The mobile app industry has witnessed a dramatic evolution. Over thousands of apps are ready to be downloaded on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store every single day. In fact, research indicates that the global mobile app revenue is on its way to cross a whopping $189 billion in a span of two years. Statista projection shows that consumers are already spending billions of dollars on Apple App Store and Google Play Store for either app or in-app-purchases and it is continue to rise in double digit each year. With such a tremendous outcome, it’s a no-brainer for large, medium & small sized enterprises to invest their precious time and money on creating an outstanding result-oriented mobile application.
Even though considering mobile app development is the best decision that you can take for your business, but the desired benefits can only be achieved when you count on the services of a reliable mobile app development partner.
In this article, we’ll decode effective app development process in simple steps and how this can make your mobile app development initiative a huge success no matter what the scope or size of the project might be.
Table of Contents
- Explore App Development Options
- Discovery and Market Research
- Setting Business Goals and Objectives from Your App
- Wireframes and Mock-ups
- Finalize Design and Prototype
- App Development, Back-end Coding & Database
- Test and Debug
- Getting Ready For Launch
- Launch in Google Play Store and Apple App Store
- Learn and Iterate Based on User’s Needs (Most Important Step)
- Final Verdict – Why Mobile App Development Process Matters?
Explore App Development Options
When it comes to app development, the first and perhaps the most important thing that you need to decide is which platform would be ideal for your app. In order to find the right answer, let’s explore the various options around and what exactly makes them different from each other. Take a look at pros and cons among native, hybrid and web app development. If you are still not sure, get in touch with us. We, the leading Mobile App development Company in Charlotte NC, can recommend and explain best app development platform options based on your business requirement.
Native Apps
Each native app requires different operating system (OS) based on its hardware. This means, for native Android app understands JAVA and Android SDK. On the other hand in case of iOS the apps understands Swift, Objective C and SDK for iOS. Developers need to write two separate sets of code for same functionalities in different platforms.
The key advantages of native apps are:
- Responsive and Fast
- Get most out of phone’s hardware
- Push Notifications
- Match UX/UI to Platform Conventions
- Access to Wide Range of APIs
Web Apps
Similar to the native app, web apps are basically websites with functionalities and interactivity of an app. These applications run on browsers, connects device through the internet and can’t be downloaded to mobile devices.
Some distinct advantages of web apps are:
- Quick and Low-Cost Development
- Easy & Cheap to Update and Maintain
- Multi-Platform Capability
Hybrid Apps
A hybrid app is a combination of native and web app and is capable of running on multiple OS. These apps have great minimum viable product (MVP) options. They can be developed and launched for testing and feedback using limited resources in no time.
Major advantages of hybrid apps are:
- Easier to Scale
- Single Codebase
- Cross-Platform Support
- Access to Device Features
Being aware of the platform that you want can help you, prepare an accurate budget for app development cost and choose specialized professionals for the purpose.
Discovery and Market Research
You may have an extraordinary concept or idea. However, without proper market research, you cannot analyze the viability of the project. Moreover, there are times when in-depth research leads to the discovery of new ideas. So, to connect various elements, there are a few questions that you must answer for a smooth and effective app development process and these are:
Mobile App Objective:
What is the main purpose of your mobile app? Where exactly does it fit in the overall roadmap to digital transformation of your business? What kind of problems do you think the app can solve?
Target Audience:
Who do you plan to target with the help of the app? Or who do you believe will be prospective users?
Features of Mobile App:
What features do you specially want to have in your app? How will these features provide a competitive edge to your business? What will be the core appeal of your mobile app?
Target Platforms:
Which mobile OS platform would be a good match for your app? What is your overall allocation for app development in terms of effort, money and time?
Timeframe:
When do you want to release your mobile app in the store? Are you strict about the timeframe?
Maintenance:
How do you plan to keep the app up-to-date? Who will take care of the bugs after the app has been launched?
Setting Business Goals and Objectives from Your App
The essence of successful app development process lies in the vision, goals and targets that you’ve stipulated for them. While these might differ from one project to another, still there is an app-centric impact that can be addressed during the development process.
In this stage, you have to focus on:
- What features does your business need for the mobile app?
- What kind of problem (problems) these features can resolve?
- How will you differentiate your mobile app?
While determining which type of features would be suitable, don’t forget to use of an app development calculator. The calculator will provide a comprehensive categorization of cost associated with the app development process.
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Wireframes and Mock-ups
At this point, you will have a clear picture of how the app would appear. You should also know the various features that it should include. This is where the real work begins. Now, it’s time to sketch out the innovative concept of your app into reality.
Professional app developers utilize advanced wireframing tools to offer a pictorial depiction of the salient features such as icon, buttons and fields. This stage is to focus on the user experience, aesthetics and layout details of the app. Standardization of UI frames, UI elements, uniqueness, usability driven flow and end-to-end experience are some of the vital aspects that you should discuss at this point.
Mock-up is simply the interconnection between multiple elements of app design. Generally, mock-ups may lack intelligence or logic of the final product, yet they effectively demonstrate how the app would function. Upon app design finalization, developer may suggest further modifications to the aesthetics, workflow and information architecture.
