how to create an app in 11 steps

With the increasing number of smartphone users and the growth in the operating software field, the app market is expanding faster. Businesses and enterprises are adopting mobile app platforms, But to build a successful mobile app business strategy you must find the answer to how to build an app? that can bring value to your digital strategy.

You need to be all set with a successful mobile app development approach so your audience may accept your app. You need to follow some steps to find how to make a mobile app as per your business needs.

Today, we are here with a post that will guide you on how to create an app? The following given below steps will help you to learn how to build a mobile app.

All over the globe, about 52.2% of online traffic comes from mobile.

Let’s start then.

Why Do You Need an App – Statistics Will Reveal?

Worldwide mobile app revenues in 2014 to 2023(in billion U.S. dollars)

Before knowing how to make an app, one must know why to create an app for business. For that, we have accumulated statistics from top sources.

Let’s check them out.

  • By 2023, mobile apps are likely to generate revenue of $935 billion and more.
  • Approximately 90% of mobile internet time is usually spent on apps.
  • In the Apple App Store, there are nearly 4.4 million applications.
  • In the Google Play Store, there are approximately 2.9 million and even more apps.
  • There will be nearly 7 billion mobile users all over the globe by 2021.
  • About 92% of time spent on devices is given to apps.

Research says the app economy will reach $6.3 trillion by 2021 that was $1.3 trillion in 2016.

How to Create an App – Steps to Build a Mobile App – Let’s Start

You should follow a perfect and systematic approach to mobile app development to emerge with an expected mobile app. Below, we have created a guide that will answer how to make an app and other mobile app development aspects.

Step 1. A Unique App Idea & App Name Can Earn You

1 Find An App Idea

Before working on how to create an app, you should start with finding an app idea and finding the best name for your app. You can pick any of the steps below to generate your app idea.

1. Combine Features and Elements from Other Apps and Form a New App

If you have an existing app idea, you can twist it, check out various apps, pick some elements from each, and combine them to get a new app. It usually happens and leads to excellent results.

For example, the Google Lens app uses image recognition technology developed by Google. It helps in revealing information of objects it identifies using its visual analysis based on a neural network.

2. Pick Other App’s Points and Create an App Holding Solutions for All

You can think of big app ideas, but that doesn’t always help. Instead, you can accumulate the issues you face while using other apps. People may also be facing such problems. They might also be waiting for a perfect solution. brainstorm over how to create an app that gives solutions the user want.

You can emerge with a solution in the face of a successful app.

3. Pick an Existing App Idea with Many Required Improvements

We already know that nothing is perfect on this globe. There is always a space for improvement. You and every user would know if an app lacks valuable features. Think over how to make an app again, rectifying the flaws it owns.

If you are aware of any such app whose owner is failing to improve and update the app, you would have a fantastic chance to develop a better app. To confirm that you are on the right track, you can check out the reviews and ratings of the original app. By listening to users’ issues, needs, and desires, you can drive your app toward success.

About 29% of app users immediately abandon the apps if they find them invaluable.

4. How To Build an App with A Catchy and Unique Name

Your app’s name will decide how the audience will take your app. Choose a name that matches your industry, your products, and services, Also if you can keep it unique, It will bring you a great presence over the internet while any user searches the brand.

  • The name needs to reflect the image of your brand..
  • Opt for a unique name, but keep it simple to pronounce and remember.
  • It should have a global appeal, whether you are selling locally or all over the world.

Step 2. Research. Research. Research

2 Perform intensive market research

Next, after generating your app idea and naming your app, we will move on to research. This step includes various points that you need to consider while researching. You need to go through the reviews and ratings of the competing apps. Running intensive research on your app idea will let you learn how to make an app that helps you save time, money, and resources that you may spend by mistake on the things that the market doesn’t need.

Research says, about 72% of new mobile app-based products don’t perform as expected because of inadequate market research.

Advertising people who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals :David Ogilvy

1. Finalize Your App Budget

First, you need to make your app budget. It depends on the features you need to include in your app, size, and type of app, design of the app, cost of marketing and maintenance, structure and location of the development team, and more. Budget management can teach you how to make an app without cash burning.

2. Extract Missing Features From Your Favorite Apps

Also, you need to find the features that you should focus on first. You may differentiate by making a list of core features the competitive apps have, one list of unique features each holds, and one list of missing features. Later, after checking out the reviews, you will know specific features that users want or hate.

3. Check Ratings and Reviews of Competing Apps

After going through the reviews and ratings of competing apps, you will know about the mistakes of app owners that you should not repeat by checking low-rated apps. You may target highly-rated apps also. You may download it and check the specialties of that app that is engaging more users.

4. Check the Last Update of Competing Apps

You may catch up with your target by checking the maintenance level of the competing apps. If he fails to update, you may grab that opportunity to emerge with a new app idea. On the contrary, if he keeps his app updated, you should take it as your competitor.

5. Use App Analytics Tools to Monitor and Enhance App Performance

App analytics tools are essential for tracking the performance of your app post-launch. They offer you perspectives on how users are using your app, which app sections are engaging, and their actions in the app. Using those insights, you can create a plan to decide on improving particular aspects that need enhancement.

