A mobile app makes it easier for the company to connect with its customers. It has also proven to be an effective way of expanding the customer base. The reason is simple: customers prefer the convenience and 24/7 availability. This includes the time they spent commuting from one place to another.
It isn't easy to carry laptops everywhere, but a mobile device can come in handy to access information anytime. An app on a mobile device is what customers want for more. Spotify is a great example to justify this statement. Customers can carry the music in their pocket with an economical subscription to the music app. A similar experience can also be felt without buying a subscription.
By 2020, it was projected that almost 218 billion downloads would have occurred for all connected users. However, 50% of the effort you put on your phone is spent on social applications. As a result, we can conclude that mobile application development is still thriving and attracting an increasing number of users.
As a result, mobile application development firms, entrepreneurs, and freelancers are competing for jobs and possibilities in mobile application development. They aim to replicate the success of many others, such as Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok. However, most company owners and founders overlook the challenges that arise throughout the mobile application development process.
Source: Statista
The mobile app business has grown to be a large sector with enormous potential for success. However, if you look closely, you will find a relatively tiny number of successful mobile applications compared to the overall number of accessible mobile apps. Why aren't all mobile applications a success?
The solution is very straightforward. This is because not all mobile apps are designed with the user in mind. Certain mobile applications are truly helpful. If you develop one similar to Facebook, Uber, or Instagram that simplifies the lives of its users, you can rest easy knowing that the odds of your phone app being a complete success are very high.
Whether music, gaming, or shopping apps, it is trending all over the world. The customers look for more mobile apps than they look for websites on the internet.
Also Read: Mobile App Maintenance: Why is it necessary and what is the cost of App Maintenance?
The Guide
The number is truly impressive. One can only imagine what would happen if the mark was crossed this year. It would not just create a larger base for the development of mobile apps but it would also increase the competition. The portable app development guide comes in handy to the developers who need to drive desired app results.
You may either hire a mobile app developer or give the app development process a shot yourself. Irrespective of what the case is, the step-by-step guide mentioned below would come in handy.
#1. Outline Objectives
A mobile app must serve a specific purpose. The existence and development of the mobile app would go in vain if the objectives are ambiguous. Simply put, the objectives are the desired results that you wish to achieve with the mobile app.
It’s only after you have outlined the objectives of developing a mobile, you would receive all the benefits of the mobile app development process. The objectives may be to reach a particular number of customers or spread awareness about the brand. You may also want to generate sufficient revenue from the mobile app.
The first step of outlining the objectives of mobile app development requires you to invest your time more than your money. The objective of a cab aggregator app can be to make it easy for the user to book a cab and make the payment.
#2. Highlight Features
All the features of the mobile app enable the user to interact and perform the required function. A UPI app would need to have the feature of allowing the users to track their transaction status.
Features can be offered easily to a user. The challenge lies in offering the relevant features. Filling the mobile app with irrelevant features would make the user doubt his or her choice of opting to download your mobile app. In case the user is enabled to see the required feature then he or she would abandon the app and uninstall it from the device.
The best way is to create a list of all the features that come to your mind. No matter how useless they sound, write all of them on a piece of paper. Talk to your friends or people similar to your target audience to know what they feel about it.
#3. Do Your Research
Research is all about looking for the insights that will help you to understand the market. Research can be conducted based on the kind of information you are looking for. For example, if you are looking for the number of people in a particular age group, then the research can be guided in that direction.
Another aim of conducting research is to identify the scope of your idea. The scope here refers to the level at which the mobile app can be scaled. You cannot just develop a mobile app and let it remain in the market. The best mobile apps are the ones that come to the market and take it by storm. This applies to everyone unless the aim is simply to get a mobile app listed on the app store for fun.
You can use this as an opportunity to draw a model of your business. This may require you to walk in the shoes of your target customers.
#4. Design The App
The most fun part of the entire process of developing a mobile app is to design it. The general idea is to do it on a computer with the assistance of a professional designer. The idea is not entirely correct. A person with a mere interest in designing the mobile app can get it done as well. It is all about offering the best experience to the user.
The visual representations that are prepared at this stage form the backbone or the main skeleton of the mobile application development services. The design that is prepared forms the bridge between your thoughts to the final output that would be delivered to the users.
Some platforms that provide tools to design a mobile application are Adobe Suite, Fluid UI, and Mockflow. The design must be done keeping in mind all the features that you want to list.
#5. Select A Platform And A Coding Language
This is one of the main and highly technical stages of the entire mobile app development process. You would need to have a basic understanding of different platforms and coding languages. Without having clarity on these basic points, you may face issues in going further.
The platform means the mobile operating system that you wish to target. The time demands a brand to be present on both the major platforms namely Android and iOS. However, you can target to be available on either one of them. If you are targeting to be on both platforms then it is time for you to decide whether you want to enter into native app development or hybrid app development.
This would depend on your budget and the amount of time that the developer is willing to invest in your project. While hybrid app development takes a single shot in developing a mobile application for both platforms, native app development requires you to develop two different apps for both mobile operating systems.
#6. Initiate Development
Begin the stage that you have been looking forward to for a long time. After looking into all the above-mentioned aspects of mobile app development, you are all good to proceed with the development of your mobile app.
At this stage, the aim should be to narrow down to the best features that you want to start with. Loading the app with excessive features can lower the loading speed. Push notifications are useful only if they are not used inappropriately. You cannot inform a user about an ongoing discount after every 10 minutes. This would irritate the user and force him or her to uninstall your app.
Consider all the security features that you would be offered to users. They share a lot of data with you and expect that data to remain safe.
#7. Test Launch
Also known as Beta Launch, the test launch helps you to understand how the mobile application would perform after it is made available to the users at a mass scale. Every company - big or small - conducts a test launch with an aim to analyze its performance.
A developer looks for bugs at this phase. Once identified, they are resolved and the updated test version is made available to the users. The users at this stage can be a small group of your friends or other people who are unaware of your brand and product.
The test launch aims to look at the mobile app internally and externally. The internal issues are taken care of by the development team and the external issues, like functionality, are reported by the users. A developer with good programming skills generally looks into both aspects himself or herself.
#8. Final Launch
The perspective is that the app is immediately made available to the users in the market. On the contrary, it is first submitted to the respective mobile operating systems. The mobile operating systems look if their guidelines have been followed or not.
Both Android and iOS are strict when it comes to approving the mobile app for their app store. The rejection percentage of Android and iOS is known to be 55% and 40% respectively. For all the 100 apps that are submitted, these platforms reject 44 and 40 apps respectively.
In case of continuous rejection, you may want to look at the specific permissions and guidelines again.
Also Read: What Are The Things To Consider Before Hiring An Android App Developer?
#9. Promote The App
Every brand needs marketing as that drives the business in today’s world. Every company that is big right now is started by attractive customers every day. Amazon is one of the biggest e-commerce platforms only because it marketed itself in the industry well.
For the purpose of promotion, you must know the problem that you are trying to solve, identify the target market, and reach them appropriately with the relevant message. A mobile application offering online content, like videos, cannot market itself as a dating app. The best way is to tie up with the influencers or other known personalities.
With a website and social media accounts in place, they can be leveraged as well. Display your mobile app as a banner on the website and cover images on every social media account.
Final Words
Mobile app development is a never-ending process. Continue to seek feedback from the users and make improvements whenever required.
