What is Mobile App Development? The processes and activities involved in developing software for mobile devices are numerous. Apps are created for a variety of devices, including smartphones, tablets, wearables, and phones, through mobile app development. Web developers must consider mobile accessibility and ensure their websites look great on mobile devices.
What Should You Know About The Process Before You Start?
Mobile Apps Failing: Why?
Although the mobile app development market is expanding rapidly, it generates tons of revenue for companies and reaches new customers. However, more than 80% of apps fail. How can you maximize your chances of success?
Lack Of Unique Value Proposition
Startups and SMEs often fail to find an original idea for launching apps and copying others. If your app doesn't provide clients with something unique, it will be buried amid thousands of other apps that perform the same thing. We'll walk you through the procedure for creating mobile apps step-by-step.
Bad User Experience
Intechnic's latest survey found that 80% of users will abandon an application after only three attempts if they find it difficult to use. Users have a less satisfying experience with mobile apps due to slow page loads, intuitive navigation, feature accessibility, and a lengthy registration process.
It Is Impossible To Solve The Real Problem Of The User
Many firms are unable to pinpoint the precise nature of the user problem they are trying to solve for their customers. If your app isn't entirely functional and doesn't address the particular issue consumers are having, it won't be successful.
There Is No Clear Strategy For Monetization
Businesses conduct in-depth research to pinpoint the issues that users face. Then they develop an app to address such issues. Yet, they fail to make any money. It's because there isn't a thorough monetization plan. By just developing and releasing an app, you may draw users. However, you won't be able to monetize.
Mobile App Development Guide
The significance and necessity of creating an application are now clear to you. How do you start? How do you make a plan for developing a mobile application? How do you pick the appropriate technology? This is a succinct overview of creating mobile apps.
Strategy, Goals, And Monetization Models For Mobile Apps
Let's start with the technical part of the question. First, identify your Mobile App Development Strategy and objectives. Next, determine the monetization model.
You can build a mobile app in four steps:
1. Define A Clear, Unique Value Proposition
UVP should be easy to understand, straightforward, and brief. What special benefits would your application offer your customers? What issue will it fix?
2. Establish The Goals And Performance Standards
Your company's objectives should be in line with those of the application. You may want to boost client happiness or open up new revenue opportunities. Establishing explicit performance standards and KPIs will also enable you to assess the viability and success of your application. They consist of retention rates, crash reports, and load speed.
3. Establish a User Profile
What are the problems of your target users? What are they looking for in an app, and what are their pain points and needs?
4. Define The Features You Want To Use In The App
Trying to solve too many problems with too little information is not a good idea. The complexity, navigation, and features will overwhelm users and cause them to abandon the tool.
5. Secure Your Data
Several different types of data, including sensitive client data, will be stored and handled by your mobile app. With regards to security, your reputation is in jeopardy. Customer data exposure could have a significant impact on how you secure user and company data.
6. Decide How To Use The Data Generated
The data is now secure and safe. But what do you do with it?How can you make better use of the abundance of information to advance your company? The data can be used to gain insight into the market, identify behavioral patterns, engage the audience, and promote new products.
7. Select The Monetization Model
Monetization refers to turning an asset into a stream of revenue. Your application will fail if the revenue generated is less than the expenses. Your business will be greatly benefited if you acquire new clients worth more than the expenses incurred to acquire them.
A Mobile App Can Be Monetized In A Variety Of Ways:
Advertising
Mobile app developers often offer two options: Customers can either pay a fee to get the app ad-free or download it for free and see ads while they use it. Both options can generate income.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing involves promoting other businesses products or services in return for a commission. It will work out for both of you if you are interested in a brand compatible with your products. You can partner with a company that customizes phone cases if your products include smartphones.
Lead Generation
Lead generation attracts customers through blog posts, surveys, and coupons. Instead of calling cold, you can reach someone who is already interested in your product or is familiar with your brand.
Strong Code
You can sell your code for reuse if it is strong and reusable. If your code is good enough, you may be able to re-skin it to sell to other companies. Imangi profited from Temple Run by selling the game to Disney and re-skinning it.
Transaction Fees
Some companies offer a platform allowing certain transactions, such as Airbnb and Paypal. They collect fees for each transaction and make a profit.
Freemium
Your application can be offered for free, and users can pay extra for additional features. You can offer a free episode of a game and charge users for each subsequent one. You can also offer the whole game for free, but certain additional features will be expensive.
Subscribe
Subscribership is a monetization model SaaS (Software as a Service), most often chosen. This allows you to draw customers and encourage them to use your app for a long time. The features they use will determine how much they pay.
How do you Create Software Requirements Specifications?
Once you have defined your goals and strategies, it is time to define your project's key features and tech stack and create a Software Requirements Specifications (SRS) document. An SRS document can be used to get your stakeholders to understand your application idea quickly. This document contains detailed descriptions of the goals, strategies, and technologies. Before you begin to create the SRS document, drawing a mind map is a good idea. What is mind mapping? How does it affect the success of your SRS documents?
