Dos & Don'ts of Custom Mobile App Development
Mobile app presence is key to increasing reach and visibility for your business. Your users spend about 5 hours daily scrolling through their favourite applications (Statista). In 2022 alone, the app downloads reached 142 billion. Quarter one of 2020 saw the highest volume of downloads ever, since 2015 (BusinessofApps).
Mobile app development is segmented into off-the-shelf solutions and custom development. While off-the-shelf solutions allow you to reach the market before anyone else, it doesn’t give you the liberty to personalise or differentiate. For this, you need to opt for custom mobile app development.
Customisation will allow you to improve user experience, unleash a more engaging application, and get more downloads. Additionally, custom mobile applications offer the following:
- Better security
- Improved scalability
- Excellent app maintenance
- Better revenue generation capabilities
While developing a custom solution garners excellent reach, you should consider ways to avoid bottlenecks and enhance app performance. There are certain practices that you should consider including in your development methodology; however, there are a few things you ought to avoid.
We will discuss all the do’s and don’ts for custom mobile application development to guide you towards a perfectly developed solution.
Do’s and Don’ts of Custom Mobile App Development
The do’s and don’ts entail the discovery, planning, development, testing and deployment phases. If you keep these points in mind, you can deliver a suitable solution for your users.
8 Do’s of Custom Mobile App Development
Let’s begin with what you should do when building a custom mobile application for your business.
1. Early research and discovery are important
Knowing the business needs, identifying the goals of your business and determining the app’s requirements are important. When you begin app development without defining these elements, you may not get the desired results.
Early stages of discovery can help you understand why you need a custom mobile application. It will help list the user’s requirements, business logic and other aspects closely woven with your application.
The early research or Discovery process can help underline your business application's long-term and short-term goals. It can help determine how you aim to monetise the application, the growth strategies and the users for the application.
This practice will help you define the work scope, which will help define the timelines and budget for app development. You must work hard to avoid this crucial step while building a custom app. It prepares the ground for your application.
2. Validate your Idea
An idea is just the start of your mobile app development process. It helps you determine the target market, niche it down and then work on goals of the app. However, before moving into the planning stage, you should consider identifying the product-market fit.
Does your target market need a product like this? Are they ready to adopt this product? Would they download and use the mobile app? If you feel that you are solving the wrong problem or there is no market readiness for the product, you can quit at the idea stage. Validation can save you several man-hours and money.
3. Keep UX at the core of the development
You are building an app for the user. If you don’t keep the user at the core of your development, you will face repercussions after the release. The users will feel frustrated if they cannot use the app, access the elements on the interface or navigate around using their previous learning curve.
The UX is at the heart of your UI design and mobile app development. Mobile app owners and developers must work in tandem with the UI/UX strategists. They can suggest the ideal design for the experience that will help improve the usability and accessibility of the application.
The UI/UX designers will help realize the app's consistency and improve the ease of use and other relevant structures to enhance conversions.
4. Build with a clear focus on security
Users download an application or use it if they feel safe around it. They may not use your application if they believe the data will get stolen or people will hack into their profiles. The trust comes from the security you have introduced in your application. From sign-in to privacy measures during app, data storage and access are very important.
You can add encryption methods for each piece of data added to the application. In the case of an eCommerce mobile application, you can introduce ways the data is stored safely within the application.
The idea is to ensure security is core to your mobile application. Developing a security-first approach can help you build a reliable and safe application for the users.
5. Test-driven approach can help increase the quality
In the traditional app development approach, you tend to develop the entire app and then test it. However, test-driven methodology ensures you test the app during development. Every unit or functionality is converted into a test case even before it is developed. This will ensure you know the right outcome, match it against the same, and ensure you develop the application till you reach the desired output.
Beginning with testing and moving on to development will help release a high-quality and performing application. It will also save a lot of developers' time and efficiency. Moreover, the developer would be aware of the reusable components and code. This would lower their development time too.
6. Simplify the app development
Most often, we tend to complicate the different aspects of development. You can complicate the app development phases, the overall structure and even the coding. This can, in turn, lead to lots of commenting and clarification structure. If you want to debug the application or even add features, it can make things challenging for the developer.
The better way to deal with custom app development is to simplify the entire process. If you can find a simpler way to mention things, it can help in articulating the application easily. Defining a simple architecture and structure for your app development is equally important.
