9 Crucial Things To Be Considered While Developing A Mobile Application

The market for mobile apps has never been hotter. Go to iTunes or Google Play, and you will be numbed by the sheer number of apps available in each category. But not all the apps become successful. Here are some things you need to plan, consider and do, when you hire a mobile app development company in India.

1. Market Research

Before you embark on developing your mobile application, conduct an extensive market study to gain insights into the target audience and your competition. It is crucial to know everything about your potential customers – their geo location, gender, occupation, age, incomes, goals,their likes, desires, fears, and pain points. Think about how you can add value for them. Do a SWOT analysis of your rivals’ apps; learn from their mistakes; read customer reviews; this will give you an idea of what people prefer and dislike in this kind of an app. You also need to innovate and incorporate something different in your app – you don’t want to dish out the same old stuff. You want your app to stand out in a sea of apps.  Researching your target market will also tell you the devices they prefer to use, browsers, which social network they frequent and so on. This will also help you decide on the platform – should you develop it in iOS, Android, or Windows? Even if you have to develop in multiple platforms, we recommend that you first release it for one platform, see how successful it is, take corrective measures where required, and then, once you’ve got the hang of it, develop it for the next platform.

2. Plan According to your Budget

Developing a mobile app costs money. Make a budget at the outset and allocate the funds properly for each phase of development. Keep track of how much money you spend from start to finish. Even if you do all these things, it’s possible that you go a little out of budget as there may be many unforeseen expenses that come up. However, a stringent monitoring will ensure that it doesn’t go out of hand.

3. Native Vs Hybrid Apps

Native apps are developed specifically for a certain mobile operating system; for example, Java is used to develop Android apps. They are able to efficiently leverage the features of the OS, and the device specific software and hardware, as well as the technology like camera, GPS, one-touch pay, and so on. Hybrid apps are a combination of native and web apps, and can be deployed in multiple OS and run on different browsers, like Safari, IE, Chrome, and so on. You just need to develop one app and deploy it everywhere, without having to build multiple versions. Cross-compatible technologies like Javascript, HTML5, jQuery and so on are used to build hybrid apps. This is less expensive compared to developing multiple native apps, but may not provide as good a UX as a native app.

4. Backend

This is another decision you need to make before you embark on app development. Nowadays most of the apps are driven by APIs, but every app may not need a tailor-made backend. Some apps can be handled entirely with a local database, without backend support. Take the decision of whether you need a dedicated backend after considering factors like the expense, possible delays and so on.

5. UI/UX Design

In today’s world you simply cannot afford to ignore this aspect; UI/UX is crucial for app success. UI as you know is the interface design, and the UX refers to the experience a user has, not only with the app, but the sum total of their experience of the company and brand as a whole. In the context of your mobile app, good UX means ease of use, attractive, simple navigation, clear messages in legible fonts, informative text, pleasing visuals, easy access to information, quick checkout, clear, bold CTA buttons and so on. Your app users must get a seamless user experience that speaks of exemplary customer service. In short, the app must appeal to them visually as well as in terms of user-friendliness and usefulness.

6. Attention to Detail

Often we are so busy looking at the big picture that we forget to take care of the little details that matter such a lot today. Here are some things you need to take care of .

• Ensure that the app is not a data guzzler. If your app uses an inordinate amount of data, it may get downloaded once, but users may not want to use it frequently, and it may soon get forgotten.
• See to it that the app loads quickly. Ask your developer to eliminate whatever it is that makes the loading slow, like Flash animations, videos and so on.
• Provide response whenever the user takes an action. If the response to an action takes time, say some info that takes time to load, assure the user that the app is working by displaying a progress bar or the ‘Loading’ circle.
• Pricing is crucial, and difficult too. There are thousands of apps out there, so how will you decide how to price? You will need to take into account several factors before determining the price. If it’s a shopping/reservations app, you will need to give it free, as you’re going to get revenue from it anyway.

7. Create a Buzz

Marketing strategy is also something you cannot ignore when it comes to your app. Create a hype before you launch it, and arouse curiosity in the minds of people so that you get a good response when you actually go live. The timing of your marketing, and launch are also very important. Make sure your launch will not clash with any other major event, or it may get lost in the flurry. You should ideally begin your marketing efforts two to three weeks before the grand launch.

8. App Testing is Vital

You must test your app before you go live. You will need to have an experience of how users will perceive your app. The app has to be engaging and perform well; the only way of knowing whether it is actually all of these things is to test it. Testing allows you to identify the problems with your app so that you can rectify the issues. Once the apha testing is done with, do a beta testing. You can either hire testers or get industry players to do the testing for you. Based on feedback from the testers you can make further improvements to your app.

9. App Description

Make sure that the app stores that feature your app are provided with clear and attractive descriptions of your app. Everyone may not be aware what your app does; if you provide a succinct description, it will be easy for the users to make a decision. Make sure the description is clear and attractive to the reader; remember that any app store will only display the first couple of lines of your description, so you need to make those lines catchy.

Do you have a mobile app for your business? If no, then you need to get down to having one created without further delay. In a world where people are increasingly browsing and shopping on the go, a mobile app has become the new age mantra for online business success. Contact a company for mobile application development in India today!

Acodez is a leading web development company in India. The expert web developers help you to get the best web designs as per the latest trends to provide the best user experience. The websites designed has also been featured on many website award website.