A Detailed Guide For Building An App

Many businesses want to create an app that helps them establish a close connection with their customers and employees. It is important to realize that considering building an app and starting the process are two very different ideas.

Yes, it is a significantly challenging task to ensure that your business app proves ideal for the end users. However, it is not impossible. So, without further ado, let’s look at the steps you need to take from the start till the end to indulge in an effective and efficient app-building procedure;

1. Generating An Idea For Your App

First and foremost, you need to come up with an original idea for your app. Many organizations introduce mobile apps as extensions of their ongoing operations. For example, a masseuse parlor launches a smartphone that enables its current and prospective clients to get in touch with the staff, book sessions, and make inquiries as needed.

Furthermore, it is fine if your idea is not 100% original. There are numerous mobile applications enlisted on the Play Store that share a lot of similarities. What’s important to ensure while coming up with an idea for your business app is that it adds value to the lives of the end users. Otherwise, your app is less likely to get the desired traction.

If your app idea feels like a copied one, you need to think of ways to make it distinctive. Imagine you are thinking of launching a ride-hailing application. Think about how it will serve the customers differently than Uber.

The success of any smartphone app depends on two factors; the value it provides to the user and the unique selling point it possesses. Get these two right, and you are going to have an app that’s loved by millions of users.

2. Establish Measurable Goals

Mobile app development is a never-ending venture. Your app is always going to need updates according to the trending elements of the digital world and to keep fulfilling the specific demands of a diverse clientele.

Therefore, having clear and measurable goals to go about the entire app creation procedure proves incredibly helpful. Setting goals in app development means figuring out the results you are trying to achieve. Your mission can also include the problems you want to solve through the mobile app.

It is not a wise decision to set your goals in monetary terms. Yes, boosting your income streams holds great significance. Regardless, it hardly helps in getting closer to the actual goal. You have to set other KPIs (key performance indicators) to measure your success. If these indicators look fruitful throughout the mobile app development process, you are eventually going to make a lot of money.

For instance, you can set a goal to maximize engagement on your app. This is going to include coming up with a plan to increase the time users spend on the app. You can also aim to prevent users from getting annoyed by the slow load speed of the app, causing them to abandon their usage altogether.

Establishing clear goals with non-monetary KPIs goes a long way in allowing you to optimize your app to offer the best user experience. It helps you make an ideal user interface, which can contribute to your app’s popularity. Ultimately, achieving these goals lead to notable increments in the number of downloads your mobile application receives after launching.

3. Time To Conduct Thorough Market Research

You have an amazing idea for a mobile app along with a clear set of goals. But what if no one needs your app? Starting a mobile app development project plan without judging the need for your application within the markets is not a wise move.

Without conducting thorough market research, you can end up wasting a multitude of monetary and non-monetary resources in an attempt to build a mobile app. Hence, spend time doing interviews and running focus groups to see how many people are interested in using an app you want to build.

You can also study your competition to figure out the lackings of their mobile app. Filling those gaps is more likely to attract users to your app as they get a replacement that fulfills their needs effectively. Conducting surveys and indulging in other methods of market research can help you identify your target audience. Consequently, it can enable you to find your prospective users’ requirements and work on fulfilling them.

If the mobile application is an extension of an ongoing business, you can include your existing clientele in the market research to ensure the app’s success. Doing market research equips you with useful knowledge and information, making sure your valuable time and other resources will not go to waste.

4. Features Of Your Mobile App

While deciding the features of your app, it is important to understand that every addition will extend the timeline of the development project and increase the cost. Hence, adding unnecessary features that do not serve your app’s primary purpose needs to be avoided.

Expert developers and successful entrepreneurs suggest sticking to simplicity while your app is still in the early stages of development. You can leave the GPS feature for later if your app’s core functionality does not require the location of the user.

Some popular features of mobile applications are as follows;

• Payment methods
• eCommerce
• User account registrations
• Messaging/Commenting/Posting
• Security, such as two-factor authorization
• Multi-device synchronization
• Accessibility features
• Push & in-app notifications
• Date & location settings

What your app does decides the features it should have. Make sure each feature optimizes the mobile app UX UI. For instance, user account registration is a valuable feature to add. However, allow users to navigate through the app without registering. As far as the payment methods go, make sure to add all possible outlets people prefer to use nowadays, such as debit cards, cryptocurrency, etc.

