In 2022, any business without a mobile app supporting multiple platforms is in jeopardy. If you have a mobile business app, you can focus on a different approach for attracting clients and creating new revenue sources. If not, connecting to a top mobile app development company today to explore possibilities should be the first step for progressive business handling.
However, choosing the wrong mobile app developer as a partner can be equally daunting. Mistakes can happen because of some unforeseen hurdles faced and not just because of common mistakes made in developing mobile apps all the time.
A mobile app with flaws cannot be relevant in the long term. Users will abandon it, and app stores will also penalize it by removing it from the store. As a result, the app’s owner will have to pay a hefty price for the agency’s mistakes.
The Success of A Mobile App in 2022 and Beyond
A mobile app’s success is related to the approaches, technology trends, and processes used in its creation and promotion by the app developers. After having adequate experience and knowledge in developing a mobile application, any mobile app development agency or a developer with technical talents can embark on a journey to create successful mobile apps.
There is still room for growth in the mobile app development industry. Let’s check some facts. In Q1 2022, there were 37 billion app downloads. With an 11% increase across both platforms (the Apple App store and Google Play store), user spending on applications surpassed $33 billion, more than 42% over the previous two years.
Below is a comparison of year-by-year % of app downloads across various platforms based on research conducted by AppsFlyers:
Top Common App Development Mistakes to Avoid
It is not uncommon to see common app development mistakes in the development process, even by reputed mobile app developers. After all, the process of making an app is intricate and complex. It is best to know what these mistakes are and how, as an entrepreneur, you can identify them during the development phase and churn out a product beneficial for your business venture.
Below are some of app development’s small and big mistakes and ways to avoid them all the same:
1 – Keeping Your App Development Idea A Secret
Let’s be realistic: your app cannot be successful overnight. More so when every other blogger and app developer guru suggests you shun the outside world and keep your app a secret until it is released.
No, we are not discussing protecting your app’s secrets from potentially unwanted malicious agents, as discussed in this blog earlier. We are talking about testing the waters before jumping all in – it is not an entirely bad idea to go this route. What happens if you seep some of the information in a controlled manner to a selected group of people for market research?
Experts believe that you should open up your idea to some close or trusted friends and advisers who have been helpful in a long way. They can provide valuable feedback during testing, so it doesn’t fail.
It would help if you even considered running a pre-launch campaign to set up a market for your app. Though you don’t have to unveil your intellectual property, you can always tease your potential customer base and drive them to your app. Plus, the hype is sometimes better for a product, especially if the niche is in-demand.
2 – Having Ambiguity Over Device and OS Support
Any project without clear boundaries and goals gets doomed from the start. For example, if you avoid specifying your estimates, including iOS app development alone, your client might expect that the costs include Android. If it isn’t meant to work for iPad, it is your responsibility (as an app developer) to fix it, free of charge, without deviating from the contract. Mistakes like that can kill the project outright, regardless of how close the deal is.
Hence, you must ensure that the contract indicates the version, OS, and device support. Specify your need for a contractual condition if you need help in app development.
It will also help you set clear goals and expectations about the cost of development right at the beginning, including a breakdown by OS, version, and device.
3 – Inadequate Budget
Coming up with a budget for your mobile application depends on a few factors many companies fail to consider when planning their product.
For starters, the cost largely depends on the scope of the application. It’s a basic if-then situation: if your app is complex, its development time will be longer, resulting in cost spikes. It’s also important to remember that creating your app is not only about the development stage; design and maintenance are also vital parts of the process and should be included in your budget.
To get a better estimation, it is always wise to be as specific as possible when delegating information to a development company. However, keep in mind that any additional changes, especially when made at the very end of the process, have a high probability of making the development process longer and more expensive.
4 – Too Many Features
Building a complex application will take a toll on your budget, but that’s not all there is to it. The more you want to add, the longer the development process will become, and the more you’ll have to wait for a finished product.
Stuffing your app with features means you take higher risks: you might take it for granted that your users will love a given set of functionalities, but then it turns out that they aren’t even using or needing them.
This is why when it comes to app development, the Minimum Viable Product approach is considered to be the safest, most beneficial one in the long term. The idea is to build a finished product ready to be launched on the market that has just enough features for early adopters to use. This way, you can gain valuable feedback from users and begin to enhance your product with features that you know your customers will use.
5 – Not Being Relevant
The process of application development does not come to an end once the application is launched. Regularly updating the application is also essential. New technologies keep emerging in the app market, and staying updated with these is crucial to stay ahead on the App Stores and ensuring your application is always up to date and successful.
Developers need to consider several factors to give a competitive edge to their applications. These include application performance, the mobile application design, app optimization, troubleshooting, proper testing of the application, the app icon, bug fixes, user engagement, user experience, security of the application, etc. Building a successful mobile application is not that easy today, making it essential to consider these factors and identify and avoid all these mistakes mentioned above during app development.
Conclusion
Like any big project, developing an app can be frustrating at times. Mobile app development mistakes happen to everyone, which is part of the process. But if you understand the most common developer mistakes listed above, you can avoid them altogether.
Whether you’re building an app on your own, looking to hire a developer, or interested in becoming a mobile app reseller, avoiding the mobile app development mistakes in this guide will save you time, money, resources, and headaches in the long run.
Will you still make mistakes along the way? Probably. But it won’t be anything impossible.
Keep checking Ropstam blogs for the latest development tips and best practices updates.
