed simultaneously, load the first ten and continue to load the rest as the user scrolls or changes pages.
- Do not use redirects when launching an app, as this will increase the time it takes to deliver data to the end user.
Improve The Performance Of Mobile Apps
Mobile application development company are gaining popularity, and their share of online traffic is increasing.
Organizations need to keep up with demand as mobile apps are increasingly used. While satisfying user expectations and demand for a better product is important, it is equally vital to be aware of the mobile app metrics currently being tracked.
According to standard projections, in 2023, mobile app revenues will reach approx 188.9 Billion USD. This revenue is generated primarily by app stores and through in-game advertisements.
It is only natural that the lucrative potential of investing in this industry will increase motivation to deliver a high-quality mobile app. You don't have to be told that if your app doesn't perform as expected, your company will lose a large percentage of income.
We are here to provide your customers with the best experience possible. We've created a mobile app performance checklist to help you achieve this.
Mobile App Performance Testing
It's important to ensure that your app can perform well on various devices, networks, APIs, and servers. You'll want to ensure that you have a proper testing strategy and procedure in place before launching a project.
Device Performance
Apps bugged, open slowly, or use a lot of battery and memory tend to indicate that they're not optimized. The first thing that customers will notice is if you don't work out any bugs in your software.
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Device Compatibility
- It is important to know the execution environment in which your mobile application will run. It is important to know what operating systems it can run on (such as Apple and Android, screen sizes, resolutions, etc).
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App Startup Time
- The smoother your user experience, the faster you can launch your app. After all, first impressions are important. Apps for mobile devices are expected to work immediately after activation, so you need to aim for startup times under two seconds.
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Memory Consumption
- Smartphones have a limited amount of memory available. The more memory your app uses, the better the phone functions. Several factors can affect memory consumption, such as push notifications and memory leaks. These should all be considered to minimize excessive consumption.
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Battery Consumption
- The battery of your smartphone can quickly be drained by using mobile apps. Mobile apps should be designed to minimize the energy drain on the phone.
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App On Background
- Customers should be confident that if they put your app in the background to do something else while you concentrate on another task, it can still be returned to where they left it. Apps that cannot maintain the background state may end up losing data. This means the consumer's progress will be lost, and they will have to start over.
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Integration Of Other Services (location/GPS/social media, Wi-Fi, etc.)
- Apps should integrate seamlessly with other services without interference, errors, or slowing down.
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Misinterpretation of UI/UX and Its Comprehensibility
- The UI of a mobile app should be easy to use, comprehensive, and navigate. Unresponsive and cluttered UI designs make mobile apps unfriendly to users. This leads to them dropping the app and never giving it another try.
Network Performance
Apps for mobile devices should be tested to ensure that they work on different networks, such as WiFi, mobile, and 4G.
Measuring the network properties can help determine where and when your mobile app is most effective. Your app should be accessible from anywhere that there is a network connection.
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Network Speed
- There are many different speeds for networks. It is important to check that your app works across all networks. This will ensure constant usability. It is important to address any issues that might arise from different networks before they ruin the experience of an app.
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Packet Loss
- For the average user, losing information can be a real pain. If you experience a complete packet loss in your app, it should provide options for attempting to recover the lost information. Apps that experience packet loss should offer the option to resend information or alert users immediately.
Read More:
Thinking of Outsourcing Your Next Mobile App Development Project
Server/API Performance
Mobile apps' responsiveness when interacting with servers is an important part of their allure. For optimal performance, your app must communicate quickly and efficiently with the server.
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Data From And To The Server
- The server data should be handled efficiently with minimal load times. It is important to convert data from other apps into the correct format. The data communication can slow down your phone, making it unresponsive. Smoothing out the efficiency will keep your app up to par.
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Server Downtime
- Even if the server goes down, data will still be stored safely if you have a native database. In case your primary server fails, you can also have a backup. Whether your app is connected to the main server, you should still be able for consumers to access it safely.
Mobile App Performance Optimization Techniques
The first step is to test your mobile app. After ensuring that your app is reliable and has minimal bugs, it's time to focus on real optimization.
The bare minimum is a functioning app to get your foot in the door of the mobile market. It takes a bit more planning to get ahead.
#1. Using A CDN for API Acceleration Reduces Payload, Round-Trip Times, Size, And Latency
APIs allow your app to display and communicate information originally sourced from another application, such as weather or traffic, comprehensively.
Content delivery networks (CDNs) use servers across the country to speed up API communication. Using an edge server located close to the user reduces payload, round-trip times, and latency. APIs communicate and display information from other applications.
A CDN can help speed up your APIs. Using a CDN, you can also make your APIs more reliable, scalable, and faster. It can be used to improve the user experience.
#2. Reduce The Load Time By Resizing, Caching, And Compressing Images
To load your app properly, the larger the image is, the slower it will be. You can speed up your app's functionality by doing a few simple things.
