As a development firm, we receive frequent requests for time & cost estimates for mobile app projects.

These requests often come to us with a wide range of detail, spanning from those who just have a “general idea” to customers who have defined wireframes, functionality requirement lists, and even page designs ready to go.

In general, more detail is always better for us as developers to go on when giving an accurate estimate for a project, but “more” detail isn’t exactly a helpful metric, so here’s a list of specific things you can provide to your app developer when you reach out to them (trust us, they’ll be thrilled you’ve done this legwork!):

1. The ‘Big Idea’ / overall goal of your app

Before the fine details, come the broad strokes. Let your developer know, at the highest level, what your app should do.

Here are a couple of succinct examples:

“Our app should allow our customers to order their hair care products from our catalog. It should also include a place where we can push out new blog posts and content to app users.”

“Our app is a social network for handymen/women; we want users to be able to send direct messages to each other, and also want a forum type area where they can create discussions and ask open questions.”

2. How many pages your app will include

While we like to think of apps as distinct from mobile websites (and they are), it’s important to remember that apps are still made up in a number a of interconnected pages. Even a mobile game might have a Login page, Start Menu page, a main page that hosts the game itself, a Results/High Score page, and so on.

It’s important to have in mind exactly how many different pages will make up your finished app, as each will have to be crafted by your developer.

If you can, get detailed with describing how each page should look and what exactly it will do (“this page should list nearby burger restaurants,” “this page allows the user to place an order to their chosen restaurant,” “this is the page where users enter credit card info”, etc.).

3. Key functionalities that need to be included

Get a little more detailed here and describe exact functionality. For example, in the example earlier regarding an app in which handymen/do-it-yourselfers could chat with each other, this would be a great place to delve a bit deeper into the requested chat function.

Instead of just saying “chat with each other”, you might specify that users should be able to…

• send text messages back and forth
• send pictures back and forth (either from the device’s camera or its stored photos)
• Send video clips back and forth (either from the device’s camera or its stored photos)

Using more specific functionalities like this helps to cut down on ambiguity and can make a big difference when it comes to giving accurate estimates of development time. In the example above, creating a text messaging system might not take very many hours on its own, but creating the functionality to access local device storage, utilize the camera, etc. may significantly increase development and testing time.

4. Online or offline?

This is a point that’s often overlooked when first sending off requests for an estimate, but the way in which an app handles data may vary greatly depending on which functionalities of the app will work offline and which will only work with online connectivity.

For example, most people don’t want their apps to be useless while offline, which means your app will need to cache the most recent content it has to display so that it still functions if your user loses connection.

This gets slightly more complicated when it comes to functionality that has to have connectivity.

For example, if a customer submits an order form for a product in your app while their device is offline, how should it be handled?

• Should the user get a message saying to try again when they have connectivity?
• Should their order be queued for sending to you and display a message to the user letting them know the order will be submitted as soon as they have connectivity again?

There are usually workarounds to make most any app functionality feel unaffected even in the absence of an internet connection, but it’s important to give your approach some thought. Some solutions here can get complex, so it’s OK to only have a general idea, and then let your developer work out an exact architecture/solution with you during the initial planning phase of the project.

5. Will you do the design, or will your developer?

Different firms handle design differently: some contract out to third-parties, while others have in-house designers and artists to create page designs as they go.

Either way, providing your own designs (if you or someone in your camp is good enough to do them) can save some significant hours and dollars.

Even if you can’t provide finished designs for your app, providing rough mockups, other apps/styles you like or want to mimic, and any other direction can help your developer get the look and feel of your app right as quickly as possible.

6. Wireframe/sitemap

“Sitemap” isn’t the best term, but helping us as developers to understand which buttons on which pages should take the user to which other pages is a big help.

Having a wireframe or map of how various pages will connect with each other can go a long way toward saving time.

7. Timeline

Yes, we know, you want your app “as soon as possible,” but so does everyone else. ;)

It’s much more helpful to provide an actual date for when you would like to launch and let your developer create their roadmap/schedule around this date.

8. What you will require after launch

Often overlooked is the roadmap for your app that expands beyond its initial development phase. Here are a few questions related to the ongoing care and growth of an app after launch that you may want to consider:

• Do you need a database solution/hosting, or do you have your own solution?
• Do you need an interface for/help with sending push notifications, emails, and other alerts to users after launch?
• Do you require a CMS/easy way to update in-app content after launch (useful if you have a news/updates page, depending on its setup)?
• Do you want help setting up & monitoring analytics (app user counts, devices used, languages, countries, etc.) to get insights into how your app is used?
• How often do you plan on needing the developer’s help for feature updates?

These may be topics that evolve as you work with your developer, but its not a bad idea to give them some thought as early on as possible so that you don’t hit any surprises down the road.

