Smartphones and its apps are constantly surfacing talent from developers in the mobile world and many of them are head-turners with their expertise and knowledge in developing gaming, VR, AR, etc apps for smartphones and tablets.
Here is a list of necessary steps in building apps for different platforms.
1) Competitive Idea
If you have a unique idea, that is great! But chances are in today’s fast paced ever evolving tech world, someone might be already working on or would have developed a related concept. Don’t worry, as long as you and your idea are competitive in terms of service and offerings, your idea is good to go. The main thing is to keep note and track of developments in an idea and let them flow.
2) Inspire & Learn
Lookout for the points that makes an application successful. Observe the trends in the app store, understand how and what are the things helpful in making applications. Moreover, you could also learn and inspire from expert app developers and their work.
3) Learn To Program
Going with the tech flow is the best one can do and hence, it is advisable to learn to programme for the trending & established platforms such as Google (Android) & Apple (iOS). You can learn from projects by mobile app development companies, e-Learning guides and from the free courses offered online.
4) App Design
It’s always suggestive to put your design ideas on paper. Basically, the layout and look of the application will do the job initially. One has to design the app keeping in mind the alignment & appearance of windows/screens/buttons so as to look your app visually attractive and easy to operate. Graphics software such as Gimp or Adobe Creative Suite is helpful in the app design.
5) Register As a Developer
It’s good to be a registered app developer for you to easily access development tools, forums & discussions and application store. Apple & Google charges an annual membership fee of $100 & $50 respectively. Free applications are used to get more downloads and usually make for the sale via in-app purchases. On the other hand, for paid apps, iPhone app developers earn 70% of the sold income while Apple is left with 30%.
6) Seek Professional Help
If you feel stuck in any step of your app development process, then you could definitely get approach app development companies who can help to develop the idea of the application in lesser time. You can find them via LinkedIn, Search Engines, Friends Referral or specialized networks like Upwork, Guru, Freelancer, etc.
7) Funding Your Idea
When the test concepts and initial code is set by you for the first app then you can either get your app funded by investors who like your app idea & test version of development or you could even gather the finance to start the project on a smaller scale by crowdfunding. To set the ball rolling for mobile apps, it is possible to start with as little as 5-10 thousand dollars.
8) Project Schedule & Testing
It is utmost important to adhere to the project schedule and in order to do that, the best thing is to split it into various functional phases with small tasks such as making a form, designing a button, etc. “Rome was not built in a day” and hence, one step at a time will help you a lot in completing the project. Do not forget to ask for a review or feedback as it will give you a preliminary picture of how your users are going to feel about the app and based on that you could do necessary changes.
9) App Store Approval
Once it seems that you have quite a good functional and performing app, you should send it for approval from the app store. Usually, it will take between 5 to 15 days for officials to check whether your app has followed all the guidelines such as no piracy, no pornography and of course free from the known viruses or bugs. Upon clearing this test, your app is ready to be listed in the Google Play Store or iTunes.
10) Spread The Word
Let’s say your app received amazing responses from the initial runs and got constructive feedback, app store approved it, there are no any important viruses and yet after all these things, you are not getting enough downloads. That’s probably because not many smartphone users are aware of it. Hence, you’ll need a strong marketing strategy that includes but not limited to videos, memes, blogs, email marketing campaigns, social media campaigns, etc. You could also check with any app development company for the app store optimization (ASO) and other marketing techniques.