Good advice for app development

Are you considering having an app developed for your company? Then there are a lot of considerations and questions you have to ask yourself. It is not always that an app is the best solution. We have collected a number of good tips for those of you who are considering developing an app.

What is the purpose of the app?

It is first and foremost important to clarify what the purpose of the app is and who the target audience for the app is.

To succeed with your app, it needs to address a need within the target audience. If the app doesn't fulfill a specific need, there's a very small likelihood that the target audience will use it. In fact, a study from statista.com shows that approximately 25% of all downloaded apps are only used once within the first 6 months after download. This places significant demands on your app if you're aiming for success with it.

Understand the target audience

It is crucial for the success of your app that you understand the target group and its needs. If you find it difficult to define who your target group is, it will also be difficult for you to be successful with an app - because what are the target group's needs? What challenges does the app solve for the target group? Why should the target audience come back and use the app several times?

Know the market

When you know the target group and its needs, you must also research the market: Are there other apps that solve the same needs? How does your app differ from the competition?

Do your research

When you have defined the purpose of your app, the target group and you have researched the market for similar solutions, it is a good idea to also investigate whether your target group will download your app. The easiest way to find this out is to ask different people in the target group.

If the app is intended as a work tool, ask the employees if they want to use the app as a tool in their work. Also ask the employees which functions and features they would like in the app. This knowledge is particularly valuable for you when you have to develop the app.

We have previously developed an app for roofers and builders (Tagpas, read the case here), which collects different work tasks, provides an overview and facilitates the documentation of their work. In this example, the app is a good solution because the roofers have their phone close at hand - and therefore they don't have to go past a computer and upload pictures and fill in various forms to complete a task.

What features should the app have?

When you have the basis for your app in place (and you know that the target group is interested in the app), you must find out which features and functions the app must have. Here it can be a good idea to include the functions that the target group themselves demand, so use the knowledge you have gained by talking to the target group.

In addition, you need to find out whether the app is to be integrated with other systems or platforms? Should the app use any of the phone's functions, e.g. camera, gps, bluetooth, pedometer, etc.? Should the app be connected to IoT devices?

It is a good idea to define the core functions of the app. What must the app be able to do to fulfill its purpose? What must the app be able to do to meet the needs of the target group? How does the app differ from the competition?

In order to ensure a good user experience, it is important that an abundance of redundant functions and features are not added. Keep it simple! If there are too many (redundant) functions, there is a risk that it will affect user-friendliness or that the app will take up too much space on users' phones.

What should the app look like?

When you know what the app should be able to do, you can start planning how it should look and how users should navigate the app. Perhaps you have some brand colors that the app must follow. Perhaps you want the app to visually differ from your brand/logo/website.

How should users navigate around the app? What a navigation flow looks like when users use the app. How can you support the user's behavior in the app through the navigation?

Set a realistic budget

How much does it cost to develop an app?

That question is difficult to answer, because it depends on many different factors: the app's complexity, functionalities, design requirements, the type of app etc.

All the aforementioned questions and considerations help to define the development project, and thus it is also easier for us to give you a realistic budget framework for the development project.

In addition to the price for the development process itself, you should also budget for maintenance of the app. This includes, among other things, ongoing updates and optimizations. As the target group uses the app, you will most likely also get feedback on errors and wishes for new functions. Therefore, you should also set a budget for operation and maintenance of the app.

Be patient

An app is not developed overnight. All the factors that affect the development price will also affect the duration of the development process. The more functions and integrations the app must have, the longer it typically takes to develop the app.

During the development process, the app must also be tested. This is an important part of the development process, ensuring that errors are detected and corrected quickly. The app developer or developers will do this as a fixed part of their work process, but you should also test the app yourself in the final phase of the development process.

In order to be successful with the app, these tests are very important, as they will reveal any errors and shortcomings. Make sure to test different usage situations – and be patient in the testing phase so that you can test all functions and usage situations.

Future prospects for the app

When an app is ready to go on the market, it does not mean that the app is fully developed and does not require more development hours. Updates and bug fixes will need to be made on an ongoing basis, and it may also be necessary to introduce new features.

When the app is released in version 1.0, it will have all the most important core functions, need to have, but it may also be that you have ideas for new functions that are more nice to have. Although these have not been included in version 1.0, this does not mean that they should not be included in version 2.0 or 5.0.

It is therefore important that you consider the app's scalability right from the start of the development project.

Our talented app developers are ready to help you

We help you make your app idea a reality. Our experienced app developers can develop all types of apps, and we are involved right from the idea development and conceptualization of your idea to the finished product. We also ensure that your app is published in the Apple App Store and/or Google Play Store.

Call us on tel. +45 87 25 07 87 or fill in the contact form below for a non-binding chat about how you can develop your own, unique app.