While dealing with the wireframing and mock-ups of the app pay attention to:
- Creative opportunities for incorporating your brand into the app
- Engaging user experience
- How people use mobile apps vs. how they use a mobile website
Finalize Design and Prototype
Once app is to your satisfaction with the wireframe, the next step is to structure a prototype. Though mock-ups display the functionality of your app via static designs, prototype offers a glimpse of the real working app. It can be beneficial in evaluating the app design concepts, identifying dead links and gathering feedback for the process of development.
For analyzing the prototype, seek help from app developing experts who did not participate in the development of your app. The idea here is to observe their interactions with the app. Then get honest and unbiased feedback regarding ease of use and the overall functionality. You can bring in any necessary changes to the UI/UX at this stage.
App Development – Server Side Coding, API & Front-end
This is the quintessential phase of development that covers actual coding and realization of your mobile app. It includes various activities like establishing a preferable development environment, developing different parts of the code, the preliminary testing and building an app which can be installed.
Usually, the development environment is configured into three distinct parts and these are sever/back-end technology, application programming interface (APIs) and the front-end mobile app.
- Server/Back-End Technology: The server-side and database objects are imperative to support the functions of a mobile app. Server connects app data to a network. If you are working with existing platform, developer may need to look at certain configurations for supporting the certain functionality.
- Application Programming Interface (APIs): The APIs consists of a software that interconnects not just the app and back-end server but even the different OS components and software systems in your day-to-day business applications.
- Mobile Front-End: The front-end is what your users get to interact with. The mobile apps comprise of interactive UX that are backed by connections based on back-end technology in order to manage data using APIs. If you want the app to work without the use of a network (offline mode), then it needs to have stable APIs for storing and downloading data locally.
In this stage, the services of a proficient team of developers would be of immense help.
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Test and Debug
Testing is another crucial phase of the app development process. It makes you aware of the app quality and provides an idea about how impressive or ineffective the app is. In certain cases, the testing phase overlaps development phase. It is typically dependent on the plan and execution of the development stage.
App testing can be of various types. For example, functionality testing in which the various functional requirements of the app that were enlisted in the discovery phase are analyzed and then checked whether these have been met or not. Similarly, performance testing is also done to examine the performance abilities like average time taken for connection, touch response and other such associated parameters.
Testing phase comes to an end only after all the known bugs and problems are 100% resolved and the app receives approval for launch by the project manager & client.
Getting Ready For Launch
The one element strongly influences your app’s success is the preparation steps that are taken for marketing. You may feel that it’s a bit early for marketing, as you haven’t launched the app yet. But, truth to be told your efforts would multiply if you begin to create a buzz around. Showcasing the credibility and worth of your app.
This stage of app development process is the best time to focus on the following components:
- Define The Brand: How can the colors, name and logo become the star of the show out of the millions of other businesses and apps out there? Prioritize on the consistency of these aspects across the app along with various platforms where your business exists.
- Find Compatible Channels: Where are you most likely to find the targeted audience? Do you think it is easier to reach them via email or social media? Do they prefer video content over articles and blogs? How much time are they precisely spending on mobile devices and apps?
- Create Impactful Content: Based on the information that you’ve acquired in the aforementioned points, now you must be confident about the type of content that your audience needs and how to reach them. Start the process by mapping the video or written content and share it on promising channels.
- Kick-start Brand Outreach: Who are the established influencers in your respective industry – large or small? Reach out to them and give the much-needed value. So that they can put your app out in front of their loyal audience.
Launch in Google Play Store and Apple App Store
The launch stage marks the climax of your marketing strategy. This is the period in your app development process, when all your promotional efforts must be in full swing. Let the world know that your revolutionary app is set to be released. The purpose is to build momentum and generate organic ratings and downloads from potential audiences.
For the final launch, your app has to be published in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Both Apple Store Review Guidelines and Google Play Store Review Guidelines are very strict. We can help you with successful launch on both stores and make this process seamless.
Learn and Iterate Based on User’s Needs (Most Important Step)
Creating a successful app is an ongoing process, you can never say that it’s complete. There is always scope for improvement and growth. By constantly monitoring and working with your app, a proficient development team builds relevant design and content for the app. Be sure to follow proper app development process and your likelihood of creating a successful will increase significantly.
Also, the feedback given by the end-users is taken into consideration for revamping the app according to the concerns and expectations of the user. The timely update and quick fixes can work wonders in retaining the trust of your customers.
Final Verdict – Why Mobile App Development Process Matters?
Mobile app development process is a tedious that demands a systematic approach. Cutting corners might seem to be a good way to save money and time, but in the end, poor design, improper planning or skipping QA would trigger expensive consequences. Right from the initial phase of inception to the final stage of execution, for moving ahead in the right direction you have to make a note of each and every process of development.
And at last never overlook your audience, because the fate of a mobile app clearly rests on the impact that it creates in the mind of end users, as their needs evolve so should your app.