14 mobile UI design mistakes you must avoid — at all costs.

Getting a user’s attention, loyalty and/or business is a taller order today than it’s ever been. Competition is fierce, and mobile has become users’ first choice for just about every task, situation and context of use.

So if you’re building an app, you’re standing shoulder-to-shoulder with approximately 5 million-plus apps competing for users’ hearts, minds and wallets. If you’re developing a mobile website, approximately 85% of your user base will form their first impression of you there.

Mastering the mobile experience has never been easy, and the rate of technological change doesn’t help matters much. Small screens in particular present wicked design challenges, not the least of which is how the hell to fit all that required stuff on the screen. Even with the proliferation of larger, HD resolution smartphones and tablets.

Add in shrinking attention spans and the knowledge that we as consumers have nearly unlimited choice, and designing an experience that attracts, delights and keeps users is tough.

You only get one shot.

Mobile websites that don’t load quickly or work properly are abandoned from the home page. Smartphone apps rarely get a second chance — if you can even convince a user to download it in the first place.

Poor design affects usability; poor performance affects popularity. And in my experience, the majority of those failures fall under one of the 14 categories covered in this book.

I hope these examples make it easier for you to spot these issues for your clients and employers — and help you avoid making these same mistakes in your own work.