Notes

Throughout all the app projects we’ve done, one consistent trend I noticed is that mobile app development <https://antiguawebsolutions.com/app-development-companies-newyork/> is similar to a black box particularly if you don’t know how to code.
If you’re considering building a mobile app for your small to medium-sized business, you need to know exactly what it takes to execute. According to a recent study , about one in five SMBs have currently built a mobile app and about this many plan to launch 1 in 2016.
Mobile use statistics tell an extremely compelling story for businesses still on the fence:
• Mobile apps account for over 1 / 2 of all time spent consuming digital media.
• Smartphone users spend about 90 percent of these mobile time on apps.
• 85 percent of consumers prefer native mobile apps over a mobile website.
• Mobile apps account for 42 percent of most mobile sales for Fortune 500 companies.
• Revenue from mobile apps is expected to reach nearly $60 billion in the U.S. in 2016.
• The average consumer has about 30 apps installed on his device and spends about 35 hours per month using them.
Of course, even with all the evidence in favor of building an app, the decision to go forward isn’t one to be taken lightly. With about 1.5 million apps each in Google Play and Apple’s App Store, it’s vital that you understand the mobile app development process and how your application will fit with both your market niche and your marketing goals. With having said that, here’s a look at the app development lifecycle and the objectives and challenges on the way.
Discovery, Market Research, And Mobile App Development Tech-stack.
You may already have several good mobile app ideas for the business, and that’s a good place to start. But before you move in to the design and development phase, your first step should be a deep dive into research -into your personal business and target audience, in adition to that of your competitors. You’ll need answers to the next questions:
• What do you want your mobile app to accomplish? Where performes it easily fit into your cellular marketing plans?
• Who is your target audience?
• How do you want your customers to utilize your app?
• What platform (or systems) will you use?
• Which mobile app development language and framework should you use?
• What are your competitors doing? Do they have apps? If that's the case, what features do they provide?
• What is your overall app development budget?
• What is your timeline for development? When do you want to launch your app?
• How will you market and promote your app If you haven’t done so already, put together your app development team with members from relevant departments (executive leadership, marketing and/or sales, product development, IT, etc.) and hash out the information you gathered during the research and discovery phases. Informed feedback in these early stages will pave just how for a smoother development process.
Establishing Mobile App Goals and Objectives
This is a crucial step in the planning phase of one's mobile app. Once you’ve determined an app will advance important objectives in your mobile marketing scheme, you will need to map out how your app are certain to get you there.
• What problem (or issues) will your app solve for your customers?
• What features does it include?
• What is your app’s core appeal?
In many cases, determining your app’s features and benefits is a balancing act between your overall app development budget and your in-house capabilities. However, when it comes to prioritizing functionality, research shows that app design should emphasize customer engagement over exclusive services.
Wireframes and Storyboards
At this stage, you should have a pretty good idea about what your app will look like and what features you intend to include. You should also have developed a scope of work-which pieces of the process will undoubtedly be performed in-house and which will be contracted out. Now it’s time to start sketching out your app and developing a storyboard.
There are many online tools for wireframing
your app; your goal at this point is to develop a clear picture of how your ideas and proposed features will fuse together right into a functional app. You should also develop a storyboard, or roadmap, to demonstrate the connections between each screen and how users will navigate through the application. Keep these stageers in mind as you sketch:
• Look for opportunities to incorporate your brand.
• Focus on an individual experience.
• Consider the differences in the manner people use a mobile thepp pitched against a mobile website.
Defining the Backend of one's Mobile App
Your wireframes and storyboard will serve as a guide for the backend structures you’ll need to support your app-think APIs, data diagrams, functionrs, datan integration, and push notification services. Oftentimes, SMEs find choosing a mobile backend as something (BaaS) platform is practical, given that they solve common challenges such as for example scalability and lack of in-house talent.
One caveat: You may need to modify your wireframes and/or storyboard if you encounter technical limitations in the backend development process, so stay flexible at this early stage.
Finalize Your Wireframe and Test Your own Prototype
At this point, you should nail down any changes in your wireframe identified during the backend planning process. Once your team has agreed upon the wireframe and storyboard, it’s time and energy to build an interactive prototype.
