Every time we think about Smartphones, two very common terms come to our mind; iOS and Android. Android has a fairly large user base as well as a larger market value. iOS mobile apps are very popular and the number of iPhone users happens to be increasing at an exponential rate.
A recent report by Statista reveals that the number of iPhone users in the United States has increased to 105.2 million. There is no sign of these statistics slowing down. With these statistics in mind, it is apparent that the number of iOS mobile apps are also growing in the market. With the increasing popularity of iOS devices, iOS app development companies are doing their best to make their apps stand out in the iOS market.
However, with the rise in the user base, there is also an increase in competition. Developing iOS mobile apps that can attract user attention is becoming difficult every passing day. That doesn’t exactly mean that you can no longer develop quality apps that will intrigue users, although, you will have to improve your development strategy. Before you move on to the development process, it’s necessary that you define a development process that can effectively deliver quality end results.
There are certain guidelines that you can incorporate in your iOS app development process. That’s what we will be discussing in our blog post today.
one '#' 8 Guidelines for a Productive iOS App Development Process
Research and Ideation
At the moment there are around 2.47 million mobile apps in the app store. These statistics make it very difficult for app development companies to make their products stand out from the rest. On the contrary, with so many iOS apps in the market, you can do extensive research and formulate a robust app idea. Going through the current popular mobile apps you will be able to understand the latest market trends in terms of current and upcoming technical requirements as well as features.
You will also be able to gather information from the user feedback which can reveal features that resonate with the audience. Your aim should be to create an app that has a purpose and adds value to a user’s life. Brainstorm ideas and plan out the look and function of your mobile apps. Map out the design and features that will make your app stand out from other similar mobile apps.
Furthermore, before you move on to the development process, you should also analyze your budget and figure out how much you’re willing to invest in your app.
Compile a Team
The key to developing a quality mobile application is an expert development team. The size of your team entirely depends on the scope of your mobile app and its individual features. The important part is that every individual of your development team must be skilled enough to complete and deliver the necessary modules on the delivery date. The best way to make sure that you have a talented and skilled group of developers is by assessing your developers and ensuring that they can efficiently manage your development, design, testing, and deployment stages.
Design and Wireframe
A wireframe is the initial blueprint of your mobile app, it doesn’t exactly explain the entire design, but it represents the visual concept of your mobile app. They illustrate each of your app’s individual interfaces and highlight their functionalities along with their overall structure. In simple words, it is a skeletal framework of your mobile app which serves the purpose of arranging elements of your app to best accomplish a specific purpose.
The primary advantage of app wireframes is that they ‘save time’ and leave room for iterations. If you find a certain flaw in your app’s structure while you are halfway through the development stage, you will have to invest more time (and of course money) to go back and rectify your mistakes. Wireframes can help reduce the chance of error and ensure a flawless development process.
UI and UX Designing
The user interface (UI) and the user experience (UX) are essential components for developing a successful mobile app. A good user interface determines the ease of use, ease of navigation, and the overall experience that your app will deliver to your users. Whether you’re developing a mobile app or a website, it’s a well-known fact that ‘design’ is the basic building block of the entire development process. Essential features such as attractive graphics, animations, and icons need to be optimized for delivering a better user experience.
Apple has always given priority to design for all its products and it has even provided a do’s and don’ts tips page for developers. Apple prefers apps that are readable and optimized to deliver an excellent user experience.
Plan Out the Architecture
Software architecture refers to the fundamental organization and the structure of a system that explains how a system will behave. Planning out a good Architecture for your mobile app requires the collaboration of both the front-end as well as the back-end developers. It’s essential that developers work together to agree on the structures and the technologies that are to be incorporated into the mobile app.
The iOS app development architecture constitutes the MVC (model view controller) framework. This framework is broken down into three basic components, namely, ‘User Interface’, ‘data’, and ‘Software’. These are the essential components that should be taken into account while configuring the architecture of your iOS app. Quality software architecture planning ensures the stability and scalability of a mobile app.
Front-End and Back-End Development
A successful iOS app development process includes balanced coordination between both the front-end and back-end development. The front-end development team works on brainstorming and implementing various design elements of the mobile app. This process includes the development of wireframes, mockups, UI design, and caching and synchronizing the database. The various design elements and modules should be designed to deliver a flawless application and a smooth user experience.
The back-end-development team is entirely focused on developing a sleek functionality of the iOS app. This is the server-side of the application, such as third party integration, user account management, UX customization, account authentication, and notification services. In simple words, the background operation of your mobile app developed and handled by back-end developers.
App Testing
After you have developed the mobile app, your work doesn’t end there just yet. You still have to make sure that it meets apple’s standards and their guidelines. Don’t forget that apple’s review period can last up to 10-20 days. In order to get your app published on the app store, iOS app developers run various test cases to ensure that their app is error-free.
It’s essential that you ensure that your app is bug-free and is capable of providing fast performance. The testing process usually involves running a test case preparation, performance testing, usability testing, device testing, and security & compliance testing. After this, you can determine if your app as passed the requirements and acceptance criteria mentioned in Apple’s guidelines. Once your app has been verified in all the test cases in both manual and automated testing phases, the next step is to submit the app to the apps store.
Marketing and Promotion
If you don’t promote and market your app, you will have no means of driving traffic and generating conversions. In today’s digital age, without the right marketing, there is no product out there that can generate a massive audience as soon it is launched (wouldn’t that be a dream come true). Therefore, it is essential that you target the right audience and make sure that they are aware of you launching your product. Do qualitative app store optimization, run advertisements, use social media, and invest your money in deploying the right marketing strategies for your app.
Wrapping Up:
Developing an iOS mobile app requires time, money, and the right set of hands. Even after all your efforts, there is a slim chance of it becoming popular in the market. On the contrary, by using the right tools, and development practices, you can boost the chances of your iOS app becoming a massive success. Above I have mentioned 8 strategies that have been tested to deliver the right results. If you’d like to add something, feel free to leave a comment below, we would love to hear from you.
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