When developing a mobile app, it is important to start with research. This involves looking into the existing app ecosystem to see if your idea has already been developed. It is not enough to simply duplicate an existing product. You must think about how your app can innovate and solve problems.
Once you have a basic idea for your app, you should take the time to flesh it out. This process, known as wireframing, involves thinking about the app’s functions, user interface, and how users will interact with it. You can even graphically design the back-end database and create a workflow to help guide your coding.
Wireframing is like an architect’s rough sketches for a building’s blueprints. It allows you to make fundamental changes to your app without having to go back and rebuild large sections of code. You may also want to write test sections of code to see how they operate before incorporating them into the finished design.
APP Prototyping
Once the planning stages are complete, the next step is to build a prototype. The prototype doesn’t have to be perfect, but the most important functions should be developed enough for initial testing. Ideally, some of the backend components should be working together and the frontend design should be good enough for casual use. Once you have a working prototype, it’s important to get feedback from stakeholders, especially investors if they’re backing the project. Sharing the first functional version of the app is a good idea since it can help secure additional funding, and investors are often more supportive of projects they can see and experience for themselves. This turns the prototype into both a marketing tool and a test bed for your mobile app ideas.
Design the Interfaces
It’s crucial to gather feedback from the prototype testers, especially about their experience with the graphic interface. Their comments and criticism can provide a fresh perspective and guide your design decisions moving forward. For example, if you had planned to include a swipe-left/swipe-right feature for navigating screens, but testers find it confusing, you still have time to modify the interface before finalizing it. Let the testers’ experiences and suggestions for improvement shape your interface design.
Develop the Code
App designers work on the front end of a program to create a useful, attractive interface. Architects build the databases that make it all work in the background. Development is the hard work of connecting these two components so they work seamlessly together. After getting your backend wireframe and finalizing your front end designs, you’re in a good position to write the connecting code in development.
Take your time with this stage. Development is the guts of the app, and some of the decisions you make can permanently limit or expand the potential for your mobile app through all of its subsequent versions.
Testing
Start testing your mobile app design early, and test it often. From the initial feasibility studies to the advanced beta testing you do with the first release of the app, it’s extremely helpful to get abroad base of testers so you can mine their feedback. Consider releasing your first developed version to a limited audience of volunteer testers and ask them to submit questionnaires about their experience at intervals. This feedback can help guide the late stages of development as you make tweaks to the final design. Bugs are usually easier to fix early on, rather than later in the finished product.
When you’re ready to start testing your app, remember to break up the process into discrete tasks. You might have a team, for example, that just tests the graphics rendering on every page of the interface, while another team mostly focuses on the way the app updates or pulls data. The more focused a testing group is on a specific function, the more likely you are to get the really detailed feedback you need to craft a great app. Try breaking the app down into each of its constituent functions, such as security, interface design, compatibility with other apps, speed, and other features. As the bug reports roll in, remember to roll your patches back out for further testing to ensure your solutions work well and don’t introduce new bugs, which is a common issue for new mobile apps.
Roll Out
The way you roll out your app can be as much of a factor in its eventual success as any of the previous steps. Because most apps see a spike in downloads early in their rollout, followed by a gradual tailing off of purchases, you need to make a big impact right away to achieve liftoff. Choose a date for the launch and start publicizing it on your company’s social media well in advance. There is no fixed rule for how long a product lead-in should be, but you want to strike a balance between having a too-short marketing campaign that doesn’t get enough interest, and a too-long campaign that allows the public to lose touch with you. This is a good place to consult with marketing professionals to craft a multi-platform rollout strategy.
Maintaining your Mobile App
It may be a great relief to launch your app to a receptive public, but this is actually just the beginning. After you launch your mobile app and reviews start coming in, it is worth your while to read up on the most common criticism and make adjustments to help. Treat the general public as a positive resource for further testing and development of the app’s future versions. Budget what you must to provide good customer support, since the public perception of your product can greatly affect future rollouts.
Article By Glitex Solutions Limited
Mobile Application development company in Kenya – Glitex Solutions Limited
We are Kenya’s Top & Best Mobile App Development Company in Nairobi, Kenya. Our team of expert is skilled in Android & iOS mobile apps development. We develop mobile applications at affordable prices. Whether you are in Nairobi Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda & Tanzania Glitex Solutions Limited will serve you. We are a comprehensive mobile app development company that helps you to develop and maintain Mobile Applications for both Android and iOS. We develop user-friendly and secure mobile apps for any type of businesses model.
