The Basics of Mobile App Development
To get the maximum engagement with a target audience, it is important for businesses to be able to reach
them on the go, which is exactly when mobile apps come in handy. The process of mobile app development
can be quite costly and can take significant time; however, with advanced planning and correct
execution, the risks can be brought down to a minimum. In order to succeed in any mobile app creation
endeavour, you need to appreciate the following three aspects:
1
MVP (Minimum Valuable Product)
A great strategy would be to build a very basic version of the app with key functionality, which
could then be tested in real time. Unlike the final product, MVP is more of a rough draft which
shows the end users its potential. Such development minimizes costs and allows you to validate
your initial concept, without running into the high risks of developing something that might not
be wanted by the market when launched. It will also show your investors that you are serious
about the project at half the cost.
2
MMP (Minimum Marketable Product)
Unlike MVP, MMP is a product created specifically for an early product launch. The product is
launched rapidly with the most relevant features and then the money made in the early stages is
used to continue funding and developing the prototype into something more significant. The costs
of development of MMP are also very low compared to a fully developed app.
3
A Full-Fledged App Launch Strategy
At this point, you have already developed an app and got beta testers to give it a try, and you
are certain that there is a market for your app and users who are waiting for it to launch.
Unlike MVP and MMP, the cost of developing an app is much higher and depends on the platform,
design, development and testing, among other things.
There really isn’t one best option here, but an MVP will allow you to collect real feedback from
users and improve the prototype as much as you want before going live with something raw. Whichever
option you choose, you need to make sure that your audience is engaged with the application you
develop.
Developing an Engaging Mobile App
There are several things you should note to make sure that the app you are developing will find the
necessary resonance with your end users.
App Design
First and foremost, your app’s design must be clean and simple. The easier it is for your users to
understand and interact with the app, the higher the user retention rate will be. Minimalism is the
key to keeping loyal users. The second most important rule is to ensure that your app reflects and
mirrors your main website. If you own a website, your app must have the same design as the main
website. This way your clients won’t be lost when switching to the mobile app and will intuitively
find their way around. Convenience is another important factor that has an effect on engagement. You
need to be certain that navigation is simple and clear and that every function works, because the
last thing you need is to see your clients leave the app because some buttons don’t work or because
their cart became empty after browsing for minutes.
The Social Side of Things
These days people are really into sharing what they like or are interested in. They want all their
friends and followers to know what they are doing and if they are using something they find
interesting. Your job is to let them share what they are doing. Add social sharing buttons with
pre-made text and let your users do the marketing for you. Despite their social nature, most people
still want a personalized experience, so you should tailor the user experience based on past
behaviour or recent choices made. The goal is to make the user interested, and nothing kills a
user’s interest more than a pop-up. It is truly a conversion killer, which will lead most of your
users to leave your app and never look back. For that simple reason, you should really think twice
before adding any pop-ups to your application.
Retention is Key
If you want to see a profit, you absolutely must allow unregistered users to checkout. You should
also fit the whole checkout process into one step. Your main goal is to permit users to make a
payment quickly, rather than make them answer a ton of unnecessary questions which will presumably
help you analyse why the customer left at some point later on. The key is to not let it come to
that. Also, for every question a customer has, there should be an answer available right away, so
you should list a phone number or integrate a live chat and make yourself available for inquiries as
they come.
Clients
Mobile App Development Trends in 2016
It obviously isn’t enough to simply develop a mobile app and incorporate the tips mentioned to
improve the app’s engagement: you should also know what is up and coming, what trends are in right
now and how to ensure that there is a market ready and waiting for your app. A complete list of 2016
mobile app development trends can be found in this post , but if you are in a hurry, we have
prepared a quick summary for you below.
How Swift are You?
The number one trend in mobile app development in 2016 is using Apple’s programming language called
Swift. The advantage of Swift is that it is both an application and a system language, and it also
provides the ability for developers to write a more reliable code from the beginning and at much faster
pace.
Conclusion
In this day and age, mobile devices are everywhere and most of us cannot imagine our lives without them
anymore. With a dependency like this, it is important to create apps that will improve our quality of
life, ways of interaction and engagement with each other, as well as simplify our household and business
tasks. After all, isn’t that what we are all looking for?
Strive to create an app that you yourself would want to use regularly and you will be on the right path
to mobile app development success.
