Let’s suppose that you have an innovative and truly unique app idea. The primary value of a successful app project lies with the idea. But the idea without proper execution is of no value. But if you have decided to build the app and invest in it, you need to be aware of the pitfalls that can turn your winning idea into an unsuccessful product.
What are the key things to know and how to prepare for shaping the app idea into a great product? Let’s explain them one by one.
Verify it and question its relevance
Self-questioning is what is done at the beginning of every great venture, and you should do the same with your app idea. However great and unique, the app idea seems to you may be very common per market aspirations. So it is advisable to ask a few questions like this:
- How does the app idea in a unique manner solve a relevant user problem?
- How does the app idea look more advantageous for target users when compared to the leading app within the same category?
- Does it offer some unique value additions in terms of features and user experience that users can love?
Know who is going to use the app
To have a great app idea is one thing and to turn the idea into a sellable relevant digital product is another thing. For the second, you first need to have a clear idea of the target audience who is going to use the app.
The target audience for an app should be defined across different attributes such as demographic categories like gender, age, region, ethnicity, and also income, profession, typical habits, digital preferences, etc., to have a solid grasp of all the target audience characteristics, it is always better to focus on the audience of the competitor apps.
Decide on monetization
The intended app is going to be a marketable digital product to help you make revenue, and hence from the start, you need to make your plan on the possible monetization models.
There are multiple successful monetization models in the app market, ranging from in-app ads, app subscriptions, in-app purchases, partnerships with other apps, sponsorship, lead generation for another business, etc. You need to decide among these methods by evaluating each of them, and you can always learn from the monetization methods embraced by your competitors.
Make budget estimation by consulting developers
So, you have the complete validated app idea and a list of features ready in your hand. This is the time to make a possible and rough estimate of the app budget. To start with, you need to decide the platform choices, such as ios and Android. Depending upon that, you need to reach out to iOS or Android app developers or cross-platform app developers who can give a detailed and realistic budget with breakups of different steps and costs. But before approaching the developers, consider the following aspects.
- Start researching app development companies within the city and across different parts of the globe for a competitive budget without compromising on key skills. Always prioritize developers with experience and expertise in projects of similar niches.
- First, reach out to local developers and vendors. After getting a rough estimate from them, reach out to leading international development companies and some promising startups with expertise in similar app projects.
- Let’s provide a small tip. Remember always that a reputed development company will probe deeper by asking many questions about your project before actually jumping on the project.
Don’t make haste with UI/UX design
The UI design steps should enter the scene as soon as the development budget is decided and you have made provisions for it. If you have not already made a hand-drawn wireframe of the app explaining the app screens and how they will work, this is the time to do it. After peer reviewing and evaluating it by the developers, it is time to fine-tune the wireframes.
As soon as the app wireframe design is done, the app designers for the project will engage with the visual design and create a mock-up with all fonts, colors, themes, layout grids, and all different visual elements. Now the actual look and feel of the app seem to take shape. At the last design step, you need to create a dynamic prototype that allows user interactions and offers a look and feel very similar to the intended final app product.
Developing and Testing the App
As the design steps come to their intended end, you are sure about the final look and feel of the product; it is time to put life into it through well-constructed features. This is the time when developers will take over the core development. This is where an incremental development approach can help you prioritize features for the initial release so that, based upon feedback, you can further add comparatively fewer essential features. Besides, keeping the initial development cost within the limit will help update the app with subsequent feedback-based value additions.
The last but not the least important step is app testing involving different test cycles. Apart from debugging and code testing, the entire product should pass through user testing, compatibility testing, performance, and load testing, security testing, etc. The final product should work without any glitches and as satisfactorily as you have originally intended to build it.
Conclusion
You have now shaped the app idea into a useful, fully marketable, competitive product. But as with every digital product, you should take the app development and its launch as just the beginning of a long and strenuous journey. It needs to be continuously nurtured, evaluated frequently, and updated with changes, value additions, and enhancements from time to time.