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Do you want to boost your startup and turn your unique idea into a million-dollar business by developing a mobile app? In this blog, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about startup mobile app development.
The world is rapidly transforming into a hub of innovative technologies. From talking to our friends to searching for jobs, calling cabs, finding restaurants, and finding love – it’s all in the apps. The number of mobile users today is higher than the number of desktop users. With the number of smartphone users today surpassing 3 billion, there’s no better way to reach potential customers than a mobile app. However, startups often get confused while deciding which is better – native or hybrid development?
An idea might not be enough for your startup to prosper, you need to reach the maximum audience for higher ROI, and mobile apps can help you. Estimates say that by 2023, mobile apps will generate more than $935 billion in revenue. Every startup strives for successful app development; thus, hiring a professional app developer who can shape your unique startup idea into a stunning mobile app could be the best option.
Why Do Startups Need an App?
The most common misconception startups have is that they think apps are only meant for large enterprises and not for small businesses and this is one of the common mistakes startups make but should be avoided. A mobile app can be the perfect tool to boost your startup business’s presence. Thus, having an app for your startup can do the following wonders for your business. Let’s have a look!
- Customer Engagement – A mobile app allows you to interact with your customers in real-time. Effective customer engagement results in higher sales.
- Marketing Tool – A mobile app can be considered a powerful and perfect marketing tool for your startup. It can help you attract more customers.
- Enhanced User Experience – Mobile apps don’t compromise quality and consistency and give a smooth user experience, thus boosting your brand presence.
- Grow Brand – Mobile apps help your brand grow. Your customers can easily recognize your brand with a logo on their phone, thus helping your business elevate.
- Increased ROI – Mobile app development might be expensive, but a well-built app can increase sales, build customer loyalty, and strengthen brand recognition.
Common Challenges Faced While Developing Apps for Startups
Developing an app is not as easy as it sounds and maybe intimidating. Even if a company has substantial skills to build startup-friendly apps, it still can be a daunting task. While technical challenges aside, there are other challenges that a startup can run into while developing an app.
It is wise to discuss and understand those challenges to be prepared before you take the plunge. Here are some obvious and common challenges that startups face during app development!
Overcrowded Market
With millions of mobile apps already out there, a startup’s biggest challenge is creating an app that stands out from the rest. Penetrating the market so you can get a market for your invention can be challenging. However, you can deal with it by aligning yourself with the user. Understand their needs, solve their problems, and offer something unique to them.
Compatibility Issue
With the ongoing enhancement of device and software compatibility, meeting the compatibility issue is difficult yet crucial for developers. To overcome this, you can pay attention to the various limitations like OS requirements, screen resolutions, and other factors. By focusing on responsive design, you can easily deal with this challenge.
Navigability Issue
Sometimes, a simple interface may get complicated for the user to navigate and find the right thing, which violates the app’s purpose, resulting in bad user experience and reviews, decreasing the app’s downloads. Being as simple and clear as possible, choosing the responsive UI designs, adding icons and thumbnails, and more can generally improve the user’s experience and navigation ability.
Performance Concern
Focusing only on usual aesthetics, most apps are faced with the challenge of ensuring that the developed app performs well for the user’s benefit. To prevent the app from crashing or annoying bugs without affecting battery life, you should focus on ensuring design responsiveness on all the mobile devices.
Funding
Mobile app development is expensive, and startups don’t have a big budget to invest in developing an app and push it to the market. Most app developers get stuck here with a great idea for an app but with no money to catapult the dream forward. Creating a working strategy for funding can help your business prosper.
10 Crucial Steps You Must Take for Your Startup App Development
Choosing the Right Platform
It would be best to decide whether you want to go with Android app development or iOS app development. However, choosing the right platform can be daunting but necessary; thus, think of a holistic UI that can deliver specifically to your application. The choice you’ll make won’t just influence the developers; it very much affects the scope and flexibility of an app. The coding will decide the utility and adaptability of your app’s offerings.
Deep Market Research
Research and Development (R&D) is always advisable before doing any task, and building an app is no different. Conduct deep and thorough market research so that you can obtain valuable insights into the current market scenario, understand your competitors and their strategy, strengths and weaknesses, USPs, and more. Doing such things will ensure your app stands out.
Understand Your Audience
What’s the ultimate purpose of your startup app? To reach maximum potential users and drive crazy downloads, right? To make this happen, you need to know your customers and understand them in and out because your app’s success entirely depends on it. Your app needs to solve users’ problems, add value, benefit them, and be unique to them to be added to the top list.