First, perfect the features your app needs necessarily to function and add value to the lives of the users. Then, you can move on to adding more features with time to give your users a seamless experience.

5. Make A Wireframe For Your Mobile App

Next, you move on to creating a wireframe of your mobile application interface design. The app wireframe refers to a rough sketch of how the application is going to look and function when fully developed. There are many digital wireframing tools you can use for this purpose. Here’s a list for your assistance;

• Mockflow
• Figma
• Justinmind
• Adobe XD
• Sketch
• UXPin

Out of the 6 options above; adobe XD is commonly used by beginners to develop a wireframe for a mobile app. Similarly, Figma is an online UI tool individuals across the globe use popularly create illustrations of app designs. It is available free of cost.

One can even create a wireframe on a piece of paper if it fulfills the purpose effectively. A wireframe helps you visualize the user interface beforehand. It gives you an outlook on the positions of each button, what the features will do, where different options will lead the users, and more.

You can start the wireframing process by mapping out a target user flow to clearly determine the steps one needs to take to attain a specific objective, such as surfing through the inventory, registering a complaint, or placing an order.

When it comes to creating a wireframe, you need to select the design size in the beginning. It is advisable to design the wireframe in multiple sizes to ensure the users of your app will get the same enhanced experience across various devices.

Where all the buttons lie, what each option does, and which steps of a user’s journey should be added or eliminated, you can find answers to such questions by making a wireframe for your app prior to asking the developers to get to work. Thus, designing an appropriate wireframe for your mobile app can help optimize the user experience and interface.

6. Select A Mobile App Development Method

Now the mobile app development project plan is picking pace since the sixth step requires you to select an ideal method to build your application. There are various ways of creating an app, and you need to choose the one that suits your demands fully. You can make your decision on the basis of;

• The technical skillset of your developers
• Your budget
• The type of your app
• Whether you want your app to run on IOs,
• Android, or both.

Let’s talk about the several ways of building an app in more detail;

Building A Native App

It is safe to say that native apps are relatively expensive to create and maintain. Regardless, users find them easy to use and equally reliable. As stated earlier, native apps run on particular platforms, which means that the programming languages developers use to code them are platform-specific.

For example, a native app designed for an Android device will use Java. On the other hand, if the same app is meant for IOS, it will be coded using Swift or Objective C. If you are thinking of deploying your app on both IOS and Android, then hire two developers for each platform.

Yes, you can hire one developer who knows how to code an app for both, Android and IOS, but it is not advisable. This is because it is going to delay the app-building process and cost more to have the same person create a mobile application for two platforms.

Next, you need to hire a full-stack web developer who’s going to make the backend infrastructure for your app. This is where all the data that is hosted in the cloud is stored. Make sure to bring in a competent full-stack developer with the proper knowledge of web hosting platforms, database management systems, backend/frontend technologies & frameworks, etc.

Selecting the native app development method gives you an edge as it opens up the possibility of making an application that can do anything. This is the ideal method to consider if you are trying to build a virtual reality or a gaming app.

Building A Hybrid App

Another method you have refers to building a hybrid application. It is a fairly efficient and cost-effective approach to creating a mobile app compared to the native development method. However, hybrid app development does not promise the same level of quality and performance for your mobile application.

Hybrid app development means developers can build a single application that can effectively run on several operating systems, including Android, Windows, and IOS. Web technologies like HTML, JavaScript and CSS prove useful for developers in building a hybrid app.

After writing the code, the developer puts it into a native application by implementing open-source frameworks, for example, React Native and Flutter. It allows the hybrid app to run on any platform by using the embedded browser of the device instead of the web browser. You can easily put a hybrid application on the app store for sale and install it on any type of mobile device.

