Everyone who owns a smartphone uses at least a few mobile apps on a daily basis. This industry is worth several billions of dollars, and many entrepreneurs want to develop mobile app that will simplify their sales funnel and get them closer to consumers. If you decided to create your own mobile app, this step-by-step guide will help you to organize this complex process and find the best resources for your first development project.
Step 1: Develop your idea first
Develop mobile app that answers the needs of your audience
Your app’s functionality and design need to be customized for the targeted audience. Its main goal is to make your customers’ lives simple. That is why every developing project needs to start with a comprehensive audience research. If you already run a successful business, you have at least a few buyer portfolios. Use them extensively, while planning the app’s design and features.
Step 2: Develop mobile app plan
Set your app’s goals
Goal setting is very important because the whole development process depends on the app’s purpose. Each app should have a clear objective. Depending on the type of your business, you can create your own app that will sell products and services, post content, connect users, promote events or raise awareness about important subjects. These are just some of our suggestions. Your future app can have many other primal and secondary functionalities.
Develop mobile app on paper
You need to visualize how your future app will look on the mobile and tablet screen. Before you start working with code, you should draw diagrams and list all of its functions and commands. In this phase, you can use both paper and Photoshop. Since spotless user experience is one of the most important characteristics of every successful app, don’t forget to connect the dots and create a storyboard that shows all the paths users can take, after they open your app. For this task, you can use specialized software solutions like the Mockingbird.
Create your own app prototype
By creating an app prototype, you will be able to check how your idea will work in real time. There are plenty of free wireframing tools you can use for this task. They will help you to create interactive mockups that will resemble a finished app. You can use and test these until you determine the best designs and functionalities. These are some wireframing platforms you can choose:
Step 3: Hire a developer
The easiest way to go from here is to hire a professional mobile app developer, who will build your product out of the wireframe. If you decided to outsource the back- and front-end development, you won’t need to mess with code snippets. This way, you will save you a lot of time that you can invest in developing your core business. Virtual Spirit provides mobile app development services. You just need to tell us your idea, and we will plan it, design it, create a prototype and build an app that will upgrade your business and help you to turn your leads into customers and loyal brand ambassadors.
Step 4: Create your own app
Learn how to code
If you still want to create your own app from scratch, you will need to learn how to code. This is the hardest part of the process, and most people need at least one year of learning and practice before they shift to app development. These are some of the languages that may come useful during the app development process: C, C++, JavaScript, Swift, Python, Ruby, etc. You should also get accustomed with the most basic HTML and CSS commands.
Other pre-requisites
If your app needs a connection to a database, you should also learn some database query language, like SQL for example. In addition to this, you should also master some of the DevOps in order to set up the development environment and launch an app after you build it.
Back-end development
The back-end development usually includes creating or setting and connecting storages, APIs, databases and servers. For these tasks, you will need to master at least one language or a framework. If you already know how to code in JavaScript, the Node.js framework will be the easiest one to learn. You can also try your luck with Ruby, Python, PHP, and many other languages.
Front-end development
Front end development encompasses parts of the app that are visible to users, like user interface for example. Nice-looking apps are much more popular among consumers, and that is why front-end development is very important. For this part of the developing process, you will need to master HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You can also make your work easier by using predefined UI elements and layouts. You can find them on:
Develop mobile app in an app builder
If you don’t have enough time to learn programming languages, you can create your own app within an app building platform. You can find plenty of cloud app builders online, and most of them require you to pay a subscription on a monthly or annual basis. They offer graphical user interface and drag and drop functionality that allows you to develop mobile app by moving UI elements on the screen. Still, if you
Step 5: How you can test mobile apps?
Testing and debugging is a very important part of the mobile app development process. If you create your own app, you will want to make sure that it runs smoothly and ensures a two-way communication between users your brand. The best and the easiest way to test the app is by using automated test tools. You should also ask your friends and fellow developers to try the app and tell you their opinion.
After you develop mobile app for your business, you should post it on the most popular app stores, like Google Play and iTunes. If you managed to create your own app, you still need to invest a lot of time and effort into popularizing it among your targeted audience. This task is equally important as the app development process itself. That is why you should always consider hiring a professional mobile app developer, and using your free time for creating a marketing plan.
