Mobile phones have taken the world by storm. Today, there are more than 2.7 billion smartphone and 1.35 billion tablet users across the world. The average person spends more than three hours on their phone each day.
What are most people doing on their phones? The majority – 90% – are on apps. With such staggering statistics, it’s not surprising that businesses want to harness the power of mobile app development. But creating your own mobile app can be a complex process.
The first – and most obvious – step in the process is to define your idea and objective. Why do you want to create an app? How will the app benefit the user? What will the app accomplish for your brand? Once you have clearly defined your app’s goals, you can start fleshing out your idea.
Now that you’ve defined your app’s goals, you can start figuring out how you will achieve those goals. Begin formulating a list of features and functionalities that will accomplish your objectives.
Features and functionalities may include:
The goal is to implement only the features and functions that will help you achieve your app’s goals. You don’t want a bloated app that’s bogged down by extra features your users will never need. At this stage, you may also want to research the competition to see what they’re doing. Take a look at their apps’ design, features and functionalities. Make note of any areas where you see room for improvement and see if you can fit these improvements into your own app.
At this stage, you should have a pretty good idea of the features and functionalities you want to include in your app. But how will you present these features? Creating and testing wireframes can help you determine the ideal layout and design for your app. A wireframe is a simple visual guide that represents your apps’ layout and flow.
There are several online tools that can help you with the wireframing process, like Gliffy, Fluid UI and Mockflow. The next step is to test your wireframes, and there are tools for this step, too. These tools bring your wireframe to life and include interactive elements to simulate the real experience of using your app.
At this stage, your app is really starting to come together, but you still have to build it. If you have the skills and tools, you can build the app yourself. But what if you don’t have a clue where to start and have zero programming experience? You still have a few options.
App builders can help you build your app via a user-friendly platform with drag-and-drop style elements. No programming experience is required to use these platforms, but there are some drawbacks. App builders have limited features and functionalities. It’s more difficult to create a truly custom app because you’re entirely reliant on the platform’s library of options.
Some platforms are more customizable than others, but typically, these custom features require you to have some programming knowledge. While they can be useful for simple apps, builder platforms aren’t ideal for brands that want to integrate eCommerce, chat, booking and other more complex features into their apps.
The simplest and most cost-effective solution for app building (in most cases) is to hire a professional. Experienced developers can pinpoint any potential issues (technical or user-based) that may impact your app’s success and provide recommendations on how to improve your design or idea.
They’ll handle the entire development process from start to finish, so you can stay focused on what you do best – running your business. Companies like Redwerk (learn more about their services here) provide professional, full-cycle development for iOS apps. They’ll even handle the prototyping, UI design and maintenance of your app.
If you have an idea for an app and you’re serious about succeeding with your app, a professional, experienced developer is the most practical solution. Developers can help fine-tune your idea and bring your app to life.
If you are interested in even more apps-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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