Children spend a lot of time on the web and their first contact with mobile devices is at a young age. They learn to manage these devices and decipher interfaces with the help of their parents and through their own experimentation. Despite the great learning capacity of children, it is your duty to find appropriate ways to organize the elements of your application or website. Remember that younger children will get bored easily if they do not achieve their goal. So, your interface should be designed to make certain actions simpler.
You need to understand how children interact with different devices according to their age. We suggest some general recommendations that help in the
design of an interface for children:
The data entry should be extremely simple
Interacting with an interface requires certain physical abilities. Actions that are simple for an adult such as entering information through the keyboard may be somewhat complex for a child of 7 years. If you design for younger children, you must take this detail into account and if you need information that should be entered with the keyboard, you should try to make this information minimal.
The buttons should replace the textual links
A 3-year-old cannot handle a computer mouse but can surf on a tablet. This is one of the first means with which they interact and therefore they get used to the interfaces containing buttons with which they can perform actions. Since their motor skills are not yet fully developed, larger buttons than usual are used to make it easier for them to direct their fingers.
Use of icons and images is essential
Since many of your users still do not know how to read, it is important to place icons and images that help them decipher the actions they can take. The icons should be simple, large in size to get their attention and have some connection with the action to be taken. It is better to use direct icons since it will be difficult to understand more abstract icons.
The images should be used for better understanding because the user does not know how to read. The images should be illustrative and describe clear actions. You can also make
use of animations to helps the child to assimilate certain information.
Use a voice-over for narrations
If you design an application for young children, you can place a voice-over to help them at certain times. It can be perfect if your application has a story that you want to tell in digital form and if you also expect it to be seen by older children who can read. Children who already know how to read will prefer to use their own media to understand the story, so make sure that this voiceover is an option that can be turned on and off.
Also, if you want to tell a story, you can use a video as a resource. It is known that videos and images are more easily captured by both children and adults. You can achieve this by contacting top app development companies to
hire dedicated developers for your iOS app.
Navigation must be maintained in its original place
For children, icons and buttons are visual indicators that help them understand how the interface works. But they also make use of the memory to be able to use an interface, so that the more times they use it, the more they become familiar with it and become accustomed to certain buttons being in certain specific positions on the page or application. So if at some point you are working on some redesign, do not move the main navigation because you could confuse the small users.
Remember that the navigation should be kept in the same place no matter what page the user is on. This rule applies not only for interfaces for children but also for adults. Familiarity is something that users of all ages appreciate and for a child to get used to a new arrangement of elements could be an annoying task.
Optimized search options for children
Children learn to read faster than they learn to write. This is a clear problem for many designers concerning the search option present in many sites and applications. If the search bar is properly implemented, it will improve the user experience.
Optimizing the search bar for children requires that we think about all the limitations that the user has. Some of the actions to take is to offer autocomplete and show the results in a simple structure, you can even use images to reinforce the search results and motivate the use of the search bar.
Create a playful environment in your application
Children learn by playing and they learn faster when they enjoy the process. You can design a fun interface where there is a reward system. In this way, the motive is for the children to learn and enjoy their stay on your app.
The goal is to generate a playful spirit on your app. Search for the games that children enjoy most to which the application or website is directed and see how to implement them.
Do not forget to perform tests
The testing phase is essential in every project. With children, it can be more complex because they will not follow instructions and they may be restless. But by observing how they interact with the application, you can draw your own conclusions. Verify how long it takes to perform certain actions, get used to the application and if there is any sign of stress or frustration for not being able to take any action. It is important to be very attentive and take the necessary notes.
Based on your observations you can improve your application and make it really simple to use for your small users. All these can be achieved by contacting top android app developers for your android app.
