Thanks to the rise of smartphones, almost every person on Earth has a cellphone in their pocket filled with various apps. Early on, people realized that app development could be a very lucrative profession, and now there are millions of apps for people to choose from.
In 2020, users downloaded 218 billion apps to their devices, and it’s easy to see that this trend won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Users are always looking for the next big app to download, and you can be the one who gives it to them.
But before you can do that, you need to know all the things you should implement during the app development process.
1. Choose the right platform
Before you write even one line of code, you should think about what platform you want to use. In other words, when building an app, the app builder you’re going to use is a crucial element, as it can give your app the right or wrong features. Choose the perfect builder for your app depending on your requirements to give your project a much higher chance for success. Similarly, you should be careful on what technology you’d be using for the app. There are companies offering Vue.js development services or other similar ones.
In addition, you should carefully consider where you want to push your product. For years, developers have been discussing whether Android or iOS is the better choice, and while both have their advantages, you need to decide on just one.
If you just want to look at the numbers, it’s obvious that Android is more popular among developers. Seeing that number of downloadable apps on the Google Play store is 2.87 million, and for the Apple App Store, it is 1.96 million, the competition is fiercer for Android.
But that shouldn’t be the only thing you take into consideration since the platform you choose will be integral to much more than the development process. It will also affect the overall flexibility and scope of your application in a similar way coding will influence its utility and adaptability.
2. Communicate with developers clearly
You probably already have a vision of what your application will look like once it’s finished and all the little details it needs to have. However, your developers can’t read your mind and won’t know what to put into the app if you don’t communicate your wishes and expectations clearly.
To ensure a smooth development process, you should keep track of your project at all times. For this, you can use an employee task manager. This tool can help you distribute group and personalized tasks, divide them into stages, and monitor them. Such a tool will allow you to carry out management and control over the project from anywhere, prioritize tasks, and track them.
In addition, there are some other things you need to do to ensure smooth and effective communication:
- Remember that nobody’s perfect. The process of building an application is long and complicated, and you need to accept that bugs can and probably will happen.
- Don’t place blame. Developers won’t write those bugs into their work on purpose, so don’t place blame on them. Instead, communicate with them so you can find a solution together.
- Keep track of issues. To make sure you don’t miss any bugs, test the code regularly. If you stumble upon an issue, send a note to the developer and explain how it should be functioning.
- Have clear UI documentation. Ideally, you should provide clear documentation for user interfaces to ensure a smooth development project, and this UI will be the blueprint for your project. The UI will tell your developers how to format data and where to place it.
3. Perform market research
You probably think that you have a million-dollar idea and that a lot of people will download and use your product as soon as it’s out. This may or may not be true, and you’ll never know if there’s a demand for your idea without thorough market research.
It’s very important to explore the current offering on the market to figure out if there is a need for the solution you’re looking to create. There are pros and cons of market research.
But it’s essential to perform it by doing the following things:
- See if there is potential in the market. Assess the supply and demand in the market you’re going after by researching apps similar to yours on the Google Play and Apple store. Make sure to see how many downloads they have and check the reviews.
- Conduct ASO keyword research. ASO stands for App Store Optimization, and through it, you will gain insight into the market. To conduct this research, find out what people are searching for, see if basic or longtail keywords are more popular in your market, and get a better assessment of the market demand.
- Conduct competitor analysis. Take a look at your competitors and their apps to see what works and what doesn’t in the solutions they provided. Take a look at the strategy your competitors had and see what their strengths and weaknesses are, as well as their unique selling point.
- Create a buyer persona. Think about who you want your users to be and define their demographics, lifestyle, and habits. When you know who you’re trying to sell to, it will be easier to include features your ideal customers want to see and create the perfect marketing strategy.
4. Decide how you want to monetize
Your end goal is to make money, which is completely understandable. Most people who get into app development do so because it can be very lucrative. It’s no surprise that in 2020, app store spending hit $143 billion worldwide.
People are willing to pay for a product that satisfies their needs or solves their problems. That’s nothing new.
However, before you can start making money, you need to decide exactly how you want to do that and choose one of the common app monetization models:
- Freemium apps. These are free to download, but users need to make an in-app purchase to access certain content and features within the app.
- Premium apps. To download this type of app, the user needs to purchase it, and these applications always have more value than free ones. In other words, if you’re interested in this model, your product needs to be worth the money.
- Subscriptions. Users need to pay a monthly fee to use this type of app. If you’re looking for a recurring stream of revenue, this type of monetization model is perfect for you.
- In-app ads. This is the most common and easiest model, as there is no cost for the user. Just make sure that the advertising space doesn’t negatively impact the user experience.
- In-app purchases. You can earn a profit by selling digital or physical products that are related to your app.
- Sponsorships. Finally, if you have a solid user base, you can partner with brands and advertisers that will pay for user engagement.
Final thoughts
The market you’re trying to break into is large and competitive, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to accomplish your goal. As long as you know everything that goes into the app development process, you will be able to reach your goal by taking it one step at a time.
Just remember everything you read about now, and with enough patience and perseverance, you will be amazed by the results you achieve.
