3. App Development Process

8 Easy Steps to Create an Awesome App (Step-by-Step Method)

Are you thinking about developing a mobile app for your business? If you do and if it’s your first time, you probably have these questions in mind:

Where do I start?
What resources do I need?
How does the process work?
Do I need to talk with a designer or a development team?

This guide will help answer all these questions for you, while also helping you develop an app from scratch with tangible outcomes delivered at each stage of the app development cycle.

BUT, Before You Begin…

Before you talk to a designer, developer or a mobile development team, you must have:

Good understanding of your target audience – who they’re, where they live, what their interests are, etc.
List of things your audience might want to get done once they start using your product.
Skeleton design of your app – i.e. early visual design of your app.
The budget for app development.
Set aside enough time for creating your project (you’ll have to get involved in the mobile development process, otherwise, it won’t work).

Image Credit: Vertu Marketing

Once you have all these things at your side, you’re ready to have to fun – i.e. getting your project come to life.

The Process of Creating an App Explained

Step #1: Get the feel of the project first

Just like with everything else on the planet, finding the ‘right’ team for mobile app development could be a difficult and confusing task.

To let them know about your project goals and to get a feel for how comfortable it would be working with them, have a preliminary phone call or consultation with your designer, developer, or a development team.

Ask about their skills, past project experience developing an app, testimonials from past clients to know if they’re fit for the project.

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Step #2: Consider THESE things when signing a contract

Many companies do not read through the contract. They simply sign the contract and run into a lot of problems that could have avoided in the first place.

Don’t fall into that trap.

Rather, before penning anything down on the paper, know what you’re signing.

First, you’ll need to figure out early before you sign a contract is whether you’re going to be charged on an hourly basis or for a flat fee.

For example, if your mobile app development project is going to be charged on an hourly basis, then ask your potential developer or the development team to clearly outline the deliverables in the contract papers.

Secondly, you can ask the developers or development teams to sign a mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) from the start to project your project ideas.

But, understand that most development companies don’t want to compete with you.

Their sole purpose is to provide their services to you.

Image Credit: The Balance

Step #3: Create wireframe of your app

Right after you sign the contract, you’ll basically start wireframing.

Wireframing is an important step in any screen design process.

It is a visual architecture of your app that tells everyone involved what goes on each page and how each page links to other pages of your app.

Besides helping you and your team define the full scope of the project, wireframing also help establish a mutual understanding of what will need to go to each page of your app.

Click here to learn more about Wireframing.

Image Credit: App Future

Step #4: Finalize the Design of Your App

Often once the wireframing stage is complete, the design phase begins.

In this step, you’ll receive a high resolution .PSD files from your designer or a developer.

These designs are nothing but mock-ups of what your final app will look like once it is completed.

At this stage, you’ll decide which logos, colors, fonts, and styles to use in order to nail down the look and feel of your app.

Once everything is laid out, you’ll move on to the next important stage of app development process.

Image Credit: Vankata

Step #5: The Actual Mobile Development Phase

This is the stage where all the dirty work – coding and programming an app – starts so that it functions as desired by your needs.

But, the problem may arise if you leave everything to the developer and not get involved yourself in the development phase.

Without regular communication with your developer or development team, a lot of mistakes can easily arise during app creation, which can be costly.

To know what’s happening, your developer or development team must update you on the progress at every step of the development phase.

This can be done easily using handy project management tools such as Asana and Basecamp.

Make sure to have a frequent communication with your development team using these tools.

Image Credit: Custom Web Software Development Services

Step #6: Beta (User) Testing of Your App

Right after your app is developed, beta testing (also known as “user testing”) is done.

The major reason why you need to perform beta (user) testing of your app is because you need to be sure it is not launched with major problems or crashes.

Beta testing will ensure that your target audiences are comfortable using the app under various conditions and environments.

Usually, this is specified in the development contract. So make sure to ask your development team to know if testing is included in the project before committing to work with them.

Image Credit: 360 Logica

Step #7: Launch Your Mobile App

This is what you’ve been waiting for – your mobile app is designed, developed, tested, and now, ready to launch.

All you have to do is publish your mobile app to the app store such as Google App Play or App Store.

Sometimes, it can take up to 2-3 weeks to get your app published in these app stores. During this time, you can ask your development team or make any changes before it gets published.

Once your app is published, ask press people to come and help get your app more exposure it deserves.

Image Credit: Ladder

Step #8: Get App Feedback for Future Updates and Changes

Once the app is launched, your job is not finished yet. It is vital that you get feedback from your users too because with their invaluable input you can make necessary changes and updates in the future to make your app even more user-friendly and functional.

Besides asking for user’s feedbacks, you can also use some system like APM to track the performance of your app.

Image Credit: MobinCube