Posted by André Labonté – Senior Product Supervisor, Android Widgets

In the event you’re an Android app developer and also you’re seeking to increase your app’s visibility, and engagement, it is best to positively take into account including widgets. These small however mighty UI parts can have a major influence in your app’s success.

A widget is principally a UI that lives exterior your predominant app. Widgets act like a window into your app content material and a shortcut to your core options, which customers can conveniently have interaction with proper from their dwelling display screen, lock display screen, and even by means of digital assistants.

Why Widgets are Superior for Your App:

• Extra Visibility: Widgets put your model and key options entrance and middle on the person’s gadget, in order that they’re extra prone to see it.
• Higher Person Engagement: By giving customers fast entry to vital options, widgets encourage them to make use of your app extra typically.
• Elevated Conversions: You should use widgets to advocate customized content material or promote premium options, which might result in extra conversions.
• Happier Customers Who Stick Round: Quick access to app content material and options by means of widgets can result in general higher person expertise, and contribute to retention.

Understanding What Customers Need: Key to Good Widget Design

Individuals use widgets for various causes. Understanding these motivations is essential for designing widgets that resonate.

• Customization: Customers wish to personalize their dwelling screens. Take into consideration how your app’s content material might help them try this.
• Effectivity: Widgets give customers fast entry to the options they use loads, which saves them effort and time. In case your app has options that customers would discover useful to entry proper from their dwelling display screen, take into consideration placing them in a widget.
• Fast Information: Some widgets are nice for giving customers important data at a look. If customers typically open your app for fast updates, a glanceable widget.

Constructing Superior Widgets: Suggestions for Builders

This is find out how to make widgets that customers will love:

• Concentrate on Worth: Ensure that your widget does one thing helpful for customers with out them having to open the app.
• Maintain it Easy: Design widgets which are simple to make use of and perceive.
• Make it Adaptable: Take a look at your widgets on totally different Android units (telephones, tablets, foldables) to verify they work nicely on all of them.
• Match the Look: Design widgets that slot in with the system’s general look through the use of system colours, fonts, and nook shapes.
• Make it Simple to Discover: Use the widget pinning API to encourage customers so as to add your widget from inside your app. Give them good previews and descriptions in order that they know what it is all about.

Get Impressed and Begin Constructing

We encourage you to combine widgets into your Android app technique. For inspiration and steering, discover our new Widget design gallery, that includes Canonical Widget Layouts.

We won’t wait to see the superior widgets you give you!

This weblog publish is a part of our sequence: Highlight Week on Widgets, the place we offer sources—weblog posts, movies, pattern code, and extra—all designed that will help you design and create widgets. You possibly can learn extra within the overview of Highlight Week: Widgets, which will probably be up to date all through the week.