A Brief Guide to APP Development

App development refers to the planning, building and development of an app. It is a very competitive arena, so every stage of the process is extremely important, to get it right.

If you look at anyone’s smartphone nowadays, you will find all manner of apps, for pretty much anything.

App, stands for software application and mostly refers to mobile apps. These are designed to run on devices such as smartphones, iPads and other tablets. For the purposes of this blog, we will focus mainly on mobile apps. Although other types exist, such as desktop apps and web apps.

Desktop apps are those apps, which are designed for computers and laptops. Web apps run from a browser, rather than directly on the device.

First Off, why Develop an App?

Before we go into details of APP Development, we will analyse why one should develop an APP. For a start, pretty much everyone nowadays does everything on their smartphone. I could give you lots of stats, starting with the fact that there are 1.96 million apps on the Apple App Store available to download. As well as 2.87 million on the Google Play Store. A staggering 49% of people open an app more than 11 times a day. Basically we expect to be able to do whatever we need to do, on the move. But the downside to this, is that there’s an enormous amount of competition out there.

However, before you invest in an app and app development, make sure it is really necessary for your business and offering. Simply replicating your mobile website on an app is probably a waste of money. Not all businesses’ offering or processes are adaptable for an app. An app should add value and make life easier. It should also provide functionality beyond that of a mobile website. Is there a particular action, which your customers (or employees) need to carry out, which would be facilitated on an app? If your customers are just looking for information, then a mobile website will usually suffice. Don’t go down the app route, just because you think everyone else is doing it.

When deciding whether or not you need an app, you should consider your business plan. Do you have a clearly defined strategy and will an app help to achieve your business goals? If yes, then you’re ready to begin the app development process. Every element of which, is important, to ensure your chance of success.

Research

Anyone who reads our blogs, knows that we are big on research and testing. With so many apps on the market, this step is crucial. A full understanding of your market and you customers will help you to make considered decisions regarding your app development.

As we have already mentioned before, a good place to start is with your business plan. How can an app help to fulfil your business plan? Once you have decided that an app would be of benefit to your business, it is time to come up with your mobile app strategy. In other words, how are you going to turn your users’ requirements into a useful and functioning app?

Customer Persona

In order to create the best possible app for your users it is very important you know your customer personas inside out. A customer persona will include basic demographic details as well as customers’ likes and dislikes.It will also help to consider information such as where they are likely to look for information online. This will help you to understand their wants and needs. And help to ensure you create the best possible app and user experience for your customers.

Competitor Analysis

It is always a good idea to carry out a comprehensive competitor analysis before embarking on your own journey. As we have already mentioned, the app market is very crowded and it will be invaluable to understand what is already out there. Do you have something unique to offer your clients, so you can stand out and differentiate yourself? How are your competitors monetising their apps? Check out what they are doing well and where they need improving.

Technical Considerations

When working with app developers, it is a good idea to determine early on in the development, which platforms your app needs to work on. These considerations can greatly influence the cost and it usually helps to have a handle on this from the outset. A developer will be able to advise you the best way to go. However, in order to do this he will need some advice from you on your requirements as well as an understanding of your user.

For example, do you need to develop your app for both iOS and Android devices? Some apps can be preinstalled on a device. Or they can be downloadable from an App Store such as Apple or Google Play. It is also possible to build native apps or hybrid apps, which work on both types of devices and this is helpful for consistency. The majority of people in the UK work on Android devices and this may mean that you choose to build your MVP (minimum viable product) for Android and add iOS later. Although, in could be the case that most users in your industry use Apple products, in which case you may just want to build an app for iOS.

Another option to consider is if your app could benefit from offloading some of its processing to the cloud. Mobile storage is limited and it may be that your offering needs some extra capacity, which the cloud can facilitate.

All this needs to be considered in the planning process and a good app developer will be able to point you in the right direction. As long as you provide them with any useful or pertinent background information targeted to your particular market.

Frontend, Backend & Full-Stack

App developers fall into 3 different categories.

• Frontend: Simply put, a frontend app developer is responsible for the look for a website. They will use programming languages such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

• Backend: A backend app developer is responsible for how the app works. They will use programming languages such as PHP, Java and Net among others.

