25 Key Features of a Successful Mobile App

Whether you are running a start-up or have an established business, developing a successful mobile app can help your company reach out to customers, evaluate interest, enhance revenue, and much more. Not only do mobile applications that have the key features of successful mobile app help businesses gain a competitive advantage, but they also help increase brand awareness and improve visibility.

With a robust mobile app, you can create value for your customers and increase their trust and loyalty towards your business.

Designing a high-quality mobile app isn’t an easy feat, though. A well-designed app not only enables consumers to complete transactions, gather information, and contact your business but also has an easy-to-navigate interface that doesn’t frustrate users and features that assure them their personal information is protected.

Let’s explore several must-have components that every company should prioritize when developing a mobile app. However, before getting into the nitty-gritty, let’s find out the key features of a successful mobile app.

Introduction to Mobile App Development Features

Developing a feature-rich app that serves a practical purpose and delivers an enriching experience is what separates an ordinary app from an extraordinary app. However, the existence of an abundance of features makes the decision matrix for feature selection a lot more complicated. Whether it is the most simplistic feature, like user registration, login, and profile creation, or the most advanced feature, like voice and gesture control, as well as the use of AI, AR, and VR, selecting the best app features requires deliberate planning. Undoubtedly, mobile app development is an iterative process necessitating continuous innovation, refining features based on feedback, and embracing the uncertainty of technological advancements.  

Whether it is the Core Functionality Features, Social and Community Features, Content and Media Features, E-commerce and Payments Features, Location-Based Features, Utility and Productivity Features, Gamification Features, offline functionality, or Customization and Personalization Features, the framework for mobile app development lies not just in coding expertise or stunning graphic design. It is a composite of deliberate planning, user-centric features, and adaptive ingenuity. It’s about piecing together the key characteristics of a successful mobile app to construct an experience that captivates, facilitates, and exceeds expectations.

It’s essential to understand how to curate an app as per users’ requirements and stand out through planning and strategizing.

It all starts with a blueprint of your vision, which defines what you seek through your app. Further, you require building a roadmap with clear and measurable goals, guiding the development process, and ensuring each feature incorporated is intentional and supportive of the app’s prime purpose.

Once you have established your app objectives, extensive market research is required, which provides insight into the target audience preferences, pain points, and desired functionalities, which will help you select the key features of your successful mobile app. Thus, you will end up with an app that not only resonates with the users but also ensures user engagement and satisfaction.

App features are one of the founding pillars of the app’s structure visualization during wireframing, where a skeleton outline of the app layout is developed. It’s during this phase that a template is developed with selected mobile app features, a template that maps the user journey and interactivity of app elements before diving deep into the aesthetics.

Whether it is the appropriate development method, project timeline, budget, or overall app performance, all of these play a role in establishing a technical foundation for the app. Apps-specific requirements change with different developers’ pathways from a no-code platform to a hybrid approach, as each method has its benefits and constraints while defining the app-specific requirements.

Understanding Core Mobile App Functions

Core mobile app functions are the core features required for the implementation of the app’s primary function. Whether it is user authentication and profile management, push notifications, offline access, in-app search, data synchronization, navigation, UI, performance optimization, or security, all of these are the foundations for building a functional and user-friendly mobile app that meets user requirements and expectations while also ensuring security and performance.

Why UX/UI Matters in App Design

In the ever-evolving world of mobile apps, a beautiful interface and seamless user experience can make or break an app’s success. UX focuses on the user experience while interacting with the app. Not only does well-designed UX make the app easy to navigate and intuitive, but it also ensures the app is easily navigable and intuitive and provides a seamless and enjoyable experience, which finally ensures complete user satisfaction.

A proper UX/UI engagement can ensure the following:

1. Improve User Engagement

If you develop a highly thoughtful crafted UI with intuitive layouts, as well as appealing visuals and responsive elements, you will keep users engaged. A better UI will ensure users continue interacting with your app and will also visit your app regularly.

2. Makes App Experience Smooth

A properly designed UX/UI will diminish confusion, frustration, and app abandonment through clear navigation, logical workflow, and consistent design patterns. It will further help visitors accomplish the tasks efficiently and in less time.

