HOW TO CONVERT YOUR APP IDEA INTO A MOBILE APPLICATION
Tags: 3edge, Ui Ux Design, Mobile App Development, App Development

According to Statista, in the year 2019, the global revenue for mobile applications amounted to 365 billion U.S. dollars and is expected to reach 462 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2019. It is no secret that mobile applications have become extremely important to businesses in this digitally busy and rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Many aspiring entrepreneurs seek out to start an online business with excellent ideas. However, usually, such individuals fail to materialize their vision because they fall short when it is time to answer the real question — What to do with an app idea?

With intuitive mobile applications, customers find themselves better connected to the services that are being offered by the business. Subsequently, these better experiences translate to better sales and higher revenues.

The following tips will help you understand how exactly to convert your application idea into a mobile application and realize your vision.

STEP 1: COMPILE A FEATURE LIST

The first step in your endeavor is to put the most important and considerable points on paper. Writing down a feature list will help you to adhere to your initial idea and add more to it. Write down your ideas multiple times, each time with a different perspective. This feature list will also come in handy when discussing ideas with your partners, investors, designers, and developers. It also helps you refine your idea and turn it into reality.

Additionally, it is highly recommended that you sign an NDA (Non-disclosure agreement) before discussing your feature lists with anyone.

STEP