• Full-stack developers: Full-stack app developers work on both the frontend and backend of an app design.

The role of the developers is to turn the business owner’s vision for their app into reality.

Functionality

Apps can be used for pretty much anything today. Most E-commerce sites benefit from an easy to use app, which enhances and facilitates the buying experience. Apps can be used to book train tickets and hair appointments. You can download an app to scan documents or to help you plan your dinner and find recipes. You can even use an app to find the perfect meditation when life has become that little bit too stressy. Businesses often use apps to facilitate their internal processes as well. A well thought out app can help HR and sales departments to run more smoothly. On the go apps, have become a must for busy delivery drivers. These are just some of the uses and functions associated with apps these days. When planning the functionality for your app, here are some of the things to consider:

Keep it Simple and Uncluttered

An app should have a specific function in mind. The functionality should make it as quick and easy to get to that point as possible, without too much distraction for your user. Of course, you want to ensure that your design is as eye-catching and attractive as possible but if there is too much going on, it is likely your customer will get distracted and not complete the process.

Swipes and clicks..

When designing your app, the amount of swipes and clicks to get to your end goal is an important factor. Of course, you want to give your customer all the information they need to make their purchase or booking. However, you don’t want them to get bored or fed up and to move on. The app should function quickly and efficiently. The right amount of data should be available but not so much it slows down the functionality.

Intuition..

A little bit of AI and intuition to tailor your app to your customers’ wants and needs can be an appealing feature for your users. To help guide their choices and decision making.

Chat function..

A chat function can be a convenient function for users. Sometimes it is not possible to answer all the questions, your users need answers to physically on the app. In the vein of making life as easy as possible for your customers, this is definitely a function worth considering.

Push notifications..

Push notifications are a convenient and direct way to message your customers from your app. With the proviso, that they must be relevant, pertinent and not in any way annoying for your users. Push notifications are different from app notifications as they happen even when the user is not in the app.

These are just some functionality options to consider when creating your mobile app strategy. When creating your strategy you should keep in mind the psychology of an app user. Once it is downloaded it is there on the home screen of your user’s smartphone. A reminder of your business and why your customer needs your services. The minute someone becomes disillusioned and deletes your app, it is gone. Out of sight and out of mind!

How to Monetise your App

This is arguably the most important consideration when developing your app.

An app should add value to your offering and encourage customer loyalty. It is also good business sense to monetise where possible and turn your users into revenue. Even if an app is free to download there may be opportunities to earn money from it.

A free option can be offered to entice customers. Once they have started using the app and realised its benefits, they might want to add features and functions. This can be done for a small cost.

A subscription model might be an option for your business. Whereby, an app is offered as part of a subscription service to add value.

In app advertising is also an option for some businesses. It is worth bearing in mind though, that this can become annoying for the user and affect their user experience. This could backfire if the user becomes annoyed by this.

Promoting your App

Developing an app can be costly. It is so important though, that there is a budget for promoting the app as well as developing it. As we’ve already discussed, there are a lot of apps out there and you don’t want yours to get lost in the fray.

The usual channels of digital marketing are effective for promoting your app. In addition, leveraging your existing customer base, should be part of your strategy. Referral programs have worked very well for many successful apps.

Social media lends itself to app promotion as well. If you entice your customers on a social media post, they are potentially just a couple of clicks away from downloading your app. Social media posts can be easily shared too and should be a key element to your referral programme.

Testing

Testing is always a key element of an effective mobile app development strategy. There is always room to improve. Testing should be done often to keep all functionality working as efficiently as possible and to ensure the user always has the best experience.

Bugs, slow load times and apps that crash often will rarely be tolerated by users and need to be addressed quickly by the developer. The app developer should address any problems as quickly and efficiently as possible to retain the best possible user experience.

Conclusion

There are many challenges to developing a mobile app for your business. However, get it right and it can really enhance, optimise and improve the performance of your business. Users expect high standards and every step of the mobile application development process needs to be well thought out and considered. Veksa is on hand to help you, every step of the way. Get in touch below if you would like to speak to one of our experienced and well qualified mobile app developers or if you are looking for enterprise mobile app development: