How to make your mobile application in 2023: an ultimate step-by-step guideline
Having your website or even socials isn’t enough in 2023. To become successful online, you should catch the user’s eye at least a few times a day. It’s impossible with just a website.
Socials are an even more challenging nut to crack. You should constantly film viral TikTok videos, Shorts, and Reels, pay bloggers for promotion, etc. Is there a no-win situation, or do you have a way out? Yes, you have a great way to grow your audience and stay relevant even at non-predictable times.
You can create your own mobile app, which helps you to stay in sight. Here you create your own rules and discounts for clients in the app. Gamify user experience to build a mental bond between you and your customers.
Today we share our knowledge of how to create a mobile app. Try to follow each step to build your successful mobile application.
Step 1: Conduct a basic market research
You should realize why you need the app and how it benefits your business. Ask yourself about an acceptable improvement speed, what results you want to achieve, and how this app may help you to achieve desirable KPIs.
All your goals should be quantitative. Use the SMART goal system to create achievable aims:
- Specific. It should be one specific goal, like “I want to get more orders”. Don’t mix it with other aims.
- Measurable. This goal should be quantitative, like “I want to get 500 orders”.
- Achievable. It should be feasible, like “I want to get 500 orders in a week” for the small handmade shop.
- Realistic. Another reminder that the goal should be achievable in the current situation.
- Timely. Set a time-specific goal like “I want to achieve 500 weekly orders until September”
Measurable goals with detailed KPIs help you to track progress every step of the way. It also helps to set more specific technical requirements for experts.
Step 2: Complete a deep market research
Once you do basic research, it’s time for an advanced one. It’s a mandatory step for producing a successful mobile application. You’ll get unpredictable results if you don’t accomplish deep research on the market and potential customers.
But once you do fine research, you’ll know the market. It helps you to find winning and losing strategies. It saves you time and money.
Do a SWOT analysis to find your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and traits under current circumstances. Properly evaluate your current state and plan how to achieve every KPI.
Create the app’s customer profile. It may differ from the web version’s customer profile. Figure out their needs, especially non-obvious ones. Plan on how you can close those needs.
Step 3. Plan your main features
But don’t overdo it. Otherwise, you’ll lose clients’ focus. They may forget why they install your app and delete it. We recommend you choose a few most important features and concentrate on them. Each should complement the user’s journey, not distract them.
Create a mind map with the approximate structure of your future app. Make a user-intuitive interface where everything will be clear without any words. Add push notifications to remind a user about you. But don’t overdo it. There will not be a second Duolingo case. You’ll just distract users to the point that they delete the app.
Step 4. Plan the app’s technical characteristics
It’s the last preparation step. We promise you 😅
You should plan all tech characteristics before you start to develop the application. Otherwise, you may spend a ton of money and time redoing everything. Here are some common questions that you may ask yourself:
- Will it be a native app or cross-platform?
- Do you already have a website? Will your app be in sync with them?
- Which program language you’ll use to build the app?
- What frameworks do you need?
- Will you allow the integration of third-party API?
- Will you hire a designer or use generic stock art?
- Will you code the app from scratch?
- Who will be responsible for the text and illustrations? Will you hire a copywriter and designer or use AI and a proofreader?
Step 5. Find people who are ready to work on your project
There are a few ways to find a team for this task. You can hire them as full-time experts. But it’s a money and time-consuming task. You should provide them with benefits such as insurance, 401K, etc.
If you don’t plan to use them as full-time experts in other projects, you’ll face a lot of unnecessary expenditures. Also, you should keep in mind that those people don’t know each other, so it may take up to 2-3 months until they form a team.
So, maybe it would be better to hire some freelancers? No, it just appears to look easier. There will be no responsible person for this project, so the final release may become too distant from the original concept. You may go over budget because you’ll lose money and time until you find suitable freelancers.
And even this is not the end! Good freelancers with senior skills won’t work only with you. They tend to work with multiple projects simultaneously, which leads to schedule conflicts. Nobody can guarantee this freelancer won’t catch burnout while working with the app. So, you’ll start to look for another freelancer, losing your time and money.
What to choose to find the perfect people for this project? The easiest way to solve this situation is to start working with an outsourced software company. It’s a budget-friendly way with guaranteed results. You sign a contract with the firm where you describe your desires and plan KPIs with a budget.
Everything that happens after this is their responsibility. Outsourcing company finds experts that will be perfect for your project, hire and pay them. They also plan the expert’s workflow to eliminate the possibility of schedule conflicts.
If you don’t have a marketing crew for this project, you can hire an outsourcing company with a marketing team, like Synergy Way. It saves you time because they can do all the preparation steps for you. They will analyze your business, create ambitious yet achievable goals, set technical tasks for the experts and monitor the development process.
Step 6. Create the MVP (draft)
MVP is short for a minimum valuable product. In this case, it’s the basic app with a plain layout and vital features. There is no need to create a unique design or add all features. Make the basic app version and give it to the QA team to test it.
If you are not sure about the design and features, it’s time to make a few basic versions and test them. Choose an A/B test with heatmaps, behavior tracking, and tester interviews to find the most suitable option.
Test the application as much as possible. Nothing is perfect in this world, and mobile apps are no exception. You’ll face major and minor bugs to remove before the release.
Step 7. Create a final version
Once you are done with a draft, it’s time to make final adjustments. Make sure that you fix all major and minor bugs. Check a design and start to work on the promo. You should have visuals, coordinated promo activities, and developers ready to fix unexpected bugs on the release date.
Make sure that your app fits listing criteria both for App Store and Play Market. Use promo materials to create illustrations and videos for app markets. Upload your app and check pre-release reports to check you’ve fixed all potential bugs.
Step 8. Launch the app and start the promo campaign
It’s time to show your app to the general public. Warm up interest with a catchy promo that is suitable for your audience. There is no “one for all” instruction. Set a promo this way so your audience wants to download the app and use it regularly.
Measure all KPIs to find out the most profitable solution. If you discover that some feature brings you nothing or reduces a user base, you can change it in the next version. Collect as much feedback as possible. Figure out how you can increase feedback.
Step 9. Constant improving
Creating and releasing the app is only the first step of your long journey. From now on track users’ feedback, market situation and regularly release improved versions. Stay with us to find out how to improve your mobile application most efficiently.
Wrapping up
Making your app is a complex procedure with a long preparation process. But that’s the only way to create a great app. Also, you should decide your workflow for the next 2-3 years.
If you want to create a new division and give those people full-time jobs, you can hire them. But if you desire to make the app and work with experts on part-time or seasonal terms, hire a software outsourcing company like Synergy Way.
It’s a more efficient way to keep the optimum workflow for your business. Our experts create the perfect app which helps you maintain your business goals faster. You’ll get unlimited access to all our experts and personal attention to all your desires.
We are ready to work with you both on a seasonal and turnkey basis. We can make all the steps for you: from analysis to the final version and post-release support and updating. You don’t need to worry about the legal side and schedule conflicts of the best industry experts. Synergy Way experts will be there for you as long as you want to.
