Last updated on April 27th, 2023 at 07:24 pm
Due to limited funds and lengthy timescales, businesses for a time resorted to outsourcing mobile app development.
Yet, a lot of small firms are creating mobile apps internally thanks to practical development platforms and software tools that handle a lot of the preliminary work.
As a result, an increasing number of businesses are recognizing the value of developing mobile apps for either internal usage or client use.
The process of creating an app for the first time might be intimidating, but it can also be immensely gratifying.
To assist you in creating a successful app, this thorough book will walk you through the whole app development life cycle.
9 Stages For Developing an App
It takes time to create an app; it can’t be done overnight. Your development team should follow a number of measures to make sure your app launches successfully.
Explore our simple, nine-step method below to get started creating a new mobile application:
- Create a team
- Conduct comparative analysis
- Describe the main elements
- Assemble mockups
- Consider app security
- Start coding
- Run a few tests
- Compile and use feedback
1. Start the App store. Form a Development team.
With the use of various software applications and web resources, such as app builders, developing an app has become simpler.
Any programming language, though, is merely another language. The process of creating an app is still a substantial task that is best carried out as a team.
A mobile application consists of several intricate components that must work together.
These factors make assembling a talented team the first step in creating a mobile app. You’ll gain a lot from assembling a team of people with different experiences and specialties to develop an app.
You can hire top independent talent to create an app by setting up a distributed team. You can choose independent professionals with distinctive skill sets rather than being constrained by regional boundaries or your knowledge.
Find the top mobile app developers for your project by starting with Upwork.
Your app development team should, at the least, be composed of the:
The product manager leads the team and creates technical spec documents, roadmaps, timelines, and requirements.
UX/UI designer: creates the animations, icons, and images. They guarantee the app is entertaining and extremely user-friendly.
Develops functionality for mobile devices and combines APIs, databases, and other systems.
The app is tested by a quality assurance analyst to ensure flawless operation across all platforms. They are responsible for detecting any bugs, UX writing errors, and other issues.
Internet marketer By utilizing search engine optimization (SEO) and establishing mobile analytics, you may aid in the effective launch of your app.
Even more, people may be added to app development teams. For instance, larger teams can include a technical writer, web engineer, software developer, and UX writer.
While assembling your team, take into account your budget and the tasks you require extra assistance with.
One method to guarantee your app is user-friendly while staying within your budget is to hire freelancers for particular tasks.
2. Carry out rival research
It’s critical to fully understand what you’re up against in terms of competitor features and customer requirements given that there are more than 2.20 million apps available to Apple users and more than 3.40 million available to Android users.
This will help you figure out how to differentiate your product from the competition.
Start by conducting market research to uncover apps made by your rivals.
You can point out what your rivals have done well and where they have failed. Such research can assist you in gaining particular perceptions about what clients enjoy and what you should change.
Moreover, it’s critical to comprehend the market you’re entering. You should be able to explain why the market needs your software and how you approach challenges differently.
You might wish to think about speaking with prospective users during this step. By asking clients for comments, you can gain detailed knowledge of their needs.
Additionally, it can enable your team to add functions that other businesses have skipped over, providing your app with a competitive edge.
3. List key characteristics
Establish the essential app features next. You can create important features that other development teams have overlooked now that you know what the market lacks and what your target users are looking for.
The majority of mobile app developers make smart, user-friendly, customizable, and straightforward mobile apps.
Include any features that can help your app stand out from the competition in addition to this fundamental framework.
Good image resolution, quickness, and simplicity are some essential aspects. All of these elements are necessary for a positive user experience.
Cross-platform functionality, or interoperability with both operating systems, is another feature that should be added.
A search function is a fantastic utility feature to keep customers interested. While not as useful for game-based applications,
Allowing users to search the app is a good choice for social media and e-commerce applications.
Finally, take into account enabling social network connections or push notifications for users.
These and other excellent methods of giving consumers pertinent and tailored information will keep them interested and active over time.
As an app developer, there are a lot of fascinating features to think about, but while describing desired features, don’t forget to take your business’s financial capacities into account.
For instance, even if you might wish to use facial recognition for login purposes, the development costs may be high. Remember that when the app becomes life, you can add additional features or updates.
Read:8 Strategies to Help Your Startup
4. Construct mockups.
A user interface (UI) and UX designer should create a mockup, template, and occasionally a tutorial on what to expect from the app after requirements have been gathered and key features have been identified.
A mockup is a thorough sketch of how the app will look. A mockup typically comprises photographs, the primary layout, and more and adheres to a consistent color palette and typography.
A properly constructed mockup ought to provide the development team with an idea of how the app ought to seem and function.
A mockup has several benefits, including
- enabling the design team to change how the app looks.
- It demonstrates them before the development team starts to code if you’re looking for potential investors.
