What is your plan for joining the mobile app world? If you are doing It to join the wave of app creation like other entrepreneurs, you will have a hard time finding your target market. But if you are doing it to resolve a problem and have a market for it, there is likelihood for you to be successful.
In case you are considering building a mobile app for your startup business, it’s good to know the execution process. Many SMBs have now the opportunity to compete with big brands through mobile app technology.
If you are starting, make sure you hire a reputable software development company for the error-free process. Competition is very high nowadays, and you need to create a high-tech mobile app that augurs well with customers.
Why Mobile Apps are Important for your Business
- Your business gets a chance to grow massively
- Interaction with customers
- Meet the targeted clients
- It advertises your business for free
- Drives more sales
- Improves efficiency
- Builds a loyal customer base
According to statistics, it shows that:
- For an average consumer has more than 30 apps installed on their devices and per month spends not less than 35 hours interacting with them.
- Revenue from mobile apps is expected to hit $189 billion by the year 2020
- Today, there almost 3 million apps available for download on the Google play store
- Nearly 60% of digital media usage comes from mobile apps
- 90% of consumers prefer using native mobile apps over a mobile website
This is good news for anyone with an app or planning to develop one. But for that to happen, people have to download your app and use it. And below, we are going find phases your mobile app goes through before you consider rolling it in the market.
Market Research
Before diving deep into the design and the development stage, you should first research your target audience. And don’t forget to research your competitors as that may help you to tailor your mobile app in a way that customers will appreciate more than others.
You need to answer the queries below as they help you build app users like.
- Who is your target audience?
- How do you want your consumers to use your app?
- Which mobile app framework and development language will you use?
- What platform will you use?
- What accomplishment do you expect your mobile app to receive?
After comfortably answering the questions above, now gather your app development team to discuss your research findings. Research is vital as it equips your team with the necessary information about your app idea.
Know Your App Category
This is another essential phase; you should be very careful about choosing how to categorize your app. For example, the Google store has 20 categories, and Android users download apps from there that make their lives better.
Others create an app related to their business, while others take advantage of the market depending on what is trending. For example, nowadays, games and home automation apps are in high demand, and that is a ready market, you can get a good return if you build something customer will love.
As you create your mobile app, make it unique, user-friendly, and with features customers love. That’s why, during the research stage, it is important to check popular apps and learn why many customers love using them.
If your business focuses on games, then your game app should make it easier for customers to interact with it. As Google play store is very competitive, and some poorly developed apps are not able to survive for long.
The other thing is to build your app with customers in mind from the category you choose, as they may not tolerate any hitch. Also, no one wants customers to download your app then fail to use it. The success of any app in the market is when customers massively download it and use it often.
Define Your Mobile App Backend
Your storyboard and wireframes serve as a guide for the backend structures. You will need to support your app data diagrams, APIs, servers, integration, push notifications services, and data.
Many business owners find choosing a mobile backend as a service platform to make sense, as they unravel common challenges such as lack of in-house-talent and scalability.
If you encounter any technical limitations, you may need to modify your wireframe or storyboard in the backend development process. Therefore, be on the lookout, especially at the early stages.
Once your app development team agrees on the wireframe and the storyboard, you can proceed o building an interactive prototype. A prototype is an essential stage in mobile app development as it gives you a chance to evaluate design concepts, identify any dead links, gather feedback, and check for any flaws in the usability of the app.
You can try other people, not part of the development team to test and evaluate your complete prototype. The goal here is to finalize your app design concept and create a prototype that will be a guide through the actual mobile app development process.
App Development
App development involves a number of processes. Your development team will set up actual storage solutions, APIs, databases, and servers for the backend of your app. That is in case you are not using a mobile BaaS provider or app development platform.
At this stage, you start now moving into the coding and programming phase. If you hired outside talent to develop your mobile app, consider screening them to see past work and how it is doing in the market.
Be keen that all the designs incorporate the feedback and ideas that were collected during the testing phase. This is important as you are creating an app your target audience will enjoy using, therefore UX details matter.
Test
When the app concept is complete, make sure you rigorously test your app before it gets to the market. Sniff out any technical flaw that may interfere with the proper running of the app.
After testing all the important areas and are confident the app is working correctly, check the appearance and usability of the interface as the final test to be sure everything is ready to proceed to the launch stage.
Conclusion
Now that you have done the hard work of creating your mobile app, your next step is to spread the word. Many business owners flop at this stage, waiting for things to happen automatically. Create a massive app promotion campaign, and if customers love it, you will enjoy the fruits.