In the age of the radical digital revolution, more and more businesses are investing their resources into developing mobile apps. However, with a plethora of apps flooding the market, the question lies: how to build a mobile app that will stand out from the crowd.

Although it is imperative to understand the route of programming languages, platforms, and technologies, starting an app-building enterprise requires more than that. It is a blend of art and science, mixing business knowledge, strategy thinking, and a deep understanding of the target audience’s behaviors and needs.

Whether you are a startup taking its first step or an established business expanding into the digital domain, this article outlines how to build a mobile app in 2024. In this article, we will not delve into the technical aspects of app development. Instead, we will focus on the strategic paths and significant factors necessary to turn your idea into a successful app.

7 Steps to Create a Successful Mobile App in 2024

Building a mobile app is more than just coding. The process begins with your vision for the app and then continues with the strategic tactics that turn your vision into a viable app. In what follows, we detail the seven steps to develop a successful mobile application.

1. Define your app’s purpose

After deciding to develop a successful app, the first thing to do is define its purpose in detail. Discovering the why of your app is crucial for the development process. The guide will ensure every feature, upgrade, and even marketing effort is aligned with the app’s goal. 

To dig deep into what your app is about, start by asking these questions:

• Why are we motivated to create this mobile app?
• What specific need or problem will it address for our users?
• How does this align with our broader business objectives?

Remember, every successful app serves a distinct purpose. This purpose usually lies at the intersection of users’ needs and business objectives.

2. Understand your target audience

Next, it is time to be aware of your app users’ needs after you have elucidated your app’s objective. This is because the essence of your mobile app’s value lies in its ability to resonate with its target audience. In other words, your app should be there to solve users’ struggles or fulfill their needs. Without a clear understanding of how your app benefits its users, convincing them of its value becomes an uphill battle.

To stop this from happening, you should research your audience. You can do so by understanding their: 

• demographics (age, gender, location, educational background, etc)
• interests and hobbies
• behavioral patterns, and 
• needs and challenges they face.

Based on this information, you will have a clear picture of the people you are targeting.

3. Research your competitors

Before you focus on the technical aspect, you should research your competition. This will help you understand your niche’s current market landscape.

Compile a list of direct and indirect competitors to start with your competitor’s analysis. In this list, you should include any app that serves a similar purpose or targets the same audience. Go beyond the surface and try to grasp their strategy, user feedback, pricing models, marketing efforts, and unique value propositions.

Here are some of the focal points you should spend time on in your competitor’s analysis:

• Analyze user reviews and ratings to gather insights about the needs of the audience; 
• Analyze their app features to identify any gap areas in their offering that you can cover; 
• Observe their marketing strategy to understand where they meet their audience and what messages resonate with their audience; 
• Study their monetization tactics to understand the logic behind generating revenues’
• Conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis so you understand your competitive advantage compared to your audience. 

After having such information in your hands, your vision for the app will be much clearer.

4. Choose the right app development approach 

Now, it is time to get into the technical part: deciding on the app development approach you want to build your app. In general, there are three main types of app development: web apps, native apps, and hybrid apps. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, so it is up to you to decide which one suits you. To make such a decision, you must balance your target audience’s preferences and resources.

For example, if your user research and competitor analysis reveal a predominance of iPhone users among your audience, then native iOS development emerges as the prime path for your project. This is because native apps can leverage the full potential of the device’s hardware, enhancing performance and user experience. On the flip side, if your findings indicate a diverse user base spread across multiple platforms, a hybrid app will be a strategic choice. 

5. Define the app’s key features and functions 

Next, you should craft a clear roadmap of critical features and functions the app must include to fulfill its intended role. This stage often involves creating a comprehensive list that encapsulates all necessary functionalities for your app to meet its objectives, serving as a foundation for developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). An MVP, by design, strips the app down to its core, essential features, and functions.

At this juncture, your primary focus should be on integrating features and functions that deliver real value. Consider a wide array of potential users to make the app universally appealing and helpful. Start with functionalities that streamline the user experience, such as simplifying the app download process with a QR code. As the app evolves, you can introduce additional features based on user input and emerging needs.