3. Better Retention and Conversion

A good UX/UI experience can ensure user retention and improve conversion rate. It ensures ease of use, well-placed calls to action, and attractive designs that will drive your users towards desired actions like making purchases or signing up.

Also read: Mobile App Development For Startups: The Complete Guide

Key Features of Successful Mobile App

The most essential mobile app features are those that help in delivering a great user experience, functionality, and engagement. Listed below are the must-have features for your next mobile app.

1. Intuitive UX and UI
2. Cross-platform App
3. Application Security
4. Offline Functionality
5. Voice Search
6. Location Tracking
7. Social Integration
8. User-Centric
9. Modern Technology
10. Live Streaming
11. Easy Payment Gateway
12. App Analytics
13. Regular Updates
14. AI chatbot
15. AR and VR Support
16. Fast Loading Speed
17. Multi-language support
18. Affiliate and referral programs
19. Calendar and scheduling
20. Excellent user support
21. Accessibility features for disabled users
22. Gamification
23. QR code and barcode scanning
24. In-app messaging
25. App integrations

1. Intuitive UX and UI

There is no denying that users love mobile apps with simple and user-friendly User Interfaces. UI should have nothing to do with what information users consume from within the application. Fast UI always has a positive impact on the user and ensures ease of use. Stats suggest that if you boost the UX budget by 10%, the conversion rate increases by 83%. Moreover, the companies that invest in top design practices are found to grow twice as fast as the others.

2. Cross-platform App

When it comes to developing a mobile app, building a cross-platform app can be your best bet, as you can target not only the Android user base but also iOS users. While you save time, as you now require only one codebase for all platforms, you will eventually find an increase in the ROI of your app. The projected market size of cross-platform apps by 2033 is expected to be $546.7 billion, with a value-based CAGR of 16.8% between 2023 and 2033.

3. Application Security

Undoubtedly, mobile devices are more vulnerable to attacks, and with companies retaining the customer’s data, which includes personal information covering credit/debit card data, the intensity of the cyber-attacks is ever-increasing. Companies are, hence, looking to spend more on application security. With average spending on each customer equalling $2.08 in 2024, Application security’s overall revenue in 2024 is $30 billion, expected to double by 2030. Surveys suggest clearly that a company that uses application security in their mobile app is more popular than those that do not.

The graph below clearly suggests an increase in revenue regarding Application security.

4. Offline Functionality

An offline application is a software program or mobile app that can function without a reliable and consistent internet connection. This type of app provides users with an engaging and seamless experience when they are not connected to the Internet. Moreover, the app should have a separate UI for offline functionalities, clearly explaining what is available offline. Also, the app must allow users to control what features will be available offline to optimize the user experience. Stats suggest that when implemented correctly, offline functionality increases customer engagement by 45%. Moreover, offline usage increases battery life as well.

5. Voice Search

Whether it is Alexa, Apple Siri, or Google Assistant, the trio rules the mobile world when it comes to voice searches. Undoubtedly, voice searches are faster and save a lot of time. Statistics suggest that 58% of mobile users worldwide use voice search options to find local businesses. Stats also confirm that the three leading voice assistants are the trio mentioned above. Moreover, 51% of mobile users use voice search capabilities to search for restaurants.

6. Location Tracking

By understanding a user’s location, apps can provide more personalized experiences, increase engagement, and drive sales. Stats suggest that an app with a real-time location tracking feature increases the customer retention rate by 25% as users get a more personalized and engaging experience. Moreover, whether it is the geofencing or proximity marketing strategies, it can significantly increase customer engagement when implemented through location tracking. 70% of the customers will come to your store if they get a personalized message while shopping.

7. Social Integration

Integrating mobile apps with social media serves two purposes: visibility and collection of massive data for business analytics. With over 3.48 billion active users worldwide and a share option, social media provides data such as likes, dislikes, client reviews, activity frequency, peak activity time, and several others; it also increases download rates via word-of-mouth marketing strategies. Stats confirm that mobile users are more likely to show interest in your app if they hear about it from peers than traditional marketing techniques. Social media not only increases traffic but also allows businesses to experiment with different sales and marketing channels. They can undoubtedly increase your business revenue via the app.

8. User-Centric

Whether it is the user-centric design philosophy or our general perception, the needs and preferences of the users should be at the forefront of the design process. Prioritization based on user experience is at the forefront of the design process. UCD aims to create products and websites that are aesthetically pleasing, functional, and intuitive.