About 89% of marketers ranked up by improving their caliber of measuring and analyzing marketing impact.

KPI measures the progress of apps toward long-term targets and specific goals. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) assist business owners and managers with an overview of their business performance at any given time.

Few Important Key Performance Indicators 

1. User Behavior

Such an aspect assists in monitoring, collecting, and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data of users to understand how and why they interact with your app or website.

2. Conversions

Conversions are essential that will give you an idea about the success of your app. You may view data of your top conversion events marked over time.

3. Active Users

To know this, you can view the data of your active users plotted over time.

4. Engagement

A graph revealing trends over time will let you know the daily user engagement.

5. Adoption and Acquisition

To check the data, you can review adoption graphs and acquisition channels.

6. Revenue

You will get the data of average revenue per user (ARPU), revenue sources, and average revenue per paid user (ARPPU) for the selected time.

You can use various Mobile App Analytics Tracking tools, like

1. Firebase

It is backed by Google, and app development teams love using it. Additionally, it speeds up app development with completely managed backend infrastructure, releases and monitors the stability and performance of apps. Also, Firebase boosts user engagement with A/B testing, rich analytics, and messaging campaigns.

2. App Annie

This tool helps identify, manage, and enrich the hidden performance opportunities across your monetization and advertising data. Moreover, it tracks the most critical data of an app, including revenue, downloads, advertising, and data, in one place only.

3. Mixpanel

This analytics tool helps track user interactions with mobile and web apps and offers targeted communication tools. Its toolset holds in-app A/B tests and user survey forms.

4. Smartlook

This tool offers accurate qualitative information that assists in understanding what’s going on in your mobile app. Additionally, it figures out where your users are struggling and marks the issues in conversions.

5. Countly

It is the best analytics platform that assists in understanding and improving customer journeys in desktop, web, and mobile apps. It regularly processes billions of data points on-premises and in the cloud to help companies grow their business worldwide. Such tools will emerge with the below analytics that will help you track the progress of your app.

Pick a Monetization Strategy to Generate Revenue from Your App

There are app monetization strategies you can opt for to make money through your app. Let’s check out a few:

1. Partnership Model

With this model, you can collaborate with an app whose user base matches with you. It’s a mutually beneficial link that assists both parties in enhancing their offerings and engaging more users.

2. In-App Advertising

Widely used by app owners, this monetization strategy generates a lot of discussions. In-app adverts, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Every app implements advertising differently.

For example, Facebook doesn’t charge anything to download or use its mobile platform. Still, it uses many users’ data to sell a strategy or highly targeted ads on Facebook effectively.

Let’s check out some common types of in-add adverts:

  • Banner Ads
  • Native Ads
  • Interstitial Ads
  • Affiliate Ads
  • Summary of ads
  • Reward ads

In 2021, the mobile app expenses will reach $290 billion, which was about $240 billion in 2020.

3. Paid Apps (demand an Amount to Download)

Such a model states that the app is not free to download. If people want to use the app, they need to purchase it first.

For example, Calendars 5 is a paid-for productivity app in the Apple App Store.

In 2020, users downloaded 96.4% of free apps and 3.6% of paid apps.

4. Freemium Model (Gated Features)

The app’s core functionality is free in this model, but you need to pay for premium offerings.

For example, Angry Birds rolled out its additive, free version. Although, the app comes with certain hidden features which demand users to upgrade to the full version.

5. In-App Purchases (Selling Virtual/Physical Goods)

This method is standard in games apps where the apps generate money by selling physical or virtual products from within the app.

  • Physical product or service
  • Virtual currency
  • The commission

About 54% of apps provide a freemium model that incorporates in-app purchases.

For example, MeetMe has included in-app purchases creatively into their social app. People can download this app for free and use it to chat with people, browse profiles, and connect with locals. Although, the user can also purchase credits to improve their visibility and attain new ways of interacting with people.

6. Sponsorship

Sponsorship is the newest way of monetization, and it assists you connect with the advertisers who can offer your users the rewards after accomplishing some defined actions in your app. In this model, you can make some money by picking the revenue’s share from rewards.

For example, the RunKeeper app users incentivized advertising to track their running activity using their app to unlock their exclusive promotions and rewards.

7. Paywalls (Subscriptions)

Similar to freemium, but the difference is, it locks the content, not features. You can just view a certain amount of content for free; you need to pay more.

In the year 2020, Subscription app revenue was about $13 billion.

For example, the Umano app transforms news stories into podcasts. Moreover, it allows users to listen to a restricted number of stories until they sign up for their premium subscription.

8. Transaction Fees

A type of fee the client needs to pay for processing an electronic payment at every moment is the transaction fee.

9. Data Monetization

Here customer data plays an essential role in obtaining quantifiable economic benefits. It is also known as an act of monetizing data (First-Party Data).

Patenting Your App Idea to Protect It from Getting Stolen

If you want to protect your app idea from stealing, using, or selling someone, you should patent it. You need to follow a few steps to patent your mobile app idea along with the essential documents.

1. Licensing Your App and Completing Necessary Paperwork

Before you enter the app market, you should complete every legal job. You should ask your team to sign an NDA and ensure they won’t expose any sensitive details about your projects. There are more legal aspects that you need to consider beforehand. It will safeguard your business from every mishap or issue. You should complete all the legal formalities and paperwork.

