What to consider when developing a custom app?

Smartphone apps were no longer a novelty a few years ago – now, they are a necessity. Society is already used to dozens (sometimes even hundreds) of applications installed on mobile phones used daily. It isn’t effortless to imagine a future without these tools so useful in our daily lives.

With this, more and more entrepreneurs are looking to develop a personalized app. Whether to put your company in the age of technology and immediate information or to delight customers.

Therefore, we created this checklist for you to evaluate if you are considering all the necessary points before starting the development of your application:

1. Understand the difference between an app and a website

The first step in developing a custom app is to understand what an app is and when it makes sense. An app is an ideal way when your customer has a more routine relationship with your brand, either once a week or even once a month.

If it is more sporadic than that, your customer may question the real benefits of installing your application on their cell phone.

That is additionally an excellent idea to create an app when the interaction is more than just information consumption.

For example, your customer can interact – send photos, text, register something, or be reminded of something. If you have notifications that can be sent to your customers (and are useful for them), an app usually goes very well to improve this communication channel.

2. Map the target audience well

That would benefit if you were clear about who will use the app. This vision will guide the whole process from going forward.

For example, people who stay at the computer all day may not see an advantage in mobile application development, as it is more practical to use a website in an additional tab. However, in the case of people who are on the move, an application can enable hundreds of purchases that would not have happened without this new channel.

3. Understand existing application platforms

We currently have an obvious definition of the mobile devices market share. In May 2019, according to StatCounter, around 76% of mobile devices in India used Android. Approximately 24% use iOS (Apple’s operating system used on iPhones and iPads), and other platforms do not add up to 1%.

That is, the relevant platforms for creating an application are currently Android and iOS. And you can even decide to start development on both with the help of cross-platform mobile app development, depending on your targeted audience.

4. Discover the different ways to create an application

At the beginning of the mobile era, the only way to create an application was native, using the language and tools of each platform. The work had to be redone entirely for a second platform, generating more employment.

Native applications demand a high investment, but are the best in performance, quality, and interface integrated into the smartphone system.

Then there was the possibility of making web apps, which are applications with a native “shell”, but everything else is the same as a website. In this way, the “shell” is different for each platform, but the rest of the application is reused.

Web apps have some performance difficulties, and the visual identity is a little generic (since it needs to serve both Android and iOS with the same layout). However, it is the one that requires less investment.

Finally, hybrid applications emerged. They use more advanced technologies to generate applications for the Android and iOS platforms from a single tool. Hybrid apps are more cost-effective, have good performance, and can integrate into the smartphone layout. The investment, in this case, is a happy medium between the native apps and web apps.

5. Define what will be offered in the application

When it comes to getting your hands dirty, the main features of your personalized app need to be defined. Therefore, you need to have an evident vision of what the app is going to do and how it will work.

Here it is worth installing similar apps, understanding what you like and what doesn’t work. So make doodles, ask friends and colleagues what they think, and so on. The more mature the idea, the greater the chance that your application will be successful!

6. Find a committed development team.

So far, you, as an entrepreneur, can follow the steps alone. There is a lot of information on the internet, and all the first five steps are strategic decisions. In the future, you need more in-depth technical knowledge to enter the development itself.

Making your app is an incredible journey, and (I am suspicious to say it) I highly recommend learning programming. We have even done a post on source code. However, to have professional apps requires a few years of study and a few more years of practice.

Also, a complete app requires other knowledge, design, user experience (UX), server development, and know-how on both Android and iOS platforms, even if it is a hybrid app. Not to mention management and monitoring after development.

Therefore, if you are proposing to develop an app for your business, it is recommended to find a trained and committed team for your success.

Thus, an application made by professionals takes between a few weeks and a few months to develop, instead of a few years. Loeffa specializes in this type of project and has an entire process to achieve the best results.

You can (and should!) Learn to program while on vacation, a few months after your IT team has finalized your custom app.