Complete Guide on How to Develop an App (Updated 2023)

It’s not a surprising fact that the entire world has shifted to mobile. We live in an era where, every day or night, our smartphones are within our reach. Everyone is using their mobile phones to access a particular set of apps. There seem to be countless potential uses for mobile applications. There’s an app for everything you can think of, from small-size business apps to eCommerce apps, wellness apps, internal employee contact apps, religious apps, and more.

Mobile applications serve as a vital part of every business organization. An increasing number of people rely on mobile devices to satisfy their needs annually. Formerly people used to rely on their desktop software, but people rely on mobile apps nowadays. The technologies used to create these apps rapidly increase and improve constantly, making them more advanced every day!

Whether you want to develop a business app or a startup trying to pave your way to the market by developing a perfect application, this guide is for anyone interested in developing a mobile app. This article will take you through how to develop an app for Android or any other platform for the first time, and anyone who has encountered a failed development effort in the past.

Table of Contents

How to Develop an App: A Complete Guide

You’ve got a great app idea, and it is striking your mind repeatedly, but you don’t know where to start from. It is one of the most common problems that somebody might face. So, let us dive into this step-by-step guide of how to create an app from scratch and rule your segmented app store. This article is divided into three phases of app development:

Pre-App Development Phase
App Development Phase
Post-Development Phase

1. Pre-App Development Phase: Initial Block of How to Develop an App

It might be enticing to start your app development process right away to create your own app. But you should curb your excitement for a certain amount of time, and give the initial phase an enthusiastic push. The building block of the mobile app development process is as important as the entire development process. Make sure to implement these measures in your pre-app development phase to create your own app:

1.1 Identify the Need

Every project of mobile app development needs to begin with clearly defined needs. In the end, your objectives about those needs will determine the whole process of growth. If the requirements are not established from the beginning, it is sure to get stuck in an endless loop of constant failures in the process to create your own app.

Make sure you are continually aiming at the needs as your direct guiding compass. Otherwise, time and money can not be properly used. Since app creation is practically infinite, adding features, designs, and feedbacks that are not vital to your target can look amazing, but they will certainly harm your app development process. You may identify end-users’ needs and business-related objectives to make an app that satisfies users’ needs.

1.2 Conduct Extensive Market Research

App developers sometimes skip market research, although it is a vital part of an app. By conducting extensive market research in advance, you can save yourself time and effort. Doing market research before you make your app will save you from making many mistakes early on. You validate hypotheses and determine potential customers ‘ requirements. It is also for another reason to find insights. You would like to walk in your clients’ shoes.

You want to go out and speak to people instead of evaluating your needs and wants when you are comfortably sitting in front of your computer. You need to be differentiated from the competition by your submission. This is your competitive benefit. Users would not have a reason to choose you between other players in the industry without creating a distinction.

1.3 Create Optimal Wireframes

You can wonder what a wireframe is if you’ve never created a mobile app before. Luckily, creating a wireframe is very easy. A wireframe is a rough mobile app layout but it doesn’t have to be too formal. You can draw wireframes on a piece of paper, a whiteboard, or use a digital wireframing tool to create a wireframe.

The wireframe is intended to demonstrate your application’s core components and design schemes. Don’t think about wireframe as a device design element. This tool is not intended to be one-to-one about what the final app looks like. Rather, structure and flow should be the subject of your wireframe. Wireframes are the perfect answer for how to create an app from scratch.

2. App Development Phase: Building Block of How to Develop an App

The pre-app development phase is used to validate the idea of your application, define the requirements and the needs of your application. So, after finishing the pre-app development phase, you will finally begin making an app. During the app development phase, the following structure of methods and implementation is going to uplift your mobile development process:

2.1 Choose the Most Efficient Development Method

There are plenty of steps to creating an app, and every way is different from each other. You’ll need to decide which strategy is the best for your particular situation before you start. The best option for the development method can differ from person to person. Although there are plenty of ways for developing an application, only two of them prevail: Native app frameworks & Hybrid app frameworks.

