Mobile applications play a fundamental role in modern business strategies. By providing a direct channel for brand-customer interaction, they significantly impact user engagement, customer loyalty and revenue streams.
Mobile application development is a complex software development process that involves the design, implementation and deployment of applications on mobile devices. As a rule, it is handled by special software development studios, known as "software house" or "software development company."
How to create an app that will fully meet expectations? The development of a mobile application consists of many stages. It starts with the initial idea and its development, through app design and prototyping, then implementation and testing, and finally publication and updates. In the following article, we will describe in detail how mobile app development goes and what tips to follow to make our app a success.
Here's our guide to creating an app from A to Z that will delight your audience.
Table of Contents:
- Is it worth developing a mobile app?
- An app idea that will grow your business
- How do you define the purpose of a mobile app?
- Competitive analysis in mobile app development
- Defining the requirements and budget of the mobile application
- Mobile app development vs. user experience
- Programming and testing, or a working mobile app
- User feedback is key to application success
- Publication of the mobile application and its maintenance
- Why are monitoring and updates so important?
- How do we make our application recognizable?
- 10 tips to make your mobile app a success
Is it worth developing a mobile app?
Short answer: Yes, it's worth developing a mobile app, especially in 2024. A mobile app provides myriad benefits to companies and supports the delivery of services to many industries. Nowadays, a mobile app is a basic customer expectation for positive reception of a service.
Long answer: Mobile apps on every front of operations deliver an unparalleled experience for end users. Today, more than 6.4 trillion people worldwide use a smartphone. This is a huge market of potential customers who use mobile apps. When developing applications for any platform, we can deliver our services to almost any mobile device.
In addition, the possible functionalities of the applications are vast, and new solutions are constantly being developed that stand out from the competition by their ingenuity. Often these are applications created by a coding agency that specializes in innovation. The apps allow for regular updates so that their potential can be constantly developed. An additional advantage is their affordability, the ability to reach the customer (thanks to PUSH notifications) or an easier service process (accesibility).
An app idea that will grow your business
Once we have decided to create an application, we ask ourselves: how to create a mobile application? Underneath it there are many possible ways, while it is worth starting from complete basics. The idea is actually the first stage in the process of mobile application development. It is the one that will set our general direction and help us establish functional priorities.
We should first think about our target audience and the problems our app will solve. Applications should support users and respond to their needs, even those that are not visible to the naked eye. Our target group should have a need for our application, and the solution we propose should stand out from the competition.
How do you define a mobile app idea? Some additional questions
The following are support questions from our experts that will assist in the process of determining an idea for a great mobile app:
How can we define the target audience of our solution?
What are its needs, expectations and problems?
How can creating our mobile app support users?
Is our design more effective than existing applications?
Is the idea feasible on a realistic budget and effort?
These questions are an additional source of creating our idea. In addition to this, it is worth bearing in mind that true cooperation with a software house company will give us access to extensive knowledge and additionally assist in the formation of the application development process.
How do you define the purpose of a mobile app?
The purpose of an application is the backbone on the way to delivering your services to customers in an effective way that meets their expectations and brings business benefits to your company. If you have an idea, but don't know how to develop it, you can apply to the software house of your choice and, together with an experienced team, establish the vision and the first draft of the application.
Mobile platforms are an increasingly popular tool used by companies to add service on multiple fronts to their offerings and increase their market presence. Defining your goal should take into account what you want to achieve with your mobile app. It could be to increase your company's reach, improve product or service sales, or provide an easy-to-use tool for a potential customer.
Your project vision, on the other hand, should depict how your mobile app will work in practice and what benefits it will bring to users. The vision and concept should be consistent with the goal and reflect the needs of your audience.
To help define your goal and vision aimed at mobile apps, it is worth using design tools such as Figma. A free template is available there to help you organize your thoughts and formulate specific requirements and functionalities for your app. You can find it at this link.