Select the Right App Development Company
Having an amazing app idea for your startup is pointless if it’s not executed well. The app development company plays a vital role in making or breaking your app. Thus, choose the right app development company with the right skill sets, compelling portfolios, and positive reviews. They can develop an intuitive mobile app for your startup.
Go for Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
The MVP version of anything consists of the most basic and core yet crucial features and solves the core problems of your potential customers. All the successful apps or products we see in the market today have gone through hundreds of improvisations. They have evolved through consistent customer feedback, so starting with the MVP can be beneficial because you can receive feedback on your app sooner.
App Wireframing
Once you’re done with market research, understanding the audience, selecting the company, you need to wireframe your mobile app. A wireframe is a structural blueprint of your app that shows the objects on the screen and its possible functions. After creating the app’s wireframe, it’s time to put it through testing to determine usability and identify loopholes in functionalities, design, and user-friendliness.
App Designing
If you want a great product, design cannot be an afterthought. Designing plays a significant role in the success of an app. So, once the wireframe is ready, it’s time to put all the research done till now to use and turn your created wireframes into final designs. Design your app keeping users’ comments and feedback in mind to give a unique look and feel to the app.
Find Monetization Options
What’s the ultimate goal of your startup app? Generating maximum revenue out of it. So, before creating a mobile app, you must find out ways to monetize it. There are many ways to monetize your app, depending upon your business type, you can choose any from freemium, premium, in-app purchases, subscriptions, in-app ads, sponsorship, and others. Gain a solid understanding and know what aligns with your business best.
App Marketing
To reach maximum potential users, it is essential to devise a perfect app marketing strategies for your startup, and you should do it before you’ve even begun your development. By ensuring effective A/B testing for efficient conversions, you can win maximum customers.
Your app marketing should be focussed, realistic, and specific to your target audience. Social media marketing, public relations, email marketing, and app store optimization are effective ways of marketing your app.
Keep Bettering the App
The work with app development never ends. If you want to stay ahead of your competitors, you need to keep bettering your applications with time. Constantly look for ways to update your mobile application according to the change trends in the market. By maintaining customer acquisition, user engagement, and app performance, you can keep improving your app, so it stays one step ahead of competitors.
7 Things to Consider While Choosing App Development Company for Your Startup
If you don’t have a technical background or you’re not tech-savvy but want to hire professional app developers, you need to know a few essential points about mobile app development. Here, we will discuss some crucial factors that you need to consider to find perfect mobile app developers.
Look for the Right Expertise
Developing a mobile app for a startup takes a precise mix of technical savvy and creative skills. Usually, an app development company’s service page can help you find relevant information about its areas of expertise. Check out the company’s service page and see if it has the expertise you’re looking for or not and decide accordingly.
Check the Portfolio
A portfolio is the reflection of any company’s work; thus, it’s crucial to consider when hiring an app development company. You can check the company’s portfolio on its site, or you can ask the service provider to share their portfolio and work samples to get a better insight. Check the portfolio thoroughly and then make your decision based on the company’s work.
Look for the Experience
Checking the field experiences and knowledge is important if you want to bring precision to your startup app. Ensure the company you select has a team of experts who holds a sound understanding of all the languages required to build either iOS or Android apps.
Effective Communication
Everyone likes an app development company that communicates well and keeps transparency. A flawless app development project can only be accomplished if the company maintains a good balance of communication and transparency with its client and vice versa.
See the Client Reviews
Before you hire mobile developers, you must explore their website and check their testimonial page to determine if the reviews are positive. Read thoroughly what the client has said about the company and, if possible, talk directly to the previous clients to verify.
Cost Factor
Money is a significant concern for startups. Thus, cost-effective app development is what they always look for. Asking for a package cost in advance helps you save and manage the budget and provide you with better services. However, the best mobile app developer can cost you more, but you’ll see a greater ROI.
Delivery Time
A company that delivers its work on time is always remembered by people and leaves a memorable imprint on customers. Look for the mobile app development company that will meet deadlines, so that you can get your app to market quickly.
Final Words!
As a startup, the decision to build a mobile application is crucial for your startup. From common challenges faced with critical steps taken, startups need to consider all the points mentioned above in mind to prosper and stand out while investing in mobile app development. Now we assume that you know everything about startup mobile app development, so it’s time to bring all those learnings into practice.
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