Mobile app building is a term that is used to explain the act or process of building a software application for mobile devices, tablets, personal digital assistants and smartphones. These applications either come as a bundle when you purchase it or you have the web applications that uses server-side or client-side processing (e.g., JavaScript) to provide an “application-like” experience within a Web browser. Mobile app building is so popular and has been showing a steady growth in both revenues also in job creation. It is not an easy task to build a mobile app as the software developers need to consider a long array of screen sizes, hardware specifications, and configurations because of not only the intense competition in mobile software but also the constant changes and challenges it faces.
As part of the mobile app building process, mobile user interface (UI) design is also essential in the creation of mobile apps. Overall, mobile UI design’s goal is mainly for an understandable, user-friendly interface. Therefore Mobile UI must have constraints, contexts, screen, input and mobility as an out when designing. The focus of interaction is always the user and their device and the interface that comprises the components of hardware and software.User input allows for the users to manipulate a system, and device’s output allows the system to indicate the effects of the user’s’ manipulation. The UI of a mobile design must consider factors such as the size of the device and the screen size, the limited attention you normally get from a user and be task-oriented with a minimum set of functions. This functionality is supported by mobile enterprise application platforms or integrated development environments (IDEs).
Let’s look at some of the best mobile apps that has unquestionably made an impact in our lives.
- Google Maps and Waze
- Youtube
- Spotify
- Lazada
- Groupon
- Photo collage and many, many, more
Why are these apps in the best mobile apps category and how did it become so popular? Simply because the right app makers and marketing were used to create the app.
So how to create an app?
This is slightly more technical as you will need to know the difference between an iphone and Android apps for example. For IOS you would need the ios developer program and for Android a Google Play Developer account. You may also use an app developer to design, choose, create, and publish your own app easily. As this is rather technical, it’s best to get the help of a professional to obtain the best results when you want to create an app. App Maker is a low-code application development tool that lets your organization build and deploy custom apps easily and securely. Most of the app makers offer two kinds of apps: A HTML5 app which is a mobile friendly version of your existing website. It will serve as an addition to your website exclusively for users on Smartphones and Tablet devices.
What most people will be keen on though, is a Native App that users can download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. A native app will also allow you to send notifications that is known by few on how to deactivate them and of course this comes with a price as nothing good comes free. Examples of app some app makers available are Shoutem, GoodBarber, Appy Pie and others.
Google launched App Maker, which is a service that organisations and businesses can now use to easily develop a customised app based on the business needs. This app maker is catered for those who are not so tech savvy as it is rather user friendly. Some of the mobile development tools needed would be Appception, Appcelarator, appGyver Composer Appear IQ, App Press and a zillion more. These are all front-end mobile development tools and these tools are focused on the user interface and user experience (UI-UX) and provide the following abilities; UI design tools, SDKs to access device features, Cross-platform accommodations/support.
Having all these useful tools, knowledge and creating an app alone is not sufficient as in order for you to have the volume required to make sure it’s profitable to you, you will need to market it well. Here are some tips for better mobile app marketing:
- Start marketing before you launch. Figure out who your ideal users are, why they should download your app and how to encourage them to do it.
- Start engaging potential customers. People will surely download an app if it is essential to them hence, design your app to meet their ideal needs.
- Start a blog as it is the best the best way to share information and to constantly update it.
- Start releasing teasers. Sneak peeks and teasers often get you excited about a new movie. So the same way use this method to excite your potential customers
- Prepare press kits and launch materials and reach out to the relevant media, industry influencers and authoritative bloggers for interviews and reviews on the app
- Develop a plan to obtain feedback from customers to increase the possibility of more downloads
- Review you own app by creating youtube videos that will help capture people that are looking for solutions to those problems, and convert them into users.
- Optimize your app for mobile app stores. You need to ensure that the app search is optimized. Use well-researched and structured keywords in the app name.
You need to make your mobile app stand out wherever and whenever users are looking for new apps. You need to get creative in your marketing strategy so that your app will be chosen among the millions available these days. Be prominent and be the talk of everyone is essential for the survival of your app in this extremely challenging market.
ThunderQuote is the most comprehensive business services portal in Singapore, Australia and ASEAN , where hundreds of thousands of dollars of procurement contracts are sourced every month by major companies like Singapore Press Holdings, National Trade Union Congress and more.