6. Invest in the app’s maintenance and security 

Unfortunately, app development doesn’t have a finish line. On the contrary, it is an ongoing work that requires regular maintenance and updates on security—a task businesses tend to oversee. It is a crucial step that allows the app to enhance its performance based on user feedback and keep up with technological advancement. It also ensures any bugs or errors are swiftly rectified. These proactive steps are essential for preserving an optimal user experience and safeguarding the app against potential security breaches.

At the same time, as cyber threats are rising, security investment is non-negotiable. Security measures are even more significant if your app handles sensitive user data. This will ensure user privacy and corporate data integrity are not compromised. Otherwise, you will face substantial losses financially and in terms of your brand reputation.

7. Prepare an ASO strategy

An ASO (app store optimization) strategy for apps is the equivalent of an SEO strategy for a website. It helps apps stand out from crowded marketplaces. Through an ASO strategy, you can increase your app’s ranking in the app store search results, boosting your app’s discovery chances. 

To develop a successful ASO strategy, you must thoroughly analyze keywords and the target audience’s search behaviors. You update your app’s title, description, and metadata based on those insights.

Moreover, ASO helps with user engagement and retention. As per your ASO strategy, you should focus on uploading quality and relevant screenshots and videos to your app page and encourage loyal users to leave reviews.

Conclusion

In today’s busy world, creating a successful app is about more than just a great idea. Launching a mobile application to market has become a complex and risky endeavor. From figuring out your app’s purpose and understanding your audience to investing in security and preparing an ASO strategy, each stage is a key module of the app-building process. By implementing each step with intention, you will build an app that resonates with users and stands the test of time.

What Is Native App Development? A Guide

In the hyper-digital world we live in today, apps are the tools that dominate every aspect of our lives. For the developers who work on them, the decision on how to approach the app development can make or break the app’s success. In this guide, we will question what is native app development and understand its benefits, challenges, and strategic advantages.

Understanding What Is Native Development 

With an array of options available, from web to hybrid applications, finding the path that leads to an optimal blend of performance, user engagement, and platform integration can be daunting.

Besides, the pressing demand for apps to enhance user interaction by performing seamlessly across different devices and leveraging the full potential of the device’s hardware makes the choice even harder.

However, in recent years, native app development has entered the scene of app development, promising to address these issues by offering applications tailor-made for specific platforms. 

What Are Native Apps?

Native apps are software applications created for specific mobile operating systems. These include Android for Samsung, Google, and other brands and iOS for Apple devices. 

Using the languages and tools designed for those platforms — Java and Kotlin for Android and Swift and Swift UI for iOS — these apps excel in performance and user experience. This comes mainly from their opportunity to access hardware and software features directly.

On top of that, native apps can work offline, while web apps need internet access to provide their functionalities. This way, users can access the app’s features and content even when disconnected from the internet. 

Another characteristic of native apps is integrating the push notification system from the operating system. By doing so, businesses can reach out directly to the users, driving up user engagement and retention. 

Due to these enhanced features, native applications have slowly become popular among developers striving to assemble intuitive, high-quality mobile applications.

Native Apps vs. Web Apps

One of the main differences between native apps and web apps is how they access the device’s hardware and software. While native apps get installed directly into the mobile device, the web apps need a web browser to access them. Due to this, web apps tend to be slower and need more access to device capabilities.

However, web apps are famous among developers due to their universal accessibility. As long as you have a web browser on your device, you can access the web app. This universal access also makes maintenance easy since there is one codebase for all platforms, making maintenance hassle-free. 

The major drawback of web apps is their dependency on a stable internet connection. On top of this, web apps lag behind native apps in performance as their speed is tight to the speed of the internet connection of the person accessing the app. 

Native Apps vs. Hybrid Apps

Native apps are like custom-tailored suits, explicitly designed for a device’s operating system to ensure they fit perfectly, offering fast performance and full access to the phone’s features.

