The popularity of the mobile app industry is growing yearly, as more and more companies and services go online and develop their own applications. In 2023, mobile apps are projected to generate more than $935 billion in revenue via paid downloads and in-app advertising. Thus, if you still don’t have any applications available for Android or iOS devices, it’s time to create one. Follow the steps of the mobile app development process mentioned in this guide to launch an application that will stand out among your competitors!
Strategy
The first stage of the mobile app development process involves creating the strategy for evolving your application. This phase is comprised of the following steps:
- market research
- identifying the target audience
- analyzing your competitors
- establishing the app’s goals and objectives
- calculating the project budget
- choosing an appropriate mobile platform for your app
- setting clear deadlines
Developing a strategy will help you focus on your project objectives to create a clear picture of your idea and its implementation. Once you fulfill this stage, you can delve deeper into the next stages of app development.
Analysis and Planning
Analysis and planning allow you to define your app use cases and reveal their functional requirements. At this stage, your idea starts turning into an actual project as you implement the next mobile app development process steps:
- prioritizing the mobile app requirements
- grouping the requirements into delivery milestones
The planning phase of mobile app development helps to identify the skills needed for your application launch. Thus, for instance, if you aim to create an app for iOS or for Android mobile platforms, you should hire the appropriate iOS or Android developers for your mobile development team.
UI/UX Design
At this stage of the app development process, you can come up with the design for your future application. Try to create a well-polished layout that will deliver an effortless user experience so that everyone will benefit from all of its features.
To make your mobile app UI / UX design intuitive and handy, you can perform the following operations:
- Prepare a wireframe to give visual structure to your app’s functional requirements.
- Make up a style guide to define which font and color scheme will be used in your app design.
- Create a mockup of the final renderings of your app’s visual design to get an impression of how users will see your application.
- Make a prototype to simulate the user experience and the app’s workflows.
App Development
A typical app development process consists of the following parts:
- back-end/server technology
- application programming interface (API)
- the mobile app front-end
However, before the actual app development, you should also define the technical architecture of the app, select a technology stack, and determine the development milestones.
Testing
After completing the previous application development steps, you need to test the obtained layout to ensure everything meets your requirements. A thorough quality assurance (QA) testing provides your application with stability, usability, and security by checking out all aspects of the app.
Deployment and Support
To launch your app on the market, you need to submit it to the app stores, which are the App Store for iOS or Google Play for Android apps.app store,
After your app becomes available in the app stores, you can start monitoring its usage through mobile analytics platforms and track the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for measuring your app’s demand.
An efficient strategy and a well-organized workflow will help you to avoid numerous problems with the app development process. Moreover, if you analyze and plan every stage you can lower the app development cost without harming its quality.
FAQs
How Do I Start Mobile App Development?
Start with creating an excellent idea for your app. If it is difficult for you to come up with the original idea right away, try to put a twist on an existing idea or take different elements from various apps and combine them. Another way is to find identify a problem and create an effective solution for it.
What Are the App Development Stages?
The app development process can be broken down into four different stages: pre-design, design, development and support.
How Long Does It Take To Create an App?
It is hard to define the exact time necessary for your app development, as many factors can influence its timeline. But the mobile app development process usually takes three to nine months, depending on the structure of the project and its functionality.
