What To Learn For App Development as a Beginner

You have long known that “Mobile First” is required of your customers either knowingly or intuitively. The decision is therefore made quickly for many companies: An app should be created! But not all apps are the same and it is important to avoid serious mistakes. How do you create an app concept? How should the appropriate app structure look? What should you start with to develop an app? In this article you will find out what to learn for app development. 

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Creating an app concept: The smart way to mobile app development

By the time you’re reading this, you have probably already decided to customize your web application for the mobile screen. You are already sure that you want to develop an application from scratch. From here on, you still have to clarify many critical points before you can continue developing an app.

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Now the first questions arise: How do I create an app? Which app agency is the right project partner? Where can I get an app checklist to help me prepare? At best, you already have some answers to a lot of marketing questions, but you are not sure how they fit the technical process – this is completely normal!

Ask yourself about

• how should you start building the app?
• whether you need to create an Android or an iOS app concept?
• how can you actually earn money with your app?

Here are our assumptions:

You have a limited budget that you want to spend wisely.

You want to design an app that offers good value for money.

You want to offer your customers and users the greatest added value in order to ensure long-term success after the app launch.

How do you know What to Learn For App Development?

Building an app can prove to be a complex and expensive process when you have a lot of unknowns. This is especially true if you need to reverse your decision at a later date; in this case you have to start from the beginning. Important: Your app should always have added customer value as the highest goal, not “we have to become more digital”.

If you are unsure whether native application development is what you need, the first step is to understand the key differences between native, hybrid, and web apps.

WHO & WHY? 

Two key questions that you need to clarify in order to build an app. The main thing to light up in the beginning is the purpose of the mobile application you are developing.

This includes two questions:

Who is your target audience?

Why will they use the app?

For example, you are an insurance company that decided to offer larger insurance packages in a mobile app because research has shown that you are missing conversions due to poor UX design of the web app. So your next step is to enhance that experience by offering a solid user journey through an app that users download onto their phone. And you know that by offering in-app discounts via push notifications, you can also build long-term relationships with existing customers.

When you link these key factors to the technical process of developing mobile applications, additional questions arise:

1. Is an interface to a backend software – CRM, ERP, DMS or CSM or cloud services – necessary?
2. Does the mobile app need to be able to access data offline?
3. Are you planning on push notifications?
4. How is the added value of the app created by all the functions that you want to integrate?

Other very important questions to ask yourself at the beginning are:

1. How do I make my app successful?
2. How do I make sure she’s doing what she’s supposed to do?

If your app does not find acceptance after implementation, the investment is not worth your money. In order to develop an app structure with high user acceptance, agile software development has also been recommended for mobile apps for years. Now is the time to shed a little more light on your most critical concerns.

1. What is an app used for?

A mobile application has to serve a specific purpose. The purpose can be:

• Provide help or support with everyday business processes
• Solve an everyday problem
• Better connection with customers
• entertainment
• Direct income

Whatever the purpose, it should be studied carefully before you start implementing it. Above all, the added value that the user receives from the app must be made clear. Otherwise your app has little chance of success.

In order to undoubtedly add value, you need to involve your future users in the project as early as possible. In this way, they can provide valuable feedback before the actual implementation, so that you can incorporate additional knowledge into the conception without high costs.

During the conception phase, the main question should be: “How do I create an app that my users will like?

2. Who is your target group?

The next step is to define the target audience on which the design, user language and ultimately communication are based. How do you create an app concept if you don’t know your users? Right – you leave success to chance. Note: Not a good idea?. To design a successful app, you need to describe the target users as precisely as possible. Therefore:

• Think like your audience as much as possible.
• Identify target demographic users.
• Create several user examples.

This methodology increases the likelihood of success because you keep an eye on the users for whom you are actually implementing the application, whether you’re building an iOS or Android app, or both (Windows likely won’t be on your shortlist anymore, at least not for mobile devices) should be decided based on current standards and budget.

3. Choosing Platform to Learn For App Development

There are practical and technical questions about choosing the best build platform – but also interesting insights into choosing between iOS and Android, such as:

• iOS users spend more money on in-app purchases on average. 
• It’s easier to get an app on the Google Play Store. 
• iOS projects usually require design and testing for fewer devices (iOS only) and thus have stricter design rules that enable a uniform experience with the Apple brand. 
• iOS and Android users vary widely based on demographics. 

Not only the operating system, but also the selection of supported end devices is an important parameter when designing the app and in the later phases of development.

4. How do you create an app – regardless of the operating system?

In hybrid and cross-platform development, or in the web app development version, you develop for a single framework, for example React Native, Cordova or Xamarin, and “compile” (export) your application for the desired operating systems.

Before deciding on the type of application you want to build, you should research the cost of the app development team, as most mobile developers specialize in a particular skill and don’t offer a comprehensive approach (and if they do, is our recommendation: Find the right experts for ONE technology and bring them together!).

