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Mobile App Optimization: Best Techniques to Improve Performance

Summary: The demand for business mobile applications is increasing day by day as they are becoming a powerful way to connect with local/global audiences. Here, the performance of these apps matters the most, and that is why optimized mobile applications are cutting through the noise. In this blog, I will share my experience while optimizing the apps for my clients. If you want to accumulate the core information without drowning yourself in tech jargon, make yourself free for the next 7-10 minutes.

During my formative period at Technource, I met some like-minded clients who are more than amicable yet technically sound! Martin is one of them, running a pet toys business digitally, and earning significant revenue.

However, he wern’t getting much traction through the dedicated mobile app built for his business compared to other digital channels. He knocked me on a fine winter evening and asked, “Why am I not getting the desired traction even if everything is rolling smoothly?”

My team checked and found an essential factor missing from Martin’s business mobile application.

Any guesses?

That is mobile app optimization, an indispensable factor in determining whether an application succeeds or fails.

According to HubSpot, 32% small businesses already have an existing mobile app and 42% plan to develop one. With numerous companies investing in apps, understanding the proper mobile development and consulting approach becomes crucial to ensure success.

Therefore, the importance of mobile app optimization is paramount for scaling the business effectively.

It’s not about only improving user satisfaction and increasing user engagement- but something more than that! The optimization procedure is streamlined, and the results are surprisingly top-notch, which brings value to the table!

What is Mobile App Optimization?

This process involves enhancing the usability, performance, and engagement of a specific mobile app to keep users active and reduce churn. In other words, mobile app optimization refers to technical performance, like how well it performs on a mobile device under various circumstances.

So, what are the primary factors influencing the performance of a mobile application? Here you go-

• Speed – This is one of the crucial aspects of mobile app performance, which refers to how quickly an application can respond. Several factors influence speeds, including code efficiency, device processing power and network conditions.
• Responsiveness – It’s another key aspect of mobile app performance that refers to how quickly an app can respond based on the given input. Suppose a user is scrolling a social media app, while keeping its image and video processing in “high” mode. Now, based on the user input, the app will perform accordingly. If the app isn’t responsive, it will appear sluggish, leading to a poor user experience.

What are the Core Areas of Mobile App Optimization?

Focusing on mobile application optimization involves not only resizing images and developing a website that is readable on mobile screens, but also optimizing the user experience.

That’s only half of the battle!

The objective underlying this is to provide a seamless experience to the mobile users. According to WhatstheBigData, 60% of the global traffic comes from cell phones. Therefore, the paramount importance of mobile app optimization plays a crucial role in the growth of a business. Here are the core areas of mobile app optimization-

• Mobile Friendly Design – This ensures layout and functionality adjustment across various devices. Tools like WordPress and Bootstrap make this thing easier by offering pre-built themes.
• Clear Navigation – When I heard about Martin’s issue, I reached out to my team. After an hour of discussion, we found that the existing navigation is missing cleanliness! As there are different sizes of mobile screens available globally, a clean and intuitive interface of a mobile application is always worthwhile! Additionally, contact or checkout forms, large buttons, and hamburger menus enhance usability.
• Seamless Checkout Experience – The demand for quick yet secure payment options is gradually increasing. Integrating one-click checkout options through PayPal/Payoneer/ credit/debit cards provides customers with a seamless checkout experience.

Why Mobile App Optimization Is Essential for Business Growth?

Dax Grant, CEO of Global Transform, has witnessed the importance of business mobile apps, especially in the post-COVID era. On that note, optimizing mobile apps is crucial for consistently delivering value.“Being an entrepreneur, I’ve realized how essential mobile app optimization in tandem with tech integration is to the success factors of any business. No doubt that the usage of cell phones has skyrocketed in the past few years, especially in the post-COVID era.”