The mobile app will lag if you use large images. Optimize your images before launching your mobile application to get the best loading time. To optimize images, you need to get the right dimensions and quality.
Compression can reduce the number of bytes within an image without reducing the resolution.
You can resize images to fit them into your mobile application, saving bandwidth. Lastly, caching allows images to be downloaded from the network and stored in the computer's internal memory.
Once the images are in the internal memory, the mobile application will not need to download them from an external network every time. These options will reduce the amount of work your app must do to generate assets. This will result in a faster load time.
#3. Reduce The Number Of Features In Your App That Aren't Essential To Its Performance
Apps with extra features can look more attractive, but their performance is affected. Apps with many features slow down, even if they are essential for the app's functionality.
By removing unnecessary features and optimizing those essential to the app, you can improve speed, responsiveness, and overall performance. Skipping features that do not add value to your app is crucial. Test your app, conduct surveys, and speak with users to identify unimportant features.
#4. Use Data Templates To Make Your App Load Quicker
The fewer data templates you load, the faster your app will function. Instead of designing multiple data templates for your app, reuse those you already have.
Resourcefulness is a way to reduce the weight of your load.
#5. Load Data As Needed By Splitting Up Assemblies Or Pre-Loading/Pre-Fetching The Data
The app will slow down if you load all its data at once. Instead of working with large data chunks simultaneously, consider using split assemblies to retrieve information easily.
Pre-loading and pre-fetching data will allow you to access the most important information faster than other assets in the app. After all, you don't want to download all the data simultaneously. These are just the most important bits. The easiest way to crash or slow down your mobile app is to load all the features simultaneously.
Split up your data into phases for smooth transitions and optimal app performance.
#6. You Can Create An Offline Mode If Your Network Connection Drops
A buffer is created offline to ensure that your data will be saved safely if you unexpectedly lose network connectivity.
If you suddenly lost your network connection, all the data you had been using would be discarded. You can save data offline and return to it when you reconnect. Offline mode is synonymous with security, reliability, and ease of mind for the user.
In an internet failure, offline mode is essential to maintain functionality, value creation, and performance. Offline mode retains core app functions and allows users to perform actions without data. This feature is essential in 2023.
#7. Test Your App
The audience will use your mobile app across multiple devices and with various internet connections. It's crucial to test your app across a range of platforms.
You can easily catch any performance bugs before launching your app.
How To Optimize Mobile App Performance
Mobile apps can be used to promote your business. They provide a convenient platform for users, allowing them to receive your Mobile app Development Services with just a few simple clicks.
#1. Focus On The User Interface
It is not just about the color of your application on the screen. It's about convenience for users. What features do you want to see in a mobile app? You will find the answer if you analyze and note down all the important points.
The look and feel of the website are important and cannot be ignored. Navigation and browsing are more important than anything else. How can you trust an app when you cannot even find the menu or the description of the items? You can't! As a mobile app optimizer and developer, your primary focus should be the user interface.
#2. Focus On Increasing App Usability
As we have already mentioned, those on the move primarily use mobile applications. Due to this, network availability is not guaranteed.
Users may find that they have a strong network in certain areas. However, when traveling or stuck, users might be unable to use their app. On the other hand, another app is performing well.
Users will therefore be more likely to choose the second option and abandon the first. You can't allow such things to happen as a native developer.
Ensure your app can be used on different networks, such as 2G, 3G, 4G and now 5G also. Your mobile app development will be at greater risk if the network adaptability remains uncertain in mobile development with a team of developers.
#3. Use Profiling Tools For Monitoring
It is crucial to monitor the user's interaction and consistency. You may find iOS issues that directly or indirectly impact the mobile application with the help of profiling tools.
The right tools make it easier to monitor and track how the apps are working and malfunctioning. You can detect crashes with the aid of profiling software and get an alternative code immediately. You can then tune your app to reflect the changes you have identified.
#4. Try It Out
Test the app as soon as it is developed and distribute it to users. Testing must adhere to stricter standards, so you can evaluate it according to the worst and most difficult scenarios that could affect the usability and controllability of the mobile apps that you are developing.
You can test it during the maintenance phase.
#5. Apps That Are Efficient For Mobile Devices
This efficiency check is mandatory for mobile app developers due to the collaboration between smartphones and mobile apps.
It is important to ensure that your app works with all devices and tools. Once users decide to install your app on their smartphone, you never know what device they will use or the app development process in native development.
Important Takeaways
Your mobile app should be designed with reliability, functionality, and ease of use. The performance of your mobile app should be quick and complete and only include the information directly related to the app's function.
The mobile app market is booming, and optimizing your mobile app can result in massive revenue for your business. You can still create a memorable app, even though the market for mobile apps is flooded with options.
It is important to consider your customer's first impression of your app. When faced with an app that is slow and unresponsive, most users will uninstall it shortly after.
With an app focused on the customer experience, you can keep your first impressions green. A managed mobile app with the right features can be a valuable asset to your business.
