Step-By-Step Guide To Mobile App Development

Technological advancement is accelerating at an alarming rate. It has also increased the adoption of mobile devices and their associated apps.

The high demand for mobile apps has resulted in an abundance of apps on the market.

Over the years, there has been a tremendous increase in mobile app development, which has led to corporate advancement.

Mobile apps have dominated every business, from healthcare to gaming. The findings of the studies are encouraging.

According to research, mobile accounts for over half of all web traffic globally. 58.99% of website traffic was calculated in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The increase in internet traffic is unstoppable. It has changed the way companies operate, react, connect, and make choices.

With these rising figures, mobile apps are no longer considered a luxury but a necessary source of money.

Apps are a fantastic way to increase digital interaction while also instilling unwavering consumer loyalty and regular sales.

This guide is for anyone who wants to create a mobile application, whether you want to create an app for your business or the next unicorn.

This resource simplifies the app development process for first-time developers, non-technical users, and anyone who has previously failed at software development.

Reasons to Invest in Mobile App Development

Having a mobile app for your business offers various advantages, like enhanced consumer contact, brand awareness, and exposure, among others.

It provides a direct marketing channel as well as increased market accessibility, which is advantageous to firms. If a company intends to target a wide audience, developing a mobile app for business can be advantageous.

The App market is predicted to earn $465,655 million in sales in 2022, and revenues in most industries are expected to expand over the next several years, reaching $613 billion by 2025.

If current trends continue, industry sales will reach nearly $1 trillion in 2023, and by 2026, the market will have grown by more than 18.4 percent to $407.31 billion.

Apps consume 88% of mobile time. Searching for directions or hailing a cab, making bank transfers or translating from a foreign language, interacting with loved ones and sharing images on social media - mobile app development is happening everywhere.

Different Types of Mobile Apps

Today's app development is very distinct from that of the past. Historically, low-level coding was the only option for native development.

Therefore, if you desired an iOS app for the Apple App Store and an Android app for the Google Play Store, you were required to code two entirely separate versions.

Today, however, the barrier to entry for app development is significantly lower. Integrated app development tools, languages, and platforms use Javascript for cross-platform coding.

Here is a concise overview of the various app types and what makes them unique from a development standpoint:

Native Mobile Applications

Native applications are directly installed on a mobile device. Typically, these are installed via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

In most cases, native applications can function without an internet connection and make use of the device's native capabilities.

Developing a native app requires writing code specifically for the device's operating system.

Cross-Platform Native Mobile Applications

A cross-platform application uses the same code for all platforms. Therefore, you only need to write code once, and the app can be installed natively on iOS and Android devices.

There is almost no distinction between native and cross-platform native apps from the user's perspective.

Cross-platform native development is more cost-effective and expedites the development process.

Hybrid Mobile Applications

Although hybrid and cross-platform are frequently used interchangeably, they are not identical. Hybrid applications, like cross-platform applications, can be written once and run on both platforms.

Nevertheless, hybrid development is marginally more user-friendly than cross-platform development.

Cross-platform app development remains a highly technical endeavor requiring app development expertise.

Hybrid development is less technical and can be accomplished with fundamental web development skills or with app builders that do not require coding.

Progressive Web Application (PWA)

Progressive Web Application (PWA) PWAs are web-delivered applications as opposed to natively installed applications.

Modern technology has made the appearance and feel of PWAs remarkably similar to that of native apps.

You can also send users push notifications that are delivered via their web browser. But PWAs will be somewhat limited in what they can accomplish using a device's inherent features.

Most Popular Mobile App Development Platforms

Mobile app development platforms are software programmes that provide the tools and resources necessary to create mobile applications for multiple operating systems, including iOS, Android, and Windows.

These platforms typically provide a variety of tools and services to facilitate the creation, testing, and deployment of mobile applications.

Flutter

Flutter is the finest UI toolkit for developing native web, mobile, and desktop applications.

It includes entirely customizable widgets that enable rapid development of native mobile applications.

Its layered architecture will assure fast component rendering.

Flutter platform is best for developing Fintech applications. Check out our guide to know how to develop a fintech app for your business.

If you’re unaware of the cost, read our blog on fintech app development cost.

Features

Integrated Cupertino (iOS-style) elements
Both iOS and Android platforms are supported.
Develops high-performance applications
Advanced motion APIs

Xamarin

Xamarin provides add-ins for Microsoft Visual Studio that enable developers to create Android, iOS, and Windows applications using a C# codebase.