Native app frameworks involve a low-level of coding, and it is deemed suitable for beginners. It is mostly used for game app development or AR/VR app development. Even if Native app frameworks take the longest time to build, they are very flexible. On the other hand, Hybrid app frameworks are used to develop cross-platform applications. It is the only answer that comes to mind when somebody asks how to develop an iOS app or how to develop an Android app.

But the best way to choose a method is based on your budget, technical expertise, type of app, and the market you are targeting for.

2.2 Hire a Mobile Development/Designing Company

Look for a mobile development company with a good development team and great design talent. Go online to check their portfolio and the apps they have developed while finalizing a development company. If the apps mentioned in their portfolio were pleasing to you, then they could be the right one for your app development.

You should also keep your app development’s overall budget on top priority because you can’t exceed the overall budget. Doing so will hamper your app development process, and you might need to cut down the features from your wireframes. Make sure that your app is not ‘overloaded’ with features. Keep it minimal, and it will fit your budget. Hiring a suitable app development company is an art, and you need to perfect yourself in it.

2.3 Deployment of Application

App deployment is the final stage of the development phase. It’s time to get your app into real users’ hands. Don’t worry or worry about reverse compatibility. Right now, the main emphasis must be on visibility and optimization. Make sure the program for the end-user is completely functional. There are several different software solutions and resources on the market that you can use to ensure that the app is safe and that the software is robust.

You must submit your app to the various app stores to market it. Google Play Store apps and Apple App Store apps are subject to various conditions. So, before you go through this process, you must understand all the various submission guidelines.

3. Post Development Phase: Final Stage of How to Develop an App

If you are a beginner, you must think that the development phase is the final stage to make an app. This is where you turn out to be wrong. The final building block of making an app is equally important to the initial blocks of the app development phase. So, implementing these vital methods will surely give a final and perfect touch to your app development process:

3.1 Market Your App in the Right Manner

In the beginning, your marketing strategies will eventually shape the future of the success of your app. Although this is not a part of how to make an app, particularly for small companies, it is necessary to make your app effective. If you do not market the app properly, then the chances are that it will be lost in the long list of applications available in the market. Social media platforms can be the best tool for marketing your app in a cost-efficient manner.

The fundamentals of ASO (App Store Optimization) should also be understood. Using ASO techniques, you can boost the possibility that users will organically locate your app when searching in the app store. There are several ASO tools available in the market. So, go through the top picks before choosing the best one for you.

3.2 Constant Feedbacks

You probably researched or asked some friends for their opinions before your first project. However, most of this was based on your intuition to create an app, but you will find real customers using this app once you have first deployed it. Tell them what they think. As much as you hate hearing this, it doesn’t matter what your viewpoint is, at the end of the day – it’s about the clients and users that should be the main focus of creating your own app.

The users involved will be invested in the success of your app and give you genuine feedback. Perhaps you had something important going in your mind, and you planned on doing so as soon as you had the chance. It’s just not that they will get annoyed. Save your money, however, if your customers don’t say so. Spend your money on the optimal software to create a mobile app with the latest features.

3.3 Constant Testing & Support

Testing is an important and vital aspect of the app development phase. You should run different testing paradigms like Mobile A/B testing, which is most famous for mobile apps. You can probably do this yourself in the beginning. But at scale, you probably can’t handle hundreds or thousands of possible messages.

You will also have to employ sales staff. This is all in the post-launch support group. These are elements of the development of mobile apps that you will always deal with. Make sure that you prepare the budget and work accordingly to create an application.

All Set? Go & Rock the App Stores by Developing an App

First, a step-by-step template is not sufficient enough. You now know what the steps are, but your application will be efficient if you follow these steps. Second, the application needs to be viewed as a business. A company aims to provide value and to retain value through a charge. Make sure that you are creating a bug-free application for staying in the market for a longer duration. There are many app building software that can be used to create an app.

You shouldn’t be asking how long does it take to develop an app or how much does it cost to develop an app. You should just remember that you are paid for being useful, and you remain in business as a result. It’s all right to play, but this isn’t a playground. I suggest that you know where you are in the process of making this app and take as far as possible the next step. Continue in advance, build momentum, gain insights, and don’t stop because of your failures. You can create an app and impact the app store without any hassle if you go in a strategized manner.