When to develop a mobile app?

Turning app visions into reality

So, you want to create a mobile app and you want to make money with it? Not sure where to start?

Well, lucky for you, you've crossed your path with the right article. Here you'll find all the answers you need.

Mobile apps are a great way for business owners to improve their company's marketing efforts, optimize workflows, and even improve cost efficiency.

They're also the perfect platform to leverage them if you have an idea for your next big hit, like Instagram or Uber.

Regardless of what mobile app idea you have, there are probably other would-be developers or ambitious men and women who have similar ideas. If this is the case, they can already take steps to get the app ready and on the market.

So now they could potentially face a dilemma in terms of racing against time, or in this case, against hungry entrepreneurs who may have the same million or billion dollar idea.

But building an app is not a rush job. You need to be diligent about time management, but you also need to be thorough in the process.

It is well known that people want to make money first and foremost. Even if you have an idea for an app that could potentially make the world a better place, many people would say "what's the point if you can't make money?".

Well, we're here to give you a step-by-step guide on how to create your mobile app and how to make money with it.  

Think about the different variables involved

When developing a mobile app, it is essential to have a clear purpose behind the app and to be clear about who your target audience is.

To do this, you need to do some research to identify the variables involved in creating a mobile app. For example, it is important to understand which operating system is most commonly used by your target audience. Are your customers Android or iOS fans?

Once you have clearly described your requirements, you can create a screen-by-screen layout plan. Once you've defined your goal, selected your platform, and developed a screen-mockup/line sketch, it's time to hire a trusted mobile app developer to turn your concept into code!

Today's mobile app market is saturated with a multitude of different devices, operating systems and users, which makes mobile development a challenge. The current environment makes development strategy difficult.

It requires more foresight than simply knowing the native platforms or the pros and cons of cross-platform mobile app development. Anyone who wants to develop a successful mobile app should take the following advice:

Define the target audience for your custom mobile app.

Before any development begins, it is essential to define who you want to reach and what the overall purpose of the app is. The popularity of mobile operating systems such as Windows, Android and iOS varies from region to region, so it's key to keep this in mind when you start looking for the ideal platform for mobile app development.

For example, in 2016 Android Authority stated that "iOS users spend on average nearly 2.5 times more on in-app purchases than Android users". This information is critical for any company looking to maximise ROI when developing mobile apps. It will help them decide whether they want to market to a target audience that is more likely to buy their app (iOS users) or prefer free apps (Android users).

You should also take demographics into full consideration. Think about who your idea is most likely to appeal to. Does your app appeal more to gamers in the 18-24 age group? Your app might appeal significantly to online daters in the 45-54 age range.

Whatever the case, you need to be aware of who you are targeting. Think about your ideal customer. What do they like? What don't they like? Are they tech-savvy? How much time do they have to devote to using it? What benefits do they get from buying the app? And most importantly, what makes your app different from other similar apps?

Among many others, these are the essential questions you need to ask when thinking about your target audience. Once you know the answers to these questions, you can move on to the next phase of mobile app development. 
 

Choose platform: iOS or Android

As we briefly discussed earlier, it's crucial to decide which platform to distribute your mobile app on.However, in the US, the competition is pretty tight when comparing mobile app market share.

According to Statista, smartphones running the Android operating system have an 87% share of the global market. iOS has a 13% share, significantly less than Android's dominant 87% share.

With these figures in mind, you also need to consider how much time, resources and budget you will need to build your app. The choice of platform is also directly related to these figures.

Developing a mobile app for iOS is much faster, easier and cheaper. Developing a mobile app for Android can take 30-40% longer than for iOS, which means more costs down the road.

Android apps are usually written in Java code, which requires much more writing than Apple's programming language, Swift. This saves developers time, which then saves you more money as an investor.

But remember that you need to consider your app idea and target audience first. Depending on what your idea is will directly affect the number of features you need for your application. Does your idea require a whole range of services, features and integrations, or is your application more on the simpler side?

If you need something simple that's also quick and easy to build, iOS might be the right choice for you. But if you need more flexibility in terms of functionality, Android is probably the best choice.

You can always choose to "opt out" and create an app that works on both Android and iOS. If you want to go this route, you need to take all the relevant variables into account:

• Target Audience
• The project schedule
• The desired features
• Application maintenance budget
• Budgetary targets

Consider cross-platform development

If your dream is to create an app that runs on Android, iOS and Windows platforms, you should consider cross-platform development.

There are a lot of fantastic benefits to cross-platform mobile app development. The most significant benefit, of course, is that it allows developers to write code once and deploy it across all major platforms.

Another major advantage is that code can be reused, meaning that developers can reuse the same code instead of writing new code for each platform. This dramatically reduces time and budget.

Another benefit of allowing cross-platform development to reduce budgets is that investors don't have to worry about spending money to develop applications for each platform. In one quick move, they can allocate the money and deploy the application to run seamlessly on all operating systems.

A single script means much faster application development time. It also means that your cross-platform mobile app will be to market much faster, which benefits investors, developers, marketers and consumers alike!

Using cross-platform mobile app development ensures that the overall look and feel of your app will be responsive across all devices. This means that no matter what operating system the user is using, your app will look, function and navigate as seamlessly as ever.

Popular native cross-platform frameworks that you can leverage when building your mobile app:

• Xamarin
• Appcelerator Titanium
• NativeScript
• QT
• RubyMotion

For hybrid cross-platform applications, it is definitely worth considering leveraging PhoneGap, the most popular hybrid cross-platform framework that harnesses the power of JavaScript, HTML and CSS web development languages. 
 

User friend

Consider including features that give your applications a native look and functionality. Native applications tend to perform better because they integrate more coherently with the devices that support them.

This contributes to a positive user experience and helps the app rank better in any app store. The disadvantage of developing native mobile apps is the different skills required and the cost and time needed to develop standalone apps for each operating system.

Mobile app developers need to have a thorough understanding of good practices in mobile experience design. Responsiveness, an intuitive user experience, great design, clean visuals and context are the most important factors when developing a mobile application.

Ensure that your mobile app is user-friendly, runs at high speed and has smooth, easy-to-use navigation. The point of your app is to appeal to your audience in a way that they will engage with it as much as possible.

It should be both aesthetically pleasing and functional. If your mobile app loads slowly, you're losing customers to a similar app that loads faster. People's attention spans are short these days, so it's important to keep up with the digital age and optimise your mobile app to be responsive across all digital devices.

Make sure your mobile app is compliant with App Store guidelines

Every app store has guidelines that apps must adhere to in order to be listed on their marketplace. Apps that have loading issues or steal user data will not be accepted.

In addition, users have certain expectations of apps; they demand apps that are easy to download, work properly and provide a seamless user experience (UX).

Apps that are flawed or violate UX guidelines will not perform well in the rankings and may even be removed from the market altogether.

As mobile apps become more prevalent in society, companies are finding it difficult to make their apps stand out in the app stores. Understanding these key features of mobile app development before starting a project will not only help you choose the right platform for mobile app development, but also help you stay within budget and ensure maximum exposure for your app.

The bottom line

Starting a mobile app development project is super exciting. While it's tempting to dive straight in with a ton of passion and enthusiasm, there are a number of technical factors to consider. Remember what we've discussed in this article, and you'll be well on your way to great opportunities with your new mobile app.

The most important thing to consider from all of what we've discussed is who to hire to do these mobile app development tasks. This is a delegation process that requires a team with as much hands-on development experience as possible.