What are the Best Practices for Mobile App Development?

It can be intimidating to build a mobile app, especially if you’ve never done it before. Even if you’ve done something similar before, there are still a lot of aspects to consider. But, as previously stated, having a guide or reference to follow makes everything easier. While there isn’t a black-and-white guide to building a mobile app, there are lots of tools available to assist you. Here are the 13 best practices factors to focus on in order to maximise your chances of success.

1. Conduct your research

Before you begin your mobile app development, the most significant step is to conduct research. There are numerous factors to consider in order to increase your chances of success. Conversely, if you don’t undertake all of your research before beginning development, you risk wasting a lot of time and money developing an app that no one wants or needs.

During your research, you must determine who your mobile app’s target audience is. As a developer, knowing who they are and how they behave will make your mobile app development process a lot more smoothly.

After you’ve determined who your potential users are, you’ll need to determine their requirements for the mobile app, the offer that your mobile offers to users, and other requirements. On the other side, you should research your competitors to compare similar features and functions between your mobile app and their mobile app.

2. Choose a development method

Not every mobile app is created in the same way. You must first determine whether you want to create a native, hybrid, or web-based mobile application before proceeding.

Each type of development method has advantages and disadvantages. Part of your decision may be influenced by the type of mobile app that you are creating.

If you’re going to develop a game app that requires a flawless user experience, you’ll almost certainly be better off using a native app. Native apps are great, but they are more costly to develop and can only be developed for one platform at a time. If you want to launch your mobile app on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store at the same time, this isn’t the best option.

Hybrid development is less expensive and allows you to develop for cross-platforms. Web apps are for those of you who wish to develop an app that doesn’t have to be released through app stores. The decision will also be influenced by the skills you offer. So just make sure you have everything in order before you begin. Then you’ll be able to determine whether or not you require assistance.

3. Choose your platform

If you go with native apps, you’ll have to pick whether to develop for iOS or Android. When conducting research, you should research your target market and discover what devices your potential users use. Because there are differences between Apple and Android users, this will assist you in making your decision.

It’s a big decision to figure out which platform your target audience uses the most. It’s extremely critical if you’re just going to release on one store at first.

If you’re going to develop both native apps on your own, you may need to do it simultaneously. You’ll want your mobile app to be available in both stores at some point. However, you may be forced to choose between the two at this time.

4. Prioritize security

It may not seem like a big deal right now, especially if you’re still in the early stages of development, but consider your end product. It will contain a large amount of data as well as sensitive information. Your app will save information about both your company and your users.

You may even be collecting payment information, such as credit cards, depending on what your app is developed for. You’ll have access to information such as home addresses, phone numbers, and whatever else your user base provides. It is your responsibility to maintain such information safe. That is why you must place a high priority on security from the beginning.

If your mobile app isn’t secured, users will be hesitant to trust you with information. If your security is breached, the damage to your brand could be so severe that it will be difficult to recover. As a developer, you must take care and use encryption as well as other methods to protect sensitive data, such as two-factor authentication (2FA). Make sure that if a user’s device is misplaced, they can wipe all of their data. Also, set up automatic backups.

5. Test

Throughout the development process, tests must be run. Don’t wait until the very last moment to evaluate the performance. It’s too late by then. It’s a lot easier to test your progress as you go.

If you don’t test on a regular schedule, identifying and fixing errors will be far more difficult and complex. Beta testers are one of the most effective ways to test your mobile app. To connect with testers, you might use online resources and platforms such as Beta Family to get direct feedback from testers now. Bugs, crashes and other error reports can all be identified. This will aid in the optimization of your mobile app’s performance.

6. Keep the design in mind

Developers and designers are two completely different groups of people. Developers are known for being more technical, whilst designers are known for being more creative. However, when it comes to mobile app development, you can’t have your blinders on. To code the mobile app successfully, you must first understand how the design components will work.

Your entire team must be on the same page in order for designers and developers to collaborate efficiently. Make use of mood boards and other tools to help you organise your thoughts and design features. This will simplify your mobile app development process and lessen the chance of needing to make numerous adjustments late in the mobile app to accommodate the designers.

7. Build around a strong core

Make a list of all the features that are most necessary for your mobile app’s functionality. This is where you’ll do your major coding. Around the core, other features and functions can be added.

If necessary, you can add these as plugins in the latter stages of mobile app development. Using plugins at the end of your main code will significantly reduce the size of your mobile app. This simplifies maintenance and speeds up the performance of your mobile app.

8. Prioritise on the user experience

You must have your end product in mind at all times. Thousands, if not millions, of people, could be using your mobile app. Users prefer mobile apps to mobile web pages for a variety of reasons, including convenience, speed, and experience. Prioritizing the user experience will aid in the success and profitability of your mobile app.

9. Inquire for feedback

Beta participants will provide feedback. But you also can get assistance from other developers who you know. It’s difficult to look at your progress objectively after you’ve been working on a project for a long time. You might miss something obvious that a different developer would detect right away.

It’s best to have someone else look over your work. Other developers can assist to identify bugs that a beta tester or average user would overlook. So don’t be scared to reach out to people in the industry with whom you’ve established connections.

10. Follow the app store development guidelines

After you’ve chosen a platform, you must stick to the operating system’s guidelines in order to accurately develop your mobile app. Even if you’re just developing for one of these platforms, for now, you should be familiar with the regulations and best practices for the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

As the factor previously stated, you’ll eventually want to be on both. Even though you’ll have to write new code when you launch on the other platform, you’ll want to know these guidelines now so that it’s as simple as possible later. You could be rejected out of the app store if you don’t follow their regulations. So sort it out ahead of time to avoid being late or having other issues.

11. Preparation for future updates

The process of developing a mobile app does not end after the mobile app is released. Your mobile app will need to be improved and maintained on a regular basis. Making preparations now will help you to save you time and money later because you want to make sure that accessing and changing different features for updates is simple.

12. Continuous integration

The maintenance of your mobile app will be easier with continuous integration. When you implement CI in your coding process, it means that your work will be checked at various stages. Your mobile app will have fewer issues and bugs with continuous integration since the system will recognise them before the code is pushed to the mobile app. This is suitable for situations when many developers are working on the same project at the same time.

13. Develop with analytics in mind

You want to make sure that analysing your mobile app after it’s developed is easy. Analytics can assist you in improving the quality and performance of your mobile app. However, this is something to consider while you’re still working on it. It will then be much easy to add these plugins later.

Feel free to contact us if you want mobile development best practices for your mobile app.