In addition to this, plugins are used to access the hardware and other features of the device, such as address book, contact list, GPS, etc. The open-source frameworks offer various UI components that enable hybrid apps to run effectively on any operating system. It proves increasingly helpful in maintaining an immersive user experience, regardless of the platform your app runs on.

Hybrid apps are easier to manage because they are written using a single code base. You also have to bear a low development cost with this method. Many multinationals like Walmart, Amazon, and Nike have opted for the hybrid app development method as they deem it more beneficial.

According to experts, there is a high possibility that the features of a hybrid app are not entirely accessible on multiple platforms. Plus, the software can come with a few undetected errors, which can eventually affect the user experience.

7. Conduct Research To Find Information About Existing Solutions

As far as app development is concerned, you need various outlets to ensure everything functions accordingly. This refers to different solutions such as hosting, infrastructure, and design. Carrying out research activities to find out if there are any pre-built reusable tools for your app can help you save a significant amount of time and money.

For instance, instead of hosting the application on your own servers, you can rent them. Similarly, look for other pre-existing mobile app components you can utilize instead of making them yourself from scratch. Rest assured that you can still customize these solutions per your unique requirements.

By the end of this step, your market research is finished, and you have a foolproof idea as well as a plan to develop a mobile app. The pre-development stage of mobile app development demands a lot of work, but it is also important to avoid any unwanted errors later.

8. Write A Technical Specification

Writing a technical specification before moving toward the development phase of your app is a wise move. It helps in laying out the path of creating the app clearly for all concerned parties. A technical specification, also known as tech spec, is an extensively detailed document consisting of information about all the technicalities involved with an application or software.

A valuable tech spec helps developers acquire the following info;

• The functions of the app
• What should the app do?
• What the app should not do?
• The chosen development method for the app
• The services that need to be created, employed, or customized to assist with the app development process
• What are the security measures to keep all the data private?
• The plan to deploy the app when it is finished
• Maintenance and support plans
• The timeline of the whole mobile application development project plan

It is important not to confuse a tech spec with a functional specification. The latter states the functions of the app/software, while the former explains the process of making the app/software work. Technical specification focuses on the internal programming of an app, but the functional specification covers the functionality of the product for the end user.

A tech spec is a critical part of the development process since it can help you find more cost-effective and time-saving alternatives. It keeps all the stakeholders on the same page and eliminates any confusion. App developers can point out the technical challenges they might face during the development procedure while also discussing possibilities of overcoming them.

9. Track Your Progress By Setting Milestones

App building is a severely time-consuming process, especially if you choose to go with the native app development method. Hence, it is a good idea to track your progress by setting measurable milestones. Moreover, such benchmarks keep your team focused and on track throughout the entire process.

It is important to define the project timeline, so you can make an estimate of the time when your app will be ready for deployment. App creation can take as long as a couple of weeks to months. Hence, breaking down the development process into small tasks proves helpful in ensuring things are moving forward.

Setting milestones help you ensure that the developing team is working to meet the deadlines. Furthermore, app creation is a massive project which can often be overwhelming. Breaking it into smaller projects makes it easy for everyone to give their 100% in finishing each task.

Let’s talk about the two types of project management systems software/app developers use commonly;
Agile Development: This is an iterative software development method used by self-organized and cross-functional teams to complete projects on a timely basis. They consider the circumstances and take a collaborative approach to adapt when working on a project on tight schedules.
Scrum Development: This is a type of agile development methodology employed in software development. With scrum, you do not work in separate teams, but as a single body dedicated to delivering products in the short term. It is a flexible and fast way of working that functions on constant feedback instead of a final evaluation. All of this keeps the team motivated to work optimally in the long run.

The main difference between the two terminologies discussed above is that scrum is a proven methodology used to facilitate a project while agile development is a philosophy explaining how to deliver the final product to a customer.

Tracking your progress throughout the app development project eliminates the possibility of things not working at the time of deployment. Figuring out the exact timeline of your app-building process and following it also helps you plan the marketing strategies effectively.

10. Develop A Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Creating an app successfully without any errors is a challenging job. However, you can ease the process by developing an MVP (minimum viable product) first. This includes creating a skeleton of your app with key features required to use it.