Competitive analysis in mobile app development
Another important point in mobile app development is market research. We can't just jump in at the deep end without any knowledge of our competition. Mobile apps exist in really big numbers. Statistics indicate 8.9 million mobile apps in 2020. So there is some competition in many categories that we cannot ignore.
However, this is no reason to panic. There are many underdeveloped or simply outdated mobile apps, and learning about their weaknesses is just the way to our own success. Developing an app is not just programming, but also careful planning of our operation. Part of it is precisely learning about competing solutions for our idea.
This is why we need to pay attention to the most popular apps on various devices (both iOS and Android platforms) and identify the reasons why they succeeded or failed. It's worth taking under the magnifying glass individual app features, user experience elements, UI usability or smoothness of operation. In this way, we can draw our own conclusions and identify areas where our app will meet and exceed user expectations. This will ensure the success of our app in the future.
Defining the requirements and budget of the mobile application
Once we have defined the goal and analyzed rival solutions, it is time to define the requirements and budget of the mobile application. Both the scope of functionality and the budget are closely connected. After all, it is the complexity of the mobile application that determines how much it will cost to implement.
Functional requirements: Why is it important to define them?
As we have already mentioned, the process of mobile app development is full of careful planning of activities. Before even a single line of code is written, we engage in shaping our vision and laying out the functionality under the app.
Functionality is the ability for a user to perform a given action in a mobile application. An example of functionality is the ability to play music in a streaming app.
Defining functionality is the basic technical requirements of a mobile application. They provide a clearly defined work framework for developers, but also reduce the number of possible errors. This can create a work schedule and prioritization of tasks. The highest priority will be given to tasks related to MVP functionality .
| What is an MVP? MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is a concept central to the development of new digital products. In a nutshell, it is the simplest version of a product that contains the absolute necessary features to get it up and running and test in the market. The goal of an MVP is to get the first customers and get feedback from them. Learn more. |
How do you price a mobile app development budget?
In collaboration with the client, decision makers, UX designers and project managers can estimate the scope of work required to create a working mobile application.
This depends on several variables. The aforementioned functional scope is one of them, but it is a bit more complicated than that. The sheer scope of the application's complexity affects how much work will be required to implement it. This, in turn, translates into developers' time.
Our budget will also be dictated by the technology used to create the application, whether we are limited to one platform or decide to go multi-platform. Additional modules such as a custom payment system or GPS tracking will require an increase in budget, so it is worth considering whether they are required for a good user experience in the MVP.
How to determine the requirements and budget?
When determining the functional and budget requirements, it is worth asking yourself a few questions that will help you accurately specify the requirements and determine the budget of your project. For example:
What features should be included in the project outline?
What are the designated functional priorities?
What is your budget for mobile app development?
Do you want to use off-the-shelf solutions or start from scratch?
What platforms does your potential customer use most often (iOS, Android)?
Mobile app development vs. user experience
Mobile application design today cannot take place without considering good UX (User Experience) practices . The user interface plays a key role in the positive experience and interaction with a mobile application. Even before the app moves into the coding phase, UX/UI designers must create its functional flow and design a mockup (wireframe) of the app.
Design in mobile apps: How to ensure good UX in an app?
The basis is to work closely with the client. User experience experts can conduct special workshops to better form the client's vision of the app's design. At such workshops, brainstorming sessions are held about the functionalities and the nature of their operation in the app. Many times UX designers create a simple lo-fi mock-up of the mobile app screens in real time.
Such a black and white mockup is an excellent basis for further work. When designing a user interface, sometimes several designers may participate, focusing on coming up with a functional hi-fi mockup, as well as a clickable prototype. Such an activity is aimed not only at creating a beautiful user interface, but also at materializing the idea of the application in a graphical release. This allows you to evaluate the idea of the application before it goes to the implementation phase, and thus: save hours of work and money when something goes wrong.
