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Developing an app: is it something everyone needs to do? Well, if you’re gonna do it, you may as well do it properly. If you haven’t been put off by the terrible pun in the title, read this article to find out what app development mistakes you must avoid making.
Not getting assistance if you need it
Yeah, we all want to be like those whiz-kid developers who create an app by ourselves (or a small group of friends) in our spare time that ends up making millions. But if you haven’t quite got the development chops, then you could be doing the app, your business, and yourself a serious disservice. If you’re going to release an app, then you need to make sure it’s the best it can possibly be. If that means seeking the assistance of professional app developers, then so be it!
Ignoring monetization
Maybe you, like most sane people on the planet, hate freemium apps that allow you free access to a mediocre product but allows you experience the best of the product by making smaller payments. (This is used in very insidious ways in the industry when it comes to gaming apps.) This can actually be done fairly, and very well. But if you don’t want to go down that route, but still want to release a free app, then don’t disregard all forms of monetization. You could look into sponsorship or in-app advertising. There’s even the chance that a company might be interested in buying the rights to the app outright at some point.
Being narrow-minded with regards to platforms
Hey, so the App Store makes more money than Google Play, right? Monetization must be much easier to pull off on an Apple phone than an Android. So why bother paying that much attention to Android development, right? Yeah, that whole mindset is seriously flawed. Before development begins, you need to carefully consider each platform option that is available to you – and yes, this does include Windows! Make sure you’re checking out each of their store standards, because each platform has different demands.
Disregarding analytics
Post-launch analytics tools are absolutely essential if you want to ensure the long-term success of your app. Even the most thorough development-stage testing isn’t going to reveal all of your problems, and focus groups aren’t exactly going to tell you everything you need to know about the feedback you’ll receive. With the right analytics tools in place when it’s time to launch, you can keep tabs on app crashes, the number of daily users, the amount of social engagement that the app fosters, and where people are spending the most money in your app.
Making the app in the first place
A lot of businesses want to make an app because some article on the Internet told them that they had to make an app in order to survive in today’s harsh, ultra-digital business climate. But this is a massive exaggeration. You should really only be creating an app if there’s a reasonable market demand for it. You don’t want to pour resources into app development if it’s not actually going to help marketing or your bottom line that much.