What is the primary function of your app and which features are necessary? Find answers to these questions in order to create an MVP.

Needless to say, app building is a never-ending process. An app consistently requires changes to provide the best user experience. Therefore, paying attention to any add-on features, in the beginning, can cause you to lose track of what’s important.

First, develop the main application and make sure it functions appropriately. Then, you can think about adding extra features and enhancing the user interface with better design, color scheme, accessible navigation tools, etc.

Creating an MVP also helps you test your app idea, and figure out the necessary steps for improvement. Developing a basic model of the app that works perfectly puts everything into perspective for the developers as they get confirmation to keep going with the idea and finish the project.

Developing a minimum viable product that serves as the prototype of your app can cost somewhere between $15000 to $50000. The cost varies depending on a number of factors, such as the location of the development team, the expertise required, the design, and the complex features of the mobile application.

You might save spending money on creating an MVP, but it can cost a lot more to ignore this step in the long run. What if the final application comes up with complications at the time of deployment? Imagine the loss of precious time and money when the final product fails to deliver on its promises.

11. Indulge In Quality Assurance To Test Your App’s Performance & Functionality

A successful mobile app offers optimal user experience and equally impressive usability. In order to deliver an app that works ideally and adds value to the lives of the users, it is important to do quality assurance during the entire development process.

In the app development project, quality assurance is done to ensure that the final application is free of any bugs and mistakes. Today’s digital world is full of thousands of applications. Hence, you want your app to function properly to compete with others effectively.

Experts suggest testing your app’s functionality at each stage of development. This way, you can identify any problems at the right time and have them solved immediately instead of waiting to test the final product. Quality assurance also protects your brand image as it keeps you from deploying a faulty application that can drive prospective users away.

Some of the common software quality bugs every quality assurance team needs to check for are as follows;

Multiple Device Testing: You want to ensure that your apps perform equally well on different mobile devices. Therefore, the quality assurance team needs to test your app on various smartphones and tablets. Failure to do so can allow bugs to remain in the software, affecting your app’s compatibility in a negative manner.
User Data Input: A lot of smartphone applications require users to provide their personal information by entering the data into specified fields. These areas can also have unwanted bugs, so the QA engineers must test them to ensure they function as needed.
Popup Messages: Message boxes and popups can have text with grammatical errors. Plus, it is also possible that the text is too hard to read and understand for an average user. Quality assurance makes sure such mistakes are solved before deployment to maintain the top-notch user experience of the app.

Nowadays, experienced and skillful QA engineers test a mobile app on the basis of multiple factors. These include the performance of various components, battery consumption, the steps to enter user data, security features, user experience, and memory usage. They also check the installation process of the app when the user downloads it.

Quality assurance is one of the most significant aspects to consider during a mobile app development project plan. It can save you from the embarrassment of falling short on your claims. It also proves useful in seeing if the app needs new features or which ones can be removed.

12. Time To Deploy Your App

Finally, the time to make your live app available to the users is here. You can deploy your mobile application on Google Play Store and Apple app store by filling out the submission forms for each. It is vital to fulfilling the requirements of both platforms while trying to submit your app on them.

The primary focus at the time of app deployment is always to ensure that everything functions well for the end user. You need to make sure your app is visible to the maximum number of potential users. Plus, your app can get a lot of downloads right after deployment so the servers cannot crash due to the load.

You also need to implement several app marketing strategies to spread the word about your upcoming mobile application. You can use social media channels to create a buzz around your unique app idea, so it can receive as many downloads as possible at the time of deployment. Utilize channels where your prospective users spend most of their time.

In addition to this, making videos for app demonstrations and posting them across Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and other digital media outlets can help people learn about your new smartphone application.

ASO refers to app store optimization, which helps boost an application’s visibility in the marketplace. In addition to this, app store optimization helps increase conversion rates leading to notable increments in downloads. ASO is useful in ensuring your app ranks high in app store search results and retains an equally higher CTR (click-through rate).

App marketing gets your targeted users excited about the application. Implement the appropriate marketing tactics and figure out ASO (app store optimization) before deployment to receive the maximum number of downloads right after the app is launched.-