Provide even half of the things on this list, and your developer will be a happy camper!

Personally, we don’t mind when people approach us with just an app “idea,” but it makes things easier on everyone when there’s a solid plan from the beginning, and every detail you can provide is a detail your developer will be thankful for!

This post was contributed to Appademics by the Android/iOS development team at Aplexa. Got a mobile app project for them? Be sure to get in touch.

If you’d like to read more app-related content, be sure to follow Appademics Magazine using the button below, or connect with us via twitter or Facebook.

8 Things you should have ready for your app developer when you request a quote was originally published in Appademics Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

At Comparakeet, we make it our business to seek out and find the best of everything, so readers can make informed choices. Whether we’re reviewing something physical (like subscription boxes) or something a little less tangible(like web hosts), there are always three main elements we consider: features, price and customer service.

The specifics change with each product or service, of course, but everything we assess can be traced back to these big three factors. In this article, we’re going to talk about how these elements specifically play a their roles in reviewing and evaluating app makers.

Features with a Focus on Usability

Assessing an app development tool’s features starts with answering a few general questions:

• Does it have industry baseline features (i.e. what every other competitor has)?
• Does it have something extra/unique that some users might particularly need or appreciate?

Of course, the ultimate goal of using any kind of app creation software is to develop a working piece of software, so a third question needs to be addressed as well:

• How easy is it to use?

A great tool can be used by both beginners and professional app developers — though admittedly with varying results.

Similar to how you and Bob Ross can both hold and use a paintbrush, but the quality of the resulting painting might differ.

The Development Timeline Test

After addressing these initial questions, we like to walk through a typical app development cycle and shine a spotlight on things we would watch out for as customers:

First: Does the app maker support a single code base that it then translates to different OS versions (Android, iOS, Windows, etc.), or do you need to work on each native app separately?

Does it support HTML5/some other method of implementing custom code when pre-built components might not be enough? Do a platform’s resulting apps respond well and look good on a wide range of devices (smartphones and tablets, for example)?

Second: We test the app builder hands on— including its user interface, built-in tools, and pre-made components.

The best app makers are intuitive and don’t rely on tutorials that can feel patronizing or overbearing for some; although those should still be provided and easily accessible, just in case.

Many app makers highlight WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) and drag-and-drop functionalities, along with a library of templates and themes to choose from, but what’s actually more important in terms of freedom and flexibility is the ability to view, edit, add to and export the source code of what you’re working on. The best ones allow you to do both simplified editing and writing your own code from scratch. After the builder itself, check for integrations that it supports: CMS, social APIs, third-party vendors, and more.

Third: Once your app is ready to go, you’ll have to release it.

Does the app maker allow for white label app reselling? Is app submission to Google Play, Apple’s App Store and other included in the service provided, or do you have to do it yourself? Are there extra costs for either? These offerings are important, too (and, for some potential customers, deal breakers). Of course, post-release tools are nice additions as well: automatic app updating, analytics, notifications, email marketing, and more.

Pricing and Value for Money

This element is likely the easiest to evaluate, because value is, in the end a subjective judgment call for each individual. Not only can we directly compare varied app makers’ pricing plans and offers, but we also consider ideal choices for different kinds of potential customers based on their unique needs.

For example: A solo developer looking to work on an idea during his free time may want to go with a service that allows you to create and maintain free apps, or at least has a lengthy trial period to let them learn the ropes. An enthusiastic start-up, on the other hand, may want access to the full range of services and tools of a platform. In this case, the service that offers the most functionality may end up being the best choice, almost regardless of price point.

For big companies or for people with great ideas but no manpower or time to fully work on them, the ability to hire one-on-one help from a platform, or even rent out their own developer team, might be an option.

Some app makers offer this, but typically with decently hefty price tag.

Learning Resources and Support

When it comes to app makers and other similar services we evaluate— such as website builders and digital game creators — even the most intuitive and user-friendly of the lot will have a learning curve of some sort. Every platform has unique rules and processes that you will have to get used to in order to work efficiently. Great app makers compile tutorials, guides and other resources for their users, and the best even have a structured learning sequence outlined for you to go through at your own pace.

A FAQ and help section is a requirement, but we also look out for things like a well-maintained blog and an active user community/forum. You can turn to these when what you’re looking for something that isn’t in the FAQ, but you don’t want to escalate your concern to direct contact with the support team yet.

If it comes to that, though, multiple avenues of support are appreciated: site contact form, direct email, live chat, and telephone hotlines are common. Plus points for 24/7 service. Support via social media channels like twitter and Facebook Messenger are also fairly common now.

