Defining Mobile App Development and Ways to Make Your App Stand Out
The mobile application has become a hot commodity in the last decade. You will hardly see a business, whether small or large that doesn’t have a mobile app. It has become a tool that offers a host of features that enhances customer loyalty, user experience, and brand identity. But what is mobile application development? It is the set of operations and processes conducted by software that runs on smartphones and digital assistants, most commonly for Android and iOS. In short, the software that runs on mobiles is known as an application. The app can be downloaded from a mobile app store, preinstalled on the device, and can be accessed through a mobile web browser.
Types of Mobile Applications Technologies
Native Applications: Here the mobile apps are built through integrated development environments (IDEs) and languages for mobile operating systems like Google Android or Apple iOS. The platform allows users to customize crucial features as per the requirements of the business.
Hybrid Applications: It is one of the most popular app development platforms as the developer has to write the code only once for using it multiple times. They are very much similar to native apps but comparatively slow as it adds an extra layer between the source code and the target platform.
Progressive Web Applications: The PWA is developed with the help of web technologies like Facebook React.
Encapsulated Apps: This type of application runs within a container app. Tools including Microsoft Power App drag-and-drop app creation tool helps developers with limited expertise to develop a mobile application rapidly.
Frameworks and Libraries: It is a reusable code written by some developers that can be leveraged by anyone to accelerate mobile app development.
3 Secrets to Make your App Stand Out
- Make it with the sole purpose of accelerating User Experience.
Many join the cue of developing mobile apps just to be in the fashion. And nothing is wrong with being trendy but make sure to keep your target users on the top priority. To make your application useful in the eyes of users, think of your audience. Anybody can make an app but making an app that will be useful in a comprehensive way is a big deal.
Create use cases to explore consumers’ tastes and preferences when it comes to an application. Do look at what your competitors are doing and find ways to differentiate your product from theirs.
- Is your app easy to use?
Now that you have made your app very useful for the users, does it contain intuitive learnability? Well, it is as important as any of the points that are mentioned here because an app is futile regardless of its tons of beguiling features if it is impossible to use without banging your head against the wall. Don’t make the mistake of squeezing and fitting all the features you could think of in an app. Make a list of top critical features and work on them, first. If required, then add accordingly.
- Minimize action sequences as much as possible.
Would you like to run through an app that has multiple steps before making an action? Obviously, no, and why not as the whole world is facing intense pressure to adopt technologies to induce speed in every possible process. The same goes for mobile application development. Try to use KISS in the app actions; keep it simple and short. The fewer steps it takes to do something, the better.
Mobile application has become a necessity as it unveils convenience, speed, and personalization. According to recent research, over 88% of mobile users prefer spending time on mobile apps and only 12% on mobile websites. Therefore, it is important to develop a mobile application that has got everything aforementioned to give your business a competitive edge.
