Twitter® Application Development for Dummies®

Chapter 13. Making It Pretty Makes It Credible

In This Chapter

• Considering good design

• Making your app pretty

• Integrating design into your Web app

Once you have built a Twitter application, the next step is convincing people to use it. An app with compelling functionality that fills a need goes a long way in attracting and retaining users, but there is another issue besides functionality that you must consider: form. Just how people form first impressions of others based on looks, people will form a first impression of your application based on its looks. All things being equal, if two sites perform the same functionality, a more attractive design may be the deciding factor for users. To stay competitive, you need your app to look good.

Even more important than first impressions and building a more competitive product, a beautifully designed application gives your app credibility. It gives the user the impression that your app is here to stay and that you're serious about supporting your application. A cobbled together design gives the user the impression that you may have built the app on your lunch break and aren't serious about maintaining the application for the long haul. If your application requires the user's trust, such as asking for payment, login credentials, or OAuth authorization, you need your application to appear credible. This chapter explains how to do that.

Note

Although this chapter's slant on design is primarily toward Web applications, the general principles in this ...