Mobile app development has been the buzz word for some time now. However, not many companies have actually succeeded in developing a mobile app. One of the many reasons for this is that there are some common mistakes that are made when developing a mobile app.
Here are 9 of the most damaging mistakes that you should avoid when developing a mobile app:
Mistake 1: Lack Of Strategy
If you lack a strategic plan, you will end up in developing something that does not serve your end users’ needs. The worst thing is that the app development company you work with will get frustrated with the product and you will have wasted time, money and resources on something that did not turn out to be successful.
Too many apps do not make sense. When you have too many mobile apps, it is because the company does not understand the customer needs. It would have been more beneficial if you only developed one mobile app for a specific market segment. When you have too many mobile apps, you find it hard to attract the customers because they want to have one app that can work for them all.
Mistake 2: Not Using A ‘Mobile First’ Approach
A mobile-first strategy is when you start working on developing an app by testing the ‘bread and butter’ features first, then adding the ‘super awesome’ stuff on top. A mobile-first approach not only ensures that you get to deliver a good, well-rounded product, it also helps your developers better understand the various levels of your target customers.
If your app is really designed for a particular purpose, then there’s no need to make some of the features only accessible to a certain group of people. Also, remember to consider what the customer’s need is first before building a product to satisfy it. For example, Google Maps and other navigation apps make maps extremely simple, yet they also have in-built ‘Directions’ features.
Mistake 3: Ignoring The User’s Context
The fact is, in some cases, the context doesn’t matter. If it doesn’t make sense to be in a certain place, then it will be difficult for a mobile app user to understand where they are, as well as the content that is being accessed. But that’s not to say that we shouldn’t try and connect the app to the context in which the app was created.
It’s important that the people creating the mobile app learn as much as they can about the context in which it will be used. Then they can provide something that is fun and easy to use, and a mobile app that users can enjoy and use. Not every problem will be visible to a person testing a mobile app. This means that an application can be problematic to users in situations that are not obvious.
Mistake 4: Over-Focusing on Design
When developing a mobile app, the first thing that usually strikes your mind is how you can make your app look attractive. The most common mistake that a lot of developers do is that they focus on the aesthetics of their mobile app instead of making it useful. In the end, the appearance of your app isn’t what will make it successful.
It is imperative to create a mobile app that is easy to use, but the very first thing that you should do before developing a mobile app is to think of how it should look. Your mobile app shouldn’t be as dumb as the Android calculator. In fact, it shouldn’t look like any app that you have never seen. It should be clean and feature-rich. Data should always be clear and concise.
Mistake 5: Ignoring The Data
Although the hardware inside your phone is faster than ever, the app and the operating system both need the data to function. Without data, your app will be a big flop. A data driven mobile app can scale globally while on your server it will be able to take on any amount of traffic. However, there is a big problem with mobile data that you might not be able to understand.
This problem is that a lot of apps are developed before the capability of smartphones is fully realised. When people want to access your app, the internet isn’t actually getting fast enough for it to be fully functional. A good number of apps out there are essentially crippled and incapable of performing at optimum performance.
Mistake 6: Not Testing
For every mistake that you make in mobile app development, you should test. It is not enough to merely write some code. You must also test it. You must make sure that the entire app is developed to pass the correct quality standards and then tested. If you are not testing, you might end up with an app that does not work. Not taking the stakeout approach once will cost you. If you have decided to develop a mobile app, you should take the stakeout approach.
When you take the stakeout approach, you must be able to visit a nearby location where you can see how customers engage with the mobile app. This will help you identify and improve the weaknesses. Failure to use optimization tools is also grave. It is advisable to always use optimization tools for your mobile app.
Mistake 7: Lack Of Support
If you’re looking to develop a mobile app, it’s important that you get the support from the management. Otherwise, you may end up doing a shoddy job. It’s also advisable that you acquire the support of a trained app developer that understands the problem you’re trying to solve.
Mall data is very important when you develop a mobile app. Yet, it’s vital that you understand the possible use cases for each feature of the mobile app. You should also try to create an effective user flow that will make sense to users. Yet, you can end up creating a complicated user flow when you don’t get your user base right. A variety of studies have shown that users have difficulty navigating mobile apps.
Mistake 8: Lack Of Customer Feedback
Developing a mobile app requires users to provide feedback about the app. However, this is often done on a separate website and thus, users often give feedback in a different language than the one used for the website. Another problem with this is that the mobile app may not provide responses that are timely to the customers. Therefore, the feedback that they provide does not actually matter.
This could be because the app may have to adapt to the different languages and cultures. There are, therefore, some aspects of the app that have no actual meaning to the customers and thus, it is important for you to consider providing feedback that is helpful to your customers.
Mistake 9: Wrong Platform
Many small and large businesses often get confused when it comes to selecting the right platform for mobile app development. Some believe that having an app built on a platform like the iOS is a must. But many others tend to disregard this advice. Instead, you should make sure that your mobile app development platform is tailored to the needs of your enterprise.
One such platform is Google’s App engine. It is extremely easy to set up, which is one of its many strengths. But, it also has several challenges. Google’s design guidelines are more restrictive than what most companies are used to. In the best of circumstances, you might run into many hurdles. But, things are often worse. For example, Google cannot test your application without using the official Android platform.
Starting from ground zero your first task while developing a mobile app should be to establish an accurate idea of the functionality of the app. You need to carefully define the app’s target audience and the app’s purpose. Once you have done so, you will be able to sketch out the exact nature of the app. You will find that the easiest way to get the job done is to start with a mobile app development company.
The idea here is to define each screen that your app will have. Use your wireframe to visualize your app’s layout. Then, decide on the specific images and animations that will appear on the screens. Leaving out the mobile database. There is an abundance of information available on the web.