Mobile apps are an essential part of our lives today. Everything can be done just by using your mobile phone, from ordering food to getting a cab. Several businesses have mobile apps to make things easier for their customers. If you are also planning to build a mobile app for your business, this blog will help you understand how the process works.
Before making an app, you need to understand why you need one and how it can help your business grow. A market research company called Statista says that there are more than three billion smartphone users in the world right now, and that number is expected to grow by several hundred million in the next few years. This substantial number of users opens a lot of business opportunities.
No matter if you are a small or medium-sized business or a big corporation, you need mobile apps. So, why don’t you do it? The process of making an app is not as hard as you might think. Here is how to start from nothing and make a business app.
Create an App concept
Yes, we all know that the end goal of any business is to make millions of dollars, but do not rush it. First, figure out the goals that you want to achieve with the app concept. Think about what your app is going to do. Will the app improve all your customers’ experiences, or will it lead to more sales? You should decide what you want your app to do to help your business make more money.
Conduct Competitive research
If you are making an app from scratch, it may be a smart thing to know what your competitors are doing. You can take inspiration from your competition and add features that they do not have. This gives your customers more value while solving the same problems at the core.
Learn more about your competitor’s app’s customer experience, how it works, how it looks, and what problem it solves.
Outline the Features of your app
After coming up with an idea, a name, and researching your market, the next most important thing to do is plan out how your app will work and what features it will have.
In this step, write down all the features and functions you got from your market research and add your fresh ideas to them. This is one of the most fun parts of making an app, so just let your mind wander during this time.
Do you want to add anything extra, like face recognition? Or a place where you can pay?
If it is easy for your users to use and solves their problems, try adding these features to your business app.
Create App design mockups
Building a mockup is like building a wireframe—it is a way to see what app screens will look like in the end. Making mockups of app designs has several benefits:
- Helps you ensure your app looks and works the way it should.
- Gives you a better idea of how people might use your app.
- Helps you find usability problems early and fix them before users have trouble with them.
- It can help you get your ideas across quickly and clearly.
Build a Mobile app
After making a rough plan for your app, the next step is to find the right group of people to build it. You can hire a freelancer or work with a reputable mobile app development company to make your app.
Both ways of making an app have pros and cons. If you hire a freelancer, for example, the cost of app development will be low, but you cannot be sure of the app’s performance and quality. At the same time, a company that has been making apps for a long time can guarantee quality and functionality.
Cost to Make an app?
The cost of making an app depends on how you choose to build it. If you want to make an app from scratch, you need to think about the cost of back-end development, which can take months or even years, and the cost of trying to make an app for either iOS or Android. These costs can range from $100,000 for one platform (iOS or Android) to $150,000 for two platforms.
How to make money from Mobile apps?
If you want to make money from your app and get a return on your investment, there are a few ways to do this.
Paid subscriptions: We all want to feel like we are part of a small group. If your content has real value for your community, many of them will be happy to pay for a subscription. You can offer a free tier with useful content, and one or more paid tiers with more in-depth or high-value content.
Physical Purchases: People who love your brand will find it easier to buy directly from you if you have cool stuff with clever slogans, links to your fully stocked online store, and Shopify integration.
Sponsored Content: How likely would a business want to reach out to a community with many involved people? Through paid sponsorship, you can turn your reach into cash. Tip: Always be open and honest, and only let sponsors in who are honest and fit with your users.
In-app purchases: Do you have a course, e-book, video, or audio file that you think people in your community would pay for? You can let them buy digital products from your app with in-app purchases.
Events and activities: Use your community platform to spread the word about events and online activities. Just connect them to your preferred ticketing platform and start selling them.
Conclusion
So, we have gone over everything there is to know about making apps from scratch. If you do not want your app to be just another one of the millions out there, you must be careful at every step. Unique ideas are hard to produce for mobile apps that want to stay ahead of the competition. But a not-so-unique idea can still win the competition if it is done well. Just try everything you can to give users an experience that keeps them interested from the moment they touch the screen. We hope that all these steps will help you reach your goal.
Amit Tiwari is a digital marketer, blogger & writer. With over 5 years of experience in web industry, he has helped his clients to launch their marketing campaigns successfully. He also likes to explore various online tools and share that knowledge by writing useful blog posts.