Building your business first mobile app? Here’s a blueprint to get started
Have you got a discerning thought of creating an app for your business?
Mobile app usage is increasing every year, and the liberty of accessing multi-platforms is dominating the way of using the internet nowadays.
Most businesses still overlook the idea of having an app because of the complexity behind the app development process. Perhaps your existing and potential customers may get benefits from your mobile app irrespective of the industry you are in.
If you want to start building your mobile app, app builder online, like App My Site can help you put together the key pieces of your app, such as app coding, app’s visuals, app store optimization, and app testing.
In this post, we are listing your app’s foundations to get you started. Have a look -
Outline your app’s goal and objectives
Whether your mobile app functions as an e-commerce network, or serve as a marketing tool for your business, you must understand the role of a mobile app in your business.
Once you have defined your app’s goal, break it down into small objectives. These objectives could be the number of app downloads, app’s screens per session, length of the session, and more.
Let’s say:
- if your app aims at increasing your brand awareness, you must focus on the number of app downloads and the time your customers spend browsing your app
- if the goal is to increase business sales, focus on the number of daily active app users and the relating number of completed transactions along with the push notification metrics
While not every mobile app needs thousands of downloads to be successful, it’s important to ensure that you separate superficial data that lacks context.
See what others are doing
Understand the current market trends in terms of your competitor’s approach. Additionally, seek the preferences of your target audience to revise your marketing strategy.
Make sure you undergo the following research:
- Competitors’ milestones, assets (like website, app, social media accounts, communities), and their budgets
- Number of apps, characteristics of apps, growth rates, users’ retention and engagement rates, and monetization strategies in the app store
- Channelization of public coverage and paid campaigns
You can also do a competitive analysis to gain a competitive advantage. This will help you maintain the industry standards and also uncover marketing strategies that your competitors aren’t using yet.
Identify the resources to develop your mobile app
Building an app is your business’ first step to captivate a large audience. In this process, you must realize your area of expertise, the time in hand, and the budget available, which will all help in deciding your app development path.
Understand these resources in detail:
Expertise
Although there are several options you can go with for your app development, and each of them has a different skill set, you need to choose the best for your business app.
WooCommerce mobile app builder is one of the best options if your website runs on the WooCommerce plug-in.
You can also go for in-house app development, DIY app builders, or outsource professionals. However, you’ll need to set aside the time to do it yourself or communicate with them regularly to end of development.
Time
If you want to set a deadline for your app development and launch, it’s a good time to identify resources. On the other hand, if it is an open-ended development process, you will have more flexibility to choose app development options.
However, if you are strict with a deadline, you may need to involve more people in the app development and invest more money as well.
Budget
Budget is the final step before you choose a path for your app development.
No matter which option you choose, a user is accountable to pay overall app cost, including ongoing app costs for as long as the app exists.
Suggest Read: Ideal time and cost you should spend on a Woocommerce app
Choose your app development pathway
You are now familiar with the resources required; it’s time to choose the right path for your app development.
App development is usually divided into these options:
- Native code from scratch
- Mobile app development platforms
- Do-it-yourself platforms
- SaaS platforms
Native code from scratch
If you want to have a WooCommerce native app, go with online app builder to build the app. This platform can help you create a native app with reliable performance at a minimum cost, without any coding.
Native apps are generally on raw coding from scratch that offers remarkable results.
Suggest Read: How Native Apps Help Businesses Capture Relevant Customer Data
Mobile app development platforms
Most mobile app development platforms are generally tools and libraries that help in speeding the coding process for hybrid app development.
This will include additional custom feature’s costs and the costs of services, such as infrastructure and IT support.
Do-it-yourself (DIY) platforms
While building an app through DIY platforms, you’ll come across numerous out of the box functionalities along with a good performance and SaaS-based pricing. However, all these functionalities and features come with a limitation and low investment.
SaaS platforms
SaaS platforms offer full scalability of mobile apps and reduce dependence on the IT department and give overall control to the users.
A native mobile app bundles all the required services into a single platform and offers a massive suite of plug-ins and integrations. Add as many functionalities and graphics as you can, change layouts, without any coding in a native app.
If you want to customize any of the features, mobile app builder, like App My Site can modify the code and update instantly.
Develop a plan for multiple releases
Most probably, you will want to include every single feature in your app’s first version. However, you can avoid putting all the features and functionalities in one-go and simplify the initial release. Here are the reasons:
- some app features may not be equally important to your users
- if initial app development is complex, there are chances for something to be delayed
- it’s tough to estimate the cost of all additional features if app’s initial version is not yet created
- if you want to compete in the market, you should keep up with the trends
Launch your app in a version that allows your customers to achieve their goal eventually. However, it may be possible that added features and customizations could be appreciated by your users, but you need to accomplish their key goal first.
Let’s say:
Your mobile app allows your prospective customers to conclude their purchase from their phones only. The primary goal of the app is to increase sales in the app if people use mobiles over desktops.
Initially, you may have an option for users to send you a message within the app and receive an answer following the issue within 24 hours, but update after six weeks you may introduce a live chat option. It simply means you have given full support to your users in the first version and even made it better in the next release.
If you are regular with your app updates, there will be more benefits:
- your mobile app will be on top of the mind of the user
- your users are committed to the app and build loyalty toward the brand
- you can easily communicate with your userbase through release notes
Build a community of loyal users while releasing your mobile app in multi-ways.
Define your go-to-market strategy
You will need a marketing strategy before launching an app to the public. Involving marketers, copywriters, and PR specialists can help in nailing down the app content, branding, and overall approach to your mobile app.
Suggest Read: Mobile app marketing: Making your mobile app a hit
Absence of a good app definition, poor marketing plan, and a weak launch strategy can cause your app to underperform. To avoid this, you will need to classify the following:
- your mobile app’s key selling point and its core message for the user
- app store optimization
- launch date, day, and time
- monetization strategy (if any)
- list of industry-related press releases and bloggers
- early bird offers
- presskit
- marketing collateral
Once you are done with all this, work towards your app launch date to ensure you have sufficient time to promote it. These activities may include:
- organizing organic content, such as blog posts, videos, and social media teasers
- writing copies and creating media blogs for the app store listing
- reaching journalists and bloggers within your industry
- writing for your email newsletter
The final note
It’s clear that you will need a blueprint of your app before launching it to the market.
The above six steps will help you create an app with a budget and time frame you have.
Start building your app with an online app maker today!
