You may think that there is an app for every single thing today. And that is nearly true, just as it is true that 80% of the time we spend on our smartphones remains for the apps, while the remaining 20% goes for the browser. Users downloaded nearly 200 thousand apps in 2017, and this number will get 75% bigger by 2021. These thoughts mainly mean that if you want to create an online business, you have to consider your users’ mobile experience.
In this article, we will go through what you need to consider while working on your app and what to do to make it successful no matter the competition and market size.
1. Focus on one target feature
Think of Uber, Airbnb, Dropbox — all of these apps only focused on one single feature when created. Uber was polishing its black car service until it became the industry leader in terms of luxury and business transportation. Only afterward, the app’s team decided to create a mass-market oriented feature. And that is what makes a great app, too — clearly defined target audience. Moreover, this feature has to solve an exactly-defined problem. If there are apps that resolve the same problem you are targeting, think of an innovative way to fix it. Be something Lyft became for Uber!
2. Define a clear target audience
You need to understand who your target audience is. Disperse it by age groups, interests, jobs, and occupations, locations they live in, basically — every kind of factor that may describe them in a targeting campaign. (Check Facebook targeting options first). As an example — our customer, Zabit Magomedsharipov, asked to create an app for his fans so that they could be “closer” to the athlete and his performance. Therefore, this app has a clearly defined audience — people that would support Zabit in UFC fights. We, as the developers, know their ages and preferences, and that is the information we use in creating the app on most of the stages, from framework design to animations created in the app.
3. Make a stable and fast app
If you want to create an app that would dominate the AppStore and Google Play rankings, it needs to be extremely stable. Thousands of possible users may approach you and your developers’ team to fix potential bugs & crashes that occur after the app goes online for the first time. That is why the fast support & update team (that we also offer here at Messapps) is also crucial for your newly-born app.
Most of the great apps are extremely fast, as well. Their response times are minimal, and their users can do what they want in seconds.
4. Your app’s design needs to be polished
In 2019, your app’s design is a feature, too. It needs to be responsive, fast, and beautiful, similar to either iOS or Android standards and creative at the same time.
Do not forget to add extra “polishing” effects. These might include beautiful animations, transitions, sounds, and haptics that ensure an excellent experience for any device your user might have. So yes, if you are rolling out an app when the newest iPhones are out on the market, do not forget to adapt your screen sizes.
5. Trim the storage space down
For most of the users, music and photos remain prioritized in terms of their device’s memory capacity. That is why when they do not get an extra 100Mb for a video to post on their Instagram, they will highly likely delete an app they do not depend on. One important note — if your app does not represent a bank or a music streaming service, that is what will happen to your product. That is why it is vital to store most of the data you use in a cloud or to use as little storage space as possible on your user’s device.
6. Make privacy first
In 2019, most of the tech companies focus their attention on users’ privacy. It is a crucial issue, indeed, since digital marketing tricks can easily use your users’ devices to target some personalized ads on them. Almost 30% of users have uninstalled an app because of privacy concerns, according to a study. Do not disrupt the UX by numerous messages telling that you care about privacy, but also do not try to request too much personal information from your users. In the case of hacks and threats, update your app or inform your users that the mentioned type of malware will not influence their data.
7. Last but not least — language
Unfortunately, we do not live in Babylon anymore. Most of the people all around the world speak different languages. You may be surprised, but according to statistics, 72% of app downloads remain for the clients who do not speak English. That is why you and your team need to find a localization agent for your app. He or she will be there to help you translate the main features of your app for the audience you are targeting.
Let’s repeat the points that are vital for a great app:
- One single target feature;
- Clear target audience;
- Stability and speed;
- A polished design;
- Small storage space;
- Privacy first;
- Language localization.
Well, of course, if you feel like being more of a business owner than a developer, there still is a solution. Contact Messapps, and we will figure out a no-worry way to develop your app.