Checklist to prepare for mobile app development

By using this checklist, you can develop your mobile application with minimized costs, delivered in the shortest time possible.

However, there are a lot of things to the mobile app development process that must be carefully planned to ensure a successful deployment.

Developing a mobile app for your business is the smartest move to stay ahead in the competition. However, without a proper strategy, mobile app development is a very hectic process.

A mobile app development project consists of various tasks, subtasks, and goals. As the development process is at it best when we handle one task at a time in the step by step process.

The mobile app development checklist will help to prepare you for the future development of your mobile app and enabling you to launch your project in an estimated time.

Define the app

The first step in developing a mobile application is to write a short description of your app, explaining the core function and benefits to the customer.

Write briefly about how your app can engage and be useful to end-users and working on the app so that your description has to help others defining your concept.

Identify target users

The next step in the app development process is to define who your audience is.

To make your app successful and reach more audiences you must clearly understand your potential users and those you specifically want to target.

Make a clear note of the following questions

• Who is your audience?
• What are their needs?
• How can you design an app to match these needs?

Don’t waste your time and resources creating an app for the sake of creating an app. Better invest your time more on competitor research to stay ahead in the competition.

Conduct competitor research

If your app concept is a unique idea, less chance of finding a similar app in the app market otherwise you will find many similar apps listed in the app market.

Do more competitor research to overcome the pain points of the customers which your competitors left and ensure to create an app with unique functionality other than your competitor.

Identify key project stakeholders

Communication and collaboration among your team are crucial for successful app development.

Understand the role of everyone involved in the app development process.

Starting with the project manager, developer team, and representative who communicate with you regularly.

Then, outline and set clear expectations and responsibilities for the project. It is also important to identify who the final decision-makers are and the approval process that is in place.

Choose to develop an app internally or hire an external resource

Before starting your development project, determine whether or not your team has the required skills to build your app.

If it is not, it is more viable to hire a mobile app development company to take over the process.

A company that specializes in mobile app development can often deliver higher quality apps quicker than it would be possible with an internal app development team.

When choosing an external mobile app development company, it is important to consider the company's reputation, reviews, and portfolio.

Develop a project budget

App development will result in a significant cost that requires a great deal of planning. Therefore, deciding on a budget before starting is very important to your app project.

Once you set a budget for your mobile app you can then prioritize the critical features and requirements of your app.

It is important to set aside a realistic budget for your app. If you are low on budget then go for a ready-made script instead of custom mobile app development.

Pick a platform that suits your requirements

Choose your platform wisely based on your target audience and decide to go for Android or iOS platforms.

Consider your goals and platform your audience tends to most hangout then go for choosing a platform, pay close attention to details, because each platform has a different set of registration processes, submission fees, and other elements.

If you choose to develop an application for just one platform, it will reduce the development cost. However, developing for multiple platforms will ultimately reach more target audience.

If you decide to develop an app on multiple platforms, prioritize which one platform to develop first based on your target audience most often use.

Consider app branding

Many may skip these then will realize later, better to create and design a branding element for the app before the app development begins.

The dedicated logo for your app, colors, and fonts of your brand help strengthen your marketing strategy later.

Design the app to match your brand as a mobile app also represent your business to your online audience.

Choose the right app monetization strategy

The monetizing strategy of your app is completely dependent on your business and goals so choose the right strategy for monetizing your app.

However, it is important to decide early in the development process so that app features can be planned and developed accordingly.

Some of the most popular ways to make money in-app are advertising, in-app purchases, and paid apps.

Offering an app for free is a popular strategy to bring more users into the app. If users enjoy the app and feel it offers them value, many will be happy to pay to unlock premium features or ad-free service.

Create wireframes

It is primary to create a set of wireframes before the development process began or during the development process so that the developers get to know the project and its requirements.

Wireframing is an important step for visualizing your app along with the definition of scope and its functionality.

Wireframes define the flows of the user follow and detail the elements in each screen within your app.

App security

The app will generally have users login with the user data being saved on the server. So it is important to ask the developer about the security of the app and plan to mitigate risks.

Users of the app need to feel safe, so do a serious check about how user information will be entered and stored.

Ask about their security protocols and implementation and steps for data protection.

Request a prototype

Ask the demo or prototype of the app from your mobile app developer to ensure they are understanding your requirement and concept. A mobile app demo that shows the design, functionality, and user flow of the app.

The prototype of the app will allow you to communicate any misassumption about the features and collaborate with the team to get your desire result.

Consider offline functionality

Offline functionality is important to be seen before the app development as this might impact your app development process and strategy. Nowadays most app works on the availability of an internet connection.

Offline functionality of the app will enhance the positive user experience which determines the app success.

Access to the image and content offline will help users to the user where there is any connectivity problem. If you wish to opt-in for an offline feature discuss the functionality of the app before your developers.

Keep analytics in mind

The data generated from the app is extremely valuable to move your business forward so check that your developers support inbuilt app analytics.

By using the data you can get useful insights that can help you to make the right marketing decisions and focus more on managing your business to gain more revenue

Consider post-launch support

The work of the developers will not finish if they launch the app in the app store. Inturn work starts after launching because it will eventually require updates and maintenance like bug fixes.

Ask your developers about after deployment support they offer after the launch of the app.

Develop a localization strategy

If you plan to launch your app on a global scale then you have to develop your app with localization features such as changing the language according to the location and ensure that the app is accessible in all parts of the globe without any problem.

One suggestion is to launch your app first then go for expanding to a different part of the world.

Create a marketing plan

Start to create a marketing plan before you begin to develop your app as a successful marketing campaign begins well before the app is launched in the app store.

Decide your app launch date before your app development completion and develop a marketing strategy for three different phases pre-launch, launch, and post-launch.

The best marketing plan will increase the new user acquisition and engagement rate of the users.

Marketing your app is the way to display yourself to be discovered by your target audience.

Finally,

We hope this checklist will help you create the right app development plan for your mobile app development project.

With a good plan and strategy, you will be able to move through the app development process with cost and time efficiency.

At Appcoup, we understand the importance of mobile app in your business as a key strategy.

Our expert team is ready to build native cross-platform apps for your business needs.

To find out what Appcoup can do for your business, contact us today.