It’s time for businesses to face facts: Without a consistent presence on mobile devices, they will flounder in the face of their competition. This means not only having a mobile-friendly website but a mobile app as well. However, as with your website, a bad application could do more harm for your business than good.
So, before you leap into developing a mobile app to bring your business into the twenty-first century, pause for a moment. Pause, and keep the following considerations in mind before you begin.
Is an App Relevant to Your Business?
While applications can certainly give your business an edge over your competitors, they have not yet reached the importance that mobile websites currently possess. So, before you start developing, you must first consider whether an app is relevant to your business. You shouldn’t start developing a mobile app without reason, after all.
Should You Develop on Apple, Android, or Both?
Your next major consideration when developing a mobile app should be the platform you use to host it. Many businesses choose to develop their application for Android or Apple alone. Obviously, you’ll have the greatest reach if you develop for both. However, that may prove too expensive in the beginning. So, how can you choose?
Android is the most beginner-friendly of the two, as Google doesn’t pocket any of your revenue and it’s easier to develop within natively. However, Apple offers greater security and more consistent coding procedures at the cost of thirty percent of your app’s revenue. It’s up to you which you feel is better, though we recommend looking at your customer demographics to see which phone type they use most often. Speaking of which…
KYA: Know Your Audience
Whether your business needs an app, the platform it should be hosted on, and the features your app should possess depend on your audience. Who frequents your business or buys your products determines whether they value minimalist design, voice integration, or accessibility. So, make sure you conduct proper audience research to ensure that your app reaches the right people.
Security Measures
Security is a crucial consideration for mobile app development. When over seventy percent of banking apps have critical security flaws that can leave your sensitive data vulnerable to a breach, your business can’t afford to risk your customers’ safety.
Even a single data breach can destroy your customers’ trust in you, causing you to lose countless potential clients. You need to keep in mind the data your customers give you and how you can best protect it from those who would steal it.
To Design In-House or Hire External Devs?
One of the biggest things to consider when developing a mobile app for your business is whether you should design the app in-house or hire a team of external developers. If you go in-house, you have people who know your business model well but may not know how to build a mobile app. If you hire an external development team, you’ll have experts at your back but they may not understand your vision.
In general, if you don’t have someone well-versed in mobile app development on your team already, you should hire the experts. You can learn more about the benefits of having professionals handle your application development from Sunlight Media.
To Connect With Social Media or Separate It?
Many modern mobile applications allow users to log in through social media rather than having a separate, app-specific account. While this is a great convenience for your customers, it can pose certain security risks. So, weigh the potential risk of a data breach with the ease of access afforded to your customers by connecting the app with social media.
How Fast Can You Fix Any Problems?
Mobile customers have little patience for applications that don’t work. If your app starts crashing or glitching out, chances are, it’s getting deleted from their device. So, you need to ensure that you have the resources on hand to fix any problems that arise with your application quickly.
The Need for Speed
Phone applications need to load as soon as they’re tapped. If your customers have to sit through a loading screen, even one of a few seconds, they could lose patience with your app and with you. Your app needs to load fast, both on start-up and between pages of the app itself.
What Is Your Intended Application Payment Model?
Most applications operate under one of three payment models. When developing a mobile app, you need to decide which one is best for your business.
Should you opt for a free app model, where there’s no initial cost or required payments down the line? Should you make the application cost money to install, but ask nothing further from your customer? Or, should you go the most popular route, and make the application itself free while offering purchases in the app itself?
To Allow Customizability or Not?
Users love when they can customize an app or a website to their tastes. Even if it’s something simple like the color scheme or skin that greets them when they open the app, that hint of personalization makes them take ownership of the application. However, coding in such features can prove difficult, so make sure to weigh the cost of the investment with the customer repayment and engagement that you will receive in turn.
Developing a Mobile App: Let’s Review What You Should Know
When you start developing a mobile app, there are several things you should keep in mind. First, you must know your customers and what they will appreciate. Second, you need to consider what will help your business earn and retain clients in the application itself. Third, you must consider what features your application should offer for your users.
Once you keep these elements in mind, you will know how to develop a mobile app that will suit your needs perfectly. And, if you need more tips on mobile app design, check out our blog each day for more informative articles like this one!
