In this day and age of technological advancement, having a mobile app for your small business has become more of a necessity than a luxury. Studies show that people spend more than half their time on mobile apps when consuming digital media.
Studies have also shown that smartphone users spend most of their time on their mobile apps, and on average a user has almost 30 apps installed on their smartphone, on which they spend more than 35 hours a month.
Also, consumers prefer a native mobile app for a business to a mobile website. This is why having a mobile app for your business has become the need of the hour.
Here is a quick breakdown of what mobile app development is, how it can help your business grow, and an easy guide to mobile app development.
What is Mobile App Development?
Mobile app development is creating software for a particular business that runs on smartphones and makes use of the smartphone’s unique features. Developers can create native apps, HTML5 apps, or hybrid apps.
With the advent and increasing popularity of smartphones, having a mobile app for any business, regardless of how small or big it is, has become extremely important. Mobile app development is quickly becoming a popular method of software development.
Increasingly, businesses and industries are jumping into this bandwagon and creating and investing in their own custom apps. Customers, too, are moving away from the desktop webpage to finding app usage more convenient.
The Purpose of Mobile apps
The success of a mobile app depends on having a clear idea of what services you intend to offer through your app and then targeting the designated audience who might benefit from your app.
An app with custom built-in features improves efficiency and ease for the customer. One app can perform many functions, thus doing away with the need for multiple platforms for your business.
By building a custom app for your business, you can take full control of your business ventures and avoid the risk of using a third-party app. In the case of a third-party app, the app developer controls every aspect of it, and you have little control over the safety and security of your customers.
When you have a custom app for your business, you can interact with your customers better, send them personalised notifications and updates regarding your services, and ask for their feedback. This will help build long-term and trustworthy relationships with your clients.
Having a custom app also allows you to sync all your work with your desktop and work hassle-free on the go. You don’t have to worry about carrying hefty documents or opening your website in potentially unsafe public locations when you can access everything on the app.
Types of mobile applications
Mobile languages, like desktop software, can be developed using a wide range of programming languages. Earlier, mobile apps had to be developed natively to ensure their optimal performance. This means that to be supported by a device, a new code had to be written specifically for that device. However, with technological advancement, this has been done away with.
Native Apps: These are apps that are developed for either Android or ios, with the languages and software supported by these platforms. Android supports Eclipse and Java, while ios support Xcode and Objective-C. These apps can fully utilize a device’s specific features. However, they are costly and time-consuming to develop, and not suitable for every type of business.
HTML5 Apps: This is an alternative to native apps and can run on virtually any device after development. They use web technologies like HTML, javascript and CSS. These apps have the ability to function on any device with some minor changes.
Hybrid Apps: These apps are developed in the native system, but can embed HTML5 technology within it. This makes them more convenient and allows them to use both technologies.
The process of Mobile App Development
The first thing to consider while developing a mobile app is the cost of building and then maintaining it. On average, it takes about $5000 and can go up to $15000 to initially develop the app. You will also incur some extra charges to maintain the app.
Regularly updating and fixing bugs in the app is very important, as not doing so can risk the safety and security of your customers and cause a cybersecurity issue. Also, your app can get delisted if you do not update it once Android or ios releases a new OS update.
Now that you have the costs and logistics figured out, you can start developing your custom app.
The app development process can be roughly broken down into six steps, and keeping these steps in mind will help you achieve your end goal more efficiently.