2. Prepare a Privacy Policy for Any User Information Collected

As your app will accumulate sensitive detail from users, you should create a reliable privacy policy while developing your app. This policy will include which information you will collect and how you will use it.

3. Customer Satisfaction Policy to Ease Customers to Connect with You

Don’t forget to create in-app feedback forms to encourage customers to reach out to you whenever needed. You should always stay in touch with your users and reply to all their queries immediately. Your target should be to satisfy them with your replies.

4. Validate Your App Idea to Test if Your App Holds Needed Potential

The success of an app idea relies on various factors. You need to get the answers to the given below questions to validate your app idea Let’s check out.

5. What Issue Does Your App Solve?

We all know, the best is the one that offers solutions to all the common issues. The users will hardly download an app that would not meet their needs. But, if they find the app useful for them, they will likely use it for longer.

6. Who Will Be the Target Users of Your App?

Before developing your app and executing its marketing strategies, you should define the target users of your app. You should consider the age, income, location, occupation, and industry of your target audiences.

Successful apps always target a user group. So, research your audience as well.

Step 3. Include Needed and Exceptional Features and Functionalities in Your App

3 Decide what features to add

Now, let’s jump onto our third step of planning your mobile app’s features and functionality.

1. Identify Functionalities and Features that May Help You Achieve Expected Results.

This step is quite creative. You must write features and functionalities you want to add to your app to get the expected outcomes. It is usually known as an MVP version of an app. A minimum viable product is the version of your app that holds enough features to offer to early customers.

Critical elements of an MVP

  • Design: It develops minimal but top-quality standard design
  • Functionality: It offers clear values to the users
  • Usability: It makes the user experience refined and intuitive
  • Reliability: It makes the quality of production the best

Nearly 85% of eCommerce app users would enable push notifications to receive discounts – Clutch.

2. Remove Irrelevant Features as They May Affect the Performance of Your App.

If you add irrelevant features to your app, it may affect its performance. In the starting, be sure that you list only the top features that may make your app valuable. After releasing the first version of your app, you can work on the remaining in the following versions.

First, you should target creating a minimal viable product (MVP) and, after that, integrate crucial features into your app. You can check customers’ feedback and reviews and implement the features accordingly.

Step 4. Designing Wireframes Will Offer You a Clear View of Your App Structure.

4 Create design mockup for your app

So, after defining your features and functionalities, it’s time to start with designing your app. First, we will give a structure and after that combine those with wireframing.

1. Start with a Sketch

Firstly, you need to brainstorm the appearance of your app. In this step, you need to create various examples of your app logo, its colors, layout, and more. Moreover, you should focus on your flowchart app functionality. A flowchart is the best way to lay out the steps of every job that your app will perform. Later you will need to craft these steps into a series of wireframes.

2. Sketch Main Screens

Here, you can separate your app’s functionality into varied screens or sections. This way, your users will find it easy to know your app idea. Moreover, you will have an idea about how many screens you will need. Yes, your assumption would not be correct, but it’s normal to make changes while working on the designing phase.

3. Sketch Main Navigation

After knowing the main sections of your mobile app, you can target the chief mechanism for your app’s navigation. It can be a bar at the footer or a slide in the side menu. To finalize, you can check out apps you love and pay attention to the app’s navigation.

Navigation should offer a natural and intuitive feel. Through easy navigation, you can ease your users when it comes to finding something on your app.

4. Opt for Onboarding Sequence

You may guide your app users on how to use the app through a short welcome tutorial. So, if you find your app complicated, you can rely on an onboarding sequence that will help you educate your users.

5. Make usability easier

The term states how easy the user finds your service or product to use. It’s a part of the User Experience (UX). In this section, you need to target increasing the usability of your app, making it easy for users to use it. You need to decide what to display on all the screens and arrange the UI elements on the screen.

6. Design App Wireframe

Mobile App Wireframes

A mobile app wireframe is a blueprint or schematic that is best for assisting you, your designers, and programmers to think and communicate about the skeleton of your app.

After developing the same screen in various ways, you will finalize a few of them only to lead to an easy-to-use app. That’s why doing this job before starting with the code part and finalizing the visual designs will save a lot of time and effort in later stages.

How to Create Wireframes?

We can create mobile app wireframing following any of the two ways below:

Offline: You can use a pen and paper to create wireframes.
Online: There are various wireframing tools that you can get online, like Mockflow, Adobe Suite, Fluid UI, and more. You only need to choose a template or tool and start sketching. Every use case needs to exhibit the full-screen flow from opening your mobile app to attaining an objective.

Examples of Top Wireframes
  • Podline Podcast App Wireframe was designed by a designer, Fernando Aleta.
  • Frank Mojica crafted perfect Properties Wireframe
  • Javier Oliver brought event App Wireframe Flow
  • Michelle Lock created fitted App Wireframe
  • Ryszard Cz designed a loan App Wireframe

Top UI Prototyping & Wireframing Tools You can Choose

1. Justinmind

This tool holds the caliber to create high-fidelity prototypes and wireframes for apps. Moreover, you can use interactions and animations without any code to create interactive wireframes.

