When you’re developing an app or website it’s tempting to think in terms of desktop functionality. But if you want an app that works “natively” on the platform it’s on, you need to think about how each platform has unique functionality.
For example on Moody Radio’s website and mobile apps they were originally designed with our stations listed out by state. This worked, but it definitely not optimal as you end up with a long list like this:
But recently we updated our homepage of the website and we’re working on updating our mobile apps, so we’re revisiting this. On the website, where you have a mouse, which provides a greater degree of accuracy we added a map:
And as we’ve been planning functionality for the new mobile apps, we’re going to first try and use GPS-based geolocation to offer the closest station and then providing the user an option to see the full list if they want a different station.
Both of these changes should improve the user’s experience by adapting the presentation of our stations to the specific platform’s functionality.
The next time you get ready to design a user interface, don’t forget to think about the different platforms and their unique functionality to enhance the experience.