App home page best patterns from industry standouts

Think of your app’s homepage as a front door: it can welcome users in, or send them straight back out. Within the first 3–4 seconds, people decide whether to stay and act or leave. And design is the key tool that tips the scales in one direction or the other.

In this piece, we examine how teams shaped the app home page to trigger the next key action grounded in our cases and widely recognized comparators.

You will find the best reusable patterns that you can apply immediately, so let’s dive in.

Key takeaways

• The app home page is a decision engine — make 1 path obvious, any else available.
• Show state and put action adjacent in just a tap.
• Pick a dominant layout early, mixing them only weakens users' focus.
• Add habit hooks on home only when they reduce effort and strengthen retention.

🔍 Before diving into individual examples, explore our breakdown of the best app designing companies that consistently deliver top-performing app experiences.

Best app homepage examples

Uber

Uber is a ride-hailing app for on-demand trips. People open the app to move now; extra taps stall the trip. Destination-first entry and calendar shortcuts compress the moment between opening the app and getting moving, cutting time-to-ride and lowering first-screen abandonment.

💼 Action-first: opens with “Where to?” and supports calendar-based shortcuts so your next ride is, effectively, one tap away.

• Layout. The home screen focuses on destination-first entry with a simple flow that helps people book rides with fewer taps. A services tab groups different offerings.
• Navigation. The main path is destination → ride options. Shortcuts can show meetings from the phone calendar right on the home page.
• Content hierarchy. The “where to?” prompt and suggested shortcuts are the main focus of the page. Secondary items appear in services or activity.
• Action triggers. You can start a ride in just one tap from a calendar-based shortcut or a saved place.
• Personalization. Predictive shortcuts based on habits and calendar events reduce typing and search effort.

💡 For action-first use cases, make one path dominant on home and pair it with predictive shortcuts.

Ninja Delivery

Ninja Delivery is an example of a two-sided delivery product: a customer app to place orders and a courier app optimized for fulfillment. First-order friction kills traction. Making "home → placed order" the shortest route unlocked growth: $2.8M seed, 20%+ WoW growth during summer 2021, 30k+ orders.

💼 Order-first experience: the customer app starts with the flow to place an order, while the courier app opens with optimized tasks for fulfillment.

• Layout: customer app opens into an intuitive ordering route focused on essentials; courier app opens into an optimized start for tasks.
• Navigation: primary screen pathways shorten “select → confirm”; the landing’s first screen is clear about the promise.
• Content hierarchy: essentials (catalog entry points, availability) appear before secondary info to help validate the choice at a glance.
• Action triggers: category cards and a focused cart flow get first orders placed with minimal steps.
• Personalization: city selector + local inventory connect visitors to nearby restaurants and items (Waterloo/Toronto context).

💡 For utility apps, the “first impression” is speed to value: one path, one single button to commit, no detours.

🔎 Need more context or insights? Read how a grocery delivery app’s launch designed by Lazarev.agency leads to $2.8M raised and successful Acquisition!

Duolingo

Duolingo is a language-learning app built around short daily lessons. Motivation fades without visible momentum. Streaks turn intent into routine; a measurable daily commitment increases practice frequency and retention.

💼 Progress-first: streaks turn daily lessons into a habit loop anchored on the home screen and enhanced by social streaks.

• Layout: app home screen foregrounds your next lesson and the streak (flame icon) as a visible progress anchor.
• Navigation: start/continue is always one tap from entry; supporting items trail the core path.
• Content hierarchy: progress cues (day count) and goal framing appear before secondary exploration.
• Action triggers: “start” commits you to the next bite-size session immediately on home.
• Personalization: pacing and review are tailored by performance; the streak becomes your tiniest progress made visible daily.

💡 For habit-forming products, surface progress + “start” on home to make the next rep effortless.

Activote

Activote is a civic app that helps people become vote-ready before elections. Election tasks feel complex and time-sensitive. A single readiness widget on the home screen collapses complexity into a clear next step, reducing friction at the moment of decision and increasing completion.

💼 Vote-ready first: the home screen is built around election preparedness, showing your status and next required steps in a single widget.

• Layout: home surfaces a “Vote Ready” overview and timeline; key options (e.g., absentee or early voting) are visible without hunting.
• Navigation: prominent paths from the home widget into requirement-specific checklists keep the user in flow.
• Content hierarchy: a short summary of readiness sits above deeper details; service messages (what’s due next) are paired with a single button to proceed.
• Action triggers: task tiles open to concrete steps the moment you tap.
• Personalization: the home widget adapts to you (what’s done vs. pending), so the tiniest progress is acknowledged.

💡 Make “summary of state + the next action” the visual focal point on home; it turns hesitation into motion.

