Building a decent app is easy this days, there are plenty of tutorials, videos and blog post about it. In this session I'll try to go over some of the top mistakes that everyone of us is doing while building his app. This will cover all the aspects of building bad app- technical, UI & UX, and marketing. So each one of you will be able to adapt his own favorite bad pattern and ruin his app.
Why?
Imagine how boring was the Batman movies without the Joker. We need those bad things to give us a perspective about the good things.
The internet is full of “how make to make things right” but you can’t really tell when you’re doing a bad thing.
For example- google suggests using Activties and Fragments, but don’t really explain what goes where.
They give you bitmaps and then you realize that you are leaking memory.
Nobody is taking about the “dark” side, and why not?
We’re doing mistakes, a lot, and we probably keep going to do them, so let’s share and learn.
What is a good app?
#1 Ask as many permission as possible
You know what your app worth, don’t let minor things like user privacy get down your way. The user is begging for this crucial analytics sending on boot, so go and ask that BOOT_COMPLETED permission! If you need to share this wonderful url to your user’s friends- pull the fucking contact list from his phone, and while you doing so why not sending it to your server and spam them all? Remember- data is power, and other’s data is money!
Bonus point: when implement Android M permissions, don’t let the user do anything until he or she accept your permission, even if he accepted some, don’t let him win!
#1 Ask as many permission as possible
You know what your app worth, don’t let minor things like user privacy get down your way. The user is begging for this crucial analytics sending on boot, so go and ask that BOOT_COMPLETED permission! If you need to share this wonderful url to your user’s friends- pull the fucking contact list from his phone, and while you doing so why not sending it to your server and spam them all? Remember- data is power, and other’s data is money!
Bonus point: when implement Android M permissions, don’t let the user do anything until he or she accept your permission, even if he accepted some, don’t let him win!
#4 Don’t save activity or fragment state
You snooze you lose, you rotated the screen? Boom- your form was lost. This is the best way to teach your users never leave your app, even if them just got a phone call.
Tip: use id for your view to save text
#9: Use gifs instead of drawing things in code or animation drawable
Yes, I know, animation drawable might saves you a couple of MB, but your time is much more important!
#10: Create resources for all resolutions
Because you just saves time, so lets waste it.
#1: Ignore material design guidelines
Google, one of the greatest companies in the world, put lots of efforts creating material design, they probably do a long user research and gather feedback from many expert, but hey- you are the one with the bachelor of industrial design, so you probably know better.
#5: Create intro, overlay explanations AND hints
Because users are stupid (mostly true) and they always read your explanation (no chance ever)
Bonus points: do a step-by-step tutorial with no option to skip.
#3: Create a mysterious app icon
App that let you send “Yo”, of course.
That’s really helpful when users need to quickly find your app from 40 apps icons grid.
#4: Use your own ideas for icons
Now I’m talking about in app icons. I understand- you don’t fully pleased with the Android default share icon, you’re also didn’t find anything suits to your needs between hundreds of material design icons so why not creating a full icon pack from your own?
Bonus points: don’t even bother to add title to your menu items, so that users will able to get a textual hint.
#8: Put animations everywhere
A splash screen animation is nice, even Google recommend adding animation while moving between screens, and the more the merrier
#5: Support the oldest android version
Because why not? you’re not the one the writing the code. And every user count! also those 0.8% of the users that still using 2.2, although those devices are so weak that your 42MB app probably can’t even run on them.
#3: Trust you instincts, no A/B testing or data analysing
Because you are the PM and you know what your users want, and this should CTA button should absolutely be green. Or red. Whatever.
Bonus points: change your opinion regularly and randomly.
#2: Listen to every single feedback and implement it
Worrying that you implemented all your 492 items from your backlog and the ideas are about to run out? Go over all the store reviews, search some feedback in twitter and check all the posts in your beta group. Users are very demanding creatures and probably will keep whining about all those features that your app absolutely garbage without, yes even if it isn’t the core of the app or they can do it easily with other apps.