What Makes a Good and Successful App?
In today’s digital landscape, users have incredibly high expectations for apps. They expect the same smoothness, speed, and usability they get from tech giants like Google, Facebook, and TikTok. If your app feels sluggish, unintuitive, or hard to find, users won’t hesitate to delete it and move on. But what actually makes an app great? More importantly, what makes it successful?
At marqably, we’ve built over 200 large-scale platforms, web applications, and mobile apps that collectively serve millions of users every day. We know what works and what doesn’t. Let’s break down the key factors that determine whether an app becomes a success story—or an expensive flop.
Let’s put you in the user’s shoes. You download an app. You open it, but instead of an immediate response, you see a loading spinner. A second passes. Then two. Maybe even five. By this time, your patience is wearing thin. Would you still use this app regularly? Or would you close it and never look back?
Performance is not just about making an app feel good—it’s about survival. A slow app will get abandoned, no matter how great its features are. Users don’t have patience for laggy interfaces or unresponsive buttons.
This becomes even more challenging when dealing with huge datasets, real-time updates, and complex business logic. That’s why at marqably, we engineer apps to be blazing fast, even under extreme loads. We leverage advanced caching strategies, background processing, and optimized animations to make sure our apps feel as snappy as possible.
Example:
Imagine you have a finance app that needs to pull thousands of transactions instantly. If the app stutters every time the user scrolls, they won’t think, “Oh, this is a tough technical challenge.” They’ll just switch to your competitor.
Building a great app is only half the battle—people still need to find it. This is where App Store Optimization (ASO) comes in. ASO is the process of optimizing your app’s listing so that it ranks higher in search results on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Why is this important? Because most users discover apps organically through searches. If your app appears near the top of search results for relevant keywords, you can get thousands (or even millions) of free downloads without spending a dime on ads.
At marqably, we help companies craft the right keywords, descriptions, and visuals to ensure their apps stand out in crowded marketplaces.
Example:
A fitness app with optimized keywords like “home workouts” and “weight loss exercises” might rank higher when users search for fitness apps. Without ASO, even the best apps can remain invisible.
A great app doesn’t just function—it feels alive. Think of the best apps you use daily. Buttons react instantly, animations feel fluid, and interactions are smooth. This is what users expect today.
Even small delays can make an app feel clunky. That’s why we focus heavily on highly interactive, real-time user experiences. Whether it’s a social platform, e-commerce app, or SaaS tool, we ensure that every interaction is instant and satisfying.
Example:
A chat app should send and receive messages without noticeable delays. If users feel even a slight lag, they lose trust in the platform’s reliability.
You wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint, right? The same applies to app design. A beautiful UI alone is useless if the UX is frustrating.
We approach UX/UI design strategically, with careful research, wireframing, and user testing. We consider everything from button placements to color psychology to ensure an effortless experience.
Example:
Ever wonder why some apps just feel intuitive? It’s because they’ve been designed with behavioral psychology in mind. We apply the same principles to every app we create.
Features drive value, but accessibility ensures everyone can use them. The EU Accessibility Act mandates that apps be usable by people with disabilities, but beyond legal compliance, accessibility is simply good business.
An accessible app reaches a broader audience, improves usability for all users, and enhances SEO (yes, even apps have SEO elements). At marqably, we’ve built numerous fully accessible platforms that ensure no user is left behind.
Example:
A banking app should be navigable by screen readers and usable without a mouse or touch input for those with motor impairments. These small tweaks can make a huge difference.
Traditionally, mobile apps are built separately for iOS and Android, requiring two codebases, two development teams, and double the maintenance effort. This slows down innovation and wastes resources.
That’s why we use Flutter—a revolutionary framework that allows us to build one app for all platforms without sacrificing performance. This means:
With Flutter, we can focus on what matters: building great products, not wrestling with outdated development processes.
We partner with startups, small businesses, and multinational enterprises to bring their vision to life. Whether it’s a brand-new app idea or modernizing a legacy platform, we deliver solutions that are fast, scalable, and future-proof.
The best apps don’t happen by accident—they’re engineered for success. At marqably, we have the expertise, experience, and passion to build apps that users love and businesses thrive on.
Want to discuss your next big idea? Get in touch with us. We love talking about tech, and we’d love to help make your app a success.