A well-designed application mockup is used by the development team to facilitate the creation of individual components. This is much more efficient when the graphical part of the design is presented in a well-defined framework. This reduces the time needed to create the application, while improving its overall quality.
To create mockups, UX designers use tools such as Figma, Adobe XD or Sketch. When creating lo-fi mockups, such apps can provide ready-made components that further accelerate rapid prototyping in response to changing requirements early in the mobile app development process.
Mobile application design - support questions
When designing the user experience, it's a good idea to ask yourself a few additional questions that will help you formulate the exact intent of the concept. For example:
What are your customers' user experience and user interface needs?
Based on defined requirements and the current market, how are functional priorities determined?
What mobile app design trends are worth considering using research?
What are the technical requirements for UX and UI design?
What competitive solutions should we consider when taking a look at the mobile app market?
The answers to these questions will help you design a user experience and user interface that will attract customers and provide them with an easy and enjoyable experience with your mobile application.
Programming and testing, or a working mobile app
Mobile application implementation is a complex process, consisting of teamwork and systematic implementation of successive systems in a project. Its course is dictated by the choice of technology, which we discuss in another blog post. In addition, the complexity of functional requirements, as well as elements such as database solutions will further transform the application development process.
Mobile application programming
Mobile applications today most often use so-called development platforms (frameworks) to ensure their smooth operation and efficient implementation. The most popular frameworks are React/React Native, Flutter, Xamarin, Kotlin or Swiftic, although this is not an exhaustive list. By using a given framework, an application can be developed for both iOS and Android at the same time. This further increases the accessibility of our mobile application.
A mobile app developer is responsible for creating the code needed to make the app work properly. This means efficient use of various libraries and APIs, as well as the chrakteristic programming language for a given framework (e.g. for React Native it is JavaScript).
A good solution is a native app that runs on a single code base for all platforms. This means that the application makes perfect use of the capabilities of a particular system (iOS or Android), but does not require writing code twice for both platforms.
When implementing mobile applications, it is important to follow good programming and development practices for the sake of the application. It is important to conduct regular tests to ensure correct functionality and to detect possible code errors with a specific function. This will help to avoid longer development times and thus reduce final costs.
Mobile application testing
An important part of the development cycle is mobile application testing. Unit testing is performed by developers and designated testers and involves testing a specific element in the application. This allows for a high degree of accuracy during implementation and to make code corrections on the fly.
Functional tests are already performed by external user testers, and do not require knowledge of the code. They are aimed at verifying proper operation in the more general scope of the application. It's worth paying attention to thoroughly test apps for both iOS and Android, as they may differ in potential bugs. This allows them to be detected quickly and updated with corrected bugs.
Security testing is also equally important, checking modules such as login and registration, and ensuring that potential software vulnerabilities are detected. This is extremely for ensuring a high level of application security, testing user privacy.
User feedback is key to application success
Developing mobile applications is not just the work of the development and design team. Mobile apps, like any software, require getting valuable feedback from end users. This can take place even before the official release of our project, as well as still in the testing stages.
Feedback allows us to detect problems that are difficult for the development studio to grasp. Users checking the application in its real-life use are able to spot bugs that were previously unknown, as well as point out possible improvements to the logic of mobile applications. As a result, we will be able to create an even better application, which will directly translate into its success.
User feedback can be obtained through a special form, which is easily implemented as a feature of the mobile application. Such a request should be analyzed and then transformed (if it is factual and legitimate) into a task for the team, which facilitates the programming of mobile applications.
Another way to get feedback is through reviews in the Google Play store or App Store (for Apple devices). Some of them will point us to valuable comments that can steer us in the right direction when developing the next version of the mobile app.
Publication of the mobile application and its maintenance
During the mobile app development process, we finally get a version of the app that meets the objectives and works just fine. What's next?