The Right Choice Isn’t Always the Best One

We’ve touched on this throughout the article, but here it is plainly stated: Sometimes the right app maker for your particular needs isn’t the one that rates highest overall. It takes a truly stellar, one-in-a-million product to completely outstrip every single competitor and the more likely reality is that you’ll have a few standouts to choose from, but ultimately need to consider your own skills and goals to snag the “best” tool for you.

Typically, great app makers are similar on the whole, with a standout feature or two piquing our curiosity — our recently reviewed Aquro, for instance, offers a revolutionary “Visual Coding” workflow— that entice a particular customer base.

Ultimately, there’s no one-size-fits-all winner, but we do our best to help you through the review legwork, regardless.

This guest post was contributed to Appademics by Comparakeet. For more content for app developers and app-based entrepreneurs, hit the follow button below!

What Makes A Great App Maker? | Comparakeet shares how they review and rank software was originally published in Appademics Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Anyone who’s set foot in the startup world (which seems to be most people these days) likely recognizes the term MVP.

In this context, MVP does not refer to the most valuable player in last week’s hockey match.

No, in the world of tech startups, MVP stands for Minimum Viable Product.

Specifically, an MVP is a startup’s idea brought to life in a barebones way that executes on its core concept, but doesn’t include many bells and whistles.

The ‘big idea’ of a product is there, functional, and enough to sell-in initial users, customers, and perhaps investors. An MVP is meant to get you validating a functioning version of your product idea as quickly as possible.

At the MVP/building stage, most companies don’t have massive funding.

For this reason, cost becomes a factor as well, and it’s why the behavior of many new app-based businesses really confuses me:

If you had invented a physical product, let’s say a toy, and wanted to create an example or prototype of your idea cheaply, you wouldn’t immediately go hire a product design consultancy for tens of thousands of dollars to draft design blueprints, and then go drop six-figures having Hasbro produce the first batch of your toys.

Hell no.

You would use the materials you have, or find companies that can work quickly and cheaply to create the first version of your toy.

So, why on earth do startups run out and hire (read: take on fulltime salary obligations) of native iOS and Android programmers right off the bat?

Or, if they don’t, why do those same startups still reach out to slow, expensive development firms that will charge them $50,000 just to get their core ideas off the ground?

In the startup world, where working with the resources you have and cutting costs is essential to surviving long enough to see your vision through, why do startups treat their apps differently from every other component of their business?

Independent app development shops, low-code app development platforms, and more all provide opportunities for companies to get their app projects off the ground more quickly and more affordably.

Do new companies just not know about these options? Do they have a poor impression of them?

If I decided that our company needed a landing page for a marketing campaign and that we wanted to get it up and running as quickly as possible to not miss out on a holiday or current event, even if I couldn’t code, I would go make that page myself using Instapage, Unbounce, or any one of a number of tools designed to quickly accomplish landing page creation.

What I would specifically not do is tell my boss that we needed to pay a designer to design a page, then send it to a web agency to get made, and then in 2–4 weeks hopefully start our campaign.

And yet, that’s exactly what startups do: They hire developers to slowly and expensively develop an app MVP (expensive and slow are directly at odds with the whole idea of an MVP!!!).

The equation becomes that much more complicated for startups when a business decides to code separate native versions of their app for Android and iOS (when this programming can be executed at the same time with many cross-platform development tools, significantly reducing cost and lead time, and yielding the exact same result — again, do people just not know this?).

Hybrid, cross-platform development and low-code development environments are hitting maturity, and it’s just silly to drain the little cash a budding startup has on app development, especially when it comes to an MVP.

Or don’t you agree?

Appademics Magazine is a community-driven online publication for current and aspiring app developers. If you’d like to read more of our content, be sure to follow us using the button below, or connect with us via twitter or Facebook.

Got an idea for a story, article, or tutorial? Read about contributing to the publication here.

Startups, stop building your app MVP in the least MVP way possible. was originally published in Appademics Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Good mobile apps are known for smoothly sliding and gliding around at the swipe of a finger tip, but sometimes a little behind-the-scenes magic is needed to ensure a smooth experience when new app pages load.

Our tiny little smartphones (OK, they’re actually getting bigger again, but that’s beside the point!) are entrusted with some seriously resource-intensive operations these days.

While device hardware is always racing forward at breakneck speeds, app concepts constantly push the boundaries of mobile devices by improving graphics & animations, utilizing device features — camera, GPS, gyroscope, etc. — in innovative ways, and entrusting the management & parsing of huge datasets as many businesses and government agencies move to mobile first.

While we think of apps as distinctly different from their website counterparts, apps are still conceived as a series of pages, sometimes also called “views,” that the user navigates between as they use the app.

Moving between pages intrinsically also means loading pages, and even on modern devices, some data-heavy pages could introduce a laggy, unattractive hiccup in use experience as they loaded in…

but they don’t.

