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If you are a digital analyst, digital marketer, or mobile developer using Google Analytics for mobile app tracking, at some point you may have wondered what to name your mobile screens. You’re right to wonder. Screens are one of the most important dimensions in mobile analytics. Unlike the page in web analytics, we can name an app screen whatever we want! However, this flexibility comes at a cost, because screens can be given names that confuse rather than enlighten.Read on for seven best practices for screen naming that promote clarity, save time and resources, and keep your Google Analytics dashboard looking clean!
What is a “Screen” in Mobile-speak?
Screens are what the user sees when they look at their mobile app. Google Analytics records screens as
App Views/Screen Views. The
App View/Screen View is used to populate Google Analytics information such as:
Screen Name: What the screen is called
Screen Views: How many times the screen has been seen
Unique Screen Views: How many sessions the screen has loaded
Average Time on Screen: Amount of time a user is spending on a screen
Exit Percent: How often users exit from a screen
Landing Screen: The screen the user saw first
Exit Screen: The screen the user exited the app from
Screen Depth: The number of screens viewed in a session
Goals: Screen can be used to track user flow
Screens can provide a vast amount of information about the user’s experience with a mobile app. When we think through and organize data, we do this in the form of nomenclature. A confusing name will lead to less organized thoughts. Therefore, it is vital to ensure that we are intentional when we name screens.
Screen Name Best Practices for Analytics
When it comes to screen names and Google Analytics, it’s important to think from an analyst's perspective. Think about what would be helpful for the analyst to see in an analytics report. A good test is to consider the following: Could a newly onboarded analyst figure out what screen this is? Imagine you are an analyst who just started working on an account. You have an understanding of the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and have run through the whole app a couple times. Is it obvious to you what screen name is linked to which screen in the app? If the answer isn’t a clear "yes", there is likely a better name for that screen. These guidelines will help generate an appropriate name:
1. Keep the name short and simple
The longer the name, the more likely it is that the name is overly complex. An analyst does not want to see iterations of
ecommerce-product-detail-fruit-apple-screen where
product-detail will suffice.
2. Don't use URLs
In a situation where data parity between web and mobile is the goal, using a URL as a screen name may seem like a good solution, but isn’t. While mobile screens and web pages may seem similar, they are treated differently by Google Analytics. URLs are native to pages, but not screens. The degree of difficulty in mapping a web URL to a corresponding screen is immense - especially if the URL has a dynamically populated component to it.
3. Don't use numeric codes
Using numeric codes in screen names is undesirable. Examples of using numeric codes could be as unhelpful as
Page 141 or as descriptive as
Ecommerce Screen 2. While these type of names may hold meaning to the developer or the company, they mean little to a new analyst. What does
141 or
2 mean in that context? The use of codes is generally a bad practice because the meaning is not obvious.
4. Don't use "camelCase" for screen names if using more than 2 words
Imagine seeing
myUserSettingsScreen right next to
myCameraSettingsScreen. The use of camelCase gets messy quickly and starts to clog the dashboard if used too freely. Use dashes or snakecase instead. It is much easier to read my-user-settings-screen or my_camera_settings_screen. Pick one convention and then be consistent with it.
5. Don’t use dynamic information to name a screen
Let’s examine an example of a social media app. Every user has a profile page. Should the screen name capture the username or not? A screen name like
Profile might be used if the screen name does not capture dynamic information. If the screen name does use dynamic information, then the screen names might look like
Profile: Trevor and
Profile: Anna. Every single one of these screens will have its own row when screens are examined in Google Analytics. Typically this is undesirable. The use of custom dimensions to segment screen data should be considered instead.
6. iOS Only: Consider UIViewController Names
Most screens are managed by a viewController for iOS. ViewController names should be human readable and descriptive. Therefore these could possibly be passed to Google Analytics as a screen name. Sorry Android, nobody wants to see com.project.ActivityName.
7. Use User Flows or KPIs as Inspiration
An analytics solution should always be designed with the KPIs in mind. This should be reflected in the screen names selected. If an app is designed to facilitate a specific user flow, a screen name such as
Onboarding Complete or
Onboarding Started could make sense.
Remember: Mobile Screen Naming is an Art, Not a Science
Naming screens is definitely not a science. There is room for variability and many answers that are correct - as well as some that are probably not so helpful. However, if you ask yourself, “Would a new analyst understand what screen I’m talking about?” and answer "yes", then you are on the right track.
What are your best practices for mobile screen naming in Google Analytics? We want to hear from you! Make a comment below. Finding yourself stumped in the realm of mobile development? We can help. Contact us and let’s start a conversation.