On the other hand, hybrid apps are like off-the-rack suits; they aim to fit many different devices simultaneously, combining web technologies wrapped in a native container. While convenient, hybrids can’t quite match the perfect fit or performance of a native app.

As the name suggests, hybrid apps blend web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with native app elements. Such integration allows these apps to run on multiple platforms with a single codebase. This makes them quicker and less costly to develop compared to native apps. 

Hybrid apps can access some device features through plugins, balance performance and flexibility, and are easier to update. Many changes can be deployed directly from the web without updating the app through a store. However, they may not provide as smooth of a user experience or as full access to device capabilities as native apps do.

4 Benefits of Native App Development 

Like crafting a masterpiece, native app development offers benefits that significantly elevate the mobile experience. These advantages range from superior performance to unparalleled access to device capabilities, a more intuitive user interface, and robust security features. These elements are critical in why developers and companies invest in native applications.

Let’s dive deeper into how these benefits manifest and impact the app development process.

1. Performance Advantages

Some developers consider native apps as the sports cars of the app world — built for speed and precision. All jokes aside, native apps are indeed optimized for speed as developers make them using the platform’s native programming language. 

This design-for-the-platform approach harnesses the device processor’s full power, resulting in a smooth, responsive user experience without waiting between loading times.

For developers, this means creating highly responsive applications that can easily handle complex operations and graphics-intensive tasks. As a result, this sets the bar high in terms of user expectations.

2. Access to Full Device Functionality and APIs

The nature of how native apps are developed allows them to fully access the device’s hardware and software features. Unlike hybrid apps, when developing native apps, it feels like you have a master key for all the cool gadgets your phone boasts. From cameras and microphones to GPS and accelerometers, there isn’t a feature of the device you can’t access. 

For the creative minds programming these apps, the opportunities this full access to devices features go beyond coding. It is about creating an experience that allows the users to engage with the app more personally and intuitively.

3. Enhanced User Experience and Interface

In our digital-driven world, just as when we interact in our offline world, the first impression of opening the app plays an important role. It’s all about the vibe they give off – do they feel right at home on your phone, or do they stick out like a sore thumb? 

Native apps get this. They’re like the perfect guests, fitting in smoothly because they follow the house rules of your device’s operating system. From how they look to how you swipe, tap, or scroll, native apps make the navigational patterns, gestures, and animations consistent with other native apps. This makes the app incredibly intuitive to use. 

For the folks behind the scenes, such access allows them to create apps that users can easily use, directly contributing to higher user satisfaction and retention. 

4. Security Features

In a world being swept by digitalization, the security of the information we share online is more important than ever — especially for apps that require people to add their personal information. 

Again, native apps have an edge compared to web or hybrid apps due to their ability to take full advantage of the platform’s security features. From encrypted data storage to secure data transmission and integrated authentication mechanisms, native apps run in a resilient framework that protects user data.

For the tech wizards creating these apps, native apps provide a tight safety net that users trust with their data. This way, they can build apps that people are not afraid to use and share information with. 

Challenges in Native App Development 

While native app development has its fair share of advantages, it also comes with some challenges developers face while programming them.

Understanding these challenges is crucial for any team embarking on native app development, as they can directly impact the project’s timeline, budget, and overall management.

Let’s delve into more detail on the main obstacles of native apps.  

Development Cost

Developing a native app is like planning a custom-built home for iOS and Android lands. You need architects who speak the local dialects fluently — Swift for Apple and Kotlin or Java for Android. Such expertise usually doesn’t come cheap.

Besides, just like custom homes, crafting apps that feel right at home on each platform involves a lot of tailored work — from unique designs to specialized functionalities. This means more work hours clocked in for development and testing, which translates to a higher bill. 

For the smaller players in the game, like startups, these added costs can build a steep financial mountain. Ultimately, this requires a mix of strategic foresight and carefully planned budgets. 

Time-consuming Process

Developing native apps is a marathon, not a sprint. The need to create separate apps for iOS and Android platforms doubles the effort, as each app must be designed, coded, and tested within its unique ecosystem. 

This duplication of work extends the development timeline significantly, especially when striving for feature parity across platforms.