How do they do it?

Many well-constructed modern apps have a clever way of making page loads appear seamless. When a button is tapped or a screen swiped aside, the expectation is that the new view simply slides or pops in over the one the user was just on, but here’s what really happens:

1. A screenshot is taken:

As soon as an action is taken that initiates a new page load, the app takes a screenshot of the page the user is currently on, and brings it to the “top” layer of the app. At this point, from a user’s perspective, nothing has happened.

2. The new page loads under the screenshot:

Once the screenshot is on top of the app’s visible viewing area, the new page loads in underneath it.

3. A transition is executed between the sceenshot and the new page.

Finally, the programmed transition (be it a fade-in, slide across, etc.) is executed between the screenshot and the newly loaded page.

To the user, it’s silky smooth.

This entire process occurs in mere milliseconds, but it buys enough time for pages to fully load without interrupting or lagging the user experience.

When developing for new devices that need to do more with less (i.e. moving from full desktop or laptop hardware to a phone), programmers have a long history of being innovative, and this transitioning technique is not unlike the app/web practice of reusing in a long, scrollable list as they scroll off the page in order to cutdown on the number of cells needing to be loaded at any given time.

Pretty neat, right?

Aquro is a cross-platform development environment for rapidly developing iOS and Android apps at the same time. Learn more at http://aquro.com

The Sneaky Technique Mobile Apps Use to Make Transitions Appear Smoother Than They Really Are was originally published in Appademics Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We’ve all read the headlines generated by billion-dollar Instagram-esque app acquisitions, but what does selling an app realistically look like for smaller developers and projects? Let’s take a look…

Introduction

The app market’s major players list is dominated by a few innovative and wildly popular apps. These not only garner a ton of attention from consumers, but can command eye-watering price tags when and if they change hands. Think WhatsApp and Instagram type prices.

App acquisitions driven by technology giants like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft usually include staff in addition to the intellectual property of the app itself, driving up pricetags further still.

As a result, the numbers involved in app buying-and-selling transactions for smaller devs and studios are often overestimated by the public. A closer look paints a more humble picture of the app market for those who haven’t made it to Instagram-league just yet.

The Industry

Low-to-mid tier apps tend to be created by part-time developers. According to Vision Mobile, 43 percent of app developers are either hobbyists developing ‘for fun,’ or are independent professional developers working a side gig. What’s more, in the low-to-mid tier app market, acquisitions are mainly about software assets, meaning they do not include the acquisition of a fully formed company and its staff.

Apps bought and sold can be either already established and with active users, freshly made/launched, or even simply source code.

This class of apps makes up the vast majority of the six million apps that populate the Apple App Store and Google Play (at roughly three million each).

Over half of active developers are operating at under $500/month in revenue, according to Vision Mobile. And with the app marketplace continuing to grow and crowd, the challenge of standing out and generating income is increasingly difficult for many devs.

If generating ongoing revenue from an app proves too difficult, the notion of selling creeps into the picture for many developers.

Of course, this is far from the only reason a developer might look to sell: It may be because they want to tackle other pursuits in life or decide that they don’t have the skillset(s) needed to make sure their app is successful in the long run. For example, a developer who recently sold his app through our company (AppsBuyOut) did so to pay for his honeymoon! So, as I say: varied.

Of course, this leads to a number of more complex questions: ‘Do I really need to sell my app?’; ‘How do I find out how much my app is worth?’; ‘What due diligence do I need to do to make sure I achieve a successful exit?

Valuation

Different factors will be taken into account for the valuation including installed base and daily active users (DAUs). Revenue and profit can be important, but depending on potential buyer desires, other factors may weigh more heavily.

For developers, it’s often personal. They’ve invested a significant amount of time and money in their app and expect, or at least hope, to be compensated accordingly.

It’s common practice for a seller to get bids from three or more potential buyers before settling on a final valuation.

In the end, the value of an app is purely equal to the utility and opportunity buyers perceive it to offer.

Selling options

Brokers

Brokers will have access to buyers and conduct the deal on your behalf in a process that is largely ‘hands-off’ for you as the seller. As broker commissions can be quite high, this option generally only makes sense for sellers with mid or high tier app projects for sale.

Marketplaces

Marketplaces for app selling function much like eBay — they provide a full framework for app owners to use in listing and selling their projects, but will take a (generally small) percentage of any final sales as their business model.

Another subdivision of marketplaces functions more like the classified ads sections of a newspaper: App sellers make listings either for free or for a small fee, but must then negotiate directly with buyers and handling the logistics of payments/transactions themselves.