I, too, cannot undermine the importance of the above statement as an entrepreneur. In fact, Martin and I have discussed the same! Here is why optimizing mobile apps is essential if you’re running a business, irrespective of its size:

1. Enhanced User Experience (UX)

You don’t want your user to leave your business mobile app due to laggy UX! If this happens, chances are higher that the user will move to the competitor’s mobile app. Therefore, optimizing mobile apps for improved performance is paramount.

To enhance the app performance, ensure smooth rendering, while eliminating overdraw and reducing layout complexity. Also, use constraint layout effectively. If you want to improve Android app performance, you can use specific tools to analyze and fix UI issues. This ensures that your business application is responsive.

2. Optimized Code

App load time optimization depends on how the code is written. To achieve optimal app performance, developers should write code in an organized manner. You can ask your mobile app development team to incorporate computational functions while reducing object creation. If your business has only had the Android application, then the development must concentrate on code-level optimization to ensure the app functions flawlessly across various screen sizes.

3. Reduced Application Size

The performance of an application depends on its size, especially in situations like aging hardware platforms and slow internet connections. Small-sized applications install quickly and perform better than the larger ones as they require less storage capacity. Moving forward, a mobile application performs better once it’s optimized.

4. Managed Memory Usage

Inefficient memory management and memory leaks may cause your business app to crash, while degrading app performance. To enhance the app performance, monitor memory usage and refrain from holding the context than necessary. Additionally, reuse objects where it is necessary to maintain stability over time.

5. Optimized Battery Consumption

Be it Android or iOS, draining battery quickly is one of the top concerns for mobile users, especially if they’re busy with daily chores. Applications that drain battery fast are likely to be uninstalled. With mobile app optimization, your business application ensures that it not only performs seamlessly but also conserves battery life on devices.

6. Improved Search Rankings

Mobile app performance optimization influences search engine rankings. With the recent search engine algorithm updates that influence the ranking directly, optimized mobile apps act as the feather in a cap! As a result, it appears at the top of the SERP results and attracts more visitors, improving the competitive position.

7. Global Reach

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with another client, David, who is facing the challenge of reaching global clients with his business mobile app. He rushed to me, and here is what we had discussed-

Me: Hey David, you seem worried! Everything is fine?

David: Not actually! I am unable to tap into the benefits of reaching a global audience with my business application! Why on earth am I facing these issues despite my team working relentlessly?

Me: (After having a session with my team), David, your application is not optimized to reach the target audience. As you know that not everyone is using the latest Android/iOS devices, the existing mobile application is causing trouble.

David: Oh god! How to improve Android app performance? Please guide me as I have already invested my hard-earned bucks in this application. This is turning out to be a nightmare!

Me: (Chuckles): Don’t worry, man! All you need to do is perform mobile app speed optimization to reach global audiences. Once done, you can tap into the benefits of reaching global audiences. Sounds fine?

David: Yes, definitely! Thanks for saving my precious time and money! Let’s discuss this, and I want your best mobile app developers to work on this. Hope that’s doable!

Old devices and slow internet connection affects mobile app performance. Give this condition, you must optimize your business mobile application to ensure accessibility. Therefore, it delivers a seamless experience, regardless of network speed or device capability. Moving forward, you can reach global audiences with the optimized mobile application.

Checklist for Mobile App Optimization

Be it Martin or David, mobile app performance optimization is the primary factor behind the success of that particular application. As we discussed earlier, a smooth app offers seamless performance across multiple mobile devices. My team has worked tirelessly to detect anomalies, enhance app performance, and refine the user experience. Here you go-

Top 5 Mobile App Performance Optimization Techniques

According to Google, 53% of users abandon a mobile app if it takes more than three seconds to load. Therefore, you must improve app performance, and it isn’t possible without incorporating proper strategies. Here are the top 5 mobile app performance best practices that you should follow-

1. Understand Buyers’ Journey

My team and I start by evaluating user behavior and app product navigation to help me improve app quality. Here are the key areas that my team generally focuses on:

• Screen Engagement – The team assesses the screens where the mobile users spend the maximum time.
• Key feature Interaction – Tracks whether the users interact with the top features or struggle to find them.
• Navigation Flow – Detects friction in how the users are navigating through an app to enhance stability.
2. Monitor Mobile App Performance

Like a warm beer ruins Saturday evening, a slow application kills user engagement! Since the inception of Technource, I’ve noticed that many applications are losing users due to performance issues.

