Why do you want to build a mobile app? Do you want to ride the wave of other entrepreneurs, or did you come across a problem that you feel you can resolve? The answer to this question will determine whether your app will be successful or not.
Here
is a guide to get you started, but note it may not work for everyone. This is
drawn from my experience working for more than three years with entrepreneurs,
helping them build and market their mobile apps. Take from it what suits your
strategy best, or follow it to the hilt. The important part is to get started.
Step 1: Get an idea or a problem. If you already have an app idea, move onto step
two. If not, read on. Want to build an app but don’t have an app idea? What you
really need are problems, and they’re everywhere!
Successful
entrepreneurs solve problems in a way that we could not have imagined. When you
look around you, every product and service you use were all created to solve a
problem. You wanted to get from one place to another faster, you got a car. You
wanted to get from one country to another faster, you got planes.
So look for problems in your daily life and list each one of
them. Once you have an exhaustive list, then start to think on how you can
resolve them and shortlist the ones that make most sense.
Step 2: Identify the need. Validation will prove that a demand exists for
your app. You can validate your idea by using the Google Keyword Planner tool
to look for the number of people seeking out what you’re trying to do. You
could also build a landing page that broadly highlights your app idea and seek
user interest through an email signup.
Step 3: Lay out the flow and
features. Validation
of your app idea means that you’ve got something that people want to use. Now
is the time to detail your product onto a document, or if you want to go the
extra mile, use a wireframing tool.
When
putting your idea down on paper, remember to be as detailed as possible.
Include the flow of how the user will navigate the app as well as all the
features envisioned. This will help your developer to clearly understand your
expectations.
Step 4: Remove non-core features. From the flow and features document you
prepared, start looking closely at features that you can remove. Offer only the
core value of your app idea. Do not build features in the first version that
are "nice to have" and can always be added later as an update. This
will help keep the initial costs of development down and also help you get to
market quicker.
Step 5: Put design first. I have heard many entrepreneurs saying they want
a very basic design and want to focus on just developing an app. They are so
wrong! Design is not just about how your app looks, but it’s about how a user
will experience the app. Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures best explains it:
“Design is a way of making technology useful.” So look for a developer who puts
design (user experience and graphics) first.
Step 6: Hire a designer/developer. Seek a development company that has great design
talent and a solid development team. While hiring a developer, go online to
check on their credibility and the apps that they have created. If you really
liked an app they created from their portfolio, chances are, they could be the
right one for your product.
Step 7: Create developer accounts. You must register for a developer account with
the respective app stores to be able to sell your app through their platform.
Google’s Android charges $25 a year and Apple charges $99 annually. You have
the option of registering as an individual or as a company, if you already have
one formed.
Step 8: Integrate analytics. Analytics help you track downloads, user
engagement and retention for your mobile app. Make sure you use tools such as
Flurry, which is available for free, and Localytics, that has a free and paid
version.
Step 9: Get feedback quickly and
improvise. Once your
app goes live on the app store, the first set of customers' usage and behavior
will give you insight into how to improve and enhance your app. Enhancements
and changes are constant, so keep an eye on user feedback and keep building.
Step 10: Introduce features. You built version one with limited features and
only the core offering. Now is the time to evaluate and introduce the remaining
features that were left out in the initial version. You will know through
analytics and feedback whether the features are relevant anymore.
These
steps are not sacrosanct, but rather a guideline to building your app in the
most effective manner based on my experience. Once you’re ready to start, you
must also know that building a mobile app is the easiest part. Getting
customers is where the challenge lies
Go and execute your plan into actions.
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