Building apps can be a long process and vary from company to company, whether it be in the UK or worldwide app developers have their own skillset and timeframes to create custom apps. Custom apps are popular within businesses and people starting up a career, lately the types of apps we can see be created that are breaking through the industry are medical apps and gaming apps.
Timescale
The timescale of building an app varies between companies but a general rule of thumb is between 4-6 months. This in no way means that an app can be made in less time or more time, as I have stated it varies between companies, the needs of the client, the type of app and the complexity of the project.
Don’t expect an app to be created in the shortest amount of time possible, quality takes time and doesn’t happen overnight. Remember the old saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” well it is the same concept here.
The Process
Planning
There are different aspects that go into the planning of your app before you even contact a company to create it for you.
- App Type
What type of app do you want to create? Gaming, medical, informational etc. How do you want the app to work and what features do you want to include? How do you want it to look? This is the first stage, knowing what you want. This is where you will also decide whether you want a free, freemium or paid app.
- Understanding The Market
Do you know who you will target your app towards? You need to be very aware of your market because you can’t market an app for teenagers to older people, it just won’t work. Do research into the market first.
- Budget
Do you have the required budget to have an app created? It can cost upwards of £20,000 and that isn’t including extra costs for maintenance, upgrades etc. Creating an app can be very money heavy and come with a lot of fees. You need to be prepared and make sure you have the funds.
- Commitment
Do you have the time and effort to spend on your project? You will need to be involved throughout the whole process which can consume a lot of your time.
Finding An App Development Company
This is one of the more tricky parts as finding a company that is right for you and that will meet your needs can be a rather difficult process. There are many great companies out there but look for an experienced and established one with a good track record and high customer success.
Visuals
Once you have found your company, signed contracts and sorted out all of the legal jargon, you will then start the visual phases called wireframing. A wireframe is essentially a visual of your app, what it will look like, what will be on each page and this can either be done via drawing, on a website like MarvelApp or created on computer software.
Designing
After everything has been decided and you have been shown the visuals, usually the design phase will start and this is where you will receive files that are a mock-up of your app. This is the stage where you will decide on colours, fonts, logos, style etc.
Development
This is when your chosen developers will start piecing your app together and you will be included in every step as this is a crucial step in the process. A simple mistake here can be devastating and result in hefty money loss.
Beta
A beta is basically a preview of your app before the full build is released. The beta allows the app to be fully tested before release under various conditions to make sure the app is fully working and isn’t released with major problems. This also gives time to see if users are comfortable with your app and like the idea of it.
Marketing
Ideally, start marketing your app as soon as possible and build up the excitement for it. This can be done via social media platforms, a website or even through paid advertising.
Launching Your App
When your app is completely finished, the beta testing went well and everything is good to go then your app will be launched on to the stores. It is important that you have spoken to the company about ASO and Analytics before this to see if they will do this for you or you have to do it on your own.
It can sometimes take a few weeks for it to go live on the app store.
Generally, the company will take over ASO for you and you will monitor the analytics on your own to see how well your app is doing. This is also when you will start to market your app and try to build up a user base.
What Happens Next?
Many people believe that you can just sit back and watch the cash roll in from the app you created when sadly, this is not true. After release, apps take a lot of work as you have to monitor your analytics, get customer feedback, make updates and maintain the app.
You also have to continually build your user base, keep marketing it, keep your store page up to date, among a whole array of other tasks that need to be done. Having an app isn’t all plain sailing and you can’t just sit back and relax.
Conclusion
App development can be a very lengthy, time consuming and money hefty process that you need to be prepared for and have the commitment for. If you start this process unprepared or lose interest halfway through, you can find yourself at a significant financial loss.
If you do see the project through to the end then having your own app can be very rewarding, for many reasons including financial, a boost in business or even to just gain a following. If you stick around until the end, seeing what was once an idea come to life is definitely worth it.
