Plan Your App
Before you get started with the app development process, you need to plan it. The more thorough you are at this stage, the easier the rest of the mobile app development process will become.
Since you are reading this article, you probably have a good idea about the type of mobile app you want to create. This is great news because it means you can start thinking about the app in more detail.
What If You Don’t Have an App Idea?
If you don’t have an existing app idea, think about problems you or people you know struggle with and how you could solve this with a mobile app.
Write down various issues and solutions. Once you have a list, choose some of the best ideas for further research.
If you want some inspiration, head to Google Trends. You can use the search tool to find trending topics in various categories. Maybe one of them will provide a good app idea.
Once you have some ideas, you need to choose the best one. Below are some questions you can answer to help you settle on an idea for the app development process.
What Problem Will Your App Solve?
All the most successful apps solve a particular consumer challenge. To be successful, make sure your app does the same.
Think about why someone would want to use your mobile app. If you can think of a good answer to this question, you may be on to something.
Here are some examples:
- Domino’s App: Makes it easy for people to order pizza from their phones.
- Instagram: Allows app users to share photos with their friends.
- PodBean: Makes it easy for people to organize and listen to podcasts.
Be aware that the problem doesn’t have to be completely new.
Your app could offer a twist on an existing solution. For example, Zoom didn’t invent video calls, but it did make it easier for a particular group of people to make them. Or it could solve a problem for a specific audience.
What Features Will Your App Offer?
Next, consider the exact features your app will offer. Remember that app development becomes more complex as you add functionality. The cost to build your app may also increase if you hire a development team to make your app.
A good idea is to create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). This is a version of your mobile app with only the essential features.
You can build in additional functionality with updates if you decide that people need it. Consider the popular social media app, Instagram.
It has plenty of core features, such as the ability to share images, follow friends, add stories, contact other app users via instant message, add comments, and search through a detailed discovery feed.
However, when the app was first released it was much simpler. It only allowed app users to share photos with their friends. This was the company’s MVP.
Going back to the radio station mobile app idea, the most basic version of the product will be a page with the station’s feed and maybe a schedule.
Once the station has made a great version of this app, it can consider adding extra features like commenting or downloadable content.
Who Will Use Your App?
Your app should have a particular target audience in mind. Consider the people who struggle with the problem you want to solve, as this is most likely to be your target audience.
It’s important to define your target audience before starting the mobile app development process. Many of your biggest decisions—everything from core features to app design to marketing—will come down to what your audience wants.
Research Your Competitors and Audience
Next, you should perform market research. This will help your app development process in several ways.
You will:
- Gain a better understanding of the app store market.
- Discover the types of mobile apps that are successful.
- See how apps are solving problems similar to the ones you want to solve.
- Discover inspiration for app design and features.
You can perform market research manually by looking at the most downloaded apps in the main marketplaces such as the iOS and Android app stores.
Narrow the search down by category to see what others are doing in your area of interest. Download some of the best ones to try them out.
The Main Methods of App Monetization:
Advertising
This is probably the most common form of app monetization. You’ll likely see it in many of the apps you use.
One of the reasons ads are so popular is because it’s easy to add them to a mobile app. You don’t have to think about building complex paid features into your app development process.
Ads also make it possible for you to make money despite your app being free. This means more people are likely to download it from app stores. Ads come in many forms. Some are disruptive to the user experience, while others are more subtle.
The easiest way to test on Android is to publish your app on the Google Play Store but only make it available to certain users. You can then send a link to users who will be able to download your app and try it out.
If you want to do this, you’ll first need to create a developer’s account.
There are three types of tests you can run:
- An internal test makes your app available for up to 100 users.
- A closed test that lets you share the app with a wider set of targeted testers.
- Open testing that lets anyone download your app and submit private feedback.
You typically want to go through each of these testing methods in order, gradually increasing your audience size.
After that, you’ll have to either build your mobile app in the custom way by working through its various elements or use an app creator. The main differences between these options are the development cost, the time it takes to get set up, and the features you’ll have available.