How To Build A Mobile App In 12 Easy Steps
Like so many before you, you have a great app idea burring in your brain, and you have no idea how to bring it and all of its profit potential to fruition. And like those who have paved the way for app entrepreneurs, you need to learn the ropes. While some will advise you to hire a developer and invest a fortune in your idea, realists will tell you the risk is too big. There are tons of app building programs out there that can help you make your vision a reality, but the simple truth is with some planning and methodical work on your part, the process is fairly simple.
We’ve come up with a three-part guide that will walk you through the steps of profiting from your big idea. Let’s start at the very beginning of how to create an app…
How To Build An App – Step 1: Set a Goal.
Step away from any form of technology and get out a pen and paper and define what it is you want to accomplish. The starting line in the app development word is a pen and paper, not complex coding and designing. Ask and answer the following questions:
- What exactly do you want your app to do?
- How are you going to make it appeal to users?
- What problem is it going to solve?
- How will it simplify life for people?
- How will you market your app?
You will not survive in any business if you don’t have well defined, clearly set goals! A lack of vision will frustrate you and anyone who you employ to work for you. Before you do anything, create a clear picture of what you want done!
How To Build An App – Step 2: Sketch your Ideas.
No! You still cannot turn on your computer. Now you need to use the pen and paper that has the answers to the questions about your apps purpose to develop a sketch of what it will look like. Here you move your clearly worded ideas into visual representations of your thoughts. Decide if you are going to give your app away and offer ads to generate money, or are you going to offer it as a paid download. You can also choose the option to offer in app purchases. If that is something you are going to do, make sure you sketch out those ideas as well.
How To Build An App – Step 3: Research, research, and then research some more.
Now you can turn your computer on, but not to start blindly designing your app. The leg work is nowhere near done. You have to dig deep and research the competition of your app idea. I know you think you have one of a kind idea, but the numbers are not in your favor—odds are someone has already tried it. You can look at this in two different ways. One you can become deflated and give up, or two, you can examine the competition and make your app better. I prefer the latter. Read the competition’s reviews. What did people like/dislike about the app? Then, use that information to your advantage. Refer back to your pen and paper from steps one and two, and modify and adjust your idea accordingly.
After reading and modifying, your research needs to shift focus a bit. It’s time to harness the power of the Internet. Is your app a truly feasible idea? Here’s where you will examine copyright restrictions and possible technical holds ups. This step is crucial because it will save you money in the long run. You can’t move forward and spend time on an idea that won’t work. Figure out any glitches, and find ways around them, (notice I didn’t say give up—“an ounce of prevention..”) so you don’t have to back track.
Next, shift your research focus to sales and marketing. Reflect back to your sketch about how you are going to make money with your app. Are you going to stick with your original idea, or are you going to change it? What is your niche? Are you marketing to teens, parents, children, teachers, travelers, gamers? Determine that target audience right away. It will help you narrow down design ideas.
After you’ve exhausted your foresight skills, you can begin the fun stuff. Start to look for design ideas. 99design is a great showcase for examining new and innovative design ideas. Browse through and see what fits your fancy. Keep your target audience in mind when examining designs. A visual appeal is crucial to your final product.
How To Build An App – Step 4: Wireframe
In the technology world, a wireframe is a glorified story board. Here is where you take your sketch and your design idea, and you give your idea a little more clarity and functionality. This will become the foundation for your apps development, so it really is a crucial step. There are stacks of wireframing websites that you can use to help you bring your sketches to digital life with functionality like click through and icons. The trick is finding one that you like and that is easy for you to use.
Check out these wireframinig tools here:
- http://www.axure.com/
- https://balsamiq.com/products/mockups/
- http://pidoco.com/
- http://visio.microsoft.com/
- http://www.adobe.com/products/indesign.html?PID=7609893
- http://iplotz.com/
- https://evernote.com/penultimate/?var=2
- https://www.omnigroup.com/
- https://www.gliffy.com/
How To Build An App – Step 5: Start Defining the Back End of Your App
We left off with your wireframe, so at this point in your app development, you have a storyboard of how you want your app to function. Now it’s time to use that storyboard to start examine functionality.
