Mobile application development begins with planning so that everything falls into place later. While many developers want to jump straight to the development process, there needs to be considerable effort placed on market research, understanding the target audience, and many other things. Before you build your mobile app, here are things to consider.

What You Want Your App to Achieve

Before focusing on the technical aspects of your app, you need to focus on the overall goal.
  • What are you trying to do?
  • What do you want your app to achieve?
  • Is it just a simple utility or something more?
This will help determine the scope and structure of the app, as well as what features and functions need to be added.

If you are developing a commercial app, based on the market trends it is important to understand what people are using and what they want. You can get this information by interacting with the target audience, either physically or through social media.

Your App's Unique Selling Point

Another thing that you need to consider is what makes your app unique and draws visitors to it. Ask yourself questions to dig into what value you think your app should provide, including:
  • How do you differentiate from the rest of the competitors in the same field?
  • What features make your app unique?
  • What kind of content will it offer?
A strong selling point will help you position your app among competitors. You should have clear answers to the above questions by the time you are done doing your market research. They will determine the features in your app, help you set a budget, and give you something to work with when designing and developing your app.

What Your Target Audience Likes

It is important to find out what people do and do not like in an app, especially the people that you want your app to be used by. You can find this information via comments on social media, review sites, and other platforms where your app will be available. If possible collect data from your user interviews so that you have quotes to support your findings.

Which Platforms is Your App Built For?

Before starting the actual development of your app, you need to decide which platforms you want it built for. Today, most people use iOS-based devices and Android-based mobile phones. The platform you choose will determine what technology your developers use to develop your app. It will also determine the cost of developing and maintaining the app, as well as where and how it is distributed.

Resources for Managing the App Long-Term

As you start your app development process, it is important to think about what the future holds for the app. The future of the app is dependent on many factors, such as platform updates, your IT staff, and continued market research.

Also, think about updates and maintenance. Maintenance will involve changes made to your app's functionality or features, either through a more robust application update or simply a bug fix. All of these management and maintenance practices require resources, like an IT team and the budget to support them. Think about what you have the resources to support. If you build an app that you cannot support, it will create more problems in the future.

Data Security Concerns

If you build an app that involves a user's social security number, medical information, or other sensitive data, it needs to be protected at all costs. This is not the same as protecting data through encryption, which will protect data but not necessarily protect it from being stolen. You should always decide if your app requires additional security measures before beginning development.

What Type of App to Build

When you start building an app, there are various options you have to choose from. The number of options can be overwhelming, but it serves to help you figure out how to do it, making things easier for your developers. Depending on your goals and resources, there are several types of apps to choose from. Here are a few common choices that you may have to make.

Native App vs. Cross-Platform App

Native apps are built for one specific mobile platform. Native apps can be developed for iOS or Android and will function on any device running the respective operating system. Cross-platform apps, on the other hand, are designed to work on various platforms, targeting multiple devices with varying screen sizes.

Low-Code/No-Code App vs. Traditional Coding App

Low-code and no-code apps are based on a shortened version of the development process. These apps are built by using visual tools and easy-to-use programming functions to develop the app's functionality. However, they do not involve any learning or coding. Traditional app development is longer and requires more time for detailed programming and analyzing user preferences.

Consider Working With A Skilled Development Team

Another thing to consider before you start is working with a skilled development team. Having the right team on your project means you can avoid a lot of common issues that companies have when developing a new app.