Want to develop a successful mobile app?
Wondering how to get started?
Developing a great mobile application takes a lot of hard work and some serious planning It involves a lot of different steps and moving parts to get right. If you’re new to the process of app development it’s important to have a roadmap that you can use to carry your from Point A to Point B.
Luckily, we’re here to help. Below we’ll give you our step-by-step guide on how to develop an app.
1. Know Your App’s Purpose
The first step to developing an app is to make sure you know what its purpose is and what needs it meets in the marketplace.
Look for problems out there that need innovative solutions and that an app may be able to solve. Chances are you’ll be able to find a great app idea that is in high demand.
Additionally, while there may already be apps that do solve the problem you’ve found you may still want to go for it if you think you may be able to solve it better than others.
By defining what the purpose of your app is and what problem it will solve you’ll have a much easier time going through every other step of app development. It will help you to focus and ensure you’re staying on track.
2. Do Your Homework
You’ll also want to do some research on your competition before creating your app.
Take a look at the market and see what other apps are out there that are similar to yours. Find out what their designs are like, how the user experience is, and what features are included.
While you shouldn’t directly copy anyone else when designing your app, looking to see what features competing apps have can help you decide what to include in your own. It can also help you find ways to improve upon your competitor’s ideas and do a better job than they are.
3. Plan the Layout
One of the first steps to building an app is to start writing down your plan. You need to plan out a great layout for your app and map out what features and elements you’ll want to include in it. Once you have a great gameplan in place it will be much easier for your designers to flesh it out.
You can choose to do this on paper, but even better is to use a wireframe tool. Remember to be as detailed as you can with your app and clear on what its features will be. Also, don’t forget to map out the flow of the app and its navigation as clearly and concisely as you can.
4. Start With Great Design
It’s important to keep the design at the forefront of your mind when creating your app. Don’t underestimate the importance of great visual design and user-friendly design. Contrary to what some people believe, it’s not all about functionality but the visual design of an app is very important as well.
The average app user will quickly judge even a highly functional app on its visual design alone. Make sure that your app looks great and that its design can match or exceed the quality of its included features.
5. Create the App
Once you have the design and features of your app planned out, then it’s time to start with its development. Be sure to focus on only the features that are absolutely essential when first creating your app. You can always add more features in the future updates.
If you’re hiring a mobile app developer that isn’t in-house then you’ll want to make sure you do plenty of research on them. Make sure to read reviews on them if possible and to check out their portfolio in-depth.
A great designer or development team will have a huge effect on the overall outcome of your app so make sure you find a great one to do the job.
6. Test, Test, Test
After you’re done with the initial design of your app, you’ll want to do plenty of testing. Make sure that you spend plenty of time working out the bugs and use the testing period to check the user experience of your app and to get feedback on what may need to be improved.
Don’t be afraid to stay in this stage for a while to make sure that you get it right and that you’re not releasing an app that isn’t ready yet.
Using Citrix can be a great tool for using workspaces during app development and testing, so you may want to read this blog to learn more.
7. Release It to the World
Once your app is fully fleshed out and finished it’s time for your release.
To start with, you’ll need to have developer accounts on any app stores that you’ll be releasing the app on. Android and Apple both charge annual fees in order to get your app on the app store so sign up for these accounts and release your app once you’re ready.
You’ll also want to do some mobile app SEO to ensure people will find your app and download it.
Additionally, it’s also a great idea to use analytics tools to keep track of how your app is doing in the app stores.
8. Add More Features
After you’ve released your app, usually your job won’t be done. It will then be time to start checking the feedback to your app, adding more features, and releasing updates.
Be sure to consider any user feedback your app gets carefully. Don’t ignore any glaring issues that many reviewers are talking about, but instead, listen to the feedback and plan your updates and revisions accordingly.
Releasing new versions of the app and working out the bugs is necessary if you want to create a popular app that earns you money.
Following These Steps to Develop an App
While there’s a lot that goes into building a successful app, the above list should give you a good overview of the basic process. Make sure that you keep these steps in mind if you’ve decided that it’s time to develop an app.
Looking for more app development tips? Click here to read more tips about building an app on your own.