Developing Your First Mobile App: A Step by Step Guide
The past few years have seen mobile app development skyrocket in all areas and revenues earned via the same have been on a steady rise. This is because mobile apps have become essential tools to help us navigate our fast paced lives as well as because we spend so much time performing phone based activities.
Among the many apps available, you have gaming apps that seem to be the most popular followed by video streaming, dating and shopping apps as well as others according to statistics. Building a great app that users are going to love and return to in this day and age is a tough job but it’s not impossible. You just need to know what to do and how to do it!
App Building for Beginners in 10 Easy Steps
The first thing you’re going to need if you want to build an app in today’s competitive market is to focus and get started on it. Following the steps below should help give you some direction and drive your app building process in a manner that is beneficial.
- Build on an Idea or Solve a Known Problem
A great app starts with a great idea. If you already know what kind of app you’re building, jump right to the next step. If you don’t, one way to do it is to look around you for situations and common problems that may need solving. Most services and products that do well start as solutions to common problems. Look around for everyday problems and maybe base your app on a viable solution.
- Need Identification
To ensure that your idea is viable or that the solution you’re providing is one that is needed, do your homework. Do people really need an app like yours? Are there others around like it? How many people would you expect to download it?
You may answer these questions via email surveys, focus groups, social media questionnaires and so on. If you find the responses to your idea positive proceed. If not, it may be back to the drawing board.
- Formulate a Flow and Layout
This part of your process can be done using a wireframing tool or simply using a pencil and paper! You need to have a basic sense of how your app interface will appear, what it will do, which buttons lead where and what features it offers.
The physical plan for the particulars mentioned above are what become your flow and layout.
- Clear the Deadwood
Once the above is complete, review your app and look for features that might not be necessary as well as those that deviate from the core intentions behind your app.
- Consider App Design
You have a number of entrepreneurs and professionals with no experience in app building who claim they are happy with simple design. We do not recommend this. Design in app development is not just how your app looks. It dictates the quality of user experience.
If you struggle with app design, it’s time to take your idea to a professional app developer.
- Hire or Collaborate
The best way to find the right developer to work with is to shop for one. Look at previous work done by developers, ask about their work style and put out feelers to see which team agrees with your vision and work ethic best.
- Developer Account Creation
Selling an app in the Apple or Play Store requires prior registration of a developer account. You could do this on your own or ask the developers you are working with if they can generate one for you and share the credentials.
- Analytic Integration
Use analytic tools if you want to track and improve on things like user interest, engagement, satisfaction and retention. Analytic tools are available online in both free and paid versions.
- Quick Feedback and Revision
Be quick with taking on, understanding and working on the feedback you receive as soon as your app hits the store. You can address most of the bugs and other glitches that may come up soon after release via app updates. This is always good practice.
- Final Touches
Once you have a solid, running and relatively bug free basic app model that has survived the feedback stage, it is time to put on the frills. Add features you feel users will appreciate via analytics, see if you can make your app more efficient and remove anything that seems to be becoming obsolete.
In Conclusion
Though these are the basic steps you will need to take when developing an app, they aren’t necessarily linear. App development can be a back and forth process but as long as you take on feedback, update and implement, you should be good to go!