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Unsurprisingly, mobile apps are expected to bring in $233 billion in revenue by 2026. Each Apple App and Google Play store has over 1.5 million apps that meet every consumer's needs. Developing a mobile app, even for iPhone app development services, is challenging. It's easy for companies to look into mobile app development because of these promising forecasts. Many businesses are interested in starting the next TikTok and Zoom.
This means companies should focus on creating consumer-facing projects and the revenue they can bring in. Others want to improve internal processes and invest in mobile enterprise solutions to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. No matter your company's situation, it is crucial to understand the process of creating a mobile app. We're sharing with you today a mobile app creation guide that we have developed based on our experiences. Let's get going.
7 Steps to App Development
Mobile app development is a process that can vary from one person to another. These seven steps will likely be the most important. Before you begin, let's discuss the seven stages of mobile app development and some considerations.
Step 1: Strategy Development
Unsurprisingly, the first step in app development involves defining the strategy. This is the time to think carefully about your future app, its goals, capabilities, and business model.
Identify your Objectives
Whether you are building an enterprise or consumer app, it is essential to identify its primary goals. The following questions will help you identify your primary objectives.
- What problem can my application solve?
- Who are its intended users?
- What are the results you want your app to achieve?
These questions may be optional as you already know what your app should look like. It's essential to keep track of the critical objectives so that you can refer back to them in the future.
Research Competitors
Next, strategy planning involves looking at your competitors. Is there a similar app on the market? What is their performance? Are they getting positive reviews and many installs? You can avoid making mistakes in your industry by researching the competition. You'll also be able to get a better understanding of the mobile app landscape and how to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
Choose a Platform
During the strategy development phase, you must choose the platform for which your tool is being built. Is it a custom Android solution or a customized Android one? Is an iOS app better? It could be a cross-platform app that you need.
We will discuss the different options available in detail later. Still, it is essential to start thinking about this aspect of the process.
Choose Monetization Method
The best monetization method for a consumer application is not applicable. You want to make money directly from your investment in this instance, but you have many options.
- In-app advertising
- In-app purchases
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- Affiliate marketing
- Paid apps
The type of application you are making and your goals will determine the monetization method. If you are developing a dating app, there are better ideas than charging for downloads. Instead, you will likely opt for subscriptions and in-app purchases.
You can leverage in-app ads, subscriptions, and purchases if you build a game application. Everything depends on what your application is used for. It's important to mention that subscription-based monetization is gaining widespread acceptance.
Step 2: Analysis, Planning
Analyzing and planning is the second step. You have an idea, a plan, and a general direction. This is the time to be practical, identify all details, and get started on the design and development phases.
Functional and Non-functional Requirements
It would be best if you were first specific about the actions you want your mobile application to perform. You might need the app to manage credit cards, create accounts, make payments and generate statements.
Your functional requirements document will list the tasks your software must perform. This will give you a better idea of the features that need to be built. You will need to consider the non-functional requirements for the software. These are important because they impact the performance of your software and the user experience.
Product Roadmap
Next, you need to define your app's roadmap. This is similar to planning for the future and creating a detailed plan on how you will reach the goals you have set. You want your Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) to succeed and not fail on the day they are released. While creating your product roadmap, you list all the functions your app should be capable of. Next, you rank the most critical functions and decide which features should be added later.
Technology Stack
The final part of the analysis/planning phase is identifying the skills required for your mobile project. Experienced iOS developers are required if you want to build an iOS app. You will need to be proficient in technology like Xamarin and Titanium if you are looking to develop a cross-platform application. Before you move on, make sure to understand the technology stack.
Step 3: UX/UI Design
To guarantee customers get the best experience, app design is essential. Users will quickly abandon your app if it is professional or well-designed. Your UI/UX design must be user-friendly, intuitive, engaging, and seamless. We'll be looking at each design area in more detail.
Information Architecture and Workflows
The first step in the app design process involves creating rules that form part of the information architecture of your app. Determining what data you need, how it will display, and how users interact is essential. Based on the above, workflow diagrams can be created to help you track all user interactions. They will allow you to see the implementation of your app's navigation.
Wireframes
Next, business analysts create wireframes (digital sketches). These are conceptual designs that display the functionality of the app. The user experience and aesthetics of the app are frequently the emphases of wireframes. This ensures that the final application is easy to use and intuitive.
Style Guides
Style guides allow you to find your company branding within one document easily. The following design aspects of your app are usually found in style guides:
- Fonts
- Colour scheme
- Instructions for positioning and spacing
- Buttons
- Widgets
- Other relevant design elements
Style guides will aid your app's design strategy. These style guides help to maintain consistency in your app's design and ensure that it looks and feels harmonious.
