10 Features To Include In App Updates To Boost Growth

Every appreneur should be utilizing app updates to keep their applications relevant. Users quickly lose interest in apps that aren’t maintained, and there are many good reasons for this.

For one, it shows that the developer no longer cares about their app by allowing it to languish. Secondly, an app that hasn’t been updated in a long time is a potential security risk. And thirdly, the app no longer evolves with users’ needs, which leads to its irrelevancy. So, if you care about app usage growth, include these 10 features in your upcoming updates.

1. How to Use Ads To Increase App Usage Growth

Mobile ads are a powerful tool in the arsenal of an appreneur if implemented correctly. Very likely, your audience isn’t particularly fond of ads, as these often negatively impact the end-user experience. Moreover, there’s always a risk that you’ll lose users if your ads annoy them. And with 25 percent of mobile apps abandoned after being used once, you should take extra care with ads.

Focus on app usage growth by incentivizing your audience when delivering ads, which are relevant to them. For example, if you’ve released a mobile game, ensure that your ads don’t ruin flow by appearing at short intervals. It’s better to space your ads out and then reward users with additional in-game coins or experience points (XP) to help them progress. With such a strategy, users will watch more ads and engage more with your app.

2. Why Users Want App Updates To Offer Offline Access

Your latest productivity app may boast powerful features that rely on a cloud backend. And you may have heavily invested in this backend architecture to make your app function as efficiently as possible. However, it would be shortsighted if users can only make the most of your app if they need to be constantly online.

Keep in mind that many of your users have limited bandwidth and can’t always be online or be in an area with poor connectivity. Furthermore, many users will appreciate having the ability to get work done while being offline. Consider those traveling by plane that may not have the opportunity to go online for several hours. 

3. How To Make The UI More User-Friendly

When you roll out app updates, ensure that you’re regularly improving your app’s user interface (UI). Always look at ways to simplify the interface with a clean look that makes it easy for users to navigate. Then, keep all UI elements and typography consistent throughout the app. And implement colors and textures strategically to facilitate smooth navigation and highlight important features. Finally, make it easy for users to adjust settings and revert to default settings as quickly as possible.

4. Why App Updates Should Include More Security Features

With the deluge of data breaches happening lately, users have become increasingly concerned about app security. That’s why it’s vital to keep all your applications maintained by regularly rolling out app updates with patches and security features. Always stay current on the latest vulnerabilities affecting mobile platforms and devices, and respond quickly with fixes. Moreover, listen to user feedback and analyze crash reports to detect any app instability or peculiar behavior.

5. How To Boost App Usage Growth With Built-In Save Features

Having robust save features is essential for all modern apps, so never skimp on this. Ensure that all your apps can easily save manually and that users can quickly locate the ‘save’ button. Better yet, implement autosave functionality, as it’s common for users to forget to save. Also, allow users to save on the cloud, which is especially handy for those using multiple devices.

Implementing these powerful built-in save features will make your app indispensable to users. Moreover, they facilitate loyalty to your app and drive further app usage growth. And within an enterprise environment, these save features will solidify your app’s reputation as a professional package.

6. Why App Updates Need To Focus On New OS Features

Platform holders such as Apple and Google want developers to utilize the latest OS features. After all, taking advantage of these features helps enhance security, improves the user experience (UX), and unlocks additional power and features available in newer devices. More importantly, this stance from the platform holders entices developers to maintain their apps.

So, when developers ask themselves what app updates are supposed to accomplish, they should consider new OS features. And, also consider which updates they need to roll out and how often.

7. How To Choose App Update Ideas From Reviews

One of the benefits of nurturing a growing user base is that users will often leave reviews about your app. You’ll receive positive and negative feedback, and both are equally valuable. And sometimes, users may even give you new ideas that you can implement for upcoming app updates.

For example, you may have released an app that helps users quickly compile to-do lists. But these lists are exclusively text-based, and users are now clamoring for the ability to add emojis and images. So, this presents you with the golden opportunity to add these features in the next update.

8. Why You Should Look At New Competitor Features

Users are always trying out new apps and making comparisons with those they use regularly. If a new app comes with powerful features that aren’t available in existing solutions, users will inevitably make the switch to the newer app. Therefore, you should always be eyeing the competition to see if they’re implementing features that excite users. And if this is happening, then you should respond by rolling out equivalent features immediately.

9. How To Increase App Usage Growth By Adding More Personalization Settings

You could be deliberating whether to update an existing app or create an entirely new app. And it’s easy to run into this dilemma, especially when an app isn’t performing well. However, it may still have plenty of life left after receiving a visual facelift and additional personalization settings.

Many users love personalizing their apps so that they fit in with their tastes and personalities. So make it easy for them to change colors, textures, and typography. And give users total control over how notifications should appear, as some users find pop-up notifications annoying. 

10. Why Include A Guest Account In App Updates

You may want users to sign up when using your app for the first time, but this isn’t always a good idea. Most users don’t want to provide their email and other personal details if they’re unsure that they’ll use your app long-term. Moreover, they’ll likely uninstall your app if a login screen is the first thing they see after running it.

A better strategy is to allow users to test out your app before asking them to sign up. So, provide users with a guest account in your next update. Offering them a ‘no strings attached’ option will drive up app usage growth if your app lives up to expectations.

In Conclusion

App updates can be powerful when rolled out correctly. It’s always important to release meaningful updates, which patch up security vulnerabilities, improve usability, and introduce features requested by users, to name a few. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you develop and maintain amazing apps.