Prototyping is an essential part of the app development process, since it gives you a good opportunity to really evaluate design concepts, gather feedback, and identify dead links and flaws in the flow and usability of one's mobile app. There are several good prototyping tools available online to simplify the procedure.
It’s a good idea to bring in those who are not section of your mobile app team to test and evaluate your prototype. Observe them because they interact with the app and ask for honest feedback on the app’s overall functionality and simplicity. Adapt the UI/UX to improve for any shortcomings identified in this stage.
Your goal would be to finalize your app design concept and develop a high fidelity prototype that will guide you through the specific app development process.
Developing the App
Actually developing the app involves numerous steps and processes. In the event that you aren’t using an app development platform or mobile BaaS provider, your developer will need to setup the actual storage solutions, databases, APIs, and servers for the backend of one's app.
Don’t forget to set up developer accounts for the app stores you intend to use to distribute your app, if you don’t already have them; this step can take several days to complete and is simple to overlook. It’s also a good idea to read through the app store guidelines which means that your app isn’t rejected through the review process.
Mobile App Development Company in New York ’re now ready to move into the programming and coding phase. If you’ve hired outside talent to develop your app, make sure to get yourself a signed nondisclosure agreement and establish a timeline for deliverables. Keep in mind the “hire slow, fire fast” maxim and give yourself a quick out if you aren’t happy with your programmer’s capabilities following the project starts.
At this stage, your designer will create the app “skins,” or actual screens used in your mobile app. These high-resolution renderings of your wireframes represent the interface your users will eventually use to interact with your app, so make sure your designs incorporate all of the ideas and feedback collected through the earlier testing phase. After all, you are creating an app you need your customers and target audience to really enjoy using, so UI/UX details matter.
Test and Test Again
This is an exciting time in the app development lifecycle-you finally have a complete app concept with exciting graphics and perfectly placed text. Now you will need to rigorously test your app in a number of real-world scenarios to sniff out and correct any technical flaws.
Go back to your original design and planning documents and go through every feature; don’t assume something works in the final concept just because it worked during the development phase.
Again, it’s a good idea to observe other users because they test the app-they may have questions and insights that aren’t obvious for you since you’ve been involved in app development swithince the earliest days. You could even want to use one of the online mobile UX checking tools that provide you real-time feedback and analytics; several focus on a freemium model that is affordable for SMEs. Make sure to test for cross platform compatibility of images, graphics, and make use ofr experience.
When you’re confident your app is working correctly in all scenarios and you’re happy with the appearance and usability of the interface, it’s time and energy to make the final preparations to launch your mobile app.
Preparing for Launch
The steps you take to prepare for your app launch may have the greatest effect on its ultimate success, and getting your marketing department involved early in the process is one of the most significant. Marketing will help you with key word research, which is essential for SEO and app store optimization (ASO), both which are key for dwill becoverability.
Your market and keyword research will guide your choices for app titles and descriptions as you prepare to submit your mobile app to the various marketplaceplaces for distribution. You’ll also want to get high-quality screenshots of one's app and maybe a good promotional video and/or demo at this time.
You’ll also require a website-or at least a landing page-to support and promote your app. That is important for branding and awareness, and also for search and discoverability; ’Googles App Indexing API uses content inside your app and your app’s website in its search results algorithm. Key the different parts of your app’s landing page or website will include:
• your app’s name and icon
• badges and names of the stores where your app could be downloaded
• screenshots and your promo video
• a mailing list/subscription form (pre-launch) and download links (post launch)
• contact and support information
• links to your social media accounts
• a press kit
• testimonials and reading user reviews (post launch)
Be sure to promote your app on your business website and on your own social media accounts; if you have a company blog publish updates through the entire development process to create interest and anticipation. It’s also a good idea to launch an email campaign. Based on your market niche and the sort of app you are building, you may furthermore want to enlist the aid of experts and interpersonal influencers to greatly help advertise your app.
As you walk through your app promotion checklist , don’t forget to include app analytics to help you optimize your app and increase its appeal to your target audience. Google Analytics is a good place to start.
Now is also a good time to consider alternative app marketplaces , apart from Apple’s App Store https://antiguawebsolutions.com/app-development-companies-newyork/ and Google Play, to distribute your app. Another option to consider during the pre-launch phase is submitting your app to PreApps , an app marketplace that connects developers with early adopters, for a few pre-release feedback.
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