4 Steps to Follow When Starting Your Mobile App Development
Smartphones have irreversibly changed the world. They’ve become an inevitable part of the lives of more than 80% of the world’s population. And mobile apps play a huge role in this popularity. Today, it seems, there is a mobile app for everything, and yet, they are still very attractive for entrepreneurs, because they can be very profitable.
However, whether you want to start a mobile app business, or you are developing an app as a tactic for growing an existing business, there isn’t a guarantee that a mobile app, however good your idea is, will be successful. The following four steps should help you improve the chances of success for your mobile app.
Step 1. Concept
There are many reasons why people decide to design a mobile app. Regardless of what yours is, the first thing you should do is work on your idea. If you are here, you probably already know more or less what your app is going to be, so in this step, you should reflect on that idea. The goal is to visualize your concept, define the purpose of the mobile app you want to create, what will it do, how will it look like, and so on.
Step 2. Research
If you want to start developing a mobile app, the first step is to conduct thorough research. Today there are millions of apps, and it can be really hard to be original. Of course, originality isn’t as important as authenticity, design, usefulness, and other traits that can make a mobile app popular. However, research can help you learn what is there on the market that’s similar to your idea, what your competitors are doing, how well their apps are performing, what works and what doesn’t, who is your ideal client, and so much more.
This is why it’s important to create a mobile app business plan, covering each important aspect of the business from the concept to the execution. Even if you create a great mobile app, without a business plan it can go unnoticed, and your investment and all your effort may be for nothing.
To make your job easier you can use a business plan template designed especially for mobile app businesses. This way your document will cover the entire business side of things, giving you a full picture of the business, and guiding you through the process of analyzing the market, identifying your ideal customers, finances, marketing, and so on.
Step 3. Design
User experience is crucial in the digital world, and more and more businesses around the world put it at the center of their attention. Simply put, for a mobile app to be successful, people should download it, use it, and keep it on their device. There are many factors that will help them decide whether they will do this or not, and you must plan for each of them.
When it comes to the design of a mobile app, there are two aspects users focus on. Namely, how the app looks, and how it works. It’s proven that it takes only a couple of seconds for a person to decide whether they like something or not. When it comes to mobile apps, the first impression can be crucial. Make sure that your app doesn’t look tiresome. This can mean something simple like avoiding clutter and using pleasant color combinations. But it also means investing in a visually pleasing design, eye-catching logo, and so on.
Moreover, aesthetics is important in every aspect of our lives, including in business, since we are visual creatures. Of course, it’s absurd to think that you can create something that will be liked by everyone, since everyone has a different taste – we don’t like some color, we hate some pattern, etc. However, some things can make it more likely for more people to like your mobile app.
Step 4. Marketing
We can say that the design is what will help people decide whether they will keep an app or not. But marketing is what will help people decide whether they will download your app or not. Your marketing strategy may depend on many things, including the reason why you are developing it and its purpose.
However, having a marketing strategy is the best way to ensure that it will reach your target audience, and to give it a chance to succeed. And for the best and most powerful strategy, you should outsource your marketing efforts and hire a reliable marketing agency.
Conclusion
Mobile apps can be very useful, and developing one can be a great way to make a profit, or grow a business. But, to achieve whatever goals you have, before you start making your mobile app you should spend time planning and strategizing.