In its simplest form, mind mapping is the visual organization and representation (or visualization) of large quantities of information. To begin, you should hold a brainstorming session to gather the information.
- Use surveys and interviews to identify your target audience.
- The following questions will be asked: Who will use the application? What will they use it for? What are they going to do with the solution?
- To determine which features are most useful for your users, create user stories and develop scenarios.
- Based on user stories results, prioritize features and differentiate between functional and nonfunctional features.
- Make an SRS template and note the features in each section.
You should also list the features and determine each function's cost, time, scope, and costs. If you have strict deadlines, this will allow your mobile app developers to prioritize features and remove non-essential ones.
How Do You Create An Srs Document That Is Comprehensive?
- Purpose: This is where you describe the purpose of your product.
- The type of application will determine the business context. It should also include your top priorities.
- Scope refers to the product's competitive advantages, unique features, or main goals.
- The user characteristics are used to identify your target audience and analyze their expectations and needs.
The second section is called the general system description. The template will give you a detailed description of each section. Briefly describe whether the application is new or existing. Also, identify its primary interfaces. Next, discuss the various states and modes of the system and describe dependencies and assumptions.
The third section covers the system's limitations, capabilities, and conditions. This section focuses on the system's technical requirements, such as its database, frontend, and backend technology, integrations with third-party systems, and cross-platform availability and scalability options.
The fourth section covers the system interfaces. This is where you will explain the dependencies among system components. Be sure to explain all four types of interfaces: hardware, software, and communications.
The "Requirements traceability matrix" (RTM) is the fifth section of the SRS document. It's there to ensure that all requirements are tested and to facilitate the development process. RTM is essential because it links requirements to tests and ensures a test case covers each requirement. The rest of the SRS is self-explanatory.
How To Select The Right Tech Partner For Your Mobile App Development
Consider collaborating with a technical partner if your team lacks the necessary skills and knowledge for iOS or Android app development. How do you find the right mobile app company to meet your needs? How do you get an app company that can quickly understand your needs and deliver the best results?
Start with you and know exactly what you want. Identify the application's goals and expectations. Next, select the platform for which you are building it and make a list.
Next, create a list of questions to assess the company's fit for your business culture and its level of experience:
- We would love to hear about your experiences in creating similar applications.
- Please describe your development process.
- What are your top tips for building apps?
- Are you able to provide ongoing support and maintenance after the launch?
- Are you able to provide detailed documentation regarding the application?
- What testing methods do you usually use?
- How will communication look during development and after launch?
Do your research thoroughly and find out as much information as you can about the agency that develops mobile apps:
- Check out their website to learn more about their cases. You can then download the apps they've created and test them. If this is not possible, gather user feedback via Google Play or App Store.
- Also, find out their track record in converting app users into revenue. Is your custom app development company able to understand the business purpose of the application? App development companies need to be well-versed in common monetization strategies to consider these during the development process.
- Check their portfolio to see the type of business app they are interested in. An iOS or Android & ios app agency might not be familiar with the details of your industry if they have never worked with it.
- Next, please find out about the development practices of app-making companies: Check their process documentation, ask which technologies they use, and ensure they adhere to coding standards.
Mobile App Development Process
Let's break down the complex mobile app development process into seven main steps. How do you create a mobile application?
Research
This is the first step to developing an application idea and then refining it into a more concrete one. This stage includes market analysis, demographics research, and identifying behavior patterns.
Wireframing
Wireframing, a blueprint for an application, will help you understand how it looks and functions.
Prototyping
This is the main purpose of creating a quick prototype that doesn't waste too much time or resources. This is the first draft of your application. It will allow you to gather user feedback and evaluate the idea's feasibility.
UX/UI Design
UX or UI design refers to the user side. To have more options, you can create various layouts, buttons, and color themes. This will increase your chances of creating a unique design.
Develop
Top Mobile App Development Company use agile methodology to develop apps. This breaks down the process into smaller, more manageable stages. These are known as sprints. They involve designing, developing, and usability testing.
Test
It is more costly to fix a bug the further you are in the process. To avoid delays and unnecessary costs, beginning testing as soon as possible is important. The most common testing cases include usability, security, and compatibility.
Deployment
Although this is the final stage of your work, it does not mean you are done. After the official release, you must gather user feedback and implement new features or remove certain functionalities.
What Is The Cost Of Developing A Mobile App For Your Business?
There is no one right answer, as there are many factors. How great the app is, how well it is planned, how many bugs you need to fix, and the length of the project are all factors that will impact the overall cost. All of these factors will affect the cost of developing mobile applications.
What is the average Mobile App Development Cost? Let's have a closer look at how much it costs to develop favorite apps:
WhatsApp's core features include contact registration, notifications, chats, and geolocation. These features take between 800 and 900 hours to create. The remaining tasks, like UX/UI design and project management, will take 400 to 500 additional hours. The application will therefore be completed in between 1,200 and 1,400 hours. The cost of an hour varies depending on where you live: the US rate is $120, the UK $60, and in Eastern Europe, $35 to $45. App design and development in the US can be expensive, between $144,000 to $168,000, and in Eastern Europe costs only $42,000 to $63,000.