Other marketplaces still deal exclusively with source code, rather than launched app projects. SellMyApp, for example, will give sellers 70 percent of generated revenue when app source code is licensed to a buyer.

It’s also worth noting that these types of marketplaces might have internal teams that offer additional services to buyers, such as re-skinning and design work; the original app seller usually will not share in revenue generated from these secondary services.

The bottom line

At the end of the day, app developers looking to cash in on their projects have a range of options for making the selling of their apps a smooth, secure process, but need to think critically about which options make the most sense for their particular circumstances (and need to be realistic in their expectations).

If nothing else, developers should be diligent about vetting potential buyers for legitimacy, means, and reputation. Alternatively, these vital activities can be left up to a third-party marketplace or broker, if the added security and convenience is worth parting way with a fraction of profits.

Claudia Dreier-Poepperl is the founder of AppsBuyOut, authors of the recent ‘Selling Your App’ report which explores the state of the low-to-mid tier app market and considerations for app owners before selling. The report serves as an A-Z guide for helping app sellers understand their industry and orchestrate a successful exit.

So You Want to Sell Your App: An exploration of low-to-mid tier app buying & selling was originally published in Appademics Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Even the most avid coders need to know when to rest their eyes, scoot back from the desk, and let their app projects simmer on their own for a few hours.

But how should you spend your weekend away from the workspace?

Here are a few suggestions based on Easter traditions around the world:

United States:

1. Eat some marshmallow Peeps

Loved by some, loathed by others, Peeps are inseparable from the Easter scene.

2. Eat ham

Glazed ham, potatoes, and whatever else is on the table — take advantage of a tasty spread this weekend!

3. Buy a pet rabbit for the family and then realize two weeks later that your kids are not prepared to care for an animal and you don’t have the time to do it yourself

Just kidding, don’t do this one.

Germany

4. Roll a giant flaming wheel down a hill to ensure a good harvest this year

Yes, if a traditional German Easter bonfire just isn’t cutting it, select towns can be found rolling flaming wheels of hay and wood down hills.

If all wheels roll straight down the hill and make it to the bottom, it’s an indication that the year’s crops will yield a strong harvest in the months to come.

Sound questionable? Too bad, it’s just a fact.

Norway

5. Share murder mystery stories with your family

What’s cozier than snuggling up with loved ones and watching a movie about a mysterious death? Nothing, according to Norwegians (at least not on Easter).

Denmark

6. Dress up like a (cute) witch

While this tradition may seem strange to outsiders — and we’d therefore love to frame it as being a uniquely Danish oddity — the truth is that this same tradition exists here in Sweden, too.

Poland

7. Create a lamb entirely out of butter for your dinner guests.

If you’re fed up with your regular table centerpieces, the butter lamb might be just what you need.

This polish traditional centerpiece is, yes, made entirely out of butter. And, yes again, it all gets eaten up.

France

8. Make an omelette out of no less than 4,500 eggs

A couple of clarifications on this one: The tradition typically only takes place in the town of Haux, in Southern France, where approximately 4,500 eggs go into an omelette to feed 1,000+ people. The only explanation for the giant omelette I came across in my research was a story claiming that Napoleon came through Haux and demanded his army be fed when they awoke in the morning, and, eggs being the only readily-available food source, the villagers cooked a giant omelette.

I’m skeptical.

Spain

9. Dress up like a skeleton and dance around carrying boxes of ashes

In the city of Verges, Spain, locals parade and dance around in skeleton costumes from midnight until three or four in the morning.

The dance and progression throughout the night is supposed to be a loose reenactment of The Passion/Christ’s death. Spooky.

Of course, if you really want to just make some headway on your app project this weekend, no one around here will blame you. But hey — at least you’ve got options now.

//Happy Easter, from Appademics Magazine!

9 Things You Should Do This Easter Weekend Instead of Working on Your App (According to the World) was originally published in Appademics Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

App reviews can be a gold mine of information — even the reviews of other people’s apps. In fact, reading your own (if you have them) and competitor reviews can let you quickly uncover detailed bug reports, marketing ideas and highly requested new features. Putting in the effort to make these discoveries can make or break your app in the eyes of users considering giving you a download.

What is Review Mining?

Review Mining is the process of systematically using keyword searches to analyze user reviews to get valuable information that you can use for app development, marketing and customer satisfaction.

Even if your app doesn’t have many reviews (heck, even if you haven’t launched yet!), you can still take advantage of Review Mining. Simply studying the reviews of other similar apps in your category is a great place to start.

Specifically, the method we’ll discuss here uses targeted keyword searches to help you you to sort through reviews more efficiently.