2. Balsamiq

A widely accepted wireframing tool, Balsamiq has drag-and-drop functionality, making it easy to use. It is known for its flexibility, speed, and convenience of creating wireframes.

3. Mockplus

A desktop-based app, Mockplus is easy and fast, which helps in crafting interactive wireframes. Besides, it also comes with its drag-and-drop functionality.

4. Proto.io

A prototyping and wireframing tool, Proto.io helps create and even test how users interact with wireframes. It is available on iOS, Android, web browsers, or even desktops.

5. InVision

With this wireframing tool, you can build engaging mockups and share them with your team. Later, the group leaves comments straight on the screen.

6. Fluid UI

It offers a fantastic way to help you map your projects visually by crafting links to join screens and building a diagram of how everything looks great together. Moreover, Fluid UI holds unique features that allow users to interact with the UI designs via different devices.

Test Wireframes to Test App Flow and Enhance User Experience

After crafting the app’s use cases next, you should test them. It is a crucial step of app development to test the app flow and improve the user experience. You can use any tool to test the wireframes and make them interactive, or you can follow this mobile app testing checklist.

Hire mobile app developers

Step 5. Customize Your App Design to Make It Appear Engaging

5 Create and improve UI_UX

When customizing an app design, you need to emerge with the best color scheme and make your app look and feel unique. In this phase, you can experiment with distinct aspects of aesthetics.

1. Select an Apt Color Scheme and Fonts for Your App to Make Users Know About Your App’s Offerings

Your app is the best way to interact with your users and let them know about your app’s offerings. So, what you write on your app plays an important role. Besides, how you write and how it looks is also significant. Here, you can finalize the colors for every section of your page. Be sure that the fonts and colors you choose should make the content of your app easily readable.

Mobile apps with appealing designs increase about 70% of user retention.

2. Make an App Design (ui/ux Illustrations) and Make It Engaging

Next, it’s time to craft an app design. You should craft a graphic design that may reveal the look of your final product, can play a role of presentations also to sell, and the developers may use them to integrate the graphic assets in your project.

Your hard and creative work in this section will lay a significant impact on the UX and UI of your app. You may try any option below to make your app design:

3. Learn and Create Your App Design

If you are creative and enjoy designing, you can learn app designing and help yourself. It may take some time to emerge with some decent results, but it would be best.

4. Use Design Templates

You can purchase the app designs for the top brands that sell and customize them according to your requirements. It would be relatively cheaper than hiring an artistic designer. A point to note here is your app may look similar to the one that has used the same template for designing its app.

5. Hire a Professional App Designer

If you find the other options quite a headache, you may hire the best app designing company to help you with this. It may charge you more, but yes, you will attain the exact results you expect.

Top UX/UI Illustration Tools

You can use UX/UI illustrations to make your product stand out uniquely and develop a strong link with the customers.

  • Ouch: It offers free illustrations to enhance the look of the user interface.
  • Draw Kit: It’s a collection of engaging and customizable illustrations that you can use for your app, website, or projects.
  • unDraw: It allows users to emerge with images that suit their needs.
  • Absurd Design: This tool comes with a series of illustrations combining a deep sense of childishness and absurdity.

Step 6. Choose a Best-Fit Development Path that May Lead to A Successful App

6 Choose an app development path

Here, in this step, you will give life to your app. Follow the below steps to choose the best development route.

Gross App Revenue on Google Play Store is $10.3 billion, whereas Gross App Revenue on the Apple App Store is $19 billion.

1. Choose a Platform as Per Your Needs and Budget

a. Native App Development

You can choose native app development to build your app for a specific operating system, Android or iOS. You can make an Android app if your target is top downloads and enhanced revenue through ads.

On the contrary, develop an iOS app if you want to appear on the iOS platform also.

You should take care of that while developing a native app, as you will need to create two separate apps for both Android and iOS.

2. Hybrid App Development

You may choose to develop a hybrid app that can run on both Android and iOS.

Various frameworks are available in the market, like Framework 7, React Native, PhoneGap, etc., that allows creating a single app and deploying it on both the Apps’ Store. It saves the time and cost of two development teams and codebase maintenance.

3. Cross-Platform App Development

Mobile apps are written on many programming languages and compiled for every platform separately. Suppose you want to align user experience all over the forum, have one development team for both the platforms, and don’t have time and budget to develop and maintain two separate apps separately. You can choose cross-platform app development.

4. Progressive Web App Development

Such apps don’t need native or cross-platform development. They don’t need any app store installations along with traditional app delivery channels. It runs on a browser, whether it’s a desktop or mobile. These apps are web apps that also run on mobile.

5. Choose the Correct Programming Language

Next, it’s time to pick the correct programming language.

To develop an Android app, You will need Android Studio. Post that, using XML, you can design the UI of your app and write the logic using the languages of your choice, like Java, Kotlin, and C++.

69.7% of developers prefer using the JavaScript programming language.

On the other hand, to develop an iOS app, you will need an XCode IDE and expertise in Swift language. You can also use the C language, but Swift seems to be much easier.

Now, you are good to go.