7. Define the tech stack as early as possible
The technology stack is pivotal for smooth app development. It will help in realizing the timelines, identifying the app development approach and the platforms where you will release. For instance, in the case of cross-platform app development, you can choose between React Native, Flutter and Xamarin. If you choose the tech stack early, you can select the development philosophy, and the resources and even plan the different phases.
The tech stack will also help you realise how soon you can deploy the app and what features you can add. If you define the stack during the planning phase, you will know the pros and cons of the language and tools. This lets you stay prepared for everything you cannot add during development.
8. Budget and timelines should be clearly defined
Most of the projects fail because of delays and cost overshoots. You might overshoot by mentioning a ballpark quote rather than an actual amount. This is because you haven’t considered everything you need for mobile application development.
For example, if you haven’t planned the features, you would not know the exact time you are likely to take to complete development. This would lead to cost-related issues. You might plan for a particular amount, but your final amount may differ.
The best practice is to define the features, know the resources and estimate the hiring costs early on. Having a contingency fund and time for better development practices is equally good.
This will help in ensuring timely completion and cost-effective solutions.
6 Don’ts of Custom Mobile App Development
While listing out the must-dos, you must remember things you should not do when developing a custom mobile application. We have curated a list of all the things to avoid when developing an app for better downloads.
1. Don’t overshoot the defined budget
It’s very easy to overshoot your planned project cost. If you have planned $10k for the project, you have a good chance of going to $12k and above. Why does this happen? It does because you planned poorly. You didn’t include the must-have features, the app contingency fund, or the fixed timelines.
You didn’t plan for expensive resources, higher range tools and pricing plans that can cut into your budget. The best way to avoid these would be proper planning. To avoid overshooting your budget, you should list the tech stack, the resources you would need, the hiring costs and every single thing where you plan to spend.
2. Avoid letting poor UX lead to attritions
Most often, we believe investing in UX is optional. You simply copy and paste the interface from other apps into your application. You think it will work, but it doesn’t. Your users are completely different from the other app’s users. They prefer a certain set pattern and interface solutions.
If your UX or UI design doesn’t meet their desired goals, they may not continue to use you. If your app doesn’t help them achieve the goals such as checkout, adding data, checking information etc., they may churn out. Avoiding investing in UX can lead to increased abandonments.
3. Steer away from adding too many features
An app user hates it when you clutter their screen. If you have too many things on a single screen, it can cause distractions. Eventually, the user may feel overwhelmed and end up not using the application.
While too many features can help build the use case, it will not help add users to your application. It would be great to keep one task or feature per screen. This way, the user would know the goals of the page and how to use it.
They will be more engaged and continue to use your application.
4. Don’t build your app without an MVP
It is tempting to dive right into the actual solution. You know the problem, you are aware of the concept, have validated the idea, and can build the app. However, despite validating the idea, you are still determining if the actual product has a market fit. You are curious to know if the product is usable and engaging enough.
Releasing a hook and getting audience feedback will help you build a more stable version of your mobile application. You would know what is wrong with the current version, and can improve the features and functionality. As a result, you should develop an MVP before you build the application.
Creating an app without MVP is akin to missing the most important feedback that can help build a successful product.
5. Don’t build without defining the problem you are solving
While you know the idea, you may lose track of the problem you are solving. The core of your application development lies in the problem you are solving. It could be a simple issue like finding a cab in the neighbourhood or getting groceries delivered at your doorstep. When you have the core problem in mind, you can deliver a top-notch product.
Avoid getting drawn away by the design and coding of the application; if your app doesn’t belong to the core, you are not creating a suitable product. Always remember what you are solving, and the app development gets easier.
6. Avoid neglecting the user while building mobile applications
The user is core to your mobile application. They will use the app, consume the product, and navigate through the interface. If you have yet to develop for the user, you may not get the desired outcome, i.e. engagement and conversion.
User-centric designs can help deliver successful solutions. Think like the user, and development can get easier. Plan and even create the features keeping the user in mind. This way, you will know how to design experiences and improve the downloads.
Conclusion
Building a custom mobile application requires a thorough understanding of your goals, business objectives and user requirements. Keeping the user at the core can help deliver an aesthetic and functional mobile application.
Ensuring you are fully aware of the problem when planning or developing the mobile application is equally important. To uncomplicate the development and simplify the solution, you need a thorough process and a suitable mobile app development partner.
New York Mobile Tech is a leading custom mobile app development company with proficiency in delivering efficient and functional solutions. Connect with our team to convert your idea into a mobile solution.