How to Create a Mobile App
Step 1: Set a Goal :-
Step away from any form of technology and get out a pen and paper and define what it is you want to accomplish. The starting line in the app development word is a pen and paper, not complex coding and designing.
- What exactly do you want your app to do?
- How are you going to make it appeal to users?
- What problem is it going to solve?
- How will it simplify life for people?
Step 2: Sketch your Ideas:-
By developing sketches you are laying the foundation for your future interface. In this step you visually conceptualize the main features and the approximate layout and structure of your application. Having a first rough sketch of your app helps everyone on your team understand the mission. These sketches should be used as reference for the next phase of the project.
Step 3: Research:- This research has four main purposes:
- Find out whether there are other apps doing the same thing
- Find design inspiration for your app
- Find information on the technical requirements for your app
- Find out how you can market and monetize your app
Step 4:- Create a Wireframe and Storyboard:-
In this phase your ideas and features fuse into a clearer picture. Wireframing is the process of creating a mockup or prototype of your app. You can find a number of prototyping tools online. The most popular ones are Balsamiq, Moqups, and HotGloo, which allows you to not only drag and drop all your placeholders and representative graphics into place, but also add button functionality so that you can click through your app in review mode.
While you are working on your wireframes you should also create a storyboard for your app. The idea is to build a roadmap that will help you understand the connection between each screen and how the user can navigate through your app.
Step 5: Define the Back End of Your Mobile App:-
Your wireframes and storyboard now become the foundation of your back-end structure. Draw a sketch of your servers, APIs, and data diagrams. This will be a helpful reference for the developer, and as more people join the project you will have a (mostly) self-explanatory diagram for them to study.
Now that your app has been defined pretty clearly, it is time to get started on the back end of your system. Your developer will have to set up servers, databases, APIs, and storage solutions.
Step 6: Check Your Model :-
Here’s where you need to call in the troops. Show your demo to friends, family, and anyone else who is willing to give you constructive criticism. Don’t waste your time with people who will tell you, “Wow, that’s neat.” Seek out those cynics and critics. Brutal honesty is crucial at this phase.
Don’t be afraid to look over their shoulder as they are checking out your demo to watch how they navigate things. If you need to revise any of the layouts or navigation paths, do so. Keep your users in mind, and try to follow their thinking, not your own.
Your end goal with this step is to finalize your apps structure and foundation. You need to have the brains of your app working before you start adding design to avoid frustration later in the process.
Step 7: Get Building :-
With the foundation in place, you can start to put the puzzle together to building your app. First, your developer will set up your servers, databases, and APIs. If you are using a quality do-it-yourself app builder, this will be done for you. Do not forget to reflect on the feedback you got from your testers. Modify the apps functionality to reflect any changes you made based on your first phase of testing.
At this point, it’s time to sign up for the stores. You need to create an account with Google Play and Apple so that you can get your app on the market. It may take a few days to go through the process, so don’t procrastinate this step.
Step 8: Design the Look:-
Now its time to employ the designers to create your UI, user interface. The user interface is a very important part of your app because people are attracted to how things look and how easy they are to navigate. Through the design process, you need to keep the feedback you got from your testers in mind, and you need to make sure the design and the navigation reflect the feedback you got. How to design your app?
Step 9: Test Your App, AGAIN:-
A second round of testing is imperative. In this round, you will have both a functioning app as well as a user interface to test. All the screens of your app should properly work at this point, and your app should be visually appealing as well.
You need to run a battery of tests on your app in its completed form to assure that both the look and the feel of the app meet your expectations. Proto.io and Pixate are great platforms for testing your app. Both of these programs will allow you to add clickable links to navigate your app. They will help you examine the final layers, interactions, and design of your app as well. You can use the information you get from this testing phase to help you move forward.
Step 10: Modify and Adjust :-
Ask the same people who viewed your app in it’s development phase to examine it in it’s testing phase as well. Again, open yourself up to constructive criticism, and use the feedback accordingly. Lastly, ask your developer and your designer to make any changes that you feel would be valuable to your app.
Step 11: Beta Testing :-
You’ve looked at your app through several different lenses, and you think you’ve managed to develop a smoothly functioning, aesthetically pleasing, problem solving app. Now, you need to examine how your app is going to function in a live environment.
Android makes this process simple, while iOS likes to keep things in a controlled environment. There’s pros and cons to both approaches, but the bottom line is you need to jump through one last hoop. You can simply upload your app file on any android device and test it in a live environment. From here on out in your Android app development process, you can monitor your apps progress from your device.
iOS requires you use a platform called TestFlight to beta test your app. Apple is pretty thorough with its directions and instructions for using its beta test platform. A great feature to this beta testing option is that you can invite testers to review your app before taking it live. It’s yet another user lens through which you can view your app.
Step 12: Release Your App :-
Android and iOS, again are very different with regard to marketing apps. If you stick with this business, you will see a pattern emerge—Android is a little less strict. Again, there are pros and cons to both approaches, but as an app entrepreneur, you will need to learn the rules for both.
You can simply add your app to the android store. It will not be reviewed right away. You will instantly be selling your app in the Google Play store. iOS, on the other hand, will review your app before it can go live. While there is no set time frame for the Apple team to review your app and push it on the shelves, you can guestimate about a week of waiting.
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