HOW TO MAKE AN APPLICATION

HOW TO MAKE AN APP 

Today, there are over 3 billion smartphone users around the world. And where there are smartphones, there are mobile applications, or “apps.” People interact with apps almost constantly. According to research conducted by consumer analytics firm Dscout, smartphone users touch their phones on average 2,617 times a day, using all manner of smartphone apps for shopping, entertainment, and more. 

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Since the explosion of smart wearable devices and Internet-connected merchandise — from toasters to picture frames — apps now play a part in every corner of the average home. 

If you have a message or product to sell, it makes a whole lot of sense to build your own app. You'll literally be in your customers' pockets, a perfect position to create brand awareness, acquire new customers, and increase revenue. 

But how do you create your own app? People usually assume that making an app requires extensive technical and programming knowledge, as well as a huge investment of time and money. 

But I’ve got good news for you: making an app isn’t some rare kind of techno-magic. It does, however, require some careful planning. You’ll need a solid understanding of how apps work, what kind best fits your needs, and how to manage the development process. 

From idea to execution throughout this guide, I'll walk you through everything you need to know about the app-making process.  

Follow these 12 steps to create your own app

Step 1. Define your goals

Step 2. Come up with a good app idea

Step 3. Research and validate your app idea

Step 4. Analyze your app idea’s market fit

Step 5. Decide which app type is best for your business

Step 6. Create a wireframe

Step 7. Find an app developer

Step 8. Create an MVP - minimum viable product 

Step 9. Mobile app quality assurance 

Step 10. Deploy 

Step 11. Market your app

Step 12. Gather feedback and make improvements

Step 1. Define your goals

First, define your goals. What exactly do you hope to achieve with your app? What is its core purpose? What does success look like? Will it be a set number of downloads by a certain date? A number of email subscribers? An amount of sales revenue acquired through the app?

Apps can be easily taken in many directions. Setting your goals at the outset will keep you on track. Then, you can continuously check in to ensure that all of your actions are working towards your goals. 

A great framework to guide your goal-setting is "SMART":

S: Specific

M: Measurable

A: Achievable

R: Realistic 

T: Timely 

Every goal you set should check all of the above boxes. Here's an example:

Non-SMART goal: Gain a lot of users.

SMART goal: Get 1,000 app downloads in the first 30 days.

In the non-SMART goal, "a lot" is not clearly defined. As a result, you won't know when you've reached it. By defining the specific number you want to reach within a given time frame, you can measure key performance indicators (in this case, downloads), to determine where you are in relation to your goal.

Step 2. Come up with a good app idea

Once you decide you want to create an app, then comes the challenge of coming up with the main concept. It can be hard as there are so many apps out there already. You need one that will solve a big problem, be downloaded and used by a large pool of users, and stand out amongst the rest. So how do you find "the big idea?" It can take some time. However, if you're feeling a bit stuck or lost, here are some strategies you can use to get inspired. 

Browse the app store

A good place to start when trying to think up a good app idea is to look at what's already working well. You can find out by looking in the App Store or Google Play Store. Right on the App Store's home page, you'll find the top free apps and games along with the top paid apps and games. Similarly, the Google Play Store lists the top apps and games right on the home page. 

You can also browse apps by category and can view the top apps for each category, both paid and free. Further, if you're interested in browsing a specific type of app that isn't listed, you can search for it in the search bar to see which apps come up first. By checking out the top featured apps, you'll have good examples of what's already successful which may spark an idea of your own. 

Research other problem solvers

-Aside from the App Store, you can also look for inspiration by studying ideas from:

-The projects on crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and WeFunder. 

-Startups on Angie's List, Shark Tank, or CrunchBase.

-Common questions and answers on Quora and Reddit. 

Browsing how other people are solving problems can help to get you in the mindset of solving one with your app. One way to hear about the latest startups and what they are up to is to search as a job hunter or to check postings on sites like Product Hunt. If you stay tuned into the latest projects and startups, it'll likely only be a matter of time before ideas start coming to you. 

