Although thousands of applications are available for smartphones and computers, around 80% of users delete them after one use. Avoiding this outcome requires focusing on the pain points that many apps tend to face.
Key Takeaways:
- Connecting with customers and providing longevity
- Mistakes to avoid with app development
- Planning your application’s roadmap
- Taking an innovative and forward-thinking approach to developing applications
With the fast-paced nature of technology and the undeniably short attention span of those who use it, first impressions are everything when developing an app. If there isn’t an immediate wow factor within a short time frame, many people will be looking to uninstall the application in relatively short order. App development is about finding a focused solution for a specific need, solving a problem and providing a great customer experience.
There are quite a few reasons this happens, many of which come from minor or significant mistakes in the app’s overall features. When you combine potential mistakes with a lack of use cases, people may look for a better solution.
Mobile app development is a competitive space to navigate, but by avoiding the mistakes that lead to a drop in user retention, your app will undoubtedly cut through the noise. By dodging common mistakes in the development stage and taking an innovative approach to the design, usability, and features, more users will give your application a chance.
Knowing what the customer wants
Above all else, it’s vital that you understand your target market and where your project fits in the space of mobile applications. This can be more challenging than it sounds, as each user has their own tastes and preferences when it comes to apps. Homing in on your customer base will help guide the direction you need to take with developing a mobile app.
Whether you’re focused on gaming, education, social media, or a specific tool to make lives easier, your application must get into the hands of the right user base. By having a clear understanding of why customers love your brand, you’ll get a better picture of what to include in your application to act as an extension of your brand’s best qualities.
You also want to provide features that allow you to serve your particular market. There could be thousands of similar apps available, so to deliver longevity and generate user retention, you have to develop something that feeds into what your customers are looking for. Aside from offering what your target market wants, there are several critical mistakes regarding design and development you’ll want to avoid along the way.
Mistakes you should avoid when building a development team
The troubles that mobile app developers encounter can vary depending on the scope of the project and the overall vision of the features it provides. Some mistakes are more common than others, however, and they can be highly detrimental to the survival rate of any mobile application.
Some of these complications with design and development include:
- Not identifying the needs of the users
- Poor management of the development budget
- A lacking UI and UX design
- Poor topography with jarring color contrasts
- Not performing comprehensive app testing
These are only a handful of the issues that a mobile app development company may encounter. Some can be more damaging to the success of an application than others, so you’ll want to avoid them to ensure users continue to utilize the app in the long term.
You can find success by taking a thorough approach to the roadmap, design, and development of your application, but this takes substantial diligence, market research, and an understanding of your potential user base. There are a few core elements you can focus on from the beginning to ensure that development stays on the right path along the way.
Planning your roadmap
With any app development project, you’ll encounter a few hurdles along the way. If you focus on the essentials from the start, you’ll be able to discern what’s best for the next decision. This requires a multi-faceted approach that covers the basics of app development. In turn, this will make your application better prepared for success upon completion.
Research
An essential aspect of any mobile app development project, you must dig deep into your research to understand your target audience, competition, what the market needs, and more. It’ll give you substantial insight into what kind of app you want to develop and the features it needs to be separate from the rest in its category.
Unrealistic expectations
It’s understandable to take pride in your work, but it’s important to have clear expectations of what your application will provide to the users. This also aligns with managing a budget, as you could spend a significant amount of money developing features that may already exist or that there isn’t a need for in the market. Managing clear expectations will ultimately lead to a better ROI.
Not developing for cross-platform use
Part of ensuring that you’re reaching a broad and diverse demographic of users is by making your app useable on a range of popular operating systems. Developing an application strictly for Android will confine your application to the users of the devices with that OS, meaning you’re not reaching the huge portion of the population that has iOS devices. Inevitably, this could limit your growth potential and make it hard to bounce back if that sole demographic starts to delete your application.
Many of these complications and common roadblocks can be avoided by working with a company that understands mobile app development inside and out. From providing new-age solutions to delivering the development support needed to succeed in the long term, working with a company that has hands-on knowledge and resources can be highly beneficial.
Innovate and succeed with Shockoe
With the ever-changing nature of user requirements and new, improved ideas in the mobile app development space, we hit our stride by creating development support and solutions for those who need them. Shockoe specializes in a wide range of digital services, one of which is app development that stands out from the crowd.
Not only are we taking a forward-thinking approach to UI, app features, and even augmented reality (AR), but we help our client’s ideas come to life while avoiding the many mistakes other applications are known for. Above all, we focus on delivering immersive experiences to everyone who downloads your application. The value lies in the impact our applications make on every user, and you can bring your idea to life knowing you have the support and innovation you need.
If you’re looking to create an application of your own but aren’t sure where to start, getting in touch with us is a step toward success.
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