When we are asked "aren't apps for children just like all the others and why do we need a special agency for children's packaging and family marketing?" - we often ask the counter question: "Would your child use the "Der Spiegel" app?" - Probably not, apart from the fact that news may even still be completely uninteresting. But the interests of the "child" target group are different and the needs and requirements of apps are completely different from those of adult users.
Add to that the different developmental levels of the children, from partial non-readers to reading professionals. How do you explain the app to a child and show them how it works if they can't read? That can only be done with an intuitive UX design!
Tip 1: Children need an intuitive - self-explanatory - UX design!
It is important to be clear in the concept phase who the target group of the app is to be. Children aged 6 or 7 have a completely different set of requirements than younger or older children. For example, younger users do not know typical click points such as "forward" or "back". The "play button" is also not immediately accessible to younger users because their motor skills are not yet so good. If you do not want to do without the play button, it makes sense to make the entire surface of the screen clickable, so that the child does not experience any product disappointment.
The stage of development plays a decisive role in the conception of the UX design. Without a lot of text, without many tutorials, it must be immediately clear what the app offers me as a user, what added value it has for me and how quickly it satisfies my needs.
Tip 2: The app must satisfy needs and meet the children's high expectations!
There are countless apps for children in the AppStores and Google Playstores, but only a few are really successful. Why? Because the developers of these apps have understood that children have high expectations of apps. In addition to a very good app design and a suitable story, their needs want to be satisfied above all.
Especially in the younger target groups, the needs include collecting rewards, comparing them with other users and challenging other players. In the best case, this should work via a game or video.
While girls would like to create a beautiful avatar, boys want to see how they stand in the high scores. One thing unites the younger target group .
Tip 3: Instant action and one-finger games!
In addition to the must-haves mentioned above, the most successful apps for children show that they offer instant action. When the app starts, the user is immediately immersed in the app and can play. Without much explanation, without a tutorial, without many hurdles. This way, the user immediately sees the USP of the app and can decide whether he likes it or not. A second factor are the "one-finger games" or "thumb games". These are games that can preferably be operated with only one finger. These apps usually offer quick fun, but do not require the user to concentrate on the app for 30 minutes or more. Rather, these apps are meant to offer quick fun.
Inthis blog post, you can see how we at "KB&B - Family Marketing Experts" develop children's apps using the example of the "Little ICE" for our client "Deutsche Bahn Fernverkehr "!
