When building a new application, regardless of the size of the project or the developer's experience level, there are certain factors that all developers should keep in mind. Weighing all factors ahead of time will help build an app that meets expectations and succeeds in achieving its goal.
So whether you’re looking for general advice or specific tips for building your own application, this post has something for everyone!
1. Identify your target audience
When building a new app, identifying your target audience is critical to its success in the App Store and Play Store. Knowing who you want to reach with your app will:
- Help you choose the right design and features that cater specifically to the customer needs of that group.
- Allow you to promote your app in the right places, such as social media groups or forums, where your potential customers are likely to be spending time online.
- Allow you to optimize pricing models or subscription plans for maximum sales and profitability.
Plus, you can use your analysis of customer preferences and trends within the app’s 'user persona' to continuously improve or extend app features over time.
Knowing and understanding your audience is key. It's not only important to assess their preferences when starting out, but also a great habit to check in with them over time. Keeping the pulse on what they like will help you stay ahead of the curve.
2. Determine if it's for Android or Apple
When you are creating an awesome new project, your first stop should be to choose whether you want it built for Android or Apple. This seemingly small decision has a major influence on all other technical aspects of the development - so make sure you don't miss this critical step.
Android and Apple employ different operating systems and coding languages. Thus, it becomes necessary to first consider which platform would be best suited for the features and functions of the new application.
We emphasized the importance of identifying your target audience in the previous item, and it appears here again. User base demographics can vary between these platforms. Meaning that developers should consider who their main target market will be in deciding whether to build for Android or Apple.
This distinction is crucial for ensuring their new app is well-designed and fully optimized. But it also sets the stage for how they should leverage marketing channels going forward.
3. Choose the correct app store platform
Choosing the right app store platform with the right features, capabilities, and user base is essential to the success of an app.
A mismatch between the features of an app store platform and the needs of an app can cause problems such as:
- High user drop-off rates
- And lost sales.
Suppose, for example, an application utilizes hardware acceleration on a mobile device but is distributed through an online web store that does not support it. Consequently, users may experience a poor performance from your app and rate it unfavorably in reviews, which could lead to low adoption.
4. Research your competitors
According to research, there are a total of 5.7 million applications in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Of course, you are not alone in this crowded application universe.
When building a new app, it's essential to understand the competitive landscape you are entering.
Researching your competition is an opportunity to learn from the successes and failures of other apps and identify what strategies worked or didn't work for them. You can use this knowledge to create effective criteria for your own product requirements, as well as identify areas where you can differentiate your app from the rest.
Ultimately, research into your competition will better prepare you to meet consumer demand and build an app that stands out from the crowd.
5. Decide how to build your new app
Are you planning to develop your app in-house? Or will you take advantage of a low-code/no-code platform? Maybe a turnkey software development service? It is important that you answer these questions.
For example, you can consider working with a developer team if you have time and budget. Or you can develop the application you want in a very short time, thanks to the drag-and-drop feature and ready-to-use elements of low code.
You can continue with the option that best suits your needs.
6. Test your app before releasing it
According to statistics, from 2016 to 2021, global app downloads increased by 63.5%. But the same research says:
- 50.6% of users uninstall an app that takes up too much memory on their phone.
- 62% of users uninstall an app when they encounter problems such as crashing or freezing.
- 25% of users quit apps because they take too long to install.
To avoid all these problems, test your app extensively before releasing it to the public. Testing ensures that the software runs well on various versions of operating systems and displays correctly on multiple devices. It exposes any existing bugs or issues with usability or other elements that can cause an app to crash.
Here are some things to consider when testing your new app:
- Data security
- The size of the stored data
- Speed
- UI design
- Redirections
Each of these is very important as it will affect the user experience.
After the coding is done, quality assurance testing should be done before submission for approval on respective app stores. With rigorous testing, app developers can be confident that their hard work is meeting the highest standards of quality expected by consumers.
7. Pay attention to your marketing strategy
Marketing strategy is generally considered after the release of a new application. However, you need to plan your marketing strategy before you build your app.
A comprehensive marketing plan informs your overall goals for the app, who the target market should be, and how the app will be promoted and marketed.
When you have a solid understanding of how to communicate with your potential users, then you are in a better position to build something that aligns with their needs in terms of design, and features. You can make people look forward to your app if you develop a detailed marketing plan before building it.
Market your app effectively and get people talking about it online.
All these tips will allow you to take solid steps when building your mobile application for any industry. At Kuika, we have a team of experts who can help you through every step of the app development process. Sign up today to get started on your next great project.
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