Does Your App Have Sounds? Should It?

Adding sounds to a mobile app can either elevate its use, or make it incredibly irrelevant to its target users. Depending on the type of mobile app, users may or may not like sounds attached to their user experience. For instance, an app dedicated to providing essential business tasks likely does not require sounds to elevate the user experience. For that matter, such an app would probably be a nuisance to its target demographic if it were to you have sounds attached. On the other hand, however, a gaming app likely requires a significant amount of sounds in order to give the user the experience they are expecting during gameplay. Deciding which category your app falls under is not always easy, which is why below you will find a few helpful pointers in making the determination of whether your app should have sounds or not.

 

Who Uses Your App?

 

Knowing the type of users and the reason that they are choosing your app is essential when figuring whether you should add sounds to it. For example, if your app users are teens and kids of younger ages then adding sounds to it is likely a good idea, and more so, will be essential to retaining such users. Conversely, if your app is meant for business professionals that need to focus and concentrate without distracting sounds, then you should likely consider muting the sound capabilities of your app. More specifically, you will not see a document editing app for mobile devices that features loud and eclectic sounds while the user is navigating through its features and functions. In this regard it is essential that you know the users that frequent your mobile app, why they use it, and whether sounds are relevant to its purpose or not.

 

Knowing Your App's Function

 

As mentioned, in terms of adding sounds, knowing the function of your mobile app is just as important as knowing the users that access it the most. This is predominantly because your app’s function, or purpose, directly relates to whether sounds will be relevant to the user experience or not. If your app's function thrives with background noise then, obviously, you should include sounds relevant to its use and the people that you have marketed it towards. Doing so will allow you to either add relevant sounds to the navigation and use of your app, or exclude them for necessary reasons based on its function and loyal user base.

 

What Kind Of Sounds?

 

If you realize that your app should include sounds then your task becomes what kind of sounds to include with it. For an app devoted to video sharing you may not even need sounds, as the videos that users upload will suffice in terms of audio. But, on the other hand, if you have an app that is filled with a void without having sounds, then you will need to either add low volume ambient sounds in the background, or louder music relevant to its use. In regards to choosing which type of sounds to include with your mobile app, really the question comes down to either music or subtle tones used to highlight actions taken during user navigation. For music, you can either add low volume level ambient music or upbeat music, among a long list of other types to amplify the user experience. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}