Statisticbrain reveals the following figures: in 2015, Apple Store faced 62,000,000,000 downloads. The number of downloads from Google Play is even more – 91,000,000,000. It resulted in $8,900,000,000 and $12,800,000,000 in revenue (respectively).
As for the USA, a comScore report says that mobile now represents 65% of all digital media time, with mobile apps dominating that usage. The smartphone penetration figure is 79%, and the number is even higher (93%) when we are talking about 18- to 34-year-old people.
This data shows that mobile phones (and in particular apps) usage is growing in popularity, and it may be food for thoughts for many custom mobile apps developers who would surely like to create something fresh and unique to outstand among a great number of already existing solutions.
But what should they do and which aspects consider to enjoy success?
1. In-depth market research
Concentrating more on the development part of the mobile app creation and launch, developers may ignore a vital thing – detailed and deep research. Such research will not only help you to avoid plagiarism, you will also obtain valuable info on competitors’ strategies, strengths and weakness, and won’t repeat their mistakes.
Customer reviews shouldn’t be underestimated, either. It’s another great opportunity to detect pros and cons of already existing apps by reading users’ comments and having a look at likes and dislikes about a particular app (its type, UI design, etc.).
2. Target audience (TA)
The launch of a new mobile app is a separate PR-campaign. And like in any PR-campaign, it’s a must to define your target groups, i.e. the particular people who will use your app. Knowing your TA (race, gender, age, profession, etc.) it will be much easier to create an app that would address users’ problems and meet their needs.
3. Platform choice
Of course, any developer would like to enjoy a broad array of customers, trying to grasp iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry users. But maybe it seems logical to become a master of just one platform (for instance, Android, the most popular one according to the above-mentioned statistics) and then, when the app grows in popularity, to launch it on multiple platforms, avoiding potential risks.
4. Multiple devices design
Even if you decide to develop an app for a particular platform, mind the fact that people will likely use the app on different devices (tablets, PC, laptops), so, take into consideration specification differences: screen size and resolution, connectivity, network bandwidth, storage capacity, and more.
5. Budget planning
Without any doubts, mobile app development process requires a considerable amount of money. So, it seems reasonable to distribute your budget properly among all the stages. And if you are not good at planning expenditures, make use of some useful apps (Mint: Money Manager, Goodbudget, Toshl Finance, etc.) or employ a special person to track costs.
6. Accurate description
People won’t download your app if they have no idea of its purpose. That’s why description is something indispensable to distinguish your app. As a rule, Google Play and Apple Store show just 2-3 lines of the whole description (unless you scroll to read more), that’s why, make the beginning catchy and define the core concept and functions of your app, giving reasons for a download.
7. App testing
Your app has to be inventive, trendy, and easy to use, so, peek into all the nooks and corners before launching it. Testing is the best way to define and fix bugs before the app hits the market, that’s why remember to allocate funds for such an activity.
Conclusion:
Of course there’s no a magic wand that will help you create a top-notch app. You need to pay efforts even before starting to write a code. Thus, these tips can be really handy for you while chasing rivals and delivering a high-quality product to users.
About the author:
Yana Yelina is a website design and development expert at EffectiveSoft, a custom software development company with 250+ specialists who boast expertise in different business domains (healthcare, trading and finance, logistics, e-commerce, etc.). You can reach the author at: [email protected]; [email protected] or connect with her via LinkedIn or Twitter.