Updates and maintenance add another layer of time commitment. Each platform’s app requires individual attention whenever changes are made. Such prolonged timelines can delay market entry, miss timely opportunities, or allow competitors to gain ground. 

Need for Multiple Codebases

Picture this: you have a restaurant with two separate kitchens; one serves French cuisine, and the other specializes in authentic Japanese dishes. Building native apps is pretty much like this. You must master cooking (read: developing) for iOS and Android. 

This means that you need to master two very different recipes, each with its own set of ingredients and techniques. The tricky thing is that you are not cooking two meals. Instead, you are running two culinary worlds, each with its rhythm, culture, and language.

The duplication of effort increases the risk of inconsistencies and bugs, as changes made in one app must be mirrored in the other. Of course, this is a time-consuming process and prone to human error. This approach demands a diverse skill set from the development team, as they need to be proficient in the languages and tools of both ecosystems.

The Future of Native App Development 

As technology progresses, the future of native app development has never been more promising. Thanks to emerging trends and leaps in mobile hardware, we expect that native apps will be fully integrated into our daily lives.

For one, augmented reality (AR) can turn smartphones into a magic window that seamlessly blends digital and physical worlds. Another game changer is Artificial intelligence (AI), which helps make apps more intelligent and more personalized as we interact with them. 

Then, there’s the evolution of mobile devices with more powerful processors and sensors. These open new possibilities for developers to create even more immersive and interactive experiences. Thanks to the hardware progress, native apps will harness even greater power, offering functionalities that were once the stuff of science fiction. 

Conclusion

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, native app development stands as a cornerstone, blending unmatched performance with a user-centric approach. As we’ve explored, what is native app development goes beyond its technical interface. Its significance is undeniably rooted in delivering seamless, intuitive experiences tailored to the very fabric of our devices.

Beyond just developing apps, native apps provide an opportunity to craft future-ready digital experiences that resonate deeply with users today and tomorrow.

FAQs

What is the difference between native and hybrid app development?

Native apps are developed using the platform’s specific language and tools, while hybrid apps are created using a single codebase for all platforms.

How long does it take to develop a native app?

The development time for a native app can vary widely, typically ranging from a few months to over a year, depending on the app’s complexity and features.

Can I convert my web app into a native app?

Yes, you can convert a web app into a native app, but it requires rebuilding it using the native programming languages of the desired platforms.

As the Internet becomes entwined with everything we do, the importance of digital marketing is becoming crystal clear. Being part of such a dynamic world, full or trends and ideas, it is critical we keep up with the digital development pace by continuously coming up with new ideas and generating new ways of delivering the best outcomes. As key players that drive constant positive change in our societies, we are categorized by our continuous endeavors, activities and events that help us grow, develop and share. One of the many undertakings is the DMEXCO 2019 – the biggest digital fair held in Cologne, Germany.

DMEXCO is the meeting place for key players in digital business, marketing and innovation. It is a community that brings together industry leaders, marketing and media professionals, and tech pioneers to set the digital agenda. Both globally informed and locally focused, DMEXCO offers an ecosystem with seminars, debates, and expositions outlining the future of the digital economy and driving market value. Bringing together 41,000 visitors, about 1,000 exhibitors, and more than 550 speakers from around the world for a one-of-a-kind event each year in Cologne, DMEXCO has set the standard as the place for business minds to learn and inspire, build connections, and for ideas to become actions.. Being part of such a digital marketing fair with an international impact and reach, was exciting and beyond inspiring. Having been able to present Tenton to the eyes of the world’s key business minds and share the stage with more than 40,000 forward-looking brand innovators and professionals worldwide, including Google, Microsoft, Slack, Paypal, YouTube, and many others has been a wonderful shaping adventure. It was an honor for our company to attend Europe’s most important event for the digital economy, where the industry is not only discussing the latest trends in technology and marketing, but also the digital economy’s responsibility and the required foundation of trust between companies and users while simultaneously drawing the roadmap for the future of digital marketing.