But which keywords are going to help you find the most actionable insights? Here are Mobile Action, we work with review mining daily, and recommend that — almost entirely regardless of the niche/market your app is in — you start off looking through competitor reviews for these 5 key phrases:

5 Keywords to Search For Right Now

1. “Please Add”

This keyword will show you features that people want added to your app or other similar apps. Of course, some requests will be ridiculous — or at least not feasible for you for the time being.

But if you see enough requests for a specific feature, then it’s probably time to consider adding it. This is especially true if you see these requests in competing apps, but can see that those apps haven’t yet release them (or even confirmed they’re coming), as you can gain a competitive edge by introducing a requested feature your competitors are lacking; this can be a secret weapon when you’re a newcomer having to compete with already popular apps.

Related Keywords:

• “would be nice”
• “needs”
• “should have”

2. “Better Than”

It’s also important to find out what users like most about your app (or, in the case of the screenshot above, what they might have liked better about past versions). This type of search can also be a way to find quotes for marketing materials.

Sometimes, however, what you might think is the coolest feature of your app isn’t actually something people are that interested in, so take the time to really read and listen.

Related Keywords

• “love”
• “the best”
• “like”

3. “Dislike”

When you search for this keyword, you can uncover what people don’t like about an app. In many cases, dissatisfied reviewers will provide a laundry list of complaints that can be addressed to help make your app a success.

Plus, with Apple’s recent update, you have the ability to respond to reviewers to try and win them back once you’re addressed their concerns. If the original complainee is too far gone, you might at least stop their negative review from influencing future app store browsers.

Related Keywords:

• “improve”
• “annoying”
• “irritating”

4. “Crash”

Bugs and crashes are the biggest source of user dissatisfaction, so you need to stay on top of these reviews if they pop up in your own review feed. Doing this often can help you catch bugs before they become a major issue for the wider userbase.

This search is especially important to stay on top of when you release an app update. Also, some users provide surprisingly detailed bug reports that can be helpful to you in addressing any bugs that crop up.

Related Keywords:

• “bug”
• “hate when”
• “please fix”

5. “Suggest”

If you have ever wanted to get more feedback on your app, then you have probably considered sending out surveys. They can work, but surveys typically get a very low response rate.

Even if you have a fairly large user base, the number of responses you get may not be enough to make statistically informed decisions. That’s where searching for keywords like this can give you valuable, unsolicited feedback.

Related Keywords:

• “would love”
• “can you”
• “update”

Conclusion

And there you have it: a solid starting point to help you leverage user reviews to gain a competitive advantage in your niche. These keywords will get you started, but there are many more niche specific searches that can give you very valuable information.

Do some experimenting and come up with a list of your own. Then conduct these searches at least twice a month, to stay on top of the latest developments in your nice.

To get more keyword ideas, you can read this guide.

What are some useful keywords that you use to search through user reviews?

Leave a comment, I would love to hear about it!

This article was contributed to Appademics by Hugh Kimura, an App Store optimization expert and veteran app marketer.

Appademics Magazine is a community-driven online publication for current and aspiring app developers. If you’d like to read more of our content, be sure to follow us using the button below, or connect with us via twitter or Facebook.

Got an idea for a story, article, or tutorial? Read about contributing to the publication here.

Review Mining: 5 Keywords Every App Developer Can Use to Beat Out the Competition was originally published in Appademics Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

New Android tools, new iOS tools, and billion-dollar apps — oh my!

A lot happened over the long month of March, and we don’t want you to miss out! Here are our top 10 app news stories for the month of March, 2017:

1. Apple releases Swift 3.1 and Xcode 8.3

iOS developers have probably already noticed that Apple released both the latest version of Swift and of their Xcode IDE this month. You can read release notes for Xcode 8.3 here.

2. Apple releases iOS 10.3 with developer review response tools and in-app review requests

When Apple released iOS 10.3, it had developers in mind.

The update added both the ability for end-users to leave app reviews without ever leaving an app — which will likely increase the number of users who rate/review apps — and a way for app developers to respond to user reviews of their products in their app stores.

This functionality should let developers respond to incorrect/dated app reviews, etc. We have a more in-depth piece on these changes that you can check out here.

3. GameMaker Studio begins Mac OS closed beta

YoYo Games announced this month the start of its flagship software’s closed beta for Mac. GameMaker Studio 2 will soon be available to game devs on Mac OS, allowing them to use the tool for the rapid development of 2D games for a wide range of platforms including iOS, Android, PS4, Xbox One, Mac OS, Windows, and more.

4. Google announces “Android O” developer preview

Google has now released a developer preview for Android O, the next release of its operating system.

Devs can download the OS image to their test devices now and start getting their apps ready for release, ensuring that they run smoothly when the update goes live on consumer devices.

You can read more about the changes happening in “O” here.