- outlines the demands placed on the development crew.
5. Consider strong app security
The next phase in app development is one of the most crucial components it can have: security. It is crucial to stop fraudsters from stealing user data. Your organization might lose millions of dollars and users as a result of a single app breach.
Make sure the mobile platform and app are both safe by
- encrypted information Provide adequate encryption for any sensitive personal data that is dispersed across the code of your app.
- Encryption of the local database, cache, or API communication is one of the proper security precautions.
- Licensed APIs: The backend of programming development is crucially dependent on application programming interfaces (APIs).
- Verify that the APIs you utilize for your application adhere to the platform’s verification rules.
- dependable authentication Make that the program uses the proper user session authorization or tokens and cryptographic key management.
- Each device frequently receives a unique token with a session expiration time.
Software for detecting tampering Consider adding mobile-specific security features like tamper-detection software and other third-party applications to thwart hackers in their tracks.
Interprocess communication (IPC), for instance, is a safety precaution that permits communication between different programs and systems.
Several software and UI security elements that are tailored specifically for Apple and Android can support anti-tampering strategies.
Continuously checking for possible breaches Most essential, make sure to continuously test for breaches.
Consistently check your code throughout the whole development process. When the program is released, find potential security holes before hackers do.
6. Start coding.
Once you begin coding, there are a few factors to take into account. The front end and back end of coding must come first.
Front-end development is the process of creating the app’s “face,” or what the user will see. The code that controls how the program works “behind the scenes” is what back-end development is all about.
Consider managing a group of numerous developers (e.g., some working on the front end and others on the back end).
To produce a finished product that is cohesive, you should synchronize your work processes. It can be beneficial to employ an Agile project management style since it enables effective, flexible, and scalable coding.
Have your team code in a test environment as well. For the software to run successfully, it is essential to set up a suitable test environment.
The database server, front-end environment, operating system, and network are all important factors to take into account during testing.
Also, you can choose a problem-reporting method to guarantee precise and detailed test results.
7. Do numerous tests
Quality assurance (QA) is one of the crucial components in creating a successful app, despite the temptation to forgo thorough testing when the project is on a short budget. Due to the intense competition in the app development industry, quality assurance must be carried out at every stage of the process.
By doing this, your team will be able to quickly find any flaws and enhance the software before making it available to users.
The QA team should consider the following when testing:
- Back-end versus front-end functionality Does the front end of the mobile app appear as it should from the user’s perspective? Does the app perform as intended on the back end? For instance, does a pop-up message really go away when the user clicks on it? Is the small “X” that allows you to remove it properly displayed?
- Device compatibility: The app needs to be tested on the intended operating system (iOS versus Android, or both). The QA team should also confirm compatibility with various operating system versions (e.g., Android 7.0 versus Android 10.0).
- There are further concerns that are device-specific, such as whether the app display suits the screen size.
- Integration of apps Is this integration functional if the app’s primary function interacts with other capabilities like the phone’s camera or another app like Google Maps?
- Kind of application: The whole range of functionality must be tested for the app if its goal is to perform on both mobile and the web (making it a “hybrid” app).
- Storage and installation: Does the app properly download to the intended hardware and software? Observe the size of the app, too.
- The end user may decide not to download the app at all if it takes up too much space on their phone.
- Security enhancement: The security of mobile apps is a prominent topic. Verify security by using secure source code, running penetration tests, and validating input. It’s also a good idea to take further measures like verifying that HTTPS and SSL/TLS security layers are being used.
Overall, the QA process aids teams in making sure the product is prepared for release.
8. Collect and use user comments
Before the app is launched, it must successfully pass inspection by a test group user after thorough testing.
Although the design team should have based features on user needs, having a third party review the app can assist guarantee that it is suitable for a wide range of users with various levels of experience.
Your development team should have a better knowledge of what users want from the app and whether it lives up to expectations after testing it with a variety of users.
Before the app launches, it should assist the team in modifying critical features to better accommodate a variety of consumers.
It’s a good idea to keep getting feedback after the app goes live so you can make any necessary upgrades and modifications.
Analyzing analytics is one technique to get feedback after the app has been released. Your development team will be better able to comprehend customer behavior and spot any murky areas that need to be changed.
The team can modify the program before it is released to the market with the assistance of this kind of information.
9. Start the app store.
The publication of an app is the last step. The rules that your app must go by greatly depend on the app store where you are submitting your application.
The standards for apps uploaded to various app marketplaces vary.
Just the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store should be the developers’ primary emphasis.
Because your team only needs to create one app, concentrating on a single platform can streamline the app development process. But, creating an app only for Apple or Google Play may restrict your audience.
While creating cross-platform software ensures strong visibility and the potential for additional users, both app stores have limitations.