Using your wireframe, you need to delineate your servers, APIs, and data diagrams. There are some great do-it-yourself app builders that can provide you with the tools to easily do this. Some of them even do if for you. If you are unclear of what this technical jargon means, you should probably use a service that provides hosting and a means of collecting data about your app usage.
Regardless of what method you choose to use to develop your app, it is imperative that clear diagrams are created as they will serve as the directions for everyone working on your project. Should you run across any technical difficulties, you should revise your wireframe to reflect any changes.
Check out these back end services:
How To Build An App – Step 6: Check Your Model
Here’s where you need to call in the troops. Show your demo to friends, family, and anyone else who is willing to give you constructive criticism. Don’t waste your time with people who will tell you, “Wow, that’s neat.” Seek out those cynics and critics. Brutal honesty is crucial at this phase.
Don’t be afraid to look over their shoulder as they are checking out your demo to watch how they navigate things. If you need to revise any of the layouts or navigation paths, do so. Keep your users in mind, and try to follow their thinking, not your own.
Your end goal with this step is to finalize your apps structure and foundation. You need to have the brains of your app working before you start adding design to avoid frustration later in the process.
How To Build An App – Step 7: Get Building
With the foundation in place, you can start to put the puzzle together to building your app. First, your developer will set up your servers, databases, and APIs. If you are using a quality do-it-yourself app builder, this will be done for you. Do not forget to reflect on the feedback you got from your testers. Modify the apps functionality to reflect any changes you made based on your first phase of testing.
At this point, it’s time to sign up for the stores. You need to create an account with Google Play and Apple so that you can get your app on the market. It may take a few days to go through the process, so don’t procrastinate this step.
Check out these app building platforms:
How To Build An App – Step 8: Design the Look
Now its time to employ the designers to create your UI, user interface. The user interface is a very important part of your app because people are attracted to how things look and how easy they are to navigate. Through the design process, you need to keep the feedback you got from your testers in mind, and you need to make sure the design and the navigation reflect the feedback you got. How to design your app?
If you’ve hired a graphic designer for your app, you will need to get high resolution skins, or visually appealing screens based on your wireframe, for your app.
If you are using a WYSIWYG editor, you need to pick your template and layout for your screens yourself. I’ll stress again, keep that testing feedback in mind when developing the look of your app. You are building for users, not for you!
Check out these app design agencies:
- http://www.bluefountainmedia.com/
- http://bigdropinc.com/
- https://huemor.rocks
- http://www.eight25media.com/
- http://www.loungelizard.com/
- http://www.inflexioninteractive.com/
How To Build An App – Step 9: Test Your App, AGAIN.
A second round of testing is imperative. In this round, you will have both a functioning app as well as a user interface to test. All the screens of your app should properly work at this point, and your app should be visually appealing as well.
You need to run a battery of tests on your app in its completed form to assure that both the look and the feel of the app meet your expectations. Proto.io and Pixate are great platforms for testing your app. Both of these programs will allow you to add clickable links to navigate your app. They will help you examine the final layers, interactions, and design of your app as well. You can use the information you get from this testing phase to help you move forward.
You may be scratching your head and asking, “Didn’t I do this with my wireframe?” The answer is, “Well, kind of.” While this may seem similar to your wireframe, it’s a lot more detailed. Your wireframe was just the skeleton of your app. At this point, your app should be both aesthetically pleasing as well as functioning.
How To Build An App – Step 10: Modify and Adjust
You’ve taken your prototype for a spin, and you’ve learned that there are still a few tweaks you need to make. Now that you’ve seen your app in it’s fully functioning form, you need to call the troops back and ask they to do the same.
Ask the same people who viewed your app in it’s development phase to examine it in it’s testing phase as well. Again, open yourself up to constructive criticism, and use the feedback accordingly. Lastly, ask your developer and your designer to make any changes that you feel would be valuable to your app.
How To Build An App – Step 11: Beta Testing
You’ve looked at your app through several different lenses, and you think you’ve managed to develop a smoothly functioning, aesthetically pleasing, problem solving app. Now, you need to examine how your app is going to function in a live environment.