6. Choose a Technology Stack as Per the Platform You Chose for App Development

technology stack for mobile app

The mobile app development tech stack is like an app base that will result in a good and expected product. So, you should choose the best technology stack for developing your app.

Technology Stack for Android Apps
  • Programming Languages: You can choose from two, Java and Kotlin, to develop an Android app.
  • Java: It assists in developing an app quickly and efficiently for Android.
  • Kotlin: As compared to Java, this programming language is less verbose and lightweight.

As per a survey, about 9490 firms use Java in their tech stacks.

  • Android development tools: Android Developer Tools (ADT) and Android Studio are unique tools for developing Android apps.
  • Android Studio: Powered by Google, it is an official development platform, which offers a user-friendly interface to develop high-quality apps.
  • ADT: It offers the developers specific coding and test automation support, specific features, and a graphical UI builder.

UI Frameworks

  • Android UI: Android offers pre-built Android UI software. It permits developers to develop UI quickly.
  • Jetpack Compose: A modern UI kit helps in developing a native Android UI.
Technology Stack for iOS Apps
  • Programming languages: Swift and Objective-C are two commonly used languages for developing iOS apps.
  • Objective-C: It is an Apple-supported language that is best for developing iOS apps.
  • Swift: It’s a new language, which is easier to understand, edit and even debug.

Reports say almost 2037 firms use Swift in their tech stacks.

  • iOS Development Tools: Appcode and Xcode are two popular toolsets used in developing iOS apps.
  • Xcode: Powered by Apple, Xcode offers access to all essential features needed to develop a native iOS mobile app.
  • Appcode: It is powered by a third party that comes with a flexible setting system.
  • UI Frameworks: Developers use SwiftUI and UIKit to develop user interfaces.
  • SwiftUI: It is like UIKit, but as it was introduced later, it just supports the latest version of iOS.
  • UIKit: It is a basic framework for developing and managing graphical components in iOS apps.
Technology Stack for Cross-Platform Apps
  • React Native: It is a framework based on JS or TypeScript for developing mobile apps.
  • Flutter: Powered by Google, Flutter is used for developing cross-platform apps.
  • Xamarin: It offers direct access to native APIs of both OS and permits the use of a complete toolkit and open-source.
Technology Stack for Hybrid App Development
  • Ionic: It is perfect for developing hybrid apps using various web technologies, HTML5 and CSS.
  • PhoneGap/Cordova: It is an open-source framework that runs JS-based and HTML apps.

A mobile app development project holds three essential parts:

  • Back-end or Server technology
  • APIs
  • Mobile app front-end

7. Back-End/Server Technology

It includes server-side objects and databases that are important for supporting mobile app functionality. If you are using your existing back-end platform, it may demand changes to support the expected mobile functionality. Backend development process targets storing information in a remote database, scripting to append logic to the interactivity, and crafting architecture that makes it easy and quick to sort through the data.

Apps like a camera, calculator, voice recorder, and more don’t need backend development.

8. API

Now, the mobile apps are in a state where they would need to communicate constantly with servers. Just a few apps operate without connectivity which means they utilize web service, backend, or APIs. Such APIs come from companies like Facebook, Google, etc., or are developed internally by mobile app development teams.

RestAPI is used chiefly for API development, as it is the simplest way to develop mobile apps.

9. Mobile App Front-End

It is a native mobile app that end-users will use. Most mobile apps include interactive user experiences that utilize an API and a back-end for data management. In some cases, When an application permits users to perform with no internet access, the app may use local data storage.

Step 7. Time to Build Your App

7 Time to build your app

It takes time to develop a mobile app considering every requirement and guideline. Let’s check out various options to build your app quickly.

1. Learn to Code and Build Yourself

It may take time to learn coding skills and develop your app, but you will create your app as per your expectations.

About 70% of app users abandon an app that takes longer to download.

2. Use an App Builder

If you are from a non-technical background and want to develop your app yourself, you can use an app builder. Such a service lets you create an app by picking a template and making design choices according to you.

There are several app builders in the market. You can pick any that you find suitable to your requirements. Let’s check out a few top Mobile App Builders.

1. Appy Pie

This app development builder is best for first-time app builders. It comes with various free and paid plans that benefit all sized businesses to start the app development process within budget.

2. Swiftic

It is widely accepted because of the app colors, background images, and icons it offers that go perfectly with any artwork. This editor is easy to use and holds varied design options and features.

3. BuildFire

It is a leading app development platform that paces up the app development process. It is counted among the top reliable platforms and is famous for various possibilities of app customization.

4. GoodBarber

This app maker provides a flexible and intuitive experience when developing apps. Even if you are new to coding, you will get a seamless experience using this app builder.

5. Shoutem

This app-building platform comes with clear instructions of use and an engaging layout. Moreover, it helps with various app customization options that offer a striking look and feel.

6. AppMachine

This editor includes various simple designs that are easy to use and pleasing. Moreover, its modern and appealing templates will make your app look exceptional.

7. AppMakr

This app maker comes with both free and paid plans. Most of the users are making top apps using the free version of AppMakr. Its app development process includes audio, video, text, and HTML elements.

By 2022, consumers are expected to download about 258.2 Billion mobile apps.

