Mobile App: From Idea to Development

What to do if you have an app idea? What steps should you take to succeed?

With a well-thought-out strategy and a systematic method, an idea can transform into a business. Learn how to develop and validate your idea to hit the market and be successful with that.

There's no denying it, the mobile industry has never been as successful as it is in the last decade. The accessibility of smartphones (more than 83% of the world's population owns a smartphone) to the majority of the population, coupled with the growing need for a high-quality user experience, has caused the demand for mobile apps.

What does this represent? The growing trend for entrepreneurs to develop mobile applications .

Customers want to find what they're looking for intuitively, they want a quick and easy way to contact a company, and most importantly, they want to feel part of an ecosystem. All things that websites don't always guarantee, but mobile apps do.

But what exactly is a mobile app? How is it developed? Can anyone make one? And what advantage does it bring to the company?

These are all legitimate questions. Anyway what you need to ask yourself is: is it worth finding out?

In our opinion, yes. The market has never been as competitive as it is today, and the players are startups or young companies that are fully digitized. If you want to keep up with the times and maintain your position in the market, you should definitely consider creating an app.

The process of creating a mobile app consists of numerous steps. Taritas is a renowned development company that can help you in this exciting journey. To give you a taste of it, we decided to create this guide where we explain everything about mobile apps, from what they are to how they are made.

What is a mobile app?

A mobile app is a software application designed to run on a mobile device, such as a tablet, smartphone, or smartwatch.

What is the difference between applications designed for computer desktops? The fact that they have more functionality but, at the same time, are lighter because they have to be installed on devices that generally have less memory than a computer.

The first mobile apps were designed to make certain tasks such as consulting the calendar, sending emails, or collecting contacts much more practical and quicker. They were so successful that demand for them grew and grew and the market then expanded to include other services. And so we come to nowadays, where even the smallest company has created its own app.

Where do users find apps?

Mobile apps are downloaded from app stores.

These are platforms that only contain apps, categorized by category or price. Here the user can discover and download all the apps created for the operating system of his device. Actually, you can also download apps from the internet, but app stores were created precisely to make searching and downloading easier and more immediate.

What are the types of mobile apps

There are three major categories of mobile apps: Native App, Hybrid App, and Web App, depending on the system that has to run them. In details:

• Native apps: they’re created for a single operating system, so you can't install on an Android device an app designed for iOS and vice versa. They guarantee very high performance, interact completely with the device's functionality, and have an interface that fits the operating system to which the user is accustomed.
• Hybrid Apps: these are apps that can run on multiple operating systems because they are built with languages such as HTML 5, JavaScript, and CSS. They are cheaper and faster to develop because with a single process you can create software that works on different operating systems (basically, it can be downloaded on both iOS and Android devices). However, the performance may not be as high as in native apps!
• Web App: these are similar to mobile apps and can also be used from mobile, however, they run from the browser without having to install anything on the device, so they can be found by the user via URL. They are still as fast and intuitive as a mobile app and have an interface that resembles that of apps rather than a website, although they do require a connection to function

If you too are wondering how much it costs to create an app, know that the type of app crucially affects the price. Despite this, asking for a free quote it’s where you can start your next project!

How to create a mobile app?

The great potential offered by the web has allowed everyone to try their hand at creating mobile apps. Many apps are still being developed by entrepreneurs who don't have technical skills. This is possible by creating an internal development team, relying on a freelancer o ran agency with specialized experts.

But what is the development workflow to follow?

1. Setup your strategy: it is essential to create a strategy based on market analysis, so understand what is the target to which the app is addressed, what have already created the competitors, what are the goals you want to achieve and for which platform you want to develop the app;
2. Create a plan: from the idea it is necessary to move on to a real project, then establish the necessary resources, costs, and timelines;
3. Create a prototype: before moving on to final outcome, which takes time and energy, developers create a prototype to understand what the app interface will be, what user experience it will give to users, colors, fonts, and style the product must have;
4. Start with development: if the prototype is approved by the decision-makers, you can move on to the real development with the writing of the code, the creation of the back-end (database and server-side) and front-end (what the user will see);
5. Testing :the final step before the official launch. This is crucial to understand if there are any errors at runtime, eliminating malfunctions that may relate to functionality, user experience, or performance;
6. Launch to the market: at this point, the app can be distributed through the store contextually to marketing activity to promote the app and allow users to learn about it.

It is essential to follow all these steps to avoid getting a poor result.

Is developing a mobile app really within everyone's reach?

To avoid making mistakes and wasting time and resources, the best alternative to creating a competitive product in today's market is to rely on a structured company.

An agency specialized in the design and development of mobile apps can offer you a complete service that starts with the consultancy, moves on the concept, and ends with the promotion and launch.

This is the core business at Taritas where a large team of experts will support you in every phase of the project: From Idea to Development.

Contact us now to explore how we can help you with your next project.

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