Android makes this process simple, while iOS likes to keep things in a controlled environment. There’s pros and cons to both approaches, but the bottom line is you need to jump through one last hoop. You can simply upload your app file on any android device and test it in a live environment. From here on out in your Android app development process, you can monitor your apps progress from your device.
iOS requires you use a platform called TestFlight to beta test your app. Apple is pretty thorough with its directions and instructions for using its beta test platform. A great feature to this beta testing option is that you can invite testers to review your app before taking it live. It’s yet another user lens through which you can view your app.
How To Build An App – Step 12: Release Your App
You’ve made it to the finish line. You’ve brought your idea to fruition, and the last step is to share it with the world. Hopefully, you’ve gone on to solve a major problem. If not, with any luck your app has some features that can simplify or bring enjoyment to someone’s life. Regardless, you’ve accomplished something big. Now it’s time to distribute it!
Android and iOS, again are very different with regard to marketing apps. If you stick with this business, you will see a pattern emerge—Android is a little less strict. Again, there are pros and cons to both approaches, but as an app entrepreneur, you will need to learn the rules for both.
You can simply add your app to the android store. It will not be reviewed right away. You will instantly be selling your app in the Google Play store. iOS, on the other hand, will review your app before it can go live. While there is no set time frame for the Apple team to review your app and push it on the shelves, you can guestimate about a week of waiting.
If you are anxious about getting your app onto the devices of users, you can also publish it in Pre-Apps. This is a great opportunity to have your app viewed by people who like to have a first look at new ideas. Keep in mind, these people are always reviewing up and coming ideas, so their feedback could be great for you. They are familiar with #trendingapps, so I’d advise taking this extra step—if for nothing more than to learn more about the app world.
You need to remember that you still have to sell your app. Just because your app is in the store does not mean you are going to start making millions tomorrow. Marketing is a must. Sadly, marketing cannot just be added onto this guide as “Step 13”. It’s got quite a few steps of its own. So, now that you know how to make an app, I’d advise you to begin researching app marketing strategies so that you can change the world one app at a time!
How To Build An App – Infographic
Comments (123)
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This post is extremely attractive to people like me.It’s not only thought-provoking, it draws you in right away.This is well-written content. The views here are also encouraging to me.Many thanks.
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Thanks! Much appreciated! We plan to write a lot more content related to how to create mobile apps for our readers and am glad you enjoyed this article. Cheers!
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Hi I found this info to be greatly helpful. But what if I’m computer illiterate like I am ? Not sure how to do step one as drawing it out and the proper tools needed run place in an app so it works properly. I have some ideas but not sure where to start. or where to look .This site shows me where but like I mentioned I no nothing about computers in that sence like framework coding and such
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pls teach me more about how to produce an app i don’t yet understand!!!
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Hello Sir , I am confused in step 4 .
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Hi i am grateful for those informations but what of if i have an idea great idea well structured yet i am a computer illiterate ?
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This is extremely helpful and very well written. It’s honest and precise which had me gripped from start to finish.
Many thanks!
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Thanks Dan! Really appreciate you enjoyed the article on how to make an app! Creating mobile apps can be pretty complicated but when you look at it, there are many options to consider when learning how to create an app.
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very nice!!!! Keep in mind, these people are always reviewing up and coming ideas, so their feedback could be great for you. great!!!!
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Appreciate you reading Ball! Hope you learned how to make an app after reading this post. 🙂 Mobile app development can be pretty complicated but knowing your options on how to create an app can make it much easier.
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Very nice!!!!!!!!!!!! the whole content gives the nice and simple way to begun for begginners and to finish also in a clean manner. Thanks a lot.
By an Indian!!!!!!-
Thanks Raj! Knowing how to create an app really can be a confusing topic. Glad this post helped you in learning how to create your first app! If you have any other questions about how to build an app feel free to ask!
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I was suggested this website by my cousin. I’m not sure whether this post is written by him as no one else know such detailed about my problem. You are amazing! Thanks!
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My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed the article and happy app building!
