The rise of mobile and the availability of powerful software frameworks for this industry has brought a lot of new opportunities. What has once been considered an unexplored realm by consumers is now within their reach?
However, just because something is available doesn’t mean that you should use it without considering some important considerations. If you’re thinking about developing applications for the mobile platform, here are five things to think about before starting your project.
Your audience the first thing to consider when developing any application is who your target demographic will be. This factor determines what kind of features, design elements, and approach you’ll take to get people’s attention. For example, if you want to get the attention of gamers – an extremely difficult crowd to please! – you’ll need to make sure that your game is on par with the industry’s standards.
Determine your use
On the other hand, if you want to attract simple social media users, design elements like speed and ease of use will be important. You can’t just cram every feature possible into one app and expect it to be successful. Check RemoteDBA.com to know more.
The device your application has to fit smoothly into its environment no matter what platform it’s running on. Therefore, knowing which devices you’re targeting before starting development is crucial so that you know exactly how large or small an application should be. If your app requires a lot of processing power or graphics, it may not work as well on older phones with slower processors and less memory than newer models. Also, consider memory usage – if your app requires a lot of it, people may complain, especially on lower-end devices that don’t have much to spare.
Your budget the cost of developing an application can vary across platforms and even within them. Suppose you need something beyond the simple push notifications offered by services like UrbanAirship, Parse, or Kinvey (if you’re not familiar with these services, scroll down for more info). You’ll need to spend more money than people aiming for something basic. These costs include cloud hosting fees, paying employees to work on the project, and advertising costs.
Project management There are two different ways that development teams can be set up: either they can be internal or external. An internal team includes company members, while an external development team is made up of freelancers or people considered outside contractors.
Both types of teams can successfully develop applications depending on what you want to achieve and how you manage each group. If you’re looking for full control over your project, then hiring an internal team might be best since they’ll understand your vision – but this comes at a higher price than using an external one that may not have the same motivation to work hard for your success.
Pricing strategy Deciding how much it will cost users to download (and potentially pay for) your application follows similar considerations as mentioned above about costs involved in developing it. Prices should reflect both the quality and quantity of features included with an application and the overall cost of development.
If you want more detailed info about pricing strategies, check out this article from App Promo. Also, there’s a nice blog post about various monetization approaches on the UrbanAirship website that can put your mind at ease if you’re still unsure how much to charge.
Many good products out there didn’t start with a bang but were able to find their niche and grow from there based on user feedback and determination. The mobile market can be extremely competitive due to its rapid growth so take some time to consider these things before starting – it could save you a lot of trouble in the long run!
Some aspects to Note
UrbanAirship – push notifications for iOS and Android apps. Kinvey – backend cloud service that handles data storage and processing for connected applications. Parse – helps save precious development resources by keeping the back-end infrastructure code separate from your application code so you can focus on making great apps! App Promo – nice collection of articles about various topics in mobile app marketing.
Further Resources: How Much Should You Charge For Your App? – article from App Promo about different monetization strategies that can be used with applications. Pricing Your Mobile Application – more info on pricing strategies from Urban Airship . 5 Factors That Affect an App’s Success – lastly, one more article about the important factors that have to be considered when developing mobile apps.
The following are links to help with the development or design of your application: iOS APIs, Android APIs iPhone Mockups (there’s a nice selection of mockup templates for different apps) – these can come in handy if you’re looking for some quick ideas on how to design your app Evernote Skitch – a great tool for designing screen mock-ups Adobe Photoshop Sketch App – alternative sketching software Microsoft Powerpoint Keynote – another presentation program with built-in slide sorter.
What are some of the things that make you stand out from the crowd? This would be a good place to talk about your product’s cost, performance, or design elements. Other than that, it’s more important to use this section as an opportunity to build links back to your website and/or social media profiles
