In this age of technological advancements, if you are running a business or starting a new one, you must consider having a mobile app to boost your business’s growth. However, coming up with a unique app idea, no matter what goals you are trying to achieve with it, is not enough anymore, as the app market is becoming increasingly competitive.
According to Grand View Research, the global mobile application market size was valued at USD 154.05 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.5% from 2020 to 2027. This continued growth means that it will become more challenging to stand out. Apart from that, the investment in app development is substantial, both considering your time and budget.
Diving into the mobile app development stage unprepared can result in costly, frustrating, and brand-damaging mistakes. To help you avoid such errors, below are some tips that you should consider before developing an app.
Conduct initial market research and empirical expirements
Before developing an app, most people will recommend conducting deep market research to understand the current market. However, deep research is unnecessary and may waste your time and effort. Instead, do some initial market research quickly followed by empirical experiments, where you test your proof of concepts (POCs) on a small scale. You can also use split cases and test different unique selling points (USPs) and check where more users would sign up.
Once you have completed this research, you will have all the information you need to clearly define your unique take on the problem you are solving. There are millions of mobile apps in the market, and this is your opportunity to ensure yours stands out.
Decide whether you’ll develop a native, web, or cross-platform app
Native apps are exclusively developed for a single platform using native-to-the-operating-system language. It acquires all of the operating system’s features and the advantages of the app. On the other hand, web apps are best for solutions that don’t necessarily require access to the device’s native abilities. Cross-platform apps are the best solution for low-cost custom apps with secure and easy-to-maintain features.
To help you decide, below is a table differentiating the three app types:
| Native | Web | Cross-platform | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Technology
|
iOS: Objective-C / Swift Android: Java / Kotlin |
Coded in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, platform-agnostic |
React Native / Flutter / Kotlin Multiplatform |
|
Performance |
Highest. Native apps have the full capability to access the device’s features and APIs |
Limited. They run through the browser and don’t have full access to the device’s functionalities |
Close to native. A modern cross-platform solution such as Flutter is able to utilize native SDK |
|
Cost |
Most expensive. Separate code base per platform. |
Significantly cheaper than native due to a single code base. |
Significantly cheaper than native due to shared codebase. |
Create your business model
According to a research by Business of Apps, an application with a set of must-have features starts from US$120,000. You should have a business model in place to recoup the cost of developing your app. A business model will also be your guide that will turn your app ideas into action. You should start with visualizing the project and formulating the key concepts that will provide the basis for your business. Think of it as the roadmap of your app development journey. From its budget, monetization options for the app to your marketing strategy, you must have a business model ready to make your application successful.
Know your target audience
Defining your target audience is one of the essential steps you should take before developing an app, as the audience plays an integral part of your app. You should try to answer questions such as who will be using this app and how it will help them. If your app can meet your target audience’s expectations, it will likely increase popularity and success.
Be open to change during the development process.
App development should be an ongoing process. Along the way, you may encounter several conundra that may lead to changes in your original plan. Most of these changes are incremental but be ready and open as there may be some adjustments and modifications that need to be made during the app development journey. For example, the popular messaging platform, Slack, was first developed as an online game called Glitch. The company then took the customized communication platform the team used to build Glitch and transformed it into the business communication tool we know of today.
Conclusion
There is no sure-shot success way of anything you do in this entire world, but these tips can help make the app development process as seamless as possible. Remember, the success of your app doesn’t only depend on one thing; it is an ongoing process, and there will always be areas for improvement even after you have launched your app.
Do you have a killer app idea? White Cloak Technologies has executed various killer app ideas and yours could be the next. Contact us today and let us know how we can help you achieve the mobile app of your dreams.
You can also check out Mobile App Marketing Agencies here.