5. JavaScript tops Stack Overflow’s survey of most used programming languages

Once again, JavaScript has (rather unsurprisingly) claimed the top spot on Stack Overflow’s annual developer survey. JavaScript was described as the most-used language, a trend which isn’t likely to slowdown in the immediate future.

6. Randstad Technologies reports 104% year over year growth in demand for mobile developers

Between 2014 and 2016, global tech staffing outfit Randstand says mobile developer demand saw a whopping 104% increase on average.

Specifically those with experience in iOS, Android, HTML5, Angular, Java, and JavaScript development were highly sought after by high-paying enterprise clients looking to go mobile with their company communications (both internally and customer-facing).

7. Android app revenue predicted to surpass that of iOS apps for the first time ever

According to App Annie, “year of the Android” claims just might be true, as the app intelligence firm predicts Android’s revenue will inch past iOS’ $40bn revenue estimate and settle in comfortably at $41bn for 2017.

This is largely thanks to the growing Chinese smartphone market, which supports a number of third-party Android app stores, which will work in tandem with Google Play to achieve total revenue numbers.

8. Robinhood app now valued at over $1bn

A recent round of funding puts stock trading app Robinhood at a valuation of over $1bn, according to an article on the company’s latest round published by Business Insider.

The app, which eschews the typical $7 trading fee of stock brokers, has been extremely popular among young people looking to start investing. So popular, in fact, that over $25bn has been transacted over the company’s first two years.

9. ZeptopLab re-focuses on app publishing

The company behind popular Cut The Rope mobile game have mas the leap to app publishing, offering to help submitted games who make the cut — no pun intended — with their marketing and branding activities.

Game developers looking for publishing help and opportunities are now invited to submit their projects to the company via their website; the company is specifically looking for innovative, late-stage projects in the mobile space.

10. Boston’s ‘Safr’ app announces feature to request female driver

Boston-launched ridesharing app Safr’s mission is to help alleviate some of the concerns from women that have arisen from the ridesharing industry as a whole — namely, those related to getting into a car with a complete stranger.

Safr’s drivers go through extensive screening, including in-person interviews, follow-up, and training, but the company isn’t stopping there: Despite no male drivers signing up with Safr yet, the company is already introducing in-app functionality for requesting a female driver in order to ensure passengers feel safe as the company grows.

It’s an unfortunate feature to have to offer, but — given Uber’s share of horror headlines over the past couple of years — it’s likely one that offers some peace of mind, too.

Bam! You made it to the end. Did we leave out some important app-related news from the past month? Drop us a line below and let us know!

Appademics Magazine is a community-driven online publication for current and aspiring app developers. If you’d like to read more of our content, be sure to follow us using the button below, or connect with us via twitter or Facebook.

Got an idea for a story, article, or tutorial? Read about contributing to the publication here.

March’s Top Ten — 31 Days of App News, Condensed. was originally published in Appademics Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Back when we were first working on Aquro as our mobile development platform, we deliberated (at length) on what the best approach would be for mobile developers going forward.

A large part of this process involved taking a long, hard look at the current castate of the app development world, and its projected future, and deciding whether hybrid or native app development was going to be the most optimal path for us to usher developers along.

For a quick clarification, hybrid apps are also usually cross-platform apps, which is to say that they can be created or written in one programming language, and then easily packaged for and launched across multiple platforms.

Native apps, on the other hand, are written specifically in a programming language for a specific operating system (and therefore a native app must be written twice if it’s to be launched on multiple platforms (like iOS and Android).

We ultimately opted for the hybrid, cross-platform route, but weren’t ignorant of some objections that might pose…

In the end, we decided that the hybrid approach would best serve most app developers and their clients, and that if recent past trends continued, we could expect improvements in hybrid performance to eventually validate our decision.

That said, the hybrid approach to app development, largely HTML5, CSS, and/or JavaScript, has had such a long journey before it started living up to its promised potential, that the very term “hybrid app” can have negative connotations for some, so we knew we’d have some work to do in overcoming that perception.

What’s one of the best ways to overcome objections? To address them head-on. So that’s what we’re doing today:

Performance Parity

The biggest hangup surrounding hybrid apps has traditionally been that the JavaScript connections required for an app to access device functions — like the camera, GPS, etc. — could be resource intensive and slow down an app, giving it a stuttery or laggy feel. Understandably, this was far from ideal.

Now, however, modern day smartphones have processors and accompanying hardware that rival even computers of the recent past, all but eliminating these performance bottlenecks and removing what was has been the biggest strike against hybrid in the past.

By using modern devices and writing clean, efficient code, users today would be hard-pressed to differentiate between hybrid and native-coded apps.

Hardware Access

In the early days of hybrid, access to device hardware was a sticking point, and support for new hardware features in hybrid libraries often lagged behind the release of the hardware itself.