Step away from it

Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to take a pause. You never know when inspiration might strike, and often, it's when you're not sitting there trying to come up with an idea. So step away from your desk and take some time off. As you go about your day and normal activities, think about how an app might improve the daily life around you. When you run into something inefficient or frustrating, that could just be the problem your app solves. 

For example, people naturally make mistakes when writing whether those are misspellings or grammar errors. Grammarly is currently a top free app that plugs into the Safari browser and checks all of your writing in real-time. If you make an error, a red underline appears and you are given suggestions to correct it. Another example? People forget things. Especially as we get older and have more and more responsibilities, it can be hard to keep everything straight. Enter iLove Sticky Notes, the popular memo assistant app that lets you add stick notes on your desktop. 

Your app should similarly start with a problem and then work to solve it. It's best if it's a problem you know well, so you can really resonate and understand your future users. So as you go about your normal routine, get in the practice of observing life and taking note of problems you may be able to solve with an app. 

While coming up with an app idea can be intimidating at first, the best approach is to jump in with both feet. Use the above strategies to get inspiration and then start writing down any ideas that come to you. Even if they seem bad at first, write them down. Then, you can go through your list and narrow down the ones that seem best.

Step 3. Research and validate your app idea

The first challenge of building an app is coming up with a good idea, and it can take quite a while to find one worth pursuing. However, once you do, it can be very exciting. But before you go investing much time or money into it, you'll want to do a bit of research. Think for a second that the App Store sees tens of thousands of apps added each month and the cost to build them can range from around $50k up to half a million. Here are a few steps you can take to help ensure your app will be worth the investment and competitive amongst the rest. 

Find out if it exists

First, you'll want to see if anyone else has had the same bright idea. Now, don't be discouraged if other apps exist to solve the same problem. You can still move ahead with yours but you will need to ensure it offers something that the rest don't. 

- If you find competitors, you can perform a bit of research on them. With CrunchBase, you can find out if they raised funding to build the app. If they did, that means investors thought the idea was good enough to put their money into it. That's a good thing. 

- Next, you can check an app that tracks app performance to see how it's doing in terms of downloads, earnings, and rankings. If it's popular, earning features, and ranking well, that's further validation. 

- You can also look into the app's website and social profiles to see how they look to be doing. Find out if the company is growing and if it has employees. The more social proof it has, the more likely it's seeing some success.

 While competition can be intimidating, it also proves there's a demand for a solution so can function as idea validation. 

Pick your keywords

Next, researching the search traffic for select keywords can give you insight into the interest level surrounding a topic. Choose five or so keywords related to your app and write them down. For example, if your idea is to create an app that monitors and compares pricing for you so you can get the best deal, you might add the following keywords:

- price comparison app

- price comparison

- best price app

- price comparison bot

- sale comparison app

With your keywords in hand, you'll want to use a tool that reports on the average monthly searches and competition level of a keyword (like Google Keyword Planner). Once you type in the word and search, it will tell you how many people search it per month and how competitive the ad placement is for that term. The more searches and higher the competition, the more interest a topic has which can help to validate the idea.

Find a keyword research specialist for hire

Ask the audience

Lastly, get in touch with your potential users. Identify who they will be and ask them what they think. How? Well, you can do it all online using various websites and social platforms where potential users hang out. For example, you could go on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and/or TikTok to share your app idea and ask for feedback. If you don't have a following, you could look for groups with users in your target audience. For example, a productivity app may be appealing in a group full of small business owners. You could also run paid campaigns targeting your potential users to gain feedback. 

Some platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn also have a poll feature, making it easier to gauge feedback with little effort from the users. You can ask people to rate their interest level in the app, ask how much they would pay for it, and ask if they would recommend it to their friends and family. When performing polls, it's helpful to include negative and positive response options so you can correctly gauge the feedback. 

Another route you could take is posting a question on Reddit. Redditors are often very engaged and will take your request seriously, providing thoughtful feedback. A good place to place the questions could be in /r/startups community. It's a place designed to discuss startup problems and solutions and has over 880k members. Another smaller, yet highly relevant subreddit /r/apps, is for all things app-related.

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