10 Ways to Develop a Successful Mobile App Development Idea
22 Aug 2015
ContentKhusbu Basnet
Table of Contents
Nowadays, as everything is focused on the online environment, having an app that spreads the word about your business and makes consumers’ lives easier is a must-have. Although there are numerous apps created just for fun or for helping users, building an app that people will use time and time again remains a tough job.
The app must be easy to use, with a compelling design and the right features so that your customers will enjoy using it. In today’s article, we’re going to walk you through the process of creating a successful app that people will use.
1. Build a strategy
Forget about what your app should look like. First things first: you need to create a strategy around it: why are you creating this app? Who will use it? What features will the app have? How can you combine all these features in an app that people will use?
To get the best results it is always better to create a list of your priorities, and then ask a professional company for help. Someone who lives eats and breathes this thing will surely know how to put a sparkle on your brand-new app!
2. Value
In order to build a successful app you need to know how it will help your clients. Successful apps provide answers and solutions to a problem so acerb that customers are willing to pay their hard-earned money if the app can solve it.
But for your app to be successful it needs to provide the best solution to that problem.
Because there are so many apps out there, people already have a list of their top favourite apps. For them to change their preferences, the newcomer app has to stand out through a unique, better approach.
3. Design is important!
We, humans, are all about the visual element. If it looks good and it’s intuitive, we’ll buy it. Your app must be fascinating in the sense of being super-easy to use. Remember those User Manuals you get whenever you buy a piece of technology? It doesn’t work the same with apps – the user either intuitively knows how to use an app, or they’ll ditch it and look for something else.
As Steve Jobs said, “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works”.
A fascinating design is a simple and clear design. Colours are a very important player, but so are shapes and page layout. All these elements are gathered together in what is known as UI or UX (User Interface and User Experience).
Clarity is also a key factor to consider. Your app is being created for small screens; don’t put too many buttons that are difficult to read, but instead, choose just a few big buttons and fonts.
Although smartphones don’t have the largest screens, people love quality, so investing in your app’s pixels is a smart move. Don’t forget about the icons, they make a real improvement in your app’s design, as they are the first things that your customers see.
After you’ve made up your mind on the features you are going to use, an important next step is to make it easy to navigate from one feature to another and from one screen to another.
4. Scalability
The feedback you get from your customers is very important and you should not ignore it. Feedback shows how your app improves your customers’ lives but at the same time, it indicates the areas that still need improvement.
Scalability is about your ability to adapt to and understand your customers’ feedback.
Choose a group of friends and friends of friends to test your app before launching it. Don’t pick random people; instead, pick those people who would use the app on a daily basis – those people who need your app.
Bonus Tip: At EB Pearls we organise focus groups where we test all the apps we create for our customers. You get to try it in beta mode 2 weeks prior to its launch date, just to make sure everything works according to plan.
5. Built-In Virality
Your app is successful if more and more people use it continuously. One way of attracting new customers to your app is by having a mechanism that allows users to invite their friends. Take the example of WhatsApp or Instagram. Those apps would not be so fun for users if they couldn’t invite their friends to use them too.
6. Android & iOS friendly
This is also an important factor if you want your app to reach a wide audience. It must be available both on Android and iOS.
Although apps were first available on iOS, more than 50% of people in Australia have Android smartphones, so your app has to be available on both systems. Nonetheless, start with iOS, as it was proven to bring more revenue to businesses than Android.
7. Reach
Now that you have created your app, in order to make it successful you need to consider how to overcome your competition and determine users to purchase your app to the detriment of others.
For your app to sell, it must have an interesting and compelling story. You can choose something short and simple but emotional enough to connect with your customers.
For example, Instagram’s motto is “Capture and share the world’s moments”.
8. Product Description
Besides reaching your customer through emotional words and stories, videos are another piece of compelling content. People are more interested in videos and they are more likely to watch a video than read several sentences in which you explain how your product works.
Videos are more interesting and they make people better understand how your app works, plus it is a smart way of promoting your app.
9. Maintenance & updates
Software updates are booming nowadays, and from time to time you will need to upgrade, update, or improve your app. To ensure that everything runs smoothly, you will need to take care of app maintenance. One of the key factors to build customers’ trust in your app is by having a maintenance team available at all times. This way, if your app is an in-purchase one, users are reassured that they are investing their finances in a high-quality product; even if it is a free app customers are more likely to keep and use it.
Updates are important too, as every day there is something new to see and learn. But don’t make updates without a reason or too often, because no one likes too many updates. Check for when your ratings, and numbers of users are starting to drop and then you can work on new updates.
10. Keeping a trusted relationship with your customers
After gaining your customer’s trust in your app, the next step is to maintain that trust. If you started your app with something simple, keep it that way.
Also, try to maintain a balance regarding your ads and monetization. For example, if your app was quite affordable at the beginning, changing the price to something more expensive may stir away your customers. And that goes for ads too. No one likes too many ads popping up all the time on their screens.
Are you planning on creating an app for your business? What are the main goals of this app? Do you want it to improve your internal business systems or do you want to use it as a marketing tool?
Have a look at our portfolio to see some of our most successful apps, or contact us today and one of our app development experts will get in touch with you as soon as possible.
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See all“We’re very happy with the results of EB Pearls’ work. Since its launch, the app has had over 7,000 downloads, with around 6,000 users completing the signup process in the first 6 weeks. ”
— Founder at Intro Dating