Developing mobile app has become a crucial factor in accelerating both digital transformation and business growth for companies. In fact, on their smartphones, the average American spends 89% of their time on applications.
An application’s conversion rate is 7 times higher than that of a mobile website. Developing a mobile application can at the same time maintain a brand image, increase sales and progressively build a loyal community of customers and ambassadors.
Nevertheless, a successful mobile application needs to be thought through beforehand, in terms of its objectives, and then integrated into the specifications. It is particularly important to identify the project’s goals objectively and ambitiously well in advance in order to facilitate the development work considerably. So what are the main steps to follow before launching the procedure of developing mobile app?
Determine the scope
If an application project is not well defined or is too ambitious, it is likely to go wrong during the development phase. Thus, it is important to establish the marketing target as early as possible, and also the geographical area in which the application will be distributed, i.e. the list of countries where the application will be offered for download. This is obviously a determining factor in defining the content and functions of the application, as well as in drawing up an inventory of the language ports to be planned.
Another possibility is for the application to be available in different versions so that it is compatible with several operating systems and a large number of terminals. In fact, whether you want to create an iOS or Android application or opt for a multi-platform product, the technical restrictions and the budget to be planned will not be the same.
Ultimately, the scope of the project is determined by an initial summary of the desired features, and by the choice of technology to be adopted. Three types of applications are currently possible, namely a PWA (progressive web app) which is a simple mobile version of the website, accessible directly from a browser and which does not require downloading from a store.
You can also opt for a native application which, on the contrary, is originally developed for the mobile support and offers a better designed interface. Lastly, there are hybrid applications that offer the advantages of both formats, being loaded from the smartphone’s web browser and integrating numerous native functions.
Stay tuned for more things to consider before developing mobile app or your company or business.
Define the purpose of the project
Before launching into the design, it is important to identify the ultimate objective of the application, and there are different scenarios. It could be, for example, to strengthen a company’s digital presence, with the aim of developing its online reputation and image in conjunction with the website and social networks, or to boost sales in order to reach potential customers at all times and everywhere they are.
It could also be used for positioning the company competitively or to conquer a new segment: a powerful mobile application with advanced features is a real asset for competition. In fact, the application format can be a stepping stone to reach a younger and more “mobile-native” audience. Last but not least, a new application can serve to promote a new product, thereby reinforcing the company’s positioning as an innovative and dynamic brand.
Stay tuned for more things to consider before developing mobile app or your company or business.
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Focus on the user experience
Typical KPIs for a mobile application normally include traffic volume (the average number of visitors at a given time), the number of connections, the conversion rate (the proportion of application users making a purchase at the end of the journey), the volume of sales and the number of push notifications sent. In addition to the quantitative aspect, thinking about the user experience (UX) and the digital customer journey should be at the heart of the creation process. This means formulating a number of qualitative objectives.
Mobile applications fall into several broad categories, each one having different requirements in terms of functionality. There are many major categories of applications: service applications (services – generally free – offered in addition to a product or service sales activity), game applications (paid or free video games, based on micro transactions), social applications (network, discussion forum, content sharing, etc.), collaborative platforms, etc. and finally business applications.
The quality aspect of a game application, for example, will be assessed by the ratings given by users, by the average number of hours played per player or by the number of paying users. On the other hand, a business application sets itself quality standards in terms of operational efficiency, customer satisfaction rate, response time, etc.
User experience quality is a delicate balance between many parameters, including a pleasant, familiar and well identified graphic universe.
User interface (UI) also plays a role in this: the layout of menus, the placement and format of buttons, the loading and response time, and the overall tree structure of the application all help to make it easier for the user to get started, or, on the contrary, to ruin the user experience when they have not been carefully thought out.
Assessing resources
Right from the start, it is essential to have a clear idea of your resources in terms of time, and to establish a real development schedule in stages. There are other parameters to add to the equation. Financial resources, which are necessarily limited, should lead to the setting of a maximum budget that can be devoted to the project, as well as an initial breakdown of the major expenditure items.
Last but not least, the human resources also come into play: identifying internal skills, the need to use an external service provider or consultant, all questions that must be addressed upstream. The degree of precision in defining the scope and objectives of the application is the key to keeping both the budget and the schedule under control. On average, a business application should take 8 weeks to develop in low-code or no-code, compared to 4 to 6 months with a developer.
Stay tuned for more things to consider before developing mobile app or your company or business.
Bottom Line
Therefore, the mobile application has become a sales and communication channel so important that it is linked to a very large number of strategic and commercial objectives. Therefore, clearly defining and prioritizing them as part of the developing mobile app process is essential to its success.
