Programming apps for kids has always been a tedious task. The use of technology, interface, design, and other aspects of app development for kids has to be strictly aligned in focus to develop a perfect application. A number of designers and developers fail to understand this and hence, get stuck when asked to develop an application specifically for kids.
The children today, although, are well accustomed to the technological Kidsworldfun, still need to be assisted when it comes to using applications and technological devices. The testing and coding apps for kids is a challenge.
The app development for kids is crucial to be kept intact with factors like emotions, behavior, expectations, and attitude of the children and not the usual audience.
Applications and tech devices are being used in the classrooms for the purpose of education widely. According to a report by Grunwald Mobile Study, 32% of the parents encourage the use of mobile phones to promote education.
One of the tech giants like Amazon launched Alexa specially designed apps for kids in focus and encouraged the use among the lower age group. This also helped them to fetch a larger number of audiences and increase their market base to a great number.
Before you wonder ‘how to make an app for kids,’ check out some of the significant aspects of mobile app development.
Fundamentals of App Development
Let’s look upon some important factors that contribute a significant impact on the app development for kids.
1. Select Your Target Market
School going children may react differently to an application than a grown-up kid. A preschooler will have a different knowledge base than that of a 10-year old kid. When it is about the development of apps for children, it is imperative to be specific about the audience you are going to serve.
Segregate the kids in different slots based on the parameters and work specifically upon the same aspects. A comprehensive study about the behavioral and emotional balance of the kids must be taken up to have a clear mind about what is to be designed and at what level has to be the responsiveness delivered.
2. Define a Motive For the Application Download
Understand the aspects of your own application before you put it out in the market to be downloaded.
- Who is going to be your target market?
- Why is your target market going to download the application from the store?
- How are they going to reach to your application in the store to download it?
- On what parameters will your app be judged and selected or rejected?
A clear motive should be defined before going ahead with the developmental process to make an app that can serve the purpose specific to the target audience.
3. Don’t Forget the Decision Makers
Kids, as well as their parents, download several apps. Some apps are for educational purposes and others are for recreational purposes. Not just kids but also the mindset of their parents has to be studied for applications for kids to be accepted and used for a longer duration.
Unhappy parents will lead to your app being abandoned to be used by the respective kids. Thus, you need to satisfy the parents as well to keep your application going for kids and be used for a longer duration.
According to the same report by Grunwald Mobile Study, 85% of parents with kids in Kindergarten through grade 2 agree that mobile apps make learning fun for their children, thus making such applications widely used and promoted among the kids.
Crucial Aspects of Designing Application For Kids
Designing the interface of an application in general plays an integral role in helping the app to succeed and become popular among the users.
The application designers should always be attentive to eradicate the complexities, simply the designs, and at the same time, make them look attractive. Some of the major points to consider while designing the applications for children are:
1. UI/UX Design Is Important.
The use of interface and designing in the applications for kids is completely different than its use while making an app for the general audience. Kids perceive the colors and attractiveness differently than adults.
The bright, vibrant, and multi-colored landscape of the applications is something that attracts the kids more than a simplistic and sophisticated application design that is usually preferred by adults.
However, teenagers are more inclined towards creativity and responsive interface. Thus, while developing an application for kids, the developers need to understand the psychographics of the target audience and should embrace the latest UI trends.
The UI must be valuable, useful, usable, desirable for both parents and kids, and accessible for the kids being targeted. Using it wisely can help in creating the best apps for kids; however, using it blindly can create blunders.
2. Strength Plays an Important Role
An application is built to face scenarios where it has to struggle but keep moving. The applications shouldn’t break down at any point in time.
It can be one of the most significant disadvantages of the application as the kids won’t be able to deal with it and will not use it again. The application for kids needs to be intact and strong enough to face the actions being taken upon it by the kids and keep going smoothly.
3. Adaptability Enhances the Experience
The application needs to be great enough to help kids adapt to its interface. The kids are naive and may struggle to adapt to the interface your application offers. If the same case persists, the kids will switch on to other applications that serve the purpose well.
4. Application Should be Easy to Use
Never forget that the target audience and the users are kids who have comparatively lower know-how. Applications developed for kids should be elementary to use and learn. They must not comprise of difficult language and the navigation must not make the kids feel burdened.
An easy to use and learn application is a win-win for the kids as well as the developers. A study by Kleopatra Nikolopoulou, a researcher at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, showed that applications based on learning resources help kids improve their vocabulary significantly from about 17 to 27%.
5. Making the App Look Unique and Interesting
An application developed for kids shouldn’t have to be how education usually sounds to be. A number of applications have been developing the concept of gamification of various aspects of learning for kids.
The kids love to play games but at the same time, are encouraged to learn and gain knowledge. Why not mix them both and get them interested? Gamification is a concept to give everything that is being served as a game.
This concept has helped a lot in the success of educational applications who’ve used it wisely to serve knowledge and informative content through games that keep the kids interested and intact to the application.
A playful environment inculcated in the application does a lot of work that not marketing and advertising can do for you. To elongate the duration of usage of the application for kids, this is the most important part. A fun and friendly application can affect the success of your application to a great extent.
Things To Consider Before Developing An App For Kids
The further points that can be considered while making such provisions in the application are:
- The kids playing and competing with bots or if possible, with other users creating a competing environment.
- A fun and friendly interface to keep the kids entertained and stick to application.
- A highly interactive user interface to keep them interested and make it easy for them to use.
- The wise use of graphics and relatable characters to generate intrigue.
Conclusion
The application development for kids is a huge task that has to be executed carefully and with the complete focus of particulars in mind. The aspects of the life of children are diverse and had to be taken care of.
The developers and designers need to study the psychographics of the kids to make an eligible application to serve the purpose well enough and let it succeed.
It is essential to work upon the above-mentioned factors to make a great and useful application for kids and, thus, help them learn and have fun at the same time.
The generation is tech-savvy and hence, to be served well with technological advancements. It is always an excellent choice to use the latest updated software and tools to design and develop the application.
By Sakshi Kaushik
Content Writer
A passionate writer and tech lover, she strives to share her expertise with mobile app developers and fellow tech enthusiasts. During her moments away from the keyboard, she relishes delving into thriller narratives, immersing herself in diverse realms.
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