[vc_row][vc_column][blog_single_full_content]Ideas are many but only a few are executed and very limited were successful. We always hear all the motivating quotes inspiring us to try out new ideas or teaching us failure leads to success and many more. But, let’s face it, it’s difficult to believe in your own mobile app development idea and actually think it is going to be the next big thing. This will be even more difficult if you have tried once and failed.
Well, you might have made some mistakes and learned from them. If you haven’t, we can help you out here. All you need to do before bringing your idea into execution is research. Here is a detailed guide for a smooth app development project. Let’s get started already.
1) Clear Your Head
An app without aim is like a body without a soul. You want to develop an app and want to make money from it. You know this much. But, is this enough? Zomato is a successful app and you want a Zomato clone app development. Is this enough?
Before you reach out to the professionals and consult about your idea, there are some questions you need to ask yourself to clear your head what exactly you are aiming for with your app.
- Why do you want to develop a mobile app?
- Is your app idea solving any problem of users?
- Whether you want to develop an Android app or an iOS app or both?
- What is your budget for app development?
- Have you reserved some money to keep the app running till it starts generating revenue?
- Who are the target audience for your app and why?
- Who are your competitors?
- Do you want to hire a company or a freelancer for your project?
Even if you don’t ask these questions yourself, at a later stage whatever company you approach will definitely ask you the same. When you answer all these and you get satisfaction with your answers only then move ahead to the next step.
2) Create A Roadmap
This is where your idea takes baby steps to become an actual project. When you have figured what you expect from your mobile app, it’s easier to create a plan to achieve your agenda. In this step, you can bifurcate your idea into achievable milestones.
You can start by looking for a mobile app design and development company to hire. Also, decide the resources you actually need. Say, for example, you need an Android developer, iOS developer, tester, and designer at least.
Another thing you need to plan is whether you want to opt for a full-fledged app or an MVP (minimum viable product) model. If you are looking for a feature-filled app, choose the features you want.
On the contrary, if you want an MVP, decide what features are actually needed to get your mobile app started. You can also plan update with features you want to launch if the first version becomes successful.
Also, have you decided on your app name? We have heard “What’s there in the name”. But, there’s a lot in the name when you are launching your dream app. You need to proper research about the app name whether the domain name is available or not, is it too costly or in your budget. Also, check the app store if there are similar names already existing. If so, you will need to think of some other name. A copy name is not going to work.
So, here’s what you need to do at this stage:
- Find your app name.
- Select the features
- Search for your team
- Choose the hiring model
- Make a plan to market your app.
- Plan how to revenue generation from your app.
3) Mobile UI Design
A mobile app design goes through various stages before it goes into integration. The purpose of app design is to provide a flawless experience with a wow look. The success of mobile applications highly depends on how nicely users are adapting to your app and its features. While user interface works to make your app look beautiful and make your users fall in love at the very first sight.
The user experience on the contrary works to keep the users permanently in love and not just leave after first sight. Both works hand in hand to make your app a success. This makes hiring mobile app designers a highly important task. Designers will do their job but you will have to something from your end as well.
- Information Architecture
The basic step of the designing process is to figure out the data to display on your app. Decide what kind of data will your app be fetching, the interaction of users with a mobile app and the user’s journey within the app.
Having rough sketches of the flow and how a user will interact with the app would be of great use to understand and progress.
- Wireframe
Designers sketch out the first draft of their idea. A wireframe is a digital version of the sketch. A wireframe is a rough visual representation of what your app will look like and how it will function. The core intention of a wireframe is to show you how the app will look and work from the user’s end. At this stage, colors and styles are not given high importance.
So, if your designing partner shares a wireframe with you, check the user experience and not the color and look. It is a quick and efficient method to know the layout and make a judgment about whether it is working for you or not. You can make any changes at an early stage saving time, resources and cost.
- Style Guide
It is one of the greatest parts of the app design strategy. Deciding the style guide in advance helps to improve the productivity of the entire team involved in the mobile app development process. They are basically the live proof of design from branding to navigation. Here’s what to decide in your style guide.
1) What will be the color scheme of your app?
2) How do you want your brand to reflect in your app?
3) What will be the font family of your app?
Deciding these things will maintain consistency in your application.
- Mockups
These are basically high-fidelity designs considered as the final design for the app. At this stage, the wireframe is combined with a style guide to let you know how it will actually look. This is the perfect stage to modify the design, change the flow of the app if you wish, modify the information architecture, or aesthetics.
- Prototype
The mockup is to show the apps look and functionality in a static manner. A prototype is a clickable version of your mockup. It is very useful to judge the app workflow and user experience expected from the final product. Creating a prototype is time-consuming work but the result is worth the time.
The best part about prototyper is that you can test your product at a very early stage and check the functionality of the app. Several mobile phone app development companies prefer to prototype the app at the wireframing stage only when they are unsure about the app functionality and needs testing at an early stage.
4) Develop it Right
Planning and designing are important but everything is in vain without a good development. There are three core factors to decide while developing an app.
- Back-end
Back-end basically includes database and server-side objects needed for supporting your mobile app functions. If you already have a back-end, it will need some modification to support your current app.
- API
API stands for an application programming interface. It can transmit information between the mobile application and the server.
- Front-end
While back-end and API have nothing to do with users, the front end is all that users will use. All the interactive actions that user uses needs API and back-end to manage the data. If you intend to develop an app that can work in offline mode, the app will need local data storage.
You can pick any programming language and database for your back-end. If you are choosing native development, you can pick java or Kotlin language for developing Android apps. For iOS app development, you can use Swift or objective-C programming language.
If you are choosing cross-platform app development, React native is a favorable platform. Choose the best platform, language, and technology stack best suitable for your project requirements.
5) Test it Thorough
However good the mobile app development was, there is every possibility of bugs in it. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to ignore testing at the end of the project. Launching an app with bugs to your users is a big No No. All of your efforts will be no good if yours leave disappointed. Hire a quality assurance team to check the front-end and back-end functionality, look for as many errors as they can, and solve it before it hits the app store.
Here are types of testing you should consider for your mobile app:
- Manual testing
- Performance testing
- Automated testing
- Compatibility testing
- Security testing
- Functional testing
- User experience testing
They will check whether your app installs properly, loading speed is not high, and works well multiple devices of all types and all sizes. It also checks the user can login easily, doesn’t take too much space and drain more battery, and functions smoothly under network fluctuations.
6) Launch it Like A Pro
The first thing you need to launch your mobile app on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store is a Developers Account. Once, you get a developers account, here are some other things you need to work on to launch your mobile application.
- Title of your app
- App description
- Category of app
- Keywords for your app
- Launch icon of the app
- Screenshot of app store
For Android apps, there is no review process and it will be available for the users to download after a few hours of app submission.
It is not the same with iPhone app development. After the app submission, the app goes under review. The review might take days or weeks based on the app quality and how well were the Apple guidelines followed. Apple can reject the app if it is not in accordance with their guidelines. If they need the user to login then you need to create a test user account as well. Make sure the mobile app developer you hire takes full responsibility for making the app live in the stores and not just till the development.
7) Support and Maintenance
Once the app goes live in the app stores, there is a lot to do. Keep a close track of your app with the help of mobile analytics platforms and KPIs (key performance indicators). These will help you monitor your app and measure its performance and success stats.
Ask the users to share their feedback about the app. Surely, not every review will be good. Work on the bad reviews and make changes in the app accordingly. Minor changes, fixing bugs if any, and patching the app constantly will work a miracle in keeping the users engaged to your app.
8) Updates
Mobile apps are never a one-time thing. If your application becomes a success, you can not sit back, relax and enjoy the fruit of your hard work. It is a continuous process. The digital world keeps on changing quickly. Every other day, there are some or other technological advancements to cope with. It’s important to keep up the pace and stay tuned with the trends and adapt them in a timely manner. The app needs to update regularly with UI changes or needs the integration of new features to be competitive.
Final Words
The entire process is before you covering every minute detail. Do you have any questions relating to your mobile app? Want to consult a professional mobile application development to discuss your idea? Contact 360 Degree Technosoft and get going with your idea.[/blog_single_full_content][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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