We stumble upon several ideas every day and one of them might be a million-dollar idea! But how can you know what to do next once you have that mobile or website idea? What actions should you take before someone else has the same idea and beat you to the race? Well instead of waiting, quickly finish reading this article because by the end of it, you would know exactly what to do!

Contents that will be covered in this article:

• Purpose of the app
• The audience of the app
• Features of the app
• Getting the wireframe of the app
• Getting a prototype of the app
• Development of the app
• Testing and quality assurance of the app
• Deployment of the app
• Support and Updates

1. Purpose of the app

Once you know the app idea, find out the purpose of the app. Will the app be used for socializing and connectivity? Would it be for information purposes? Would it be to generate profits? Will you run the app for your business? Is it going to be a personal branding app? Whatever the idea is, always be clear about the purpose of the app. This will allow you to narrow down and reach the right audience once you have created the app. Makes sense?

2. Audience of the app

After you figure out the objective of the app, figure out who you are building the app for. Which age group would be focused on? Who would you target with your app? Will your app be for a special region? Answering all these questions will help you in deciding your app’s features and help you outline a market for your app. Always remember that an app will be of no use if it is not reaching the right audience!

3. Features of the app

Narrowing down the features of the app is another essential step in getting your app developed. There can be multiple features in an app such as authentication, chat, payment integration, search, QR scanning, etc. The purpose and the target audience of the app will help you decide on the features. To learn more about how you can choose the features of your app, check out my blog about I have a mobile app idea, what should I do next? You can also simply check Instagram or Facebook to see what features they offer and maybe you might get some ideas!

4. Getting the wireframe of the app

So in your mind, you now have the objective of the app, the people you are building the app for, and the features that you want to include in your app. Everything is looking good in theory, but now it’s time for the practical implementation! The first step in the development of an idea is the design. To begin with the design you need a wireframe of the app. A wireframe is the graphical illustration of your mobile app screens and a skeleton framework for your mobile app functionality. Learn more at Basics of Wireframes: Important to know before getting an app

5. Getting a prototype of the app

The next step after wireframe design is to have a prototype. A prototype is like a sample of the app designed to test the navigational flow, usability, interactions, and overall user experience of the app. Prototyping is a very important step in app development because the next entire procedure of development is dependent on how good the design is! You can find out more about Prototyping in my detailed blog about Essentials of Prototyping

6. Development of the app

After the design processes mainly consisting of wireframing and prototyping are done, the last step is to have your idea developed. The development step consists of back-end development (functionality integration )and front-end development (user interface integration). This step itself includes many little decisions, such as, what language would you use to develop the app, whether you want the app for iPhone, android, or both, and what backend technology would you implement, etc.

But instead of boring yourself with technicalities like this, you can hire well-reputed and experienced developers for this purpose. A professional company will easily help you navigate through your ideas and help you draw appropriate conclusions, guide you about the pros and cons of your choices, and help you make an informed decision about the complete development process.

7. Testing and quality assurance of the app

One of the major steps that ensure the success of the app is the vigorous testing it goes through after development. The more the web and mobile app is tested on various devices and by different users, the better it is for quality. This is a step that may not be performed adequately by individual developers or freelancers.

Professional companies have more resources and people for testing the app which gives them the edge to deliver a better end product. But there is always room for improvement in the app and real testing begins when the app is used by hundreds of users all across the globe. For this reason, development companies also provide a support and maintenance period so your app can run smoothly

8. Deployment of the app

The process of app development is finished after you incorporate the back-end and front-end technologies. Now if you have a mobile application, it is going to be deployed on the app store and play store. This means it will be available for download and public use. And in the case of a web application, it has to be hosted on a server for public use. Deployment for both the mobile application and web application should be handled by professional developers because if these steps are messed up then your entire development cost can go down the drain. And we can’t have that, can we? To learn more about deployment please consult 3-key requirements for deployment

9. Support and Updates

Support and update are vital post-development processes that must be considered and done. Maintaining the app after it has been freshly deployed or hosted makes sure that your app is running at its full potential and is not full of bugs. When the mass usage of the apps begins, it might develop minor bugs that have to be fixed. And if your app has been available live for quite some time, then it is important to take care of the regular update releases. Inactivity in the app’s updates and not fixing the bugs can make users abandon your app. There is also a chance that the play store/app store would remove your app from their platform. Get more guidance about support and updates to ensure the excellent working of your app

Summary

If you give this blog 5–10 minutes of your time, you would learn everything about the complete process of app and web development. Whether you choose to develop an app yourself or use a trusted development company, these procedures are essential, and skipping any one of the steps will disrupt the entire flow of your app and hinder the desired outcome. Now if you have an app idea and want to find out the cost of its design and development, you can contact a good development agency and get a quote. Stay tuned for more informative blogs!