There are lots of reasons that people decide to create an app: an innovative, high-functioning app can be a great complement to your website, generate interactions tailored explicitly to your business’s needs, and increase conversion rates and brand visibility. Or perhaps you’ve had a great idea and are simply keen to take on the challenge of constructing an app! However, it’s not only about launching a sophisticated app with advanced features but the user experience that decides whether the app is truly engaging or not.
Below, you’ll find a step-by-step guide to help you navigate the process of creating your very first app to bring your bright idea to actuality – and onto people’s mobile devices!
To keep your visitor on your screen and engaged with the content, your app must be easy to use and navigate, aesthetically pleasing, and operate fluidly and intuitively. To this end, creating a mock-up on paper is a vital step to achieving the end product you want.
Focus on the user interface design and the overall user experience; the latter should take into account elements such as load time and the journey time for a user to find the content they want or to achieve their goal in using your app.
Users will land on your app to get their desired goals. You can meet their requirements through the product or service you are offering. Hence, it’s important that users can easily navigate your products or services properly. You have to highlight the “search” feature here so that anytime a user gets confused about which web page or link he/she has to click, this navigation option will help. Anyone can simply type any specific keyword for which he/she is searching and the results will be generated accordingly. If you don’t include the navigation bar or forget to include it on the app, it degrades the app’s user experience. Because of difficulty in exploring through the app, he/she may move to your competitor’s app. Therefore, you should improve the search feature in your app and place the option in the header section of the app so that it is highly visible to the users.
A native app has been designed to operate on a specific type of device and OS. This can allow for better overall performance as the app can utilize the device’s own hardware and software. Native apps currently account for more than 80% of mobile traffic.
A PWA, on the other hand, uses web features and is a hybrid of a mobile app and a regular web page. PWAs offer a similar user experience to a native app but don’t require any download and can adapt to desktop, mobile, and tablet. PWAs are indexed on search engines and can benefit from the use of effective SEO.
When weighing up which option is best for your app, you may wish to consider the fact that PWAs enjoy around three times more visits than native apps, but the browser they’re being used on will affect the availability of their features. Native apps, alternatively, allow full access to all geolocation features, but creating one potentially comes with additional expenditure and the need to adhere to relevant compliance requirements due to the publishing process.
Further down the line, when you’ve got more experience under your belt, you may wish to try your hand at developing your app yourself; however, to do so, you need skills in several programming languages, so it’s probably best to stick with an app builder for your first attempt.
The biggest advantage of using an app builder is that the vast majority come with a WYSIWYG editor component. This means that the text you type appears exactly as it will in your finished app, so there’s no need to do complicated stuff with code. Most builders also incorporate easy-to-use drag-and-drop tools as part of their UIs and, once the app is done, will guide you through the process of distributing the finished product to various app stores, which can be a complicated affair.
But pause a moment just before unleashing your app into the world. Test out all versions of the app on a variety of browsers. Pay close attention to the overall speed and how intuitive and efficient it is regarding navigation and general use.
Make sure that no action causes a crash and test out its performance when connectivity is poor. The design should adequately adapt to different screen sizes and look aesthetically pleasing in all its various incarnations. Finally, ensure that no component of the app is ‘hidden’ and that the description you’re planning to assign it in the app store is self-explanatory, so potential users understand exactly what they’ll be getting.
The time has come to publish your app and submit it to the various app stores. As part of this process, you’ll need to register a developer’s account – most app builders, as mentioned above, will guide you through this process, which can be complex.
Some app developers suggest not launching all your app’s features at once but, instead, holding back on some to give you a bit of wriggle room regarding further development – plus the opportunity to launch an updated, bigger and better version at a later date with all the attendant fanfare!
Creating your mobile app offers loads of advantages. Doing so allows you to create an app designed specifically to meet your needs or those of your business, and that’s been built with an overarching understanding of the needs of those that’ll be using it.
Almost 90% of the total time spent on mobile devices is spent using apps, so embracing this trend is a vital way to boost your visibility, keep up with the competition, and even increase productivity. A mobile app is a perfect way to stay both connected and in total alignment with your users – and building one may be easier than you’d imagine!
You should design our mobile app in such a way that when users explore it, they want to try it frequently and always explore for what’s more inside. You have to create stimulation amongst the users. However, it’s easier said than done. It’s highly recommendable that you incorporate those features in your mobile app that always focus on meeting the requirements of the users’ goals.
Try to make the app simple when it comes to its users so that all those tech-savvy people can also enjoy using your app. In simple terms, your every decision while designing your mobile app should revolve around your targeted audience who is going to use it after your app is launched.
Don’t forget to test your app regularly so that you can be aware of its timely performance. You will also be assured whether any amendment is required or not. Try implementing all those points I have explained in this article, and finally, see how engaging your app will become with the users.