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Not so much people know that you actually can try Smart Apps Creator 3 (www.smartappscreator.com). You can make your own app within 1 hr with 0 cost (except for the software itself and the commission paid to Apple / Google developer account). Best for small / medium scale business. No programming skill. Directly output to .apk .Xcodeproj and HTML5. You can review my showcase by searching Newborn Jazz Trio in Apple Store and GooglePlay.
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How can I create an app and sale it on Google Apps? I got a clothing line and work with artist so I want to create an app for Fans etc.
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To make an app for the Google Play store (Android) you can either use an “do-it-yourself” app builder or Eclipse which is the program most Android apps are developed. I suggested you try out our easy to use app building software. There’s a link to start building a mobile app for free at the top of the page.
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Thanks for sharing your knowledge by a blog, nice basics to deal with idea having to develop mobile app.
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Nice post! I got a lot of information from here. The ways that you have mentioned in this post regarding mobile app development is helpful for every app developer. Thanks for sharing this useful information with us.
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Thank you for your comment, Rochell!
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Wow thanks guys ….I really wanted to create an app ….
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For a very long time I have been trying to make my first app with no success but with this post I see things are going to be different. Thanks alot
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Glad you enjoyed the article! Good luck on developing your next mobile app! You can also check out our easy to use app building platform which may help you as well. 🙂
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Sir how to make layout for an app.
And which language for making an app-
For iPhone, typically apps are built using xcode and for Android apps are built using a program called Eclipse. However, there are easier options to building mobile apps that you should also check out in case you are not a programmer.
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it is nicely explained I also work on making apps
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Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the article on how to create a mobile app. 🙂
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I feel kinda slow but could you sum it abit easier for me? All I really want is a decent companion app with proper information in it since the only other one that’s out there on droids the guy has false information and incomplete areas all over
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Hey Mog, there really is no simple way to build a mobile app unless you use a drag and drop app builder like the one we’ve created at Bizness Apps. There’s also other programs that all you to build an app using cross platform programming languages such as Phonegap.
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Hello,I’ve been working on creating an app that would be very crucial in solving a specific problem. Can you please link me up to a reliable app developer? Thanks
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Hey Udeh, are you looking to build a business app? If so click the “sign up” link at the top and you can learn how to create mobile apps without any programming at all. 🙂
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Andrew, how to protect against theft of idea and/or name of app when submitted at step 12 level? Copyright? Thank you & great info site!
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Thank u for providing best information abt how to create app
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What a great layout to create an app. I have a question though. This process is all new to me and I will be doing the step by step process that you listed. However, I have a question regarding the point of selling the app. The app I want to create would be used by various organizations within a particular genre. The app would then be used by the people associated with the organization that are attending the events that the organizers are creating. This is difficult to explain without giving the details of what I’m doing. I hope this makes sense!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
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all things are correct but no coding work is evolved here…
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With Bizness Apps, you don’t need to do any coding!
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Andrew is there any way you help more in creating an app like one one conversation
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Hi Fatima, yes we help you every step of the way! When you become a Bizness Apps reseller, you will be assigned a Partner Success Manager who will help you set up your business and start selling to small businesses (even if you don’t have any prior experience). They will train you through one-on-one phone calls, videos and tutorials. Hope this helps!
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Very nice and cool it is i can agreee with it…. thanks you !!
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Thank you, Rushikesh!
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This is very helpful, thanks a lot
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Great to hear, John!
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This is very interested and helpful to people like me, these are the ideas that I have been looking for,I hope with these hinds I will make itt thank you a lot.
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Glad to hear we could help, Esko!
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Could you do one on how to make your own website?
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Hi Ethan, we will keep your suggestion in mind! We offer a Weebly template at Bizness Apps, making it really easy to build your own website (that is why a how-to has not been necessary yet).
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What do we do if we are not planning on making a business app? I would like to make a small infinite runner game but all of the stuff on here seem to be for a business app. what should i do?
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Hi Ethan, we focus on apps for small businesses, so unfortunately you will not be able to make a gaming app on your platform.
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Is it costly? please help me, I need an app. starting up a small painting and deco company…an app will be of great help…
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Hi Ricky, you can check out our pricing here: https://www.biznessapps.com/pricing/ or call us at 1-800-549-8138 for more information!
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How To create an app. What softwares are required to make a good app. Where I can find those softwares. What is the basic step for creating an app..