While different frameworks approach this differently, there are JavaScript libraries now which allow access to any device functionality that a natively developed app would be able to take advantage of. That means that you don’t have to compromise on functionality now just because you don’t code an app in a platform’s native language (Java for Android and Swift for iOS, in case you didn’t know!).

But besides the arguments against hybrid fading away, there are a number of arguments in favor of HTML/CSS/JavaScript based app development that have always been true:

Hybrid app development saves time:

There’s no way around it: Developing an app for Android and iOS at the same time will represent major time savings both in your workflow as a developer or, from a client perspective, in the amount of time you’ll have to wait around for an app to be finished.

Even if an app is only needed for one platform, hybrid app development platforms are able to cut down development cycles by having built-in components and functions already written in HTML and JS, which lets your development benefit from essentially ‘drag-n-drop’ functionality that can be customized with code after the fact.

Hybrid development is just more efficient.

Hybrid costs less (and is more accessible):

In a recent — and unsurprising — survey conducted by Stack Overflow, over 70% of developers identified themselves as some kind of “web developer.” More specifically, JavaScript and HTML topped the list of well-known languages among devs.

Because these languages make up the most critical proficiencies in developing apps using the hybrid method, this also means that a much larger pool of developers can start to make great mobile apps with this method. This helps to drive down overall app development costs associated both with the time it takes to create an app and with the exclusivity of the skills needed to do so.

It’s a win-win.

Those working with native development will likely find their niche (right now animation-heavy games are a good example) shrinking with each new generation of more powerful devices.

To be clear, we understand that, just like as in any industry that evolves, this sentiment isn’t popular and might spark strong reactions from those who have invested their time in developing a skillset that will eventually age. Our aim isn’t to offend, but just to offer up the future as we see it.

Whether you’re a developer thinking of starting to create apps, or someone with an app idea wondering the best way to proceed, hybrid is likely your most efficient way forward, and that’s a statement that has fewer and fewer exceptions by the day.

But that’s just our opinion.

We believe in the cross-platform hybrid approach enough to build our business on top of it, but we’re not ignorant to the fact that we might still be swimming upstream when it comes to popular sentiment on the native vs. hybrid debate.

Got a different take on the future of mobile apps? Leave a response — we’d love to chat it out!

Aplexa is a mobile development firm and a regular contributor to Appademics Magazine. You can learn more about Aplexa on their website.

Hybrid vs. Native in 2017 — (And Why We Based Our Business On Cross-Platform) was originally published in Appademics Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Apple just rolled out iOS 10.3, and along with it some sweet new options for handling user reviews of your apps.

On March 27th, Apple released iOS 10.3 to the general market.

This update brought some interesting consumer functionality to users, like the ability to track down lost Apple Earpods or the addition of cricket scores to Siri (no doubt much-appreciated in the Indian market), but that’s hardly the biggest delivery of the update.

The real effect of 10.3, however, is a win for iOS developers.

That’s because Apple has (finally) given devs some better tools for both requesting and responding to app reviews and ratings.

Behold: The In-App Review

They said it couldn’t be done, but they were wrong. On second thought, no one actually said “it couldn’t be done,” so why the hell did this take so long?

Developers can now take advantage of the SKStoreReviewController API to let app users rate an app without ever leaving it (you can see an example of what the resulting dialogue window looks like to the left).

With any luck, this should drastically reduce the amount of friction a user has to slog through in order to leave a rating and or review for an app — gone are the days of needing to accept a dialogue, get transferred to the App Store app, leave a review, then navigate back to the app (a process which automatically turned off many to the prospect of leaving a rating).

While the screenshot here only shows a star rating being requested, app users have the option of leaving a written review along with their rating as well, as always.

Self-Defense: Responding to Reviews

The other major change, which has been highly anticipated by developers since its announcement, is the ability to respond to individual reviews your apps receive.

This allows developers to much more fairly respond to criticism or answer questions in reviews. If you’re feeling like really garnering some goodwill, you might just use this feature to thank users who took the time to say something nice about your app.

When you respond to a review using this functionality, the user who left the review will receive a notification and have the option to update their review in light of your response.

This should give developers and publishers a voice in a key area of app success that they previously had little say in.

The Takeaway:

App developers are getting some serious love in this update, which should make it easier to both gather ratings/reviews, and respond to any concerns that are raised in them — and that sounds like a major win.

Appademics Magazine is a community-driven online publication for current and aspiring app developers. If you’d like to read more of our content, be sure to follow us using the button below, or connect with us via twitter or Facebook.

Got an idea for a story, article, or tutorial? Read about contributing to the publication here.

Responding to App Reviews & More — Apple’s Important Update for Devs was originally published in Appademics Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.