In a device-friendly world, we have all our gadgets tweaked to our needs. Whether it is a PC, phone or tablet, we customize it with what we want. We want to change backgrounds and install entertaining and useful apps. The app ecosystem has grown considerably in various mobile platforms. The development tools for the Windows Phone platform are good enough for creating mobile apps and standard compared to other development tools used for other mobile platforms.
Rule No. 1: Embrace Metro
For most smartphones including Windows Phone, all of them revolve around great and unique looks and some tweaks in the features department. There is pagination, good-looking app icons, seamless UI and the like. To differentiate between different apps and smartphones is important. Some publishers assume that the look and feel of an app should look the same but that is not a fact, in most cases.
As a Microsoft-designed Windows Phone, the approach of the platform is totally different. The mobile app with an iPhone app look would have looked odd, and vice-versa. Hence it is important to accept the Metro-style interface and not fight against it. Your designed app will fit in well with anyone who uses Windows Phone.
Rule No. 2: Leave Some Space
Windows Phone application design actually gives control on the overall design layout. This approach allows designers to control the goings-on. There is lack of general app icons in Windows Phone since it's an effort to make users understand that all the parts are actionable. Detailed views are available for each and every item represented.
One can use different font sizes or colors for better representation and to opt for something which suits individual tastes.
Rule No. 3: Respect Margins
It is important for developers to understand that with the interface, all applications aren't static. The apps evolve over a period of time. Most of them have sprung up from ideas that cropped up during idle conversations. All ideas are then subjected to prototyping and design mockups and then a formal design is created later.
There is an irresistible urge to develop an application quickly and ship it before finishing it completely. It could have been a perfect application if given more time. The seemingly tiny details are as important as the major ones since the tiny problems appear glaring in the competitive market of innovative mobile apps. It is important to get stuff lined up perfectly well. It is also important to get a single margin for all content and it works well mostly. The position is 24 pixels from the left.
Rule No. 4: Get Controls out of the Way
The Windows Phone developer toolbox has a lot of controls and also the capacity to combine infinite combinations of visual styles. Silverlight is one of the tools which can create visual styles with panache. But this flexibility can bring about a lot of challenges too. For example if one is using a panorama or a pivot page with a Map Control and the Map Control is kept inside the Panorama Item, the map is sure to interfere with the "swipe" gesture of the Panorama control since the control is same for both items.
Top 4 Rules for Windows Phone Development