There is no doubt about the fact that mobile app development has already become a crucial step for companies to solidify their footing on the digital landscape. Mobile apps open opportunities for industries across all niches. No wonder many businesses are now giving priority to app development over the web and other digital interfaces.
While every business needs a mobile app to stay competitive in the market, several myths and misconceptions exist regarding app development. Many of these misconceptions and falsities may actually prevent a business from pursuing the idea of building an app. Let us try to bust these myths one by one.
A great app idea does it all.
A great app idea is very important but thinking that the idea on its own can make your app successful is a terrible overstatement. Every successful app has a relevant idea focused on solving the problems of the users. If your app fails to solve customer problems, your app does not have any relevance.
Now, what about shaping a great idea into a complex app with a poor user experience? Yes, that happened in the case of several apps in the market. So, just like a great app idea, proper execution matters a lot. Whether your app idea is relevant and unique for solving user problems will primarily be tested through the user experience.
You need to start with a unique and relevant app idea orienting a relevant user problem. Secondly, you need to design and develop the app to ensure an easy and seamless user experience. Thirdly, you need to convey the app idea precisely to your target audience with the right marketing message and tools. Only when you fulfill all these criteria you can expect your app to be successful.
Coding is all that matters to app development.
This is another common misconception about the app development process which prevails among a lot of people. The truth is, even before writing just a single line of code, you need to create a design prototype showcasing the look and feel of the app, decide the app features, make a mobile app product requirement doc and have the development infrastructure ready.
Another important fact is, with coding, the app development process never ends. There are several crucial steps when the design and development are done. Once the app is coded, it must go through the QA testing phase to detect performance glitches, bugs, and errors, and other issues. Thereafter you need to release the app on iOS App Store or Android Play Store following their guidelines.
These days, an app project needs to plan its launch well in advance just to create enough buzz when it is becoming public. So, when the app is undergoing development, you need to start a pré-launch campaign. On the other hand, during the development, you need to allow frequent iterations from the client through a project manager. So, an app project involves the inputs of several key professionals other than programmers.
It is a one-time venture.
Many people consider building a mobile app to be a one-time venture. The app is conceptualized, validated, designed, developed, tested, released, marketed, and thus the development process comes to an end. This is how they conceive app development. There cannot be a bigger misconception than this.
In reality, an app development process always involves continuous development and value additions. You always need to come with bug fixes, repairs, design enhancements, fixes for security issues and performance glitches. This is why an app needs to roll out frequent updates. In the present context of the MVP development approach, we actually build a very basic app and incrementally add value through subsequent updates.
A lot of features results in a better app
More features and functionalities will end up delivering a better app. This is a common misconception harbored by many. This myth can be easily busted by taking the examples of the most successful apps in the market. Most of the leading apps offer one or two key features for which they are preferred.
Moreover, apps are smarter solutions than traditional websites, and most of the time try to solve multiple problems at one go. This focus on solving multiple problems with a single feature makes the app so unique.
You need a lot of money for app marketing.
Building a mobile app is not as cheap as creating a social media business page or shooting a YouTube video. But it is not as expensive as building a castle either. This is where the common misconception lies.
The fact is, app development costs vary from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars based upon the features, complexity, content, technologies, development time, and the developer resources you hire. If you build a hybrid or cross-platform app with an MVP approach, you can significantly lower the initial cost of development.
App Store Optimization (ASO) is enough to market your app.
Finally, as for marketing an app, there are several misconceptions. One myth that makes rounds among many people is that App Store Optimisation (ASO) is enough to reach out to your target audience and market the app.
ASO is a key step to ensure the visibility of your app across app marketplaces of both iOS and Android platforms, but it needs to be supplemented with a rigorous marketing process involving SEO, social media marketing, content marketing, influencer marketing, and others.
Conclusion
It is important to bust the myths and misconceptions to help people comprehend the underlying reality and make progress in the right direction. In-app development, the above elucidation can help you stay on the right track for your app project.