01.12.2023
307

Why Your Web App Isn't Standing Out

Yuliia Zablotska
Author at ApiX-Drive
Reading time: ~6 min

You've invested time and effort into creating your web app, but for some reason, it's not attracting the users that it deserves. Frustrating right? If you’re reading this post, you’re probably here because you’re wondering why some web apps seem to effortlessly capture users' attention while you’re struggling to make yours stand out. In today's competitive digital landscape, we understand the struggles of making your web app shine in a crowded market. But fear not; our objective here is to provide you with a complete framework that helps you identify and tackle why your web app isn't standing out as desired.

Content:
1. Market Research
2. Identify What Sets You Apart
3. Prioritize Performance
4. Streamline Your User Experience
5. Create a Marketing Strategy
6. Give Your Web App a Competitive Edge
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In this article, we’ll show you how to carve out a unique identity for your web app, create an intuitive and delightful user experience, and win over your audience with a compelling communication strategy. Sound good? Great, because we're about to take your web app from "meh" to magnificent! Let’s look at some of the steps you can take to make your app really shine.

Market Research

First things first, who are you targeting your app at? Identify your target audience and get to know them. What do they need? What do they like? What problem does your app solve for them? Then it’s time to check out the competition. Take some time to research and investigate similar web apps out there. What sets them apart? What can you do better?

And don't forget to listen to your users. Get into those user reviews, surveys, and feedback. Are there any common complaints or areas where they feel dissatisfied? By getting inside your users' heads, you'll discover what they truly want and be able to make your web app a shining star that addresses their needs.

Identify What Sets You Apart

Now we know what the competition looks like and what your users are looking for, it’s time to get down to business and define what makes your web app special.

Define what makes your web app special


So, what's so great about your app? Is it a ground-breaking feature, a slick design, or outstanding customer support? Whatever makes your web app different, own it and turn it into your competitive advantage. Going forward, you want to highlight this differentiating factor and let it shine as your unique value proposition.

Prioritize Performance

If you want to win over users, you’ll need to nail their experience of using your app. Difficult navigation, slow loading times, and poor performance can be a major turn-off and cause users to give up before your app has even had the chance to show its potential.

Providing reliable performance is essential in improving your end-user experience. Nobody wants to be sitting around waiting for an app to load. One option to ensure your app performs consistently is to look at fully managed website hosting. By utilizing fully managed hosting services, such as Magento Cloud, you can make the most of advanced technologies and infrastructures, meaning optimized performance and reliability for your web app.

Streamline Your User Experience

Next up, take a good hard look at both your web app's interface (UI)—screens, buttons, toggles, icons, and any other visual elements that your users interact with when using your app, and the user experience (UX)—that’s the entire end to end experience of using your app for the first time. Is it intuitive? Is it user-friendly? And is it visually appealing? These are all essential foundations of a standout user experience that keeps people coming back to your app.

While you're at it, take a good look at your navigation. Poor navigation can hinder users from finding what they need, ultimately preventing them from fully experiencing your app as you intended. You want your users to instantly be able to effortlessly navigate around your app and find what they need. Remember, when adding new features or functionality to your app, to go back and test thoroughly for any regression scenarios that might impact the UX of your app. 

Last but not least, don't forget about your mobile users. In 2022, mobile devices accounted for approximately 57% of global internet traffic, surpassing desktop usage. There's nothing more frustrating for your users than a web app that is difficult to use on mobile. Ensure your app is mobile-optimized and works consistently across all devices.

Connect applications without developers in 5 minutes!

Additionally, if you're looking to streamline your user experience even further, consider exploring the best websites to hire developers. Hiring experienced developers can help you optimize your app's performance, enhance user experience, and implement new features that will set your app apart from the competition.

Create a Marketing Strategy

Once you’re happy that your app is performing like a dream and hitting the mark with your users, it’s time to make sure people know about it. No matter how excellent your app may be, scaling its growth can be challenging without proactive marketing efforts. Cloud-based digital marketing tools can be invaluable here. Here are some key things you’ll want to bear in mind when marketing your app:

Define your message

First, you'll want to create some impactful messaging to clearly communicate your app's unique benefits to your target audience. Your messaging needs to have a unique positioning point that sets you apart and clearly explains how you can solve a problem for your audience. 

Implement a search engine optimization strategy

To drive people to your web app, you need to make sure that it’s listed in the top results on search engines. 

A lot goes into developing a full SEO strategy, but one of the easiest ways to improve the ranking of your web app is by using keyword optimization. Find keywords that closely align with your app's services or solutions, and optimize your website's content accordingly around these. When people search for topics related to your app, your aim is to appear on the first page, capturing their attention and enticing them to click on your web app.

By implementing some basic SEO practices, you can easily boost your app's ranking and attract more organic traffic.

Use paid search ads

An SEO strategy can drive organic traffic to your web app but requires dedicated effort and resources. Paid search ads, also known as pay-per-click (PPC), offer an alternative to fast-track your web app to the top of search rankings.

With paid search ads, you can target specific keywords relevant to your app and ensure that your ads are only displayed to your target audience actively searching for related information. You’ll also be able to specify your target audience for your ads and track and measure the performance of campaigns.

Leverage social media

Social media


Social media offers a great opportunity for connecting with your target audience and showing off your web app. As a good starting point, you need to identify which platforms your potential users are likely to be most engaged on and focus your presence there.

For example, if you've created an app targeted at professionals, you’re most likely to connect with them on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. On the other hand, younger audiences are more likely to be active on Instagram or TikTok.

It’s all about engaging with your target audience where they're most active and giving your web app the best chance of getting noticed in the right place at the right time.

Give Your Web App a Competitive Edge

It's important to tackle the reasons why your web app isn’t getting the recognition it deserves. Make sure you understand your users, provide them with a great experience, and communicate what your app has to offer. You'll need to ensure your app is fully optimized by checking mobile performance, load times, and scalability. You may even need to consider fully managed website hosting. Then, it’s time to focus on your marketing strategy to connect to your target audience.

Building a standout app may seem challenging with fierce competition, but that's what makes it exciting and rewarding. The market is vast, leaving ample space for a remarkable app. So, get ready to embrace the challenge and let your web app shine like the star that it is.

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