There is no doubt that mobile app development is the future of everything. Mobile internet access has surpassed desktop internet usage a long time back. 

In the year 2018,a survey stated that website traffic originated from mobile devices has increased from 57 percent in 2017  to 70 percent in 2018. Adults are now spending more time on their mobile devices browsing the Internet and very little time on desktop computers.

That is why most businesses these days prefer launching their own mobile applications.

Mobile app development is basically a procedure of writing software that works perfectly on mobile devices like smartphones, tablets and wearables. But app development does not only involve coding a native, HTML5 or a hybrid application. It involves the entire process of defining, designing, developing and launching a profitable mobile product. 

In this blog, we will tell you everything we know about mobile app development and will take you through every step of developing an excellent mobile product. So let’s explore our ultimate guide on the process of mobile app development.

1) Confirming the idea

When  you are planning to launch a mobile application, before proceeding you should consider these following points to make sure that you are not carrying a wrong idea and the idea is worth investing money and effort. 

a) Objective of the app- Firstly ask yourself why you are planning to launch a mobile application, is it really required for your business. Ask yourself whether the idea is appropriate as per your company’s goals and target audience and do you have sufficient resources for promoting it or not. 

b) Target Audience– Then do proper research to find out who will be your potential users. 

c) USP of the app– Be very specific about the core appeal of your app and why the audience is going to use it, how it will be different from others.

d) Competitor Analysis– Research about your competitors and find out whether they have similar kinds of applications or not and if yes then find out how your app will solve the problem in a better way than their application. 

e) App investment and marketing– Be 100% sure about the investment that you will make for the development of the application and the promotional strategy. 

2) Market Research

Market Research is the vital part of the app development journey. This is because market research will only show you the actual demand and interest of the market. You can modify your idea of application development as per the market trends. 

The research can also provide you with a clear list of requirements that can help you to prioritize your work. Follow these few steps to carry out market research properly:

• Properly define your objective and customer persona
• Properly prepare your research survey questions
• Identify a part of that persona to engage
• Communicate with every people in every part of your target customers’ business
• Try to keep the survey informative
• List your market competitors and do desk survey properly

Market research will help you to assess your application carefully before its launch. 

3) Build the wireframe of your application 

After your idea is ready, then you should put a shape to your idea-wireframes. Building the wireframe for your mobile application is extremely important as wireframes are considered as the blueprint of mobile application. 

Wireframes mainly display the design and functionality of the application. In addition to that, wireframes also help to understand the getup and the work of the application. Mainly wireframes of application gives articulation to the theory for the developers to follow. It helps the developers as a guide book or reference. 

4) Platform Choice

Now we are going to tell you how you will make the correct decision among all platforms of application development phases.

a) Native App 

Developers can develop a mobile application for a particular platform like Android or iOS with the help of development language and tools.

b) Cross Platform app 

Single mobile applications develop on HTML5 and can run smoothly on multiple platforms. Like native apps, they can be downloaded from all app stores. 

c) HTML5 Web App 

It is basically optimized mobile websites that look like  a native application and runs smoothly on mobile browsers.

This web application provides a superior user experience and functionality and is absolutely platform independent.

5) Development

If the design of your mobile application properly passes the test of usability, then you should give an appropriate structure to your dream project. This process involves the coding part as well as the actual realization of your mobile application. 

A mobile application development project needs programming and configuring the development environment. Mainly there are three aspects of an application development- App backend, API’s and App front end.

a) Server Technology or Backend 

Database and server side objects are very much required for supporting the functions of your mobile application by establishing connection to a network. In case if you are using an existing backend platform, then configurations and changes will be required for supporting the functionality of the desired mobile application. Server side objects that will be developed during this phase of the process should be tested and configured with many other components of the application.

b) Application Programming Interface 

API’s are mainly tools that are used for developing software applications. It identifies how the components of a software interact with each other. In addition to that, this programming interface is used for programming GUI components.

c) Mobile app Front End 

Your users will interact with the front end called “Client Side” programming. It executes the required design, structure, animation that a user can see when he will open the web application or the mobile application.

These days there are many tutorials available on youtube that will help you to develop mobile applications without experts or you can also handover the app development project to a reputed mobile app development company providing top-quality mobile app development services in India.

6) Test your mobile app and improve

You should run a code review process during the development phase to be sure of the fact that there is nothing left at the end to solve.

Stages of mobile application testing:

• Documentation Testing
• Functional Testing
• Business functionality
• Target audience
• Distribution Channels 
• Usability testing
• User interface testing
• Compatibility testing
• Performance testing
• Security testing
• Certification testing

7) Launch a beta version of your application

Launching a beta version of your application is a vital step that you should undertake in your mobile application development process. A beta version of your application will attract early adopters and they will share the feedback about the pros and cons of your application.

Their ratings and reviews will help you to understand the acceptance and demand of the application better. This word-of -mouth-marketing will boost the reputation of your application and will help you to acquire more users.

8) Launching your application

After developing and testing your application, next it’s time to launch the application in the Google play store or app store.

The ways to submit your application in the app store or Google play store:

a) The app store submission process

• Create an iOS profile and a distribution certificate
• Create an itunes connect record for your application
• Upload the mobile application by Xcode
• Make sure to configure the mobile apps metadata and other information in the itunes connect record
• Submit the application and leave it for review
• Check the status of your application

b) The Google play store submission process 

• Keep your mobile app information ready
• Upload the APK
• Set the rating for your mobile apps content
• Set the pricing of the application
• Set a distribution plan for your application
• Then publish your application 

Conclusion,

Hope these above mentioned information will help you to develop a great mobile application for your organization. It is true that the mobile application development process is quite overwhelming and tedious, but it is a rewarding process if you do it in the proper manner.