Xamarin is preferred because it permits code collaboration across multiple platforms, such as cross-platform mobile application development.

It is well-known for providing a development ecosystem with back-end, API, and components.

Features

Produce fewer errors and in less time
Best core infrastructure
Component repository containing UI controllers, cross-platform libraries, and third-party libraries.
Permits indexing of applications and deep linking

Ionic

Ionic is used when building interactive hybrid mobile and progressive web applications as well as cross-platform applications.

Unique to this open-source framework is the ability to construct applications and ship them to deployable locations with every build.

As an HTML 5 mobile app development framework, this mobile app development software is widely recognised as a device for creating hybrid mobile applications.

Features

Ionic is an open-source and free initiative.
Rapid and robust development environment
Have total control over app development Capable of developing native and progressive web applications
Handles all UI components with ease.

React Native

It is a popular JavaScript library for creating native mobile applications for all devices and platforms.

It facilitates the development of robust applications that provide the optimal user experience.

Additionally, this mobile app development software enables a developer to construct platform-specific versions of native app components using a single codebase across multiple platforms.

Features

Low-code requirement
Compatible with modules from third parties
API declaration for predictive UI
Compatible with both iOS and Android

NativeScript

NativeScript is one of the preferred mobile application development platforms.

This reduces the code and load time of native applications on the operating system.

In addition, many prominent companies, such as Puma and SAP, utilize Native Scripts as their web empowerment platform of choice.

Features

Interface utilisateur locale sans WebViews
Complete access to the Android and iOS APIs
Multi-platform mobile application
Excellent backend support
There are countless NativeScript modules available.
Three comprehensive real-world app implementations are provided.

Step-by-Step Mobile App Development Process

Building an app is not something that can be accomplished overnight.

There are numerous procedures that your development team should follow to ensure that your app launches successfully.

Continue reading to learn about our simple nine-step process to create a new mobile app:

1. Build An App Development Strategy

The first stage in any mobile app development process is to come up with a strategy for turning your idea into a financially viable app.

Before continue, you must address the following concerns:

What is your application's goal?
What industry issue would your mobile app help to solve?
What is the nature of your company model?
How will you evaluate your competitors' strategies?
Which app development platform will you use for the app's release?
What amount of money are you willing to put into the app?
Which marketing methods would you employ to promote your app?
What is your revenue-generating business model?

Once you have all of the answers, proceed to the next phase in the app development process.

2. In-depth Market research

It's time to begin the most important stage of your app development process. Market research exposes the genuine demand or interest of the market.

As a result, you can revise your concept, and the study can give you a detailed list of needs that will assist you in prioritizing the most important ones.

It is vital to carry out thorough research before developing an app, especially for building a healthcare app.

If you need help creating a healthcare app, check our step-by-step guide on how to develop a healthcare app.

To know the cost breakdown of developing a healthcare app, check our blog on healthcare app development cost.

Let us take a look at some of the advantages of performing market research.

It allows you to gain a better understanding of your customers.
Help you in selecting the appropriate language, framework, and technology.
Market research allows you to have a thorough insight of your competition.
Does it assist you in thoroughly evaluating your product before launching it? Helps you decide how to approach your target audience?

3. Planning Thorough Analysis

Determining the talents required for your app development project is a critical component of planning.

During the planning and analysis phase, you must make several decisions concerning mobile app development.

Different operating systems demand different technical stacks. Your IT stack should be tailored to your specific requirements.

Whether you're developing a native mobile app, a hybrid app, or a cross-platform mobile app, you'll need to establish a list of required technologies.

Then you must begin hiring developers that are familiar with the technology you wish to incorporate into your app.

If you want to produce a mobile app that can be found in both the Google Play store and the Apple App Store, your development team should include both iOS and Android developers.

4. Prepare UI/UX Design

Have you ever heard the expression "the first impression is the last impression?"

The same is true for your application.

Users place a great importance on a mobile app's aesthetic and experience. It is at this moment that the design of an application's UI/UX becomes critical.

The purpose of app design is to provide a seamless user experience with a concise design. The simplicity with which users can adopt and use your software's features impacts its success.

Let's go over the app design process:

Workflows and information architecture
Wireframes
Style guide for selecting design patterns
Making mockups
Making Prototypes

5. Build Wireframes

Sketches on paper are commonly used to begin the process of developing an app. Wireframes are concepts, not finished designs.

