Mobile App Development: Tips for starters

There is no wonder that you want to create a mobile application as exactly mobile apps hit the IT market today. The reasons for creating mobile app may be different – from the need for a business to just a realization of a great idea. However, no matter what purpose you want to gain with your application, you still need a strategy to start with.

What to choose: iOS or Android?

Starting thinking about your mobile app development, you will have to decide which operating system to run first: iOS or Android.
Wikipedia says that, as of 3 September 2013, there have been 1 billion Android devices activated. And as for iPhone, in the last quarter of 2013, there were 51 million iPhones sold and Apple also announced that, as of 23 September 2013, totally 200 million devices were running the iOS 7 update.

In case of Android, there are no two devices necessarily the same, so developing for Android you have to start thinking from a design and front-end. The Android devices unlike Apple products have huge variation in just about everything: screen size, resolution, processor speed, memory, features, and OS version.

The advantage to Android is its openness. On the downside, Android has so many different versions of its operating system that deciding which version to build for can be complicated. Whereas with iOS, you will not have such problem.

Both systems cover large pieces of IT market pie, so you just have no right to satisfy one part of the audience ignoring the other one.

Technologies for Mobiles

Creating for Apple’s iOS, you will need to use the Objective-C language which is considered one of the hardest programming languages to master, even for experienced developers. However, there is a very good Apple community providing all necessary tools for developers. The most popular tool is Xcode, an IDE containing a suite of software development tools.

Developing for Android requires knowledge of Java. The tools available to create apps for Android include the most popular tool, Eclipse, and a newer tool called Android Studio that could eventually deliver the same quality of development support as Apple’s tools.

All modern mobile smartphones and tablets support such technologies as HTML 5, CSS, and Javascript used for developing versatile interfaces for web-driven mobile applications. HTML5 is growing more robust and feature-rich. HTML5 has the following improved features: offline support, canvas and video, geolocation API, advanced forms etc. HTML5 apps are relatively easy to move to other platforms and doing this is much easier than translating your app from Objective C to Java.

Start with website

The downside of any app is that the consumer has to upgrade it from time to time to get new versions. Maybe the best tip to you before you start mobile app creation is to build a mobile website first. The mobile website is easily updated and does not require any forces from the customers. Without any installation and updates, they will be more willing to visit and try your services. This also can help you to learn about the design, user experience and functionality needed before building an app.

Test a lot!

If you still decide to start with an app, there is no such thing as testing your product too much. Do not be lazy to test your app outside of your office. This is especially important for apps that depend on the Internet connection. Test them in different places and in a lot of different conditions.

Be sure you are ready

Once your product has been tested, make sure that now you are not going to change any pieces until you deliver the product to the market. There are also two important things to think about before push your app into life: marketing and consumer discovery. Make sure that your customers will be able to find your app among others. It is very important to determine what category you want to place your app in as well as the keywords you use to describe your app. And never send out a press release until the app is in the store.

Listen to your customers

Don’t be shy to ask a feedback from your customers as a new product or version is released. The real users are much more aware of what’s wrong with your app than you and your QA group, because they’re actually using the thing in real life situations.

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The list of useful tips can go on and on but what is the most important thing is to customize all recommendations for your project. Not all tips can be equally useful for two different application. Listen to your heart, read more and score twice before you cut once.