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Hi Aman, there are many app softwares out there, differing in price and functionalities. Bizness Apps offers a platform to make apps for small businesses in any industry, for example. The first step to creating an app would be to decide on a platform to use, depending on your needs: http://bestappmakers.com/
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Great advice. Thank you for your time in helping me learn about this.
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You’re welcome!
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Hi kimberly I wanted to build a religious based APP how should go about it.
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Hi Abdullahi, would your app be for a small business? That is Bizness Apps main focus, we have made a lot of Church apps, Community apps etc.
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thanks for sharing.. your experience ..it is really great idea to create 1st and new app
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Glad it was helpful, Faizan 🙂
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Any comment on what it might cost to simply hire a professional to create an app or multiple apps? The app would be a combination of technical calculator, personal business info/stats and living Q&A document.
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Hi Andrew Gazdecki,
Thanks for sharing this article, it will really help developers, App owners and Start-up to develop a Quality product.-
Great to hear you found it useful, Mathew! 🙂
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hi.thanks for your useful information.how can i build a multi language app?with wich app maker?
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Hi MHS, we will soon be adding a multi-language app feature so you don’t have to make different apps for every language. Stay tuned!
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Very cohesive and detailed, great post!
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Thanks, Cody! Happy to hear you found it helpful 🙂
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Indeed I did! You really rocked it with this post. I actually work for a company that offers an enterprise app testing solution and we put together a guide for the things you should test before deploying your app.
Would you mind if I shared the post with you? Maybe you’ll find something useful in it that can benefit this post or another post?
I don’t want to be rude and just paste a link in a comment so I thought I’d ask first!
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Thanks for asking first Cody, really appreciate that! Go ahead and share the link here, I’ll give it a read and I’m sure others will find it useful too 🙂
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Awesome, thank you Kimberly! Here’s the link:
https://www.mobilelabsinc.com/blog/11-tests-for-a-bulletproof-mobile-app-deployment-strategy
If the opportunity is available, we’d love a chance to contribute a post or two to your blog, or maybe offer one of engineers or executives could contribute some thoughts to a post 🙂 let us know!
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Thanks for sharing Cody! You can submit content ideas through the “Submit Guest Post” button on the right side of the blog. Looking forward to seeing an email from you 🙂
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This is amazing with me because i’ve tried so many times to build bt now you have make the work easier for people like me.bt will i be able to sell my app private or instead of selling i use it personal?
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With our program you can sell apps or you can build them for your own personal use. If you have any more questions, feel free to send them over to support@biznessapps.com 🙂
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This article is a good example of how the author focuses in on the subject matter of which he/she has a real good grasp!
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Thanks!
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This is very interested and helpful to people like me, these are the ideas that I have been looking for,I hope with these hinds I will make it thank you a lot.
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So glad to hear you found it helpful, Daesong! Good luck 🙂
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Great read. It will actually help the growing mobile app developers to steam-line the things and go about developing great apps. I am quite confused on one thing, should skins come before developing back-end or back-end comes before it as mentioned?
I mean the general Mobile app development life-cycle says that you develop a prototype, then design and then develop. So this makes me confused.
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Hey Hemang, great question. You’re correct. For simple apps you should build your prototype, then design and then develop. If your app is more complex and it requires a back-end to support it you should consider designing the back-end architecture prior to building it out. At Bizness Apps, we have a fully integrated back-end that has taken years to build. Hope this helps 🙂
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NiCe !!!!.but it takes sometime to understand..but it good
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Thank you, Murali!
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Ohhh…… Really nice article. That’s very useful for new app developer thanks for that…….
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Glad that you found it helpful, Shubham! 🙂
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Hello buddy, this so much helpful. Thank you so much. In Swahili we say.”asante sana”
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We are glad to hear you found it useful! Asante Sana!
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Nice and protencialy helpful to start the app making
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This was an amazing read, great detail within the content and very informative. Can’t wait to start designing my very app. Keep up the good work, will be on the lookout for future posts
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Thanks! Happy to hear that you found it useful 🙂
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how do I create apps with my pc and what applications do I need to create apps
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It’s probably nice but I need more practical information about making an apps
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I am working on creating first app. I’m at stay at home mom for the time being and want to take this time to build my business. This info was extremely helpful and the explanation was thorough. Thanks a bunch.