A wireframe is a conceptual layout of the functionality of your programme.

It is also known as a low-fidelity mockup because it provides visual structure to your app. It will also let you analyze the application's appearance and performance.

When building wireframes, keep in mind how the user will interact with them. Avoid employing color schemes and design components because they are out of style and do not look attractive.

Users will pay attention if the design is intuitive and user-friendly.

6. Mockups Prototypes

Mockups are the final renderings of app graphics and are high-fidelity designs. Mockups combine the style guide and wireframe to create the app's final version.

Certain changes can be made based on your company's needs. There are numerous tools on the market that can assist in making the greatest high-fidelity mockups.

Prototyping is the process of converting low-fidelity wireframes into finished designs.

After completing the app design process, you can share the prototype with your team, friends, and anybody else you believe can provide useful feedback.

Prototyping is critical throughout the app development process, especially when it comes to impressing investors.

7. Begin App Development

Following the completion of the app design process, the app development process begins.

At this step, you must consider several factors, including the technology stack to be used in app development and the technical architecture of the app.

Aside from that, mobile app development is divided into three major components:

Mobile Backend server technologies
Application Programming Interface (APIs)
App Frontend development

Backend Development: Because database and server-side objects are required to support a mobile app function, this is the most crucial issue to consider while deciding on the development phase.

You may need to modify the backend platform you're utilizing to accommodate the essential mobile app functionalities. If necessary, you can make adjustments to it.

Frontend App Development: The front end is where your users will engage with you. This determines the first appearance of your app, which should be appealing and informative enough to attract new users.

Mobile apps, in general, offer interactive user experiences (UX) that leverage an API and a back-end database to manage your data.

8. Testing The App

Then comes the testing stage, in which you test your software to see if all of its functions are operating properly.

Quality assurance testing is critical in the mobile app development process since it ensures the app's excellent performance, security, and usefulness.

You must create adequate test cases that cover all of the app's critical testing phases. These tests are organized into five categories:

User experience testing
Functional testing
Performance testing
Security testing
Device and platform testing

All of these tests should be completed before releasing the app to the public.

9. Deployment Launch

This is the final stage in which you must publish your app to the app store.

To finish this procedure, you must register a developer account on both of these platforms; only you will be able to submit the app to the platforms.

Finally, whether you choose to deploy the app for iOS or Android is entirely up to you.

Metadata must be created at the time of app submission so that users do not have difficulty discovering your app. Metadata consists of the following elements:

App title description
App category
Keywords
Launch icon
App screenshots

After submission, the evaluation process for iOS apps begins, which might take many days or weeks.

It all relies on the quality of your software; if Apple thinks it fit for the store, they will approve it quickly, and they will also check to see if you followed the Apple iOS development rules.

Because there is no review process for publishing the app, Android apps are available on the app store in just a few hours.

How Long Does It Take To Develop An App?

Because each project is unique, estimating how long it takes to develop a mobile application is difficult.

Consider the following elements that influence development time:

The number of people on the team: The larger your team, the faster they will put your idea into action, and vice versa.

The number and complexity of features in the application.

A simple mobile application with core functionality will take significantly less time to design than a complex one with multiple functions.

Selected technologies: The development time will also vary depending on the chosen technology stack.

For example, if one programming language is easily developed, another may take more time and effort.

Design features: The development time is also affected by the design and its complexity.

Consider variables such as force majeure or revisions in the original product specifications. All of this will compel your company to reschedule deadlines.

Nonetheless, we were able to approximate the development time for a simple, average, and complex mobile app:

Contacting the expert mobile app development company directly will be your best alternative. They will calculate the development time as precisely as feasible.

Ready To Develop An App With Vasundhara Infotech?

Creating a mobile application is not simple. It took Instagram more than three years to become a popular and user-friendly programme, and improvements and new features are still being added.

Prepare yourself for a substantial amount of effort before the app goes live. Bringing an application to market requires extensive research and planning.

With over a decade of experience in the industry, Vasundhara Infotech has provided customized app solutions to real-world business problems for thousands of clients.

We assist clients in identifying the risks and opportunities that address both short- and long-term value creation challenges. Check out our portfolio.

Throughout the process, our team of mobile app developers will be available to ensure your complete satisfaction.

Have a look at our testimonials to discover how we exceeded expectations of our valued clients with best-in-class app development services.

Contact us if you have any queries or suggestions regarding the implementation of your project. We are always willing to assist.