Mockups
Once you have created your app style guides, it is time to start creating mockups. These are your final app visuals. They are made by applying the style guidelines to the wireframes. This stage is completed. The most important thing to do is ensure consistency throughout the app.
Prototypes
The final step in the UI/UX design process involves the creation of prototypes. You can simulate the user experience and the entire app's workflow with prototyping. This gives you a sense of how the app will look once finished. Although this stage can be tedious, pay attention to it. A prototype is a valuable tool to help you identify any design or functionality issues you want to correct.
Step 4: App Development
After completing the design phase, it's time to move on to the next stage of your mobile app development. It typically consists of two major parts: the backend and the front end.
Frontend Development
The process is repeated to create the app's interface. When designing and developing a mobile app's front end, there are many things that a developer must consider. MVP0020 of the product is also included in this. This MVP will help you understand your product's requirements from the customer's perspective. According to the condition and development, the required items are prioritized. Note down any changes that could be made to the app later.
This allows you to have a clear vision of the goal and ensures that the core functionality of your app is developed successfully. It is meant to be a simple process that necessitates little learning. It must also be in sync with the backend for easy information flow.
Backend Development
This is the most essential part of all the steps required to create an app. Your app will be more powerful if your backend is robust. The backend must be designed and built to allow scalability and ease of management, even after the app launches. The backend is just as crucial for the app's performance as for its UI/UX.
Writing code in the backend involves a lot of consideration for language, wireframes, APIs, and other factors. The natural development phase is where the team implements styles and functionality. The designer creates the screens that will be used in your mobile application. The testing phase follows the completion of the development.
Platform-specific: These apps are made exclusively for each platform. This means the code can't be reused between iOS and Android but is optimized for each platform. This is a more expensive approach but can provide faster and more responsiveness.
Cross-platform: This approach has two main advantages: cost-effectiveness and code reusability.
Hybrid apps: These solutions combine platform-specific and web application elements. These solutions allow mobile app developers to create the application code using standard web technologies and execute it in a native shell. These are great for mobile developers who want their app to work on multiple platforms but need more time to create a cross-platform solution.
Step 5: Mobile App Testing
After app development is complete, it's time for testing. You want to ensure that the solution you have developed is secure, stable, and free from bugs. Before deploying your app, five testing methods should be used to ensure the best quality.
Functionality: Functionality is where you verify the functionality of your application.
Performance: Performance testing will require you to focus on your app's responsiveness and how it handles increased concurrent users.
Security: Data protection is essential when building enterprise solutions such as mobile healthcare or insurance apps operating within highly regulated industries.
Consumer apps should also inspire confidence in users. Before you move on to the next testing step, ensure your app meets all security standards. Also, ensure that your system isn't vulnerable to hackers.
Platform and Device: Your application must be compatible with new mobile devices released yearly. It must be tested on different devices and simulators.
Extended Review: It's a good idea for your app to be tested with actual users before you go ahead and deploy it. It doesn't matter if you organize a focus group or launch your app beta-style; getting as much feedback as possible is essential.
Step 6: Deployment
Before launching your app, you must adhere to several distribution methods based on the platform for which it was designed. It is straightforward to implement a mobile application deployment strategy. Submit your application via Apple's App Store or Google's Play Store or opt for private distribution. You must complete several forms before either store can review your application.
The App Store has stricter guidelines regarding the apps it allows in its marketplace. If your iOS-based application needs to be up to the mark, it could cause problems. If you are interested in private distribution, check out Apple's Developer Enterprise Program or Android's Alternative Distributions to see how to go about it.
Step 7: Performance and Support Monitoring
After your app has been released and users have started downloading it, it's time for you to start monitoring performance.
These are some of the most important KPIs that you should be paying attention to:
- App downloads
- Active users
- Average visit time
- Retention
- Churn
- Conversions
- Customer lifetime value
- Ratings
- Review
Remember bugs, crashes, customer requests, and app performance. You'll be able to refine your solution over time. Maintenance after app launch is an activity that requires equal effort and time as actual development. Testing takes time. The code review phase of the development phase includes complete quality assurance (QA) and testing.
This helps ensure the app is secure, stable, usable, and easy to use. It also prevents any major bugs from being left for the dedicated team. To ensure that the app passes QA, creating test cases covering all testing aspects is necessary. The launching phase begins after the QA has been completed.
Two methods can be used to deploy an app. The first is to launch your web server (API) into a scalable production environment. The second involves app launch to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. This is not the end of the process. The application can still be upgraded and maintained as needed.