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We are glad to hear that you found it helpful! Good luck with your app! 🙂
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Thumbs up for this great job.I think it should be further explained for easy understanding of beginners.
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I need this! Need to build an android app and I needed some guidelines.
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Amazing infographic. It is really comprehensive as the article itself! Building an app is difficult and there are many factors that a person should take in mind before rushing into the app development process. Good marketing strategy is important, but if your app is not quite different from many other apps, probably you won’t reap much success. Therefore, the advice that you have given – to learn from competition and build something much better- is very felicitous. An app should be easy to use, but yet functional enough. Nowadays, as more and more people are using mobile devices, businesses can attract more clients exactly by such bespoke applications. Many of them also use these apps to provide clients with discounts and therefore establish a stronger relationship with them.
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Sounds Awesome,
This is extremely interested and useful to individuals like me, these are the thoughts that I have been looking for,I trust with these hinds I will make it thank you a considerable measure. -
I don’t know about anything about app, but want to create app …how I can .
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so is it not free to create a platform ?
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I really want to get started. This is Okay for a start bt need more enlightenment.
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I was wondering if I have an idea but I think it would work well with an app that is already exists is there a way to protect the idea or can I create an app that works along side the other platform
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I just wanted to learn hw to create an useful app
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Hi, really much appreciated that 12steps, m getting started with my app project soon as possible. However if I have any complications, may we be in touch.
I believe my email should pop up with you once you read this message -
Thanks for sharing 12 step for make mobile app. It is very nice blog for non technical user.
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Thank for sharing, my very first knowledge in app development. I hope it will be to my advantage in dealing with the present business ecosystem and its future.
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Well explained points, developers who want to make his career in app development that can understand easily. Thanks for sharing with us.
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Is it the same process if you’re building an educational app to be used by students?
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great work i really like your blog just because of its awesome posts keep going on and thanks for sharing with us.
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Thank you, Shah!
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your app development cost is effective and helpful freshers. Thanks
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Really liked this. Awesome Content written. This is going to helpful much… 🙂
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There’s no option for a dating app on your app building platform.
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Hi Edward, our platform was designed to build apps for small businesses in any industry. As a result, we don’t focus on building apps like Uber, Snapchat or Tinder.
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Thanks!am glad i stumbled into the information i have been looking for
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Thanks for sharing such a grate, very informative and useful article to mobile apps development tips.
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Thank you for the amazing advice! Would just like to know, if you use an app builder, is there a way you can make more intricate modifications using eclipse? (I’m a newbie programmer and wouldn’t want to delve in too deep just yet)
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Are there any options to create an app just for my own business? I suppose I could sell it if I wanted to, but I really just need an app that I can use for my business.
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Hi Beth, yes that is possible! We have a Single App Plan that allows you to create an app for your own business. Shoot an email to support@biznessapps.com if you have any questions.
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WOW!!! I have read many articles on this topic, and in each one I found myself more & more confused. But this article… clear, concise, and ON POINT! And, you stayed on point from beginning to end. Thank you!
On a separate note, I work for a University, and am attempting to create an in-house app to help our employees to perform daily vehicle inspections. To do this we will need to capture their input. Is that what you mean by “back end”?
And lastly, would this app be hosted on our in-house computers? (I guess you can tell that I’m both old and new to this).
Thank you!
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Hey David,
First and foremost, thanks for the kind words! It’s great to hear people are finding value in our articles. To answer your question, it all depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. A back-end system is very helpful to store data and allow access to different users. Our team can help you answer your question at support@biznessapps.com. And all of our apps are hosted on our servers, so you don’t have to worry about hosting services.
Thanks!
Kevin
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Wow! I really enjoyed this article. Is a well thought and organized writing for the apps business world.
You really open my mind to a lot of brilliant ideas. I love it so dearly. Thanks a lot.
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This blog is really valuable and informative. Thanks for sharing it. Really enjoyed reading this article and learn some new things.
123 Comments