If you’re curious about the app making process but don’t know where to go, this is a tutorial for you!
How to create an application from start to finish
Here I’m going to give you a detailed step-by-step guide from scratch to implementation.
The 9 steps to create an application are:
- Sketch your app idea
- Market research
- Create mockups of the app
- Make your app’s graphic design
- Build app’s landing page
- Create app
- Launch app in the app store
- Market your app to the right audience
- Get feedback from users
Sketch your app idea
If you’ve already got an app idea, move on to step two. If you don’t, read on. Want to create an application, but don’t have an idea for an app? What you really need is a problem, and it’s everywhere! Successful businessmen tackle issues in a manner that we couldn’t have expected. When you look around every product and service you use has been developed to solve a problem. You decided to drive quickly from one location to another, you got a car. You decided to travel quickly from one country to another, you got planes.
So, look for challenges in your everyday life and list each of them. When you have an extensive list, start thinking about how you can sort things out and list the ones that make the most sense.
Market research
Before you create a smartphone app, you need to research the market to see what’s already out there. Below are a few guidelines on how to perform market research:
Evaluate your competitors
To create a successful business, you have to come up with products and services that stand out from competitors.
But to build such exclusive applications, you need to know who your rivals are and what they have brought to the market, and you can only learn about the competition by doing some simple research.
Interview your potential customers
Customer validation interviews are an integral aspect of the application development process. Product managers use customer validation interviews to help guide application decision-making by validating challenges, ideas, and pressure points.
Present to investors
Get reviews and suggestions from real investors. Their experience will help you create a marketing strategy for your smartphone app.
Create a pre-launch website
Build a landing page for your application. Measure how many customers are interested in. Use a reliable tool to build it quickly.
Create mockups of the app
3 quick steps on how you can make your first mobile app mockup:
Choose the perfect mobile mock-up
You can select from a number of different mobile app mockups. It’s up to you if you want a single object with a modifiable background or a still photo.
Upload your logo or picture and customize the scene
Upload your products for each card, change the size and location of the card, and customize the scene. You may change the context or crop the entire area to your preference.
Download or share the final picture in super high resolution
If your mockup is prepared, you can either download a super high-resolution image or share it with a particular URL address.
Make your app’s graphic design
Follow the steps below to learn how to work with layers, combine images, use layer masks, and add creative graphics, text, and effects.
Get to know layers
Start creating the layered template by building a new layer for the original art by adding one image to another.
Combine images using layer masks
Use layer masks in the design to make your application attractive.
Add text and effects
Add some text to your layout. Then decorate your text with innovative layer effects for a special look.
Include vector graphics
Take your design further by creating custom shapes in Photoshop and placing a logo in Adobe Illustrator. Vector graphics like this can be scaled and modified as much as you like.
Export and save the design
Save your design in PSD format to keep layers and effects for future editing. Save or export copies for various purposes. Save a copy as a PDF for sharing and use the Photoshop Export tool to export all or part of the style in web-friendly formats.
Build your app landing page
If you need to grow your business, you can do this with a landing page. Landing pages allow company owners to accomplish their goals by marketing new products, attracting new buyers, targeting a particular niche market, and much more. In addition, landing pages often make it easy to evaluate the progress of a business plan without unnecessary details getting in the way. Let’s start with how you can do it:
Establish your conversion goal first
Your conversion goal will have a huge impact on your call-to-action, your copy, and even your design. So, start right from there.
Start with mobile
This way, you’ll set up for those audiences who are most likely to use your app.
Keep their attention
Hit your customers with the important information that they need to convert.
Show the device
Show your app running on a device, the campaign you’re running, and the kinds of customers you attract, that’s as similar as possible to what customers are using.
Stay fast
Adopt strategies to create lightning-fast pages.
Create an app with one of these options
Learn how to code and create it yourself
This is the most time-consuming choice, but you’ll acquire useful and in-demand skills to build your own applications or get a job as a developer.
Employ an app development firm
The distinction is that a mobile app development company will offer consultancy and project management expertise, while a freelancer will look to you to provide advice. However, hiring a firm would cost a lot more than dealing with freelancers.
Partner with the programmer
Another choice is to find a partner with a programmer. The problem is that it’s very hard to find a willing partner unless you have an established track record of beginning a company (because so many people are looking for technical partners).
Buy an app template and configure it or hire someone to do it
With this option, you’re purchasing pre-packaged code that includes the key features that you’re going to need (if you can find a template close to your app idea). These models are typically a one-time charge, and then you can either hire a freelancer to customize it or learn some programming and customize it yourself.
Launch your app in the app store
The method of launching your app in the App Store is simple:
- Log in to the Apple Developer Account
- Prepare the title and meta details of your app with the App Store Link
- Upload the new app to the Xcode App Store
- Apple is checking the app, using the App Store Approval Criteria
- When your app is accepted, it will be released live in the App Store.
- Done! Done! People can download and install your app now.
Market your app to the right audience
If you want people to download your app (you do, of course), review it, use it and recommend it to their friends, you need a good marketing strategy that includes the following:
Optimization of the App Store
What kind of description and visuals do you need to get people’s attention? What would your app icon look like? How can you add the right keywords to your overall description?
Media Outreach
Who are the influential bloggers and media contacts/publications in your area? What do you need to do to get them to talk about you?
The strategy of the website
How can you filter traffic from your website to a landing page where you can learn (and download) about your app?
Social Media Services
What would you do to ignite digital flames at the heart of committed, engaged user groups on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social networking platforms?
It’s important to get feedback from users
In recent years, there has been a rapid transition and development in the digital age. Every single technology that is being used today focuses on optimizing customer interface and usefulness. But it’s important to be customer-centric to create a fantastic app. It is necessary not only for survival but also for long-term development. In-app reviews will help you appreciate the customer’s opinion of a company or a brand. Using In-App Reviews will help developers and businesses:
- Understand consumer preferences and take action to improve software acceptance and popularity.
- Embed new features and update existing ones for improved utility
- Track and respond on user interface and have outstanding customer service