You, as a business, will need to make sure millions of users like your app. You can only guarantee that millions of users love your app if you monitor how they react to it. It's important to remember that your app is only the beginning of the work. It's just the beginning. Mobile apps must be updated regularly to stay current with operating system changes and review guidelines and performance standards. You're just investing in a solution that will not last long.
If you want your application worthwhile, consider that it will require ongoing maintenance. It is up to you to decide if you want to support it yourself or enlist the assistance of an outside company. A software development company will offer support services after the launch of your mobile project if you have chosen to work with them. This will take the hassle out of maintaining your mobile project.
Read More: 7 Tips For Effective Mobile App Development
Quick Overview of Different Types of Apps
App development is very different today. In the past, native development could only be done using low-level code. If you wanted to create an iOS App for the Apple App Store and an Android App for Google Play Store, you had to start from scratch.
The barrier to entry into app development is lower today. Integrating app development languages, platforms, and tools is more advanced. Javascript code can be used across all platforms. It is now much easier to create native apps for existing businesses, entrepreneurs, and e-commerce firms.
Here is a quick overview of different types of applications and what makes them unique for development.
Native Mobile Applications
Native apps can be installed directly onto a mobile phone. These apps are usually installed via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Native apps can generally work without an internet connection and leverage the existing features on the device. To develop a native application, you must write code specific to the device's operating system.
Cross-Platform Native Mobile Applications
The same code can be used on all platforms with a cross-platform application. You can create your code only once and work natively for iOS and Android. There is little difference in the user experience between native and cross-platform apps. Cross-platform native apps are more affordable for developers and reduce development time.
Hybrid Mobile Applications
Although they're not the same, hybrid and cross-platform apps are often used interchangeably. Hybrid apps are similar to cross-platform in that they can be created once and run on both platforms.
Hybrid development is more user-friendly than cross-platform. Creating cross-platform apps is highly technical and requires app development knowledge. Mixed app development requires less technical expertise and can be done with no-code app builders or basic web development skills.
Progressive Web Application (PWA)
PWAs are web-based rather than natively installed applications on the user's device. PWAs are now so similar to native apps that they look and feel alike. Users can receive push notifications via their web browser. PWAs are more restricted in their ability to use native features of a device.
Essential Considerations Before You Start the App Development Process
It would be best to start your own mobile business now that you are familiar with the app development process. Before you set aside money and start your journey to software development, here are some things you should consider.
Building A Mobile App Is Strategic
Consider whether your business truly needs a mobile application. Do you see it as the next step in your digital strategy? Are there other pressing IT projects you should address first? It takes a lot of work to create your mobile app. Even though you can build a quality app on a budget, there are more cost-effective options.
Development of Enterprise-Facing Apps Versus Consumer-Facing Apps: What Are The Implications?
Although the process of developing enterprise and consumer applications will be the same, some strategic questions will differ depending on the end users. For example, when building a tool that the world can use, you must think more about its uniqueness and commercial purpose.
Are your ideas unique enough to warrant this investment? However, employees will be the end-users, and you need to think about how to incorporate their opinions and preferences into the mobile application. You want the application to be accepted by your employees.
You Have The Choice Of Outsourcing Or In-House Development
The final decision is to build your mobile app in-house or outsource it to a partner. It will depend on whether your IT department is experienced and able to manage a mobile app project. Consider hiring outside vendors to help you achieve your goals and create a unique application for your company.
What Is The Development Time For An App?
A lightweight app with basic functionality can be developed in at least 2 to 3 months. This is usually true for PoC projects and ready-to-go MVP projects. Developing feature-rich apps that integrate with multiple third-party services (think Deliveroo or Airbnb) can take up to one year.
Several factors impact the time and number of steps required to develop an app.
- Tech Stack and Approach: It takes much longer to develop a mobile app for Android and iOS using native toolsets than a cross-platform development kit (React Native, Flash). There may be better options than cross-platform for high-load apps.
- Functionality: The most critical factor in determining the project roadmap is the number and complexity of features.
- Integrations: Integrations can save time and prolong the development cycle depending on the project goals. API-driven integrations often reduce the time and effort required to develop custom functionality. We also use API-driven interfaces to make use of existing resources. However, increasing numbers of integrations take more time to set up, test, and support.
Conclusion
The many mobile app development steps you must complete are impossible. Despite the many efforts and considerations, your company should consider this. Cyber Infrastructure is here to assist you, whether you are looking for mobile app development for internal purposes or consumers.
Our team has extensive experience creating solutions that solve corporate problems and provide state-of-the-art experiences for end-users. If you are interested in discussing your next mobile initiative, don't hesitate. We will respond quickly to your questions and answer all of your queries.