3. Hire a Freelancer

Well, if you find it challenging and time-consuming to learn coding skills, then you can hire a freelancer to help you with app development. You can check various websites to hire in-budget and best freelance developers.

4. Partner with a programmer

One more way to develop your app is to partner with a proficient programmer. It may be tough to catch up with a willing partner, but for that, you need to hold a proven, successful track record of your business launch.

5. Hire an App Development Company

An app development company will help you with the best consultation, app development, and management services you can’t get from freelancers. That’s why it may cost you even more than hiring a freelancer.

Step 8. Test Your App to Make It Bug-Free and Accessible

8 Perform app testing

Post your app development, next you need to test your app to ensure there is no bug and the user finds it accessible and valuable. You may find various types of testing available, but Internal Testing and External Testing come in the top recommendation.

Internal Testing: It permits testing an app as if you are an end-user.
External Testing: This type of testing demands giving apps to people who are new to your app.

Your app needs to undergo below testing methods to emerge with a quality mobile solution.

1. Functional Testing

You should test the functionality of your app by various users to cover possible testing conditions. Such type of testing makes sure that users may use your app’s functionality and features with no issues.

2. User Experience Testing

In mobile app testing, the main target is to ensure that the final product meets the user experience that the app design team crafted. Your app’s workflows, visuals, and interactivity are what offer the first-hand impression to your end-users. It will affect the app user adoption directly.

3. Performance Testing

Such a testing mode measures the app performance:

  • How well is your app responding to the users’ requests?
  • How fast do the app’s screens load?
  • Is your app a highly consuming phone battery or leading to memory leaks?
  • Is your app’s size more significant than expected?

4. Security Testing

The process of making apps more resistant to security threats by identifying security vulnerabilities and weaknesses in source code is security testing.

5. Device & Platform Testing

You should test your mobile app on different mobile devices or device simulators to ensure that it works smoothly for all users. You need to test your app compatibility with distinct operating systems, like Android, iOS, Windows, etc.

6. Recovery Testing

It tests the application’s ability to resist and successfully recover from potential failures caused by hardware failures, software failures, or communication issues.

7. Change Relevant Testing

After performing complete testing, you may catch up with some bugs that may demand changing in a specific piece of code to resolve those bugs. After changing such codes, you will need to conduct a round of testing. It includes:

8. Regression Testing

Sometimes, code changes may disturb the performance of existing and perfectly working functions. We perform regression testing to make sure that the new alterations didn’t lead to an emergence of more bugs.

9. Re-testing

We conduct testing to fix every detected defect.

Top Mobile App Testing Tools

The main target of testing an app is to fix the bugs and UI issues. Various tools may help you with app testing.

1. Appium

An open-source test automation framework, Appium permits creating UI tests for native, mobile, web, and hybrid apps. It covers both Android and iOS mobile platforms and supports code reuse across iOS and Android test suites.

2. Espresso

One of the leading mobile testing frameworks, Espresso, is from Google and is integrated with Android Studio, which helps develop native Android apps.

3. Robot Framework

An open-source, keyword-driven automation framework, Robot Framework permits testing web, mobile, and desktop apps. It is best for acceptance test-driven development (ATDD), acceptance level testing, and robotic process automation.

4. TestComplete

An automated UI testing tool from SmartBear, TestComplete permits crafting, maintaining, and executing UI tests for desktop, web, and mobile apps. It allows testing both hybrid and native apps.

5. XCUITest

A testing framework, XCUITest, developed by Apple, supports writing UI tests for iOS apps only. It runs within the Xcode IDE and permits writing tests inside it, which developers find convenient.

Step 9. Time to Submit Your App to The App Store and Make It Download Ready

9 Submit your app to app store

Now, your app is all set to launch into the Google Play Store or App Store to allow millions of people to download it.

In Feb 2021, about 88.5 thousand mobile apps were published through the Google Play Store.

1. How to Submit an App?

Let’s check out the steps you need to follow to submit your app to the Google Play Store and App Store.

2. Steps to Submit Your App on Google Play Store

Here are the basic steps to upload your app on the Google Play store. Be all set with your app information, including description, screenshots, feature graphics, app links, video links, categories, and more.

  • Upload the app bundle files or APK for your app
  • Set the content rating of your app
  • Set distribution and pricing plan
  • Publish your app

3. Steps to Submit Your App on The App Store

Here are the basic steps to submit your app to the Apple app store.

  • Sign up for the Apple Developer Program
  • Make your app ready for submission.
  • Craft your App Store listing via App Store Connect
  • Create screenshots
  • Upload your app to the App Store Connect using Xcode

Step 10. Shout out Loud About Your Newly Built App & Create an Effective App Marketing Plan

10 Create an app marketing plan

After posting your app on the stores, now it’s time to execute a marketing plan. You can use the below impactful app marketing strategies.

1. App’s Landing Page & Blog

A landing page will reveal your app’s information and make users learn what your app is all about. Here, you can use SEO to attract more users. You can include your app’s link with a clear call to action.

When it comes to a blog, be sure that you keep it updated on your site. Additionally, share your blogs across your social media channels.

The app owners can expect approximately 67% more leads per month if their brands hold a blog as compared to those who don’t.

