App Development Checklist for Small Businesses
With a rapid increase in mobile app user engagement rates, small businesses are now turning their heads toward the app marketplace to increase their client base. It’s easy to predict that the future lies in mobile. Small businesses are quickly realizing the importance of maintaining and carrying business online and have started to build applications to engage with consumers through their gadgets.
Keeping this in mind, below are some points to help small businesses get started with their mobile application ideas:
1. Know Your Competition
Before converting your app idea into an official working app launched for end users, it’s crucial to conduct a thorough analysis of your competition in the market. It’s advisable to have prior knowledge about similar apps that exist in the marketplace. You must be aware of their core features, functionalities, complexities, and whether they offer a free, paid, or freemium app.
One way to get an edge over your competitors is to analyze the areas they lack expertise in and make your app perform exceptionally well in those areas. Providing solutions to customers’ unsatisfied needs is the most effective way to attract competitors’ clientele.
2. Identify End-User Demands
The basic idea behind any innovation is to provide users with value. Remember, “There is an app for every need, but not a need for every app.”
Before the launch of your app, make sure users feel a need for it. Don’t just produce another app similar to already available apps in the app store. The users who are accustomed to using certain problem-solving applications need something unique and innovative rather than a replica of existing ones.
To get desired user responses and the number of app downloads, provide consumers with something different than what is already circulating in the app marketplace. Also, make sure to identify and address the unmet demands of users by offering an immediate solution.
3. Validate the App Beforehand
Portraying a clear image of what your app is about, mainly its features and specifications, is very important to prepare the right type of product and to engage with the right kind of audience. The concept of the product should be conveyed in simple terms. You must be able to present the idea of your app successfully and thoroughly to the development team and end users. If the roadmap to the successful implementation of your app idea is unclear, the success rate will be unstable too.
Your app definition should cover the following areas:
- Purpose of the application
- The functionality of the application
- The utility of the application
4. Develop a Project Budget
Wondering how much an app costs for a small business?
Like any other project, building an app for a small business requires proper financial allocations and budgetary decision making. Preparing an estimated budget for your app is essential to decide on in-house funding or aid of a financier.
While making budgetary decisions, the following points should be considered:
- Functionality and purpose of the app
- Platforms and devices to be supported
- Integration of smartphone hardware features
5. Choosing the Right Platform for Your App
Whether it’s a large organization or a small business, user experience stands above all when it comes to crafting highly engaging mobile apps. Making a choice between Android, iOS, or Windows platforms becomes a crucial decision. The choice should be based on the location of your target audience and the dominance of the platform in that targeted region. Native apps are built using specific technologies like Java and Swift for platforms such as Android and iOS, respectively. A native platform built app is developed and designed specifically for a mobile operating system.
6. Hiring The Right Mobile App Developer
To get started with your app idea, look for an app developer who understands your requirements and makes the best decisions for your small business app.
When choosing the right developer, it is advisable to look for developers in your local region to avoid a communication gap. Before entrusting someone with the responsibility of building your app, perform a background check and measure their capabilities.
Make sure that your chosen app developer has an established workflow according to which he/she can carry out the development process.
How well your app turns out to be, will depend not only on your vision of the app but also on how well your developer can connect it with the actual requirements.
7. Branding Your Mobile App
From the technicalities of the app to its physical attributes, all these factors combined make an app successful. For App Store Optimization, choosing the most relevant title, description, screenshots, descriptive video, and a complimentary icon makes users easily connect with the brand. Implementing the right ASO is crucial to make your app stand out in the app store. Not only should the design be user-friendly, but the color pattern and fonts should be eye-catching and follow branding guidelines. Making app preview videos and linking them to your landing page is a great way to advertise for services you are providing and increasing user engagement.
The decision of building an app requires proper planning and decision making at all development stages. Creating the app is an expensive endeavor, and one wrong decision may provoke irreparable damage. This checklist will give a kick-start to your app idea and achieve the success and popularity that your app deserves.