The next step is to get our app on the mobile devices of our users. The final step that new apps go through is publishing them in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. In order to publish, certain requirements must be met, which depend on the specific distribution platform. These requirements are designed to ensure optimal performance on the given operating systems.
In the case of the App Store, the app must comply with Apple's guidelines for content, quality and security of apps. On the other hand, in the Google Play store,apps should comply with Google's distribution policy and operate under a specific license. Read more about the guidelines here: Google Play, App Store
The development of a mobile application does not end with the publication. We must remember to keep it working properly on different devices. To this end, it is necessary to carry out frequent updates and detect potential bugs that have so far been hidden.
Part of mobile application support also includes monitoring potential technical problems and providing efficient customer service. Unexpected events can disrupt the app, so it's our job to manage the crisis and offer solutions. This is hugely important for a positive user experience using the app.
Why are monitoring and updates so important?
In order to monitor mobile applications, it is worth using analytical tools such as Google Analytics, which, with the help of an intuitive menu, allow tracking mobile application traffic, user behavior. They run on Google's external server, which facilitates efficient implementation and ensures security.
How to detect errors effectively?
In the case of technical errors, the Crashlytics platform can be used to detect them in real time and prioritize them. With this tool, you can easily locate the incorrect piece of code and save time in the diagnosis process and reduce the time spent on debugging. These are tools that a mobile application developer should use in his work every day.
If problems are detected, it is worthwhile to react quickly and implement fixes to ensure smooth and secure operation on each platform. Mobile apps should ensure that their service is sustained without interruption, which is also an important part of delivering high-quality mobile apps for iOS and Android. Frameworks such as React Native can facilitate simultaneous updates on both platforms in this case.
How do we make our application recognizable?
In mobile app development, the challenge is to promote your project. Even if our solution is straightforwardly brilliant, we still face appropriate marketing efforts. The most important thing is to reach the largest possible group of potential mobile app users.
Mobile apps are quite an attractive product, although depending on the category we may face more or less resistance. For example, it will be much harder to "sell" a food delivery app if there are already many of them operating in the area. On the other hand, it will be easier to show the value of a unique solution for getting around the festival.
Let's remember to build a recognizable brand for our application online. We need to take care of creating a website and running social media. It is worth investing in ads and creating content about our mobile app. Identifying the space in which our target audience is located will further help us target the marketing department's workforce.
How can mobile apps become recognizable?
It's also a good idea to provide easy access via links (your own website will serve for this). This allows you to go directly to the mobile app store on both platforms: Android or iOS. From a marketing point of view, it is a priority that mobile apps are easily accessible and found by potential users. Their flow can, for example, come from search results, links on the site or a message from a friend. The channels in question here are just a seed for action, the possibilities are plentiful, and even the iOS and Android stores themselves allow for some marketing activities.
Remember that the process of publishing and promoting a mobile app is an important step in app management. That's why you should pay attention to the details to ensure easy accessibility and provide a positive user experience. High accessibility ensures that apps can begin to succeed and reach the largest possible pool of end users.
10 tips to make your mobile app a success
At the end of the mobile app development guide, here are 10 tips from our experts that summarize the content presented in the article. Here are 10 tips for creating great mobile apps:
Transform your idea by placing it within a response to a real user problem.
Define the purpose of the mobile app and determine the target audience.
Ensure an in-depth competitive analysis by taking a look at rival mobile apps.
Precisely define the application's functional requirements and budget, and its design will go smoothly.
Ensure good UX design. Conduct a workshop with the client to get a better idea of the design.
Choose a technology that will allow seamless implementation of applications for different platforms.
Take care of rigorous unit and functional testing of the application to ensure its high quality performance.
Take care of your application's security by investigating potential vulnerabilities and patching them on a regular basis.
Use user feedback to your advantage by responding to user needs.
Provide a comprehensive marketing campaign to increase your brand recognition.
We hope you found our knowledge regarding mobile app development useful. Feel free to check out our other blog posts for information on other app development topics.
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