Mobile App Development Checklist You Should Follow 04 October, 2020   

Our everyday lives revolve around mobile apps. You use an alarm app to wake up in the morning; Google maps to go to both new and old places, gaming apps to entertain yourself when you’re bored, and so on. In fact, chances are, you’re also using an app to read this very article right now! Ever since the advent of the smartphone, mobile apps have become an essential part of our lives. We use them for just about everything and more. Naturally, businesses, big and small, have realized this, and they’re spending big bucks on mobile app development to ensure that they’re at the top of their game in this new marketplace. But they’re not the only ones who can cash in on this trend. Individuals like you and I can also take advantage and become a mobile app developer as well. In fact, there are many mobile app stores, including the Google Play store, which allows individuals to publish Android apps as well. 

Making and publishing a mobile app may sound daunting. After all, we all know that there are millions of apps on the Google Play store- how do you publish your Android app and make it stand out? How do you make your app the next Angry Birds or the next WhatsApp messenger- or any of the insanely popular apps out there? 

Here's a checklist of strategies that you should follow to get started on your app:

1.Decide what kind of mobile app you want to make

The first and most important step in your mobile app design journey will be determining what kind of app you want to build. Do you want to make a gaming app or a healthy lifestyle app? A utility app, or an educational app? There are thousands of categories of mobile apps out there, and out of all them, you have to choose one. 

Choose a kind of mobile app that appeals to you. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. What kind of app do you want? As I’ve said before, we use apps for just about everything. What would you like in your app? That’s your starting point.

2.Identify your target audience

Once you have decided on the kind of mobile app you’re making, you must identify your target audience. What kind of people will use your app? Will it be children, teens, adults, or the elderly? Identifying your audience is key to almost everything else you will do. After all, these are the people who will be using the app, so part of the mobile app development should be to their liking.

3.Do market research 

After identifying your audience, you should begin your market research. Learn more about this demographic. What are the things that they prefer when choosing an app? What kind of font will they find appealing? What about the background images and design? You could do surveys and distribute them to your target audience in your area, or you could hire someone to do your market research for you. After all, what if you plan on going worldwide with your app? You will need reliable data. The last thing you need is to target your audience in the wrong way.

4.Decide on the revenue model and make a budget

Now comes your business model. Based on your research, you must decide on a revenue model in sync with your target audience. This is very important, and you should have accurate data on this as your audience’s entire experience and the decision to use your app rests with this. The most important question is: does your audience prefer ads that might disrupt their app usage for a few seconds, or would they prefer a subscription? If subscription, then what kind? Do they want a monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or yearly subscription? 

This part is particularly important because this is also where your finances come into play. How much are you willing to invest in this app? You must decide on your cut-off as you plan subscription packages and the like. Do you expect to be repaid in the long term? This is where you must factor all of that in. 

5.Design your app & identify your approach to your mobile app development

Now that you have taken care of the financial aspect of it, you should look into your app's workings in detail. After all, you are charging people a certain amount of money for your app, and you also feel that you are entitled to the money you’re making. So, what makes it worth it? Why should people pay you to use your app? 

This is where you really start to develop your app. You will begin to look into multiple variables- you will identify the core focus of your app. Will your app have multiple features or a single feature? This is the part of mobile app development, where you turn your idea into a plan. Here you will have to identify your approach to the mobile app design. Will you build your app yourself, or will you hire someone else to do it? All of this depends on your design and budget.

6.Decide on platforms and make a prototype

I’ve put platform decisions and prototypes in the same checklist because you will be making your mobile app design based on the platform you use. You could use the Google Play store and publish Android apps, but you may face a large amount of competition since millions of apps and sellers are also competing for the same audience as you.

You can look to other app stores to create your audience base. Amazon Appstore and Opera Mobile store may be a good alternative as they both have large traffics. On the other hand, smaller app stores such as GetJar, Aptoide, and F-Droid would work too. These mobile app stores also have unique features to help app developers sell and manage their apps. Moreover, these app stores publish android apps so you can publish your app there in addition to the Google Play Store, and this may greatly help with your sales. Based on this, you can finally start to build your prototype.

7.Test your app

After you have built your prototype, it is time to test your app. Aptoide has a private store feature that allows you to run tests on your app in your own private space. You need to test your app thoroughly for bugs. So be sure to have users from your target audience to test it. 

8.Make a Marketing Strategy

After you have tested and fixed any bugs in your app, develop a market strategy. This is very important if it’s your first time launching your app as this will create your audience. Take your time with market strategy. This is very important for the success of your app. After you have done that, it’s time to launch your app!

9.Engage with your users & regularly update your app

After you have launched your app, you must begin to listen to your users. Take feedback- both positive and negative- and regularly update your app based on that. Your audience may have helpful suggestions for you, so don’t ignore them. Address their problems and try to incorporate their suggestions into your mobile app design, if possible. And finally, when the time comes, upgrade your app. Make it better than before! This will attract even more people to your app, and that’s exactly what you want!

These were some steps to guide you in the right direction for mobile app development. You should know that while these strategies are certainly constructive, they depend solely on you at the end of the day. Only you can make your app work with the right kind of approach. There’s no wrong approach in this market, but you need to identify the right approach that works for you. To develop a successful app, you need to be creative and persistent. There’s an entirely different kind of audience waiting to use your app. By the new open-door policy, most app stores have, you should seize the opportunity to create a mobile app that will benefit you and your audience.