Airbnb

Airbnb is a global travel marketplace for finding stays and experiences. Many sessions begin without a fixed destination or date. A taxonomy-led home screen provides categories at first sight, enabling faster discovery than a blank field and expanding consideration.

💼 Categories for exploratory sessions: a redesigned home experience organizes discovery into categories from the first sight, aiding flexible trip planning.

• Layout: the 2022 redesign introduced categories directly on the home page — a browse-first model for flexible trip planning.
• Navigation: tap a category to filter the world into themed sets (e.g., design, views), then refine with search.
• Content hierarchy: category cards lead; traditional free-text search remains available but secondary to exploration.
• Action triggers: select a category and immediately see options; split stays further reduce planning friction for multi-stop trips.
• Personalization: the entry point adapts as new categories roll out and as guests explore, supporting “first sight” discovery without typing.

💡 If exploration is primary, design home as an organized landscape — let categories lead, then layer refinement.

Mappn

Mappn is an entertainment app that forges an emotional bond with users through exploration of locations. In a crowded category, Mappn needed a home experience that feels alive and effortless. A simple, intuitive UX paired with interactive 3D elements and animations invites people to explore places immediately, strengthening engagement and elevating retention.

💼 Map-first navigation: the app opens directly on an interactive map with filters and CTAs, turning exploration into the starting point.

• Layout: map-as-home positions the primary canvas upfront; cards and bottom menu options don’t compete with the core view.
• Navigation: simple navigation — filters and categories live a tap away; the search field is immediate.
• Content hierarchy: bold CTAs and succinct copy guide first actions before exploration.
• Action triggers: filter chips + “apply” make location-based selection instantaneous for location based services.
• Personalization: quick recents/shortcuts align the canvas with where you left off.

💡 When place drives value, “map-as-home” removes indirection; discovery begins right at the entry.

UX/UI patterns you can reuse

Summary widget + adjacent actions

Surface the user’s current state (readiness, progress, availability) and pair it with one-tap next steps.

• Why it works: compresses decision time; the user doesn’t hunt for “what now.”
• Case to watch: Activote’s “Vote Ready” widget → immediate task paths.

Dominant primary action beats vague browsing

When the session has a clear goal, put the main action front and center (e.g., “Where to?”). This removes decision friction and shortens time-to-value.

• Why it works: single focal point increases conversion on the mobile app home page.
• Case to watch: Uber’s “Where to?” leads the screen.

Integrated habit cues

Streaks, schedules, timers — if your value is compounding, show progress immediately.

• Why it works: turns intent into routine; acknowledges even the tiniest progress.
• Case to watch: Duolingo’s streak on home.

Map-as-home when location is the product

If a place drives decisions, don’t hide the map. Mappn uses the map as the canvas with filters right on entry, so the first gesture is selection.

• Why it works: for location based services, selection begins at the point of value.
• Case to watch: Mappn’s map-first entry is one of the best location-based app homepage examples.

Microcopy for state and limits

Use small, precise service messages (“slots left today”, “delivery window”, “class starts in 09:34”, etc.).

• Why it works: removes ambiguity right on the home page; people decide faster.
• Case to watch: Ninja Delivery landing microcopy (‘FREE Delivery’, ‘Open till 3am’, ‘Choose the city for delivery’)

💡 Pro tip: before adding personalization, list the top three choices people make on entry. If a shortcut, “resume,” or for-you row doesn’t remove one of those choices, it’s just a decoration.

How to evaluate app home screen examples in 60 seconds [checklist]

• Is the primary action the visual focal point on the first screen?
• Can a new user infer current state from the home page (progress, readiness, location, time windows)?
• Are secondary options progressively revealed instead of crowding the start?
• Does personalization actually reduce effort (shortcuts, last transactions, discover recents), not just add tiles?
• Is there a clear escape hatch to explore (map, search, categories) without derailing the primary path?

Use these app home page ideas as a checklist in design reviews. Then sanity-check you’ve referenced at least one established pattern from above in your own app home page implementation.

Apply it to your product

1. Choose one layout: action-first, progress-first, or browse-first — commit to the structure.
2. Design one “summary + action” module for the home screen (state + one-tap commit).
3. Add one habit hook that fits your model (streak, timer, schedule, “resume”).
4. Personalize only where it reduces effort (shortcuts, reviews row, “for you”).
5. For fintech or marketplaces, consider overview tiles on home (balance, last transactions) to increase access to core loops.

🔍 To ensure your home page performs as well as it looks, apply the same principles outlined in our mobile site optimization practices.

Create a mobile app home page that sets the tone

Your mobile app home page doesn’t convert on the first impression? Need mobile app design?

Our AI UI UX design agency designs decision-first homes that feel visually appealing and perform. 

Let’s review your app home page ideas and outline improvements — contact us! We’ll map your first-screen flow and deliver changes your team can ship and your audience can feel on day one!