Encouraging actions on a mobile home page

High information density causes decision fatigue. It is a CTR killer everywhere. But more so on app home pages. Identify key decision variables and highlight only those. Put details a step away. (For example, when listing a deal, the price is important but location or rating may not be.)

If encouraging exploration is an objective, then there needs to be novelty on the page. Customers will stop returning if they see the same thing every time. You are teaching them “do not expect anything new”. Not all apps can do this. And that is fine.

Provide visual breaks. Exploration fatigue kicks in if customers see similar visual elements for too long. These can simply be differences in templates, or different types of content.

The breaks are also good entry points to handholding actions. These nudge customers to the right section of the app without putting in effort. (For example, exposing content filters after a few scrolls.)