A Guide to Building Your First Mobile App
Building an app can be an intimidating venture and not knowing where to start is added anxiety. Having a great idea is a great starting point but before you dive straight into the nitty gritty, it’s important that you clearly define the purpose and mission of your app. Defining a clear goal for your app will help you get to building it faster.
Step one is simply coming up with a problem. Problems are everywhere, so in most cases finding a problem to solve is the easy part. However, successful entrepreneurs and startups solve problems in a way that most people never thought possible.
Start small and look for problems in your daily life. Research is crucial! Find out whether there are other apps doing the same thing. Find design inspiration for your app. Search for ways to market and monetize your app. Research serves many purposes.
Next, identify the need for your app. Validation will prove that a demand exists for your app. Find out if people are looking for a solution to the problem you are wanting to solve.
Now that you have validated your app, you should think about your strategy of getting it out onto the market. Figure out how you can reach your target user and how you can approach them. Find out how you can guide them to see the value and use of your app.
Once you’ve validated that your app is something people want to use, layout the flow and features of your app. Put your idea down on paper and include the flow of how the user will navigate the app as well as the features envisioned. This will help the development team understand your expectations.
Once you begin building, remember to offer only the core value of your app in the first version. Don’t build features in that you think your potential users would want. Such features can always be added later as an update. Removing non-core features will help keep the initial costs of development down and help you get to market quicker.
Another tid-bit to keep in mind is to put design first. Design is not just about how your app looks, but rather how a user will experience the app. How your users interact with the interface is just as important as how it looks.
Lastly, don’t neglect user feedback. Get feedback quickly and improvise accordingly. Once your app goes live, the first set of customers’ behavior will give you insight into how to improve your app.
Most importantly, get started!
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