Inspiration can strike anywhere. The same holds true for app ideas. Unfortunately, most people never go anywhere with those ideas because they do not know how to turn them into actual usable apps. So, how do you avoid that pitfall and transform the idea into a real app?
According to global mobile users statistics, the number will rise to 7.33 billion in 2023 from 6.8 billion users in 2019. This means there are more opportunities for your app idea. Generally, mobile apps are associated with the services offered by an organisation or business. Their primary function is to generate leads and drive sales to ultimately bring in more revenue to the company.
Irrespective of the ultimate purpose of your app, there is a basic process to follow. So, here are a few mobile app development tips to bring your idea to reality.
List All Features
Never underestimate the importance of jotting down points on paper. After all, your mobile app won’t be of any use if it remains just an idea in your head. That is why you must start putting it down on paper. This is the first step towards moving away from an idea to something more tangible and concrete.
Of course, take some time to think about all the features that you would like your app to have. Write down those points as soon as they enter your head. This way, you will have a better understanding of what your app will turn out to be. You are more likely to stick to them as well. It also makes it easier to add upon those points and elaborate upon them further. All of these will allow you to refine your idea till you gain a clear vision of what your app will be in reality.
Don’t forget the unique features while making the list. Unique features are critical for making your app stand out from the others that are already available in the market. Without something to differentiate your offering, your app is sure to be lost in the crowd no matter how good the mobile app development is.
Research and Analyse Your Market
Having a list of app features will give you a general idea of how to proceed with mobile app development. However, that is not enough. You need to understand how your app stacks against the competition. In other words, you need to research the market and analyse your competition.
Head to the app stores and check out the apps that are similar to yours. Understand the trends of the specific market you are targeting and what requirements the market imposes on the apps. For example, if you are targeting the games category, you might have noticed a trend for battle royal style games. If you analysed further, you will have noticed that this market preferred those games with a freemium payment model. Paid options rarely did well in that market.
Start identifying the apps that serve similar purposes as that of your app. Monitor the feedback, reviews and ratings that they are getting. You will be able to identify their weak points which you can then leverage to improve your app.
Market research will also help you identify more features that your app needs to be more unique in the market. At the very least, you will know what features will help you grab more eyeballs and downloads.
Understand Your Audience
No matter how good your mobile app development is, your success depends on the audience. To understand what your audience wants, you must start with the basics of who your audience actually is. Try to figure out who would be interested in your specific kind of app. Take productivity apps for example. They are used by diverse groups. However, some of them are better suited for businessmen while others cater to college students. Understand which group stands to gain the most out of your app and you can work your way through that.
Learn the facts of that group. This includes their region, age groups, gender, income groups, industry preferences etc. Understanding the demographics is the key to knowing your audience. With this knowledge in hand, you will have to find out what your audience desires to have in the kind of app that you want to launch.
It is simple really. It becomes easier to customise the app to meet the needs of your audience when you know what they need. After all, no one will download an app that they do not need. Additionally, the audience demographics will affect mobile app development considerably as in the UI and UX elemens required.
Get the Finance Right
Ultimately, the end goal of most apps is to earn their creator some money. However, ensuring that is not as straightforward as it sounds. First, you need to understand the different ways to earn money through apps, as listed below.
- In App Ads
- In App Purchases
- Subscription Fees
- One Time Purchases
- Sponsorship
Each of these methods has its own set of pros and cons. You have to figure out which of these methods will work best for your type of app. Your audience will also have a say in this matter as not all demographics are comfortable with all kinds of payments. For example, students are less likely to purchase apps and go for free options instead. In this situation, in-app ads may make more financial sense. Freemium models are becoming more popular these days. In this model, small in-app purchases are made available that improve upon certain functions or features of the app. However, the core functionality remains intact even without payment.
Ultimately, you will have to determine which option works best for your audience, market and app.
Develop the Wireframe
By now, you should have all the notes and information you need for mobile app development. So, it is time to start using the data by working on the wireframe of your mobile app. The wireframe allows the concept to be defined further and with greater clarity. It helps in refining the requirements of the product as well.
You don’t need a lot of tools to create a wireframe. A pencil and some paper will suffice. Of course, a variety of mobile and web apps are also available for this purpose. There is no need to get technical with it. The wireframe should help you understand how your app concept works. It will help you polish and refine your idea such as the in app navigation.
Hire Mobile App Developers
With this step, you are almost at the end of your journey to get a mobile app developed based on your idea. The wireframe you have made is going to help a lot when you are looking to hire mobile app developers. A mobile app development company can give you better estimations for the project if you present them with a detailed wireframe.
Now, this is absolutely critical for the success of your mobile app. Always hire a professional mobile app development company. You may think that hiring freelancers or a ragtag team of mobile app developers can save you money. While you may end up saving some money, you can end up losing a lot more down the line. Hiring professionals simply make more sense if you want to achieve success with your app.
Take your time in searching for the best mobile app development company. Note their experience, check out their expertise and find out what technologies and skills they bring to the table. You will get all of these details by simply searching for the companies online. They are sure to mention them in their websites.
Make a list of all potentials and contact them. You don’t have to go into details. The idea here is to get a feel of the company and get a rough estimate of their costs. Remember that this is just a rough idea of the cost and not the final price or even the final estimate. Mobile app development companies will surely update their costs and rates based on many factors as you start working the app idea with them.
If you are worried about your idea being stolen, you can ask the company to sign an NDA. An experienced mobile app company will sit down with you and listen to your app idea and examine your wireframe before asking you all sorts of questions. You need to answer these questions to the best of your ability or work with the company to come with the answers. The app developers can also provide you with suggestions to improve upon the app.
If you are happy with the company, proceed with them. However, make sure that the proposal is airtight and contains the estimations for cost and time along with milestones and rates.
The great thing about working with the best mobile app development company is that they are more likely to accommodate changes without fuss. This is helpful as you may end up getting an idea for a new feature while development is underway. Of course, you also need to understand that it might always be possible to make changes during development.
Hire a Mobile App Development Company That Does More
To get the most out of your app, you will need a few more services in addition to mobile app development. This includes quality analysis and testing to eliminate bugs and issues. A major benefit is that quality analysis will also ensure that all features work as intended. They should also provide software maintenance for continued success of your app.
You will also need to upload your app to the different app stores. This can be difficult as each store has its own policies which your app must adhere to. Ask the app development company if it can handle this task for you.
Marketing is essential as well. After all, you need people to know about your app before they download it. Investing in branding and marketing will build up hype around your app before its launch, leading to more download and sales down the line. For this, you will need a digital marketing agency to help you leverage SEO and social media. Check if your mobile app development company also provides these services.
Last Words
With these points, you should be on your way to having a great app in no time at all. It will not be easy as you will have to put in a lot of effort to make it successful. However, it is not impossible.
If you are looking for an experienced mobile app development company, Cogito Software Solutions is here for you. We also have full-fledged web development and digital marketing services to help you make the most of your app idea. Contact us now to know more about our services and how we can help you!
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