The Top 5 Practices in Developing a Mobile App

Developing a mobile app can be quite challenging,  if you have never done it before. However, as the saying, “Practice makes a man perfect” and so does work if you are following a guideline. There is no set of perfect guidelines but since we are in the field of software services, we have identified some of the best practices for you to keep in mind before starting the development process.

1. Research and Development – Research is the most important as well as a necessary step that needs to be conducted before the development process begins if you want your app to be a successful one. The first step is to identify the target audience and analyze your app’s behavior to meet their needs.

Based on the analysis performed, you need to figure out your competitors because your app has to be better than theirs if you want to survive efficiently in the ever-changing waves of market. The next step is to decide if you want to build a native, hybrid or web-based application. This depends solely on the type of application you are going to create. If you want to build a gaming app, you can choose a native platform.

Native apps are great but expensive since the app can be developed on one platform at a time. On the other hand, hybrid app development is cost effective and gives you an option of cross-platform development. Hence, it is advised to take decisions after you are done with brainstorming.

2. Prioritize Security and Pick Your Platform – If you are going with native, you have a choice of going forward with Android or iOS development. By referring to the earlier conducted user analysis, you can figure out what devices your target audience prefers. This analysis will be fruitful if you are planning to launch your app on one platform. Although you may want to launch the application on both platforms but initially you need to choose between the two. In addition, your app is going to have tons of data and sensitive information about your company as well as your users.

Hence, it is your responsibility to protect that data and focus on the security of the application. Any minimal security breach has the power to hinder your brand’s image making it hard to recover. The app should have features such as automatic backup along with scalability for users to wipe data if their device is lost.

3. Design and Test – There is a huge difference in the role of developers and designers because technicality and creativity do not lie in the same pitch. However, there has to be a typical understanding of design for developers so that they can code the app accordingly. This will make your development process easier with fewer changes. The need for testing runs throughout the development process and you should not wait until the end to test the performance. The more delay in the testing process, the more complex it will be in identifying and fixing issues. Hence, it is good practice to identify your bugs, crashes and other errors to optimize the performance of your app.

4. Focus on User Experience and Continuous Feedback- It is advised to make sure your app has the important functionalities that would be used for core coding. However, other features and functionalities can be added in the later phase of development cycle as plugins. The final product should always be on the top of your memory list because your app will eventually be in the hands of millions of users. 

Therefore, you need to brainstorm why users would prefer to use mobile apps to websites keeping the parameters such as convenience, speed and experience in mind. Prioritizing the user experience will help ensure that your app will be successful and generate an ample amount of revenue. A continuous feedback session is an important step for the development of an application. It is better to reach out to other developers for advice in order to improve your product.

5. Follow the Guidelines and Updates – It is better to be familiar with both regulation and best practices of app store even at the development phase of your application. If you do not follow the rules, your application will be rejected from the app store. Moreover, your app needs to accommodate a platform for all prospective users. Since the app's development process is not over even after the app launches, and you need to add features such as captions, voice assistant, ability to enlarge text etc., your app is going to need constant improvement and regular maintenance. Certainly, planning prior maintenance will make the life cycle of app easy going in a cost-effective way.

Conclusion

Developing an app is not a piece of cake but it will be helpful if you follow some necessary set of guidelines as mentioned in this blog. In Time Tec offers a mobile app development service that can help your business reach greater heights by staying competitive and up to date. Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride of developing a successful application.

In Time Tec is a $35 million global software solutions company. Our goal is to create long-lasting partnerships and to #CreateAbundance within our communities around the world. For more information about our values and services, please visit www.intimetec.com today.