Uber
What if you wish to create an Uber-like app? These client-side functions include registration, booking, payments, and card information. They also track, notify, and record your ride history. The entire application takes approximately 500 hours. You can also count driver-side features such as a reply to requests or booking history - 300hrs - and an admin dashboard with UX/UI design - 250 hrs. The Uber-like app will take 1,050 hours to create and cost $126,000 in the US. It will cost $36,750 to $47.250 in Eastern Europe.
How Can You Make Custom App Development More Efficient?
Outsourcing
As we have seen, the cost comparison is already done. This huge discrepancy is why there has been a rise in outsourcing to Asia and Eastern Europe. These countries have a lower cost of living, making developing apps more affordable. Outsourcing saves you money and allows you to access a wider range of talent. You can also delegate the entire mobile app development process to an agency specializing in Android and iOS app development. This allows you to focus on your business goals.
MVP
Your success depends on your proof of concept, prototyping, and, most importantly, MVP. MVP reduces anxiety and makes app design much more efficient. Top app developers won't get distracted by unnecessary features. They will only focus on the essentials to launch MVPs. You also have a better chance of finding and fixing bugs quickly by releasing smaller products every cycle.
This means you will not have any chance of competing in this market if your ideas aren't tested for technical feasibility, get first user feedback, and learn from your mistakes.
Security Testing
Cyberattacks can easily target mobile apps. Do not assume that your app is invulnerable. Mobile app security tools (MAST) are available to help you protect your app from the moment it is developed until it goes live. DataDomes has a detailed list of mobile app builder security tools you can consider. They're easy to install and don't disrupt the architecture.
As part of your customer's journey with you, offer real-time protection. Avoid stalling, bugging, malware, and theft of information. Your app should offer a safer and better user experience.
How Quickly Is the App Development Market Expanding?
What is the industry's growth outlook for the method of app development? You must first understand each segment to understand the market's growth rate. Let's look at growth reports based on various aspects of the mobile app development industry to understand the market better.
Based upon Downloads
According to Statista's reports, app downloads have been steadily increasing year after year. The 2016 count was approximately 140.7 billion, but it will grow to 230 billion by 2021. This is a 63% increase over the past four to five years. This shows that apps are in high demand and that the industry must meet this demand.
Based Upon Revenue
According to the report, the app market will grow at a CAGR of 13.4% between 2022-2030 and reach an estimated USD 565.40 million by 2030. Mobile apps will generate over 613 billion U.S. Dollars in 2025, and mobile games will contribute the most to all categories of app revenue.
According to some studies, app revenue from stores is expected to reach around USD 80 billion by 2020. This revenue was split between non-gaming and gaming apps. Gaming apps are the most lucrative; if the trends continue, the numbers will only grow over the next few years.
Based Upon O.S. (Operating Systems)
According to Statista's global survey of software developers, Android was the most popular platform for development teams in 2023. 87% of respondents preferred Android development. The Apple iOS system was second in software development, with 60% of respondents indicating it.
Android retained its position in the January 2022 study with close to 70% share. iOS accounted for approximately 25% of the mobile operating systems market.
Notable is the fact that Google Play Store has the largest marketplace and the most apps, while Apple App Store has the highest revenue. This means that iOS apps generate more revenue than Android apps, while Android apps are much more popular in their usage.
Apple Store was responsible for over 62% of global app-based revenue in 2021. Statista reports that the gross app revenue generated by the Google Play Store in the first quarter of 2022 was close to USD 11 billion. On the contrary, Apple App Store generated USD1.8 billion in consumer spending for in-app purchases and subscriptions.
Based Upon Location
The largest app development markets are the U.S., China, and Japan. North America holds a significant share of the app development market, accounting for 31.83% of revenue share in 2021.
On the other hand, APAC (Asia Pacific) has some of the most rapidly growing app development markets in the world. It will experience the fastest growth rate, 46%, compared to other regions. China and India are two of the most important mobile app markets.
Conclusion
Your work isn't done once the application has been released. Keep track of key input metrics such as funnel analytics, social media sharing, user behavior, and demographics. This data will allow you to evaluate the performance of your application and make adjustments to it to meet user needs better.
The second reason is that the mobile app market is extremely competitive. This is why innovation is so important. Developing new features and functionalities and testing them before implementing them is essential. It would help if you also collected feedback from users. Market saturation and the changing guidelines for platforms make this a constant process. Market your application to reach the right audience and help you achieve your business goals. Your product will be lost in the sea of other applications.
Cyber Infrastructure Inc., a mobile app development company, has years of experience in both Android and iOS phone application development. We have extensive experience in enterprise mobile app development. We know the best technologies to help you achieve your business goals. We'll guide you through the discovery phase, helping to build or update an existing application.
We also offer staff augmentation. Our Mobile App Developers are the best in the industry and can resolve any technical problems. We can provide mobile app developers to hire to augment your team for the duration of the project.