Autoshkolla is an informative and educative platform that comes in two different forms – mobile application and website. The main ideas revolve around facilitation and digitalization of theoretical testing and learning process for the driving license procedures. Such app and web bring about new and innovative forms of learning for the driving license through introducing new approaches and means of e-learning.

As emphatic advocates of startups and businesses that bring about positive social change in our society through all forms, we are proud of having built a platform like Autoshkolla, an interactive online learning app/website designed and developed to break through and challenge the current existing system of learning and preparing for a driving license testing process. 

Recognizing how digital transformation has become one of the most powerful drivers of opportunity and change, there is so much space that can be created and used to drive social change effectively. Considering that digital learning increases individuals’ efficiency and productivity, Autoshkolla is a great opportunity to learn since the application and website provide knowledge for free and thus help thousands of people go through this process in an easier and more productive way. Various e-learning tools and technology stimulate the mind and strengthen critical thinking skills, the basis for the development of analytic reasoning and the basis of our goal as company with regards to such platform. Our current issues in Kosovo related to the bountiful accidents, ‘driving anomalies’ etc. require measures that provide educative platforms and raise awareness in such aspect, and Autoshkolla is one step closer in doing so. Moreover, the application, as well as the website have six different categories, where each category is interactive and informative in its own form. While each category offers numerous ways of learning, all six work together and make the app very enjoyable. The first feature provides more than 80 driving license tests, where you can learn through testing yourself, your limits and the knowledge you have gained. The second feature provides a wide literature regarding driving license through different options that offer notions and concepts, and information on all traffic signs, behavior, rules, etc. The third and fourth features reveal the driving license procedure as well as provide illustrative forms of information through the videos. The gamification idea is also incorporated in the application and website, making it more interactive and engaging. One can access the app anywhere at any time and that is one of the main characteristics that differentiates the app from other learning methods and processes.

Having seen the continued growth of ecommerce to the rise of experiential retail, the past few years have become a reflection of changes and overall transformative potential of the retail industry. As retail trends continue to evolve in 2019, so do customer loyalty trends and programs. Retailers have therefore continuously shaped their loyalty programs to meet evolving customer expectations. This has, as a result, induced a customer wallet full of loyalty cards. While, improving loyalty programs through providing beneficial customer features is a target for most of the retailers, having many rewards cards in the wallet, as rewarding as they may be, is aggravating for many reasons.

Therefore, we introduce “Kartela” a mobile application that has numerous features and options that facilitate customer buying process and behavior. Kartela comes as a digital form of loyalty cards and programs, printed brochures, and store offers and sales. It also allows you to find the origin of the products you want to purchase as a customer by showing where the product comes from and where it is made. Kartela’s newest feature is the digitization of any type of offer generated by stores, shops or individuals through online forms. Through Kartela, any individual can have access to brochures, new offers and sales announcements without the need to search for them or go to the stores to get them.

The marketing analysis Tenton conducted brings to fore the need for an app like Kartela. Through three main pillars of the analysis, Tenton initially identified the need for digitization of loyalty cards, secondly the need for online brochures and various offers and thirdly the need to know the origin of the product. The smartest way to do it was, of course, through an app that allows customers to access their loyalty cards whenever they want with minimum effort. Not only did this facilitate the buyer, but it also benefited the loyalty card providers through furnishing them with precise data on customer behavior regarding loyalty programs. The fact that Kartela allows users to store all their loyalty cards easily in their smartphones rather than in their wallets, is beneficial in both ways: client wise and business wise.

The app is provided for free for both android and iOS users. You create an account and scan all the loyalty cards that you want to be in your phone, where they are stored and can be usedt anytime by just scanning the barcode from the digitized card. You can also check the origin of the product by just scanning the barcode of the product and it immediately tells you where it came from. Additionally, the online brochures and offers are listed in a catalog-like form where you can scroll and search whatever store, brochure or offer that you are interested in.

The application’s goal is to help towards transforming business and organizational activities, processes, competencies and models to fully leverage changes and opportunities of a mix of digital technologies and their accelerating impact across Kosovan society in a strategic and prioritized way.