2. Write a Press Release.

Press releases help in representing and promoting essential corporate news. Moreover, it may announce a new service or product also. Press releases reach outlets, such as broadcast stations, newspapers, and magazines, to pass on strategic messages from a company that the media publishes or broadcasts.

3. Email Your Pre-Launch Email List to Your App Users

After you launch, let everyone know about that. You can email your subscribers and make your audience updated.
Run a campaign to increase your app downloads

If your mobile app is a paid one and will be available for free for a short time, you can shout out, which may lead to many downloads. You can run a paid-to-free campaign.

You can get your app featured, but you should know that it’s not a guaranteed way out to win big. There are many other ways also to achieve more and as expected.
Influencer marketing to make your audience know about your newly built app.

It is a fantastic strategy for apps. You need to find influencers holding audiences that match your app’s target demographic. Next, ask them if they can mention or do a shoutout for your app. They will quote an amount, and you have to make a decision.

Witnessing the benefits of influencer marketing, about 47% of marketers have planned to increase their budget for the same in the upcoming years.

5. Perform ASO and Increase the Number of Downloads of Your App

Post the launch of your app, ASO doesn’t end. You can still impact the discovery of your application within the store by tweaking its metadata. The main target of ASO is to boost the number of downloads.

app downloads

For example, take a look at Clubhouse app downloads

6. Social Media Marketing

Every day, users spend most of their hours browsing their social networks. You can post across your social media channels regularly and use them smartly to increase awareness of your product.

According to 59% of consumers, social media channels are the source of initial awareness.

7. Choose KPIs to Track App Performance

You can use KPIs to measure the performance of your app. It will let you know areas of improvement of your app and best performing sections also.

Let’s split up Marketing Strategies as per the customer journey funnel

1. Awareness

To create an awareness of your app, you can perform the following marketing activities:

  • Social Media Engagement
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Influencer Marketing
  • Content Marketing
  • App Store Optimization
2. Activation

To convince people to download your app, you can deploy the below strategies:

  • Email Campaigns
  • App Store Marketing
  • Search Engine Marketing
  • Retargeting and Paid Social Media Advertising
3. Revenue

To generate revenue for your app users, you can check out the below approaches:

  • Email Marketing
  • Push Notifications
  • Retargeting and Paid Social Media Advertising
4. Referral

After app users start finding your app valuable, they will likely tell your friends, colleagues, and family. The below tactics may help in triggering these actions:

  • Referral Reward Programs
  • Community Engagement
  • Affiliate Marketing Programs
  • Reviews
5. Retention

You can create long-lasting relationships with your customers using reward systems, engagement, and customer support. Below are some strategies that may help you reconnect and engage with your current users:

  • Community Events
  • Content Marketing
  • Push Notifications
  • Forums
  • Loyalty Programs
  • Email Newsletters

According to almost 90% of marketers, their social media efforts have boosted their business exposure, and 75% say they have increased traffic.

Step 11. Keep Your App Updated with In-Demand Features Post App Development

11 Improve your app with user feedback

After deploying your app, still, the app development process is not over. There’s much to do after the launch also.

1. Maintenance to Make Your App Run Accurately with No Bugs

Next, it’s time to maintain your app. For that, you can plan the below three ways:

a) Bug Fixes

After you post your app, many users will start using it. You will also start noticing the issues with your app. You can fix them in your app’s updated version and maintain them.

b) Feature Requests

Apart from fixing issues with your app updates, you can append new features also as per the users’ demand.

c) Major Software Updates

Whenever Google or Apple roll out a new software update, you need to update your app.

2. Ask Your Users for Feedback to Improve Your App’s Performance

You can ask your app users to give their feedback about your app. For that, you can send an email to everyone asking their likes and areas of improvement in your app. Further, you can check out the rating and reviews on your app. Feedback is always the best source to enhance and make your app grow better.

Feedback plays a vital role in improving your app’s performance. Post publishing your app, you can make changes if you want.

3. How Much Does It Cost To Develop a Mobile App?

According to GoodFirms average cost of:

  • A simple app development lies between $38,000 to $91,000.
  • A medium-complexity app costs between $55,550 and $131,000.
  • A complex app may cost between $91,550 to $211,000.

As per a survey by Clutch, the cost to build an app is between $30k to $700k.

So, the Approximate App Development Price Of:

  • An essential app will be around $10,000 to $20,000
  • A medium complexity app is approximately $20,000 – $50,000.
  • A complex app goes beyond $50,000 and more

Formula using which you can calculate your app development cost

Cost = Total Development Time * Hourly Rate

4. Factors Affecting the Cost of Building an App

The projects of mobile app development may take hours and even years to complete relying on varied factors. These factors also have an impact on the cost of app development. Let’s check them out.

  • Platforms and devices you want to use to develop.
  • Design of the app you expect.
  • The location and structure of the team of development experts.
  • Type and size of app you want to build
  • Features and functionalities you want in your app.
  • Cost of marketing your app.
  • Price of maintenance post the development of your app.

Wrapping Up

We hope you found this post informative and answers all your queries about how to create an app. So, if you are about to make a start, you may follow the steps to develop a mobile app and make your app a success.