My team continuously checks three performance metrics that impact user engagement.

• Application Not Responding Rates – If an application freezes or becomes unresponsive, users are forced to shut down the apps.
• App Load Time – Users abandon an application because the application doesn’t load quickly. Even a second delay can reduce conversions.
• Frequent App Crash – A frequently crashing app fails to earn the users’ trust. Our team identifies the reason behind frequent app crashes before they impact user retention.
3. Enhance Mobile Onboarding

A warm welcome through a unique onboarding experience makes users feel valued. Not only does this increase retention, but it also reduces drop-offs. Here’s how I make the onboarding more effective-

• We design interactive carousels and slide-outs to introduce key features without overwhelming the users.
• Validates if the onboarding flow is working properly through tracking real-time user behavior.
• Tracks performance to evaluate better where the users drop off and which app elements are drawing attention.
4. Perform Regular Usability Tests

While working on Android or IOS app performance optimization, we prefer product usability testing to uncover friction points that data can’t explain.

We use usability tests to check the following-

• Detecting pain points and areas for improvement.
• Cross-checking new features before a full rollout.
• Getting direct user feedback on mobile app usability.
5. Personalize User Experience

Imagine you’re booking an Uber to reach your destination. In the meantime, a pop-up just appeared on your screen with the message “Dear user, here is your key reason to book your next ride- flat 50% off- only for you!” You’re on top of the world because the next ride is going to save some of your hard-earned bucks, which you can spend somewhere else.

Uber sent you the offer based on your usage. That is the power of analyzing user experience!

Similarly, my team uses mobile app analytics to track:

• How a user is interacting with in-app messages to understand which prompts are driving more engagement.
• Mobile screen views to detect the most-visited pages and the least-used features.
• In-app events to assess behavior patterns.

Top Tools for Testing and Optimizing Mobile Apps

To be honest, I’ve witnessed the business mobile app revolution- the rise of low code to no code mobile app development that enables brands to stay relevant and competitive. My team has spent long hours on research and occasionally delves deeper into dozens of tools for effective mobile app optimization. From there, I’ve accumulated the top 7 tools. Ahead, I’ll share what they do right.

1. Apptim

This tool evaluates crucial mobile app performance metrics, including launch time, battery usage and CPU consumption. Besides, the reports pinpoint the issues affecting user experience. We have used Apptim to test the mobile applications before rolling them out for users across different devices and conditions.

2. Android Profiler

A mobile app developer introduced this application to me. After watching the product videos and reading a few blogs, I was pretty convinced! What made me act immediately was the app’s ability to detect performance bottlenecks, including slow network requests and excessive memory allocation.

There’s still something novel about it! This tool visualizes mobile app behavior to optimize performance during the iteration and testing phase.

3. Apache JMeter

As an entrepreneur, I always want my clients to use an optimized mobile application that develops a more engaging user experience than the traditional “search, browse, add to cart.” For that, an optimized mobile app is needed that instills a sense of personalization for the users.

This tool fuels the same by helping developers check, load, and assess the performance of a business mobile app. It simulates real-world traffic under various conditions. Additionally, this tool can identify server bottlenecks and response delays, ensuring the application can effectively handle peak loads.

4. Sentry

If you haven’t heard of Sentry, you’re not alone! In fact, I was also overwhelmed with the tool, spent forty-five cynical moments wondering why this tool is the talk of the town! The reasons are clear- this open-source error tracking tool captures app bugs, crashes and performance issues. Features like automatic issue grouping and detailed stack traces make the developer’s job like walking in the park!