5. Create or Buy App Components: Which Is Better?

A fundamental decision when creating an app is whether the app should be developed from scratch or whether it is based on existing components by buying,  integrating and configuring existing systems (cloud or on-premise).

The modern microservice architecture guarantees long-term maintainability, flexibility and scalability in an application project. If you are using third-party systems, make sure that you can access their data through open interfaces such as REST or GraphQL interfaces.

6. How do you create an app concept in-house?

If you already have the competence for an app development project in the team, then just check whether you can fill all essential roles with experts. Essentially, your team – in-house or external – should consist of verifiably experienced experts in the following areas:

• Project Manager or Scrum Master (to manage time and budget)
• Business Analyst (to record the requirements)
• UX designer
• Technical team leader / architect
• Software developers, at least two

It’s certainly possible to save on team building by excluding certain roles. However, the less quality assurance and expert knowledge you have on your team, the greater the risk that the project will last too long, deliver too poor quality or simply become too expensive.

Since apps require the infrastructure to be set up depending on the development framework, you often have to contact external providers and hire an expert who you do not have in-house.

Include these costs in the budget for developing mobile applications!

7. Where does appealing content come from?

Where does the content of your app come from?

You can provide content either directly with the app (1) or via interfaces to content sources via app integrations (2).

The advantage of the first method of delivering content statically directly in the app is that it is less complex. This leads to cheaper app development.

Delivering content through integration with other services has the great advantage of continuous updates. The respective method of content creation must be integrated into your content marketing strategy, or rather, it must ensure:

• clear, clean texts and UI elements are provided.
• Content is optimized for touch screens.
• User is encouraged to give app feedback.
• The app increases your company’s social media engagement.

Above all, the content must tell a visually appealing story in the most user-friendly way possible.

This is the area in which you get clear feedback as to whether your app idea or your app concept and the understanding and experience of the users with the app match.

Hence, the content is critical to the success of apps.

8. How do you make an app secure?

The more complex the system becomes through the integration of interfaces, the more entry points there are for attackers.

There are architectural flaws, platform weaknesses, authorization problems and even lost or stolen mobile devices.

This becomes even more important with regard to intelligent mobile security , where potential vulnerabilities must be repeatedly tested for mobile security in order to ensure the smooth operation of the application without compromising security.

The following applies:

When using API integrations, you need to consider each service separately from a security perspective.

If you are simply deploying an app in the App Store or the Google Play Store without any integration with additional services, you need to consider the security.

9. The app layout – what should your app look like?

Do you want to use existing layouts from the web for your planned app?

Caution: Pre-planned app designs are usually more difficult to implement and usually take more time to correct than to create a new, stand-alone look for your app. The branding of a product plays a crucial role. So, of course, you should choose a layout that suits your brand and product.

Our tip: tidy up mercilessly!

Reduce the cognitive challenges for the user, minimize the necessary user input, record user needs in advance as intuitively as possible (or accept them after extensive user analysis) and make the optional navigation as easy as possible.

10. How do you make your app successful?

Provided that you know the needs and interests of your users, the objective measurement of success is the most important question to be answered. And, before you start the app creation. The success of an app depends on the following: You need to add value and focus on an optimal user experience that ensures that the app structure supports your users in their tasks as efficiently as possible. The following criteria are in focus for the success of your app, based on your goals:

• Usability
• Usefulness / added value
• performance
• design
• User engagement

If your app is only sold internally, get your users on board as early as possible and help them roll out the app. You receive valuable feedback, which in turn supports you in continuously improving the app in an agile process.

Monetization of the app

It is difficult to celebrate app successes if it does not generate any revenue, either directly through the app or indirectly through your business model. You can do much more than one way to make money from your application. For example, you can sell premium in-app subscriptions in mobile apps and create an ad concept. Either way, it’s worth thinking about how you can monetize the new features you add to an app.

11. How do you build an app into the existing IT infrastructure?

If you set up a microservice landscape for your IT in addition to implementing a cloud strategy, this has two major advantages:

• You have access to processes and data of the systems in standardized form, via well-secured and easily accessible interfaces.

• When introducing new systems, however, make sure that they are accessible via standardized web interfaces such as REST or GraphQL. SOAP ( Simple Object Access Protocol ) is better than direct database access .

Conclusion

An app is never approved and stays that way forever. You need to update them, maintain them and plan for support. The update cycles depend on user feedback, dates and the size of the team. A conceptual or content-related further development of the app is often necessary for the simple reason that you want to incorporate the feedback from your users as continuously as possible. How these updates will be carried out should be planned and budgeted for before creating the app. Schedule at least 2 to 4 updates in advance but make sure you keep up with market demand. Publish quarterly new updates with improved features. This way, your users will see that their feedback matters and you will ensure a better user experience.