Four questions you should ask before building your own app

Real planning is about asking the right questions. The plan to build a mobile app must invite a lot of strong questioning. It is by no means a straightforward proposition.

Unfortunately, young entrepreneurs new to the world of mobile apps are prone to taking such decisions on a whim. Developing mobile apps is a long and expensive process. Marketing them is complex and tedious.

Building a good app and finding success in the mobile app market takes a lot of planning.

Good planning generally happens when companies and entrepreneurs are willing to ask themselves some tough questions. After entering the app market, it is too late to reverse some decisions. From someone developing a WordPress mobile app to another creating a WooCommerce Android app, there is a need to establish some clarity.

This piece covers four crucial questions that helps bring clarity in the process of building a mobile app.

#1 How will you build your app?

The first question would not have been a question two or three years back.

If you know how to code, you can start on your own and build a team of developers as you move along. If you don’t know programming, you have to hire a development agency or build a team of developers in-house.

Many entrepreneurs who wish to enter the mobile app market do not have a technical background. The first option thus goes out of the window.

The second option is very expensive and can take a long time. You cannot take up this option unless you’re ready to invest a lot of money.

These were the two viable options until two or three years back. Now there is a third option.

You can use mobile app builders to build your own app.

Mobile app builders are generally DIY no-code platforms. They allow users to build a mobile app without writing a single line of code.

Many entrepreneurs are creating WooCommerce Android app (and iOS) and WordPress mobile apps using mobile app builders. Some have found great success promoting these apps.

As of now, mobile app builders are an excellent solution for those with a WordPress website trying to develop a similar mobile app. App builders generally convert a website to app and use web data to fill up the final native app.

Choosing a reliable app builder is necessary. AppMySite is the natural solution in such cases.

#2 Which platform are you building the app for?

There are two premier app platforms in the mobile app world - Android and iOS.  Together, they have a monopoly over most of the mobile app market.

Developing an Android app is very different from an iOS app. While the process is largely similar for those using mobile app builders, the same is not true for traditional developers.

Developing an app for both Android and iOS platforms for many entrepreneurs and small companies is not feasible. They have to pick and choose one and hope to later bring an app for the other platform.

The choice between Android and iOS is a tough one. Android represents a lionshare of the smartphone market. A report projects Android smartphone market share to go up to 85% in 2021, blowing away iOS by more than six times.

Android promises reach and volume.

However, there are certain attributes unique to Apple users that make iOS a better platform choice. iOS users are likely to be early adopters as compared to Android users. They are also likely to spend more money on in-app purchases and subscriptions.

Entrepreneurs looking for a proof-of-concept may want to give themselves a good shot and target iOS users.

There is no correct answer to this question. Companies have to look at their own subjective case and choose the right option.

#3 Which services will you buy from third parties?

There are various services you need when starting an app. Some companies these days try to host their app on servers located in their own workspace.

There are various other services companies ask developers to build besides hosting servers. Analytics tools, authentication servers, content hosting servers, payment servers, and so on are all examples of additional services developers have to build.

The question is why? Why do your developers need to build all these services? There are third-party hosting providers that provide services for all aforementioned domains. Developers don’t need to spend weeks and months developing and maintaining these services.

There are a few things companies must remember before switching to third party services. The scalability of these services is an obvious question. If an app grows in terms of users, it is natural for companies to question whether the server can scale up and handle more users.

Other concerns related to reliability and security are also real and have to be resolved.

The cost of maintaining servers and the overall hassle of the process makes the prospect of hiring third parties much more attractive.

One point to remember here is that using an app builder doesn’t invite these problems. App makers generally host the app on the website server. To improve app performance, you simply have to improve your web hosting plan. An app builder can allow you to bypass these issues altogether.

#4 Do you have a zero day plan?

What will you do when your app first hits the market?

Many tend to believe that app marketing should only begin when the app becomes available on app stores. This misconception is behind many failed apps.

A push to market the app cannot simply begin when an app hits the market. Marketers must begin work at least a month prior to the app’s launch.

How does this help? The aim of starting early is not to have a big launch on day zero of the app going live. An early start helps marketers set the tone of the brand and its app in the market.

Making people download an app from a brand they’re familiar with is much easier. This is why starting marketing before launch is crucial.

There are many channels where marketers can begin shoring up brand value. Generally, app marketers choose conventional channels of marketing. These include social media and search marketing.

While these channels of marketing are important, it doesn’t hurt to try out a few other innovative tactics. Choosing to develop a presence on niche forums helps create a real ground swell for a particular brand or its mobile app.

The key here lies in taking initiative. App marketing is not the type of practice you can perform on an ad-hoc basis. There is a clear need for a plan and urgency to set the brand narrative as soon as possible.

In Conclusion

Entrepreneurs should never get into a field like app development without asking a few serious questions. Unfortunately, forthright analysis is not as ubiquitous as it should be.

This piece gives entrepreneurs some important questions they must ask themselves before getting into building a mobile app. From someone developing a gaming application to another creating a WooCommerce Android app, there is a clear need for some clarity.

The four questions covered here can offer entrepreneurs a chance to analyze their overall project.

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Created on Sep 11th 2020 05:08. Viewed 438 times.

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