5. Xcode Instruments

Instead of hovering in flashy features no one uses, Xcode Instruments provides detailed insights into CPU, energy and memory consumption. This is one of the best tools for iOS app performance optimization. Developers can detect memory leaks, app responsiveness, and improve code efficiency.

What are the Common Challenges of Mobile App Optimization?

Trust me, I got my first mobile phone after completing my high school degree, and it was a simple keypad set with no cutting-edge features. Only calling and sending texts were the primary objectives fulfilled by this handset.

Coming back to these days, the phones are smart now and have become an inalienable part of our lives! From waking up in the morning to send a “good night” message to the near and dear ones through WhatsApp is doing the task silently, day after day!

According to Statista, the usage of smartphones has increased from 3.6 billion users to 6.25 billion in 2021. It may reach 7.6 billion by 2027. This increasing number of app users has become a real challenge for developers and testers to stay competitive.

We also faced challenges, but combated them tactfully!

1. Various Screen Resolutions

To meet the demand of users, newly launched smartphones come in various screen sizes and resolutions. Therefore, there is a need to test these apps on different screen sizes. However, the testers are testing the applications on both landscape and portrait modes to match the demand.

2. Limited Scope of Emulators and Simulators

The main challenge of emulators and simulators is that they mimic the device environment and do not provide testing under real user conditions. If you need to test app performance results, it must be done in real-world conditions, as we do. For example, our team tests the mobile application under real-world scenarios, like when the battery is low or a notification pops out.

3. Internet Speed Bandwidth Issues

With the increasing number of app users, the demand for certain features has also increased. For example, users now want seamless performance of an application even if the networks are unstable. If you’re facing the same issues with your business mobile application, network throttling can be a solution. Here, the internet speed is intentionally slowed to mimic low bandwidth conditions by the users. That is why we prefer testing mobile applications in offline mode, and you too!

4. Device Fragmentation Issues

This is one of the biggest challenges faced by the app development and testing team, as QA teams must test compatibility across different versions of the same OS.

5. App Security

You cannot deny the drawbacks of technological advancement. One of them is breaching the security of a mobile application. However, testing mobile apps for performance optimization requires gathering a substantial amount of information, as these apps have numerous permutations.

It’s Not Only Us!

Case in point: I found that globally acclaimed brands are also reaping the benefits of mobile app performance optimization. I’ve condensed the best brands that are currently cutting through the noise, while offering personalized insights through their mobile application.

• Uber – The expert testing team of this tech giant has implemented real-time monitoring tools to analyze and resolve performance issues.
• Netflix – When it comes to binge-watching a crime thriller series or an eerie horror movie, Netflix is the first choice! The application caches the accessed information to reduce the need for repeated network requests, while speeding up interactions.

Yeah, I can Help You Too!

Now, if you come and ask, ” I need my business application to be optimized. Could you please help me to take my business to the next level by optimizing my business mobile application?” My answer will be “YES” as I believe that efficiency isn’t a luxury. Instead, it helps you to stay competitive while saving time and delivering personalized service.

Start with an introductory call and expand. Check our custom mobile development services to help yourself learn our working methodology. So, when are you planning to optimize your business mobile application to stay tall in the competition, literally?

What is mobile app optimization, and why is it important?

Mobile app optimization is the process of optimizing your business mobile app so that mobile users can view and operate the content seamlessly. Optimization plays a crucial role, as it directly impacts user engagement, satisfaction, and retention.

How does mobile app optimization improve user retention?

Mobile app optimization enhances user retention by creating a smooth, reliable, and seamless experience that meets user needs, while encouraging further engagement.

Why do mobile apps slow down over time?

Mobile apps slow down over time as they gather various background data and cached data. This consumes more system resources, like device internal storage and cached data.

How do you measure mobile app performance?

Key metrics to measure app performance are crash rate, load time, memory consumption, battery usage and responsiveness based on user inputs.