Tips and best practices for mobile application development

Mobile apps were a potential goldmine from the beginning, but it was hard to see where they would integrate with everyday life as little as 10 years ago. Now, things have rapidly changed to the point that mobile apps dominate multiple markets, some of which barely existed a decade ago. This means app development can be extremely big business for many different organisations, whether their primary offering is a digital product or not.

If you’re looking to outsource mobile app development by hiring a world-class development team, this can be complex, but we know from experience there are many fantastic benefits. Whether you go down that route, or you’re confident handling your software creation in-house, you’re going to need a firm grasp of the basic principles behind mobile application design. Here are some tips that everyone involved in your project should bear in mind throughout the process.

1) Understand your audience

The ultimate starting point is to have a solid understanding of your target users, including what they might want from your application, what motivates them and how they expect their needs to be catered for. It’s not just about who will use your app, but also when, where, how and why. These people may not even realise the potential benefits of your app, so you’ll also need to know how to communicate clearly with them.

2) Simplicity and clarity

Your users need to understand your app’s purpose, and using it should be so intuitive that it comes as second nature from the first install. It’s good to use graphics, but don’t rely on these as they can be open to interpretation. Clear and concise text will usually enhance the user experience your mobile application offers.

3) Start with the basics

Some app specialists who provide software development outsourcing services tend to dream too big and get fixated with the idea of satisfying too many different needs in a single app. You should usually focus on one idea and execute it brilliantly. If you find you need to address other areas, you can build on this later with updates, add-ons or other solutions.

4) Talk to your users, not just designers

A professional development team can be a fantastic way to bring the necessary expertise and knowledge into your business to assist with developing a mobile application. However, it’s not all about the technical know-how. Test user feedback and customer development is an essential aspect of any software development project, and you can guarantee that real users will identify problems the developers wouldn’t immediately consider. To get the best possible results, a system for incorporating feedback along with professional advice is crucial from as early in the project as possible.

5) Security is not optional

Technological developments in the world of mobile applications are often met with concerns regarding security, especially among software development outsourcing companies in the UK and Western Europe. This is no surprise when you consider how many high profile hacking incidents there have been in the last 12 months alone, including giant firms like Yahoo being hit by massive attacks that compromise user databases. Designing an app for multiple platforms will inevitably lead to vulnerabilities unless your team is dedicated to incorporating great defence systems from the outset.

If you’re excited to apply these principles to your own venture and you’re looking to hire dedicated developers with our help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.