9. Modern Technology

Using the latest modern technology like AR, VR, and ML can make your app serve clients with more utilities, which these cutting-edge technologies provide. The app that uses these technologies has been found to become more popular. Data science, for example, helps predict the demand and inventory requirements for the future. Using ML-based models makes it possible to make more accurate decisions, while AR and VR help showcase an actual real estate architecture more elaborately that can cater to the client’s real experience.

10. Live Streaming

There’s no denying that live streaming is now one of the most important mobile application features. Whether it is the live gaming experience or streaming events, live-to-stream features are extremely beneficial. The global revenue of the video streaming app by 2026, as expected, will be $115 billion. Currently, YouTube is the most used video streaming app and has registered over 2 billion active users.

11. Easy Payment Gateway

Whether it is cross-border, cross-currency, B2B, or cashless payment, the demand for easy-to-use payment options is increasing consistently. Stats suggest that 76% of customers get frustrated if they do not find personalization in the interaction while making payments. The global attendance of mobile wallet users is expected to reach 5.2 billion by 2026, and biometric payment methods will touch $19.1 billion by 2029. All this suggests customers love easy and secure payment options. Payment options like buy now, pay later, account-to-account payment, increased collaboration between fintech and traditional banking services, and the use of AI and NLP in payments are making things easier and payment facilities more secure for customers.

12. App Analytics

Not only can analytics features help you dive deep into your customer behaviour, but they will also help you implement personalization in various features of your app. Further, they will help you run your business better and understand how your app is performing. The more accurate decision-making ability that app analytics provide can help you make more profit out of your app business. The app analytics market size, which was $3.8 billion in 2023, is expected to register a CAGR of 22.1% between 2024 and 2032. App analytics helps gather insights and optimize app performance, and hence, with the increasing demand for mobile apps, demand is also increasing day by day. The mobile app’s success largely depends on the app analytics feature. 

13. Regular Updates

With regular updates, you can ensure the app’s security and improve its performance. Such updates will ensure the addition of new features, compatibility with new technologies, and bug fixes, which will thereby help improve the app’s performance. The stats below confirm that regular updates are helpful.

14. AI chatbot

Chatbots integrated into mobile apps can help in data collection and play a crucial role in generating valuable insights for businesses. The large-scale use of generative AI in AI chatbots has made them even more human-like. Not to mention, the chatbot industry, with an AGR of 23.3%, will be as big as $15.5 billion by 2028. Moreover, 87.2% of the consumers find interaction with the chatbots positive or neutral. Moreover, the chatbots can manage 30% of live chat communications and 80% of routine tasks. By 2023, businesses will have saved 2.5 billion hours of work; the most considerable advantage businesses will be harnessing by integrating AI chatbots with mobile apps.

15. AR and VR Support

Since their emergence, AR/VR has always provided a medium to cater to users’ better user experience and provide a more engaging method of interaction with digital content. They help provide information and guidance in real-time, like directions to a real estate property or product information. The increasing demand for AR can be seen in the graph below.

16. Fast Loading Speed

Undoubtedly, fast load speeds are essential, as load speeds above 2-3 seconds annoy customers and increase their desertion. In 2010, Google made speed a ranking factor. The load speed covers both the launch time and the responsiveness of the app UI. Faster load time can benefit businesses by improving retention and conversion rates and ensuring better brand perception, thereby giving companies a competitive edge.

17. Multi-language support

Having an app that works in more than one language is a great way for businesses and developers to expand their customer base. 72.4% of customers are likelier to buy a product in case the information is in their native language. Whether iOS, Android, or Flutter, all platforms have localization support.

18. Affiliate and referral programs

Compared to traditional marketing channels, consumers respond better to word-of-mouth referrals and 2 to 10 times more than paid media. The strategy allows current customers to refer the product to their friends who find it relevant and can buy it. While the referral programs reward customers for promoting their business, the affiliate programs pay commissions to the affiliates for promoting the products. The global affiliate market is currently $17 billion and is expected to be as big as $27.7 billion by 2027. Major brands register 5% to 25% of their online sales through the affiliate programs. Moreover, in-app affiliate campaigns have 50% higher engagement rates than traditional campaigns.

