In today’s world, mobile penetration is the name of the game in every business sector and industry vertical. Reaching people on their smartphones and personal devices is the most effective way to capture their imaginations. It is for this reason that the mobile app market has grown by leaps and bounds in a short period. With more and more apps emerging on the scene, the mobile marketing space is becoming highly competitive. When you think of how to create a mobile app, you have to think beyond just the technicalities of putting together an application. Your designed product will gain visibility only if your target audience wants to download it and retain it. To be able to do that, any mobile app builder needs to find that perfect mix of ease-of-use and relevance. These 10 steps in the mobile app development process will help you along the way:
Step 1: Ideate
The first step to create mobile app is to develop a clear idea of what you want to offer your target audience. A good start point is to look for problems around you. If you analyse the app market today, all successful apps strive to solve a problem. Once you identify a problem that you feel strongly about or have the ability to offer a solution for, look for ways deliver these solutions in ways that offer tangible benefits to your target audience and then create your own app with easy-to-use, smart features to deliver these solutions.
Step 2: Identify
Once the core idea of the app has been chalked out, the next step in mobile app development is to identify the core of your product. For this, you’ll need to focus on:
- Target Users: Have a clear vision of the demographic profile you’d cater to when you create mobile app.
- Compatibility: Next comes identifying the devices, mobile platforms and operating systems your app will be compatible with. This is a crucial decision that will govern your selection of app development software, coverage, performance and more.
- Revenue model: Lastly, think of a revenue model to make your app economically viable before you start developing it. This may include one or a combination of models such as in-app purchases, paid apps, paid downloads, advertisements, and so on.
Step 3: Design
Design is a crucial element to address to make your own app successful. As a mobile app builder, you must focus on aspects such as touch gestures, conformity to OS design standards and UI designs. A dynamic app that is intuitive, user-friendly and speedy is always more likely to resonate with the users, so focus on incorporating these elements in your design.
Step 4: Develop
The right approach to the mobile app development process is its very foundation. The aim should be to create the best possible version of the product you have in mind within the budget and time constraints. To achieve that, you must focus on what kind of app you’d like to develop. You have the option to choose between three models:
- Native: These apps are specific to a particular platform. While these deliver the best user experience, creating them requires great skill and expertise.
- Web: These apps are cost-effective and quick to develop. These are compatible with multiple platforms and are developed using CSS, JavaScript code or HTML5.
- Hybrid: The most recent approach to mobile app development, this model leverages the pre-built native containers and uses them in tandem with on-the-fly web coding, delivering the best of both worlds.
Step 5: Create a Prototype
With the groundwork done, you can now take the first step to create your own app by developing a prototype. This basically means giving your ideas the shape of an app with basic functionalities. This step is valuable for pitching your product to investors, potential buyers and also in securing required licenses.
Step 6: Bring in the Analytics
If you ever think of how to make your own app, you’ve got to think of analytics. Predictive analytics is what makes apps tick in today’s world. Some of the analytics tools you can choose from are Google Analytics, Localytics, Flurry, Preemptive and Mixpanel.
Not only does this make your app highly marketable but it also gives you the ability to monitor your app’s performance once it is released.
Step 7: Beta Test It
Beta testing is a non-negotiable process of creating an app. It gives you the opportunity to seek feedback from your target users, earn visibility in app stores, and polish your product. To make sure your beta launch delivers these desired results, you must focus on the following steps:
- Defining target users: Identifying and clearly defining target users is essential. This helps the market research team find the right testers, which results in a relevant market analysis.
- Remove bugs: Quality of your mobile app is of the utmost importance when you first introduce it to your target users, even if in beta. So make sure you eliminate the maximum possible bugs in Alpha testing phase.
- Define Goals: Before rolling out your app in beta, identify the goals you intend to meet with this exercise.
Step 8: Release the App
Make the necessary changes as per the indications and feedback received in the beta phase and then draw up a timeline to release it in a live environment. When doing this, make sure the correct components of the app are released.
Step 9: Track the Metrics
The journey of how to create your own app does not end with the release of your app. It is, in fact, the beginning on the journey. To keep track of it, you need the right metrics, such as:
- Funnel analysis that offers insights into any failures users may experience in completing certain actions and why.
- Social shares to assess the traction your app is gaining.
- Demographic data to understand user behaviour
- Tracking metrics to understand how and where your app is being used.
- Emergent behaviour to understand user actions.
Step 10: Upgrade
An app that does not upgrade is an app that becomes obsolete. Use the insights collected through metrics to constantly upgrade your app wit new functionalities and features to make it more appealing to your users.
Conclusion
The process of how to create a mobile app may seem daunting to a novice, but with the right training and tools, you too can become a pro at it. Learn mobile app development today and open the gates to a promising future ahead.
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