For more, you may connect with the top mobile app development company holding years of experience in building successful apps. Don’t forget to check reviews and ratings to make a good decision.

FAQs for developing a mobile app

How Can We Make a Successful App?

A successful application merges three aspects smartly: user, market, and the product itself. All such elements need to perform perfectly to offer the users exceptional value, fantastic usability and expected performance.

How Can We Make Money from An App?

There are various ways to make money from an app. Let’s list a few below:
> Paid apps
> Sponsorship
> In-app purchases
> In-app advertising
> Affiliate program
> Subscription

How to Create a Successful App?

We need to follow a few steps to build an app as per our expectations.
> Emerge with an app idea and your app name
> Research. Research. Research.
> Finalize features and functionalities you want to include in your app
> Design wireframes
> Customize your app design
> Choose a suitable development path
> Develop your app
> Test your app
> Submit your app to the App Store
> Create an app marketing plan
> Post-App Development

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Mobile App?

An estimated price for developing a mobile app:
> Basic App – $10,000 to $20,000
> Medium Complex App – $20,000 – $50,000
> Complex App – $50,000 and more

How to Build an App without Coding Skills?

You can create an app using the best app builders if you don’t want to code. The app makers permit everyone, be it a beginner, a professional, or a business owner, to develop an app quickly without code and technical knowledge.

Why Should We Use Emizentech Over Another Agency?

Our extended caliber to successfully deliver complicated apps and various online portal development projects make our clients hire us. We have over 8+ years of experience in resolving all sorts of issues, like working along with existing development teams, performing with legacy systems to help in new app developments, developing technically complicated features, and bringing together processes, techniques, and apps together with smooth integration.

So, if you are all set with grand ideas, are facing any issues, and looking for a reliable app development company, then Emizentech is always there to help you out.

Can You Build Apps for Both iOS and Android?

Yes, of course, most of the applications we develop support both Android and iOS mobile platforms. It’s common for the ones who want their apps working perfectly across mobile and web devices. That’s why we use development frameworks like React and React Native that allows us to support both platforms.

Will I Own the Source Code?

We will offer you apt copyright or license rights for the custom code that we write for your project. We are always transparent with intellectual property rights, and you will get a chance to review our code ownership terms before the project starts.

How Do You Keep My App and Data Secure?

We follow various practices to develop secure mobile apps like:
> Source code encryption
> Penetration tests in which we perform a deep QA and security check
> Secure the data-in-transit
> File-level and database encryption in which we craft provisions for data security
> High-level authentication
> Utilize the latest cryptography techniques
> Secure the back-end
> Minimize the storage of sensitive data

Do You Provide Ongoing Support, Maintenance, and Updates?

We don’t hold a one-size-fits-all approach for our client support. We alter a support arrangement for our clients to meet their specific needs and budget. Some services that we can offer are:
> CMS support and training
> Management of maintenance requests
> Proactive maintenance activities
> Monthly activity recommendations
> Management of maintenance requests
> Proactive constant improvement activities
> Monthly reporting
> Business user support via phone, email, or in-person

What Programming Languages and Frameworks Do You Use?

We usually use open-source languages with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript on the front-end and PHP or JavaScript on the backend. Moreover, we use React Native for several app projects, but sometimes also use PhoneGap or Cordova within tight budgets or requirements to support Android, web, and iOS.

For web apps, we utilize front-end layout frameworks, like Foundation, bootstrap, SemanticUI, and material, along with front-end code frameworks, like Angular or React. We primarily use a PHP framework on the back-end, like Yii2 or Laravel, with the occasional project in NodeJS.

How Do We Handle Sharing Data Between Web and Mobile Platforms?

We start by building a central database that will clutch all your data. Then, we place an interface (an API) to permit the mobile and web apps to send and receive this data.

I Want to Take Payments; how Does This Work?

We take payments in-app and in-site using a 3rd-party payment provider. There are several payment providers that we integrate with, but typically they fall into one of below two categories: Full end-to-end and Merchant services.

Using whole end-to-end payment providers, you use their services, and they manage both the fund collection and the merchant services for you and offer you a dashboard. In contrast, merchant services act as a middle-man between your website or app and your bank. So, the merchant-in-the-middle charges an amount (fixed) per transaction. Next, your bank takes a fixed percentage on top of the merchant services fee.

The merchant services integration demands more development time to support.

Do I Need to Worry About the Eu’s New Gdpr Rules?

Yes, for sure! The GDPR will have an impact on your business if you store your customer data or a website. If you avoid the new rules, then you may be responsible for fines.

We know this is a complex topic. So, to learn more, you may connect with us.

Where Do You Provide App Development Services?

We offer our app development services to clients in the US, UK, UAE, and India.

I Have a Question that Isn’t Listed Here.

You may connect with us. We will try hard to revert to all your app development relevant queries.

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Author

CTO at Emizentech and a member of the Forbes technology council, Amit Samsukha, is acknowledged by the Indian tech world as an innovator and community builder. He has a well-established vocation with 12+ years of progressive experience in the technology industry. He directs all product initiatives, worldwide sales and marketing, and business enablement. He has spearheaded the journey in the e-commerce landscape for various businesses in India and the U.S.

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