19. Calendar and scheduling

Implementing calendar and scheduling features within the app can make it more popular. Users can customize their scheduling preferences and availability to suit their needs, making it easy for clients or colleagues to book time on their calendars. Business meetings, appointments, events, daily reminders, work blocks, and more can be scheduled and organized through a calendar and scheduling.

20. Excellent user support

With its speed and multitasking capabilities, in-app chat support is an excellent way to help users quickly access the support they need. They now require support to be in-app. Not only should it be live support, but users now hope for a Contact Us button in the app knowledge base. As you integrate them into your app, users can get help on the go without any interruption in their experience. Whether it is the live chat, chatbot, shared inbox, email marketing, pop-ups, or Knowledgebase, when implemented, builtin can increase customer retention, positive reviews, referrals, higher customer engagement, visibility, and higher number of downloads on the app stores. Stats suggest that 67% of customers prefer reading through Knowledgebase rather than contacting customer support. The tools must hence be selected intelligently while implementing in-app customer support, which is very crucial for the success of the app.

21. Accessibility features for disabled users

Accessibility in an app is all about ensuring that all, regardless of their disabilities or abilities, can access information, products, services, and environments in an inclusive and equal way. Compliance with ADA is extremely helpful for the success of the mobile app. While Google does not count accessibility for ranking, it values user experience. Websites that prioritize accessibility tend to offer better user experiences, leading to increased engagement, lower bounce rates, and improved SEO performance indirectly.

22. Gamification

Gamification is a perfect tool for improving user engagement, motivation, and retention in mobile apps. Via game-like elements such as points, levels, badges, and challenges, creating an experience filled with fun and rewards is possible to promote continued use. Engage your users with gamification-like elements without developer effort. Reward your users with scratch cards, Add randomness with spin-the-wheel, Collect data, and boost fun with quizzes. Gamification is an ideal catalyst for improving customer engagement. By integrating game elements into marketing, brands register a significant 48% increase in customer engagement.

23. QR code and barcode scanning

These codes help businesses direct potential customers to their websites, social media pages, and various outlets. QR codes can store more data than barcodes and are hence preferred. Moreover, they are less likely to be attacked than barcodes. QR codes are readable from all directions, though barcodes are readable from one direction. QR codes are easily accessible and scannable by a QR code reader.

24. In-app messaging

In-app messages are essential for app developers to improve the user experience, increase their app’s response rate, and retain users at higher levels, especially when the messages are personalized for different user segments. They can go by several names: in-app messages, in-app notifications, and Message Center messages. In-app messaging works by targeting users who are actively using the app and prompting them to take action. For example, you can send users a pop-up modal to announce new features to the whole user base. The modal would feature a CTA button that would trigger an interactive guide, allowing users to adopt it. As proof, you can consider pudding: Product-led growth platform Appcues, which offers free trials to their customers through in-app messaging, increasing sales demos by 50%.

25. App integrations

Mobile integration connects numerous apps and devices to achieve seamless data exchange and optimized workflows. Businesses use it to save time and create a more efficient workflow, reducing multiple manual operations. Some examples are API integration, widget integration, Single sign-on integration, data integration, and workflow integration.

Also read: A Comprehensive Guide About Mobile Game App Development: Features, Process, Costs

How To Select the Right App Features that Your users need?

It’s all about having insight into the target audience’s preferences, pain points, and desired functionalities. This helps you select the key features of a successful mobile app. The information shapes an app that resonates with users and can increase user engagement and satisfaction.

MECE and MAYA are widely acclaimed principles that can help in passing with flying colours while selecting features of successful mobile apps.

MECE Principle

MECE stands for mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive. Mutually exclusive means each mobile app feature must be distinct and not overlap with others, as it will reduce confusion and redundancy. Collective exhaustive means those features should cover all possible user requirements or use cases in the app’s scope. For example, a shopping app’s navigation menu can have sections like Home, Categories, Cart, and Account. These sections don’t overlap and, hence, are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive as they cover all essentials required for navigation.

MAYA Principle

MAYA stands for most advanced and yet acceptable. Most advanced means features should push the boundaries of possibility in the app’s context, offering the most innovative and exciting experience. Yet, acceptable means features must be understandable and usable by the target audience. They should not be unfamiliar or complex, as this frustrates users. For example, a mobile banking app can introduce facial recognition for login, which is advanced but acceptable, and users are familiar with such biometric authentication.

Steps to use MECE and MAYA for Feature Selection

1. The first step is to define the app’s goal and target audience. Understand the app’s real purpose and the users it will serve.
2. Sort out potential features. Brainstorm all features in the app domain that can improve user experience.
3. Once you have selected a list of features, evaluate them using the MECE principle and check whether each feature is distinct and can contribute to the overall app functionality.
4. Further, evaluate the features using MAYA. Ensure that each feature is innovative and exciting while being easily accessible to the target customers.
5. In the end, evaluate the features and rank them based on their alignment with the app’s goals, importance, and how they can impact user satisfaction.

Further considerations

User research

Conduct user research via user interviews, usability tests, and surveys to understand user preferences and requirements.

Technical feasibility

Check whether the selected features are feasible to implement, considering the team’s skills, resources, and time constraints.

Business value

Assess how each selected feature will influence the app’s revenue, user acquisition, and retention.

Hence, with MECE and MAYA, you can make informed decisions about the features your mobile app must have, ensuring a cohesive, innovative, and user-friendly experience.

The expert’s perspective on App Features

According to mobile application development experts, a successful mobile app prioritizes features that fulfill user requirements and ensure usability. As a designer, you should select the features based on your in-depth understanding of the target audience’s requirements. This will ensure that each feature is mutually exclusive or unique and collectively exhaustive, thereby contributing to the app’s core functions. This avoids feature creep and guarantees a streamlined experience to keep users engaged.

Conclusion

Not only does the creation of a successful mobile app necessitate a mixture of innovation and user-centric design, but it also requires continuous improvement. The top 25 key features of successful mobile app we have talked about aim to improve user experience, increase engagement, and ensure your app has a competitive edge. By incorporating these above-mentioned key features of successful mobile app in your app, you can confirm your app’s success, as it will then resonate with your target audience and fulfill their requirements and expectations. Want to develop a high-quality mobile app?

At APPWRK IT Solutions, we harness the native and cross-platform capabilities of iOS, Android, React andive, and Flutter framework to deliver robust, high-performance apps embodying these features. Contact us today, and let’s turn your app vision into a success story.

FAQs

What Makes a Good Mobile App?

A successful mobile app focuses equally on functionality, design, and user engagement. Not only should there be a clear purpose backed by intuitive navigation and a seamless user experience, but it should also prioritize features that are aligned with user requirements and expectations. Improving modern technologies such as AI, AR, and VR can further increase the app’s capabilities. The prime focus should be on security and privacy, as it is essential to build user trust. A successful app must provide value, be easy to use, and ensure user retention.

How can the engagement and performance of a mobile app be enhanced?

While the prime focus should be on UX to enhance mobile app engagement and performance, the app must possess a seamless and intuitive interface, personalize the content according to user preferences, and ensure fast load time. The push notification feature can be beneficial as it keeps users informed and engaged. User feedback must be gathered to identify the improvement factors, and the app must be updated regularly basis with bug fixes and new features. If you prioritize user satisfaction and deliver a high-quality UX, you will be able to make the app more engaging and improve its performance.

What are the key considerations when making an e-commerce mobile app?

Various key considerations for E-commerce mobile app features include easy and fast navigation, a highly interactive shopping cart with few clicks and multiple payment options, social commerce options, a shipping and packaging facility, and a tax calculator, to name a few. You can visit our articles on Shopify for more information.

What are the advantages of Incorporating Interactive and Multimedia Elements into a mobile app?

Incorporating interactive and multimedia elements can significantly improve user engagement and make it more dynamic. Multimedia features like videos, animations, interactive quizzes, polls, and augmented reality are essential for app success.

How to optimize a mobile app for User Convenience?

Focus on user-friendly design and intuitive navigation, as well as use clear and concise language. Moreover, you should ensure easy access to key features. Moreover, it would be best if you focused on features like screen size and device capabilities to optimize the app’s performance and responsiveness. Implementing features like offline functionality and push notifications can be decisive as they enhance convenience and accessibility. You can optimize mobile apps for maximum convenience once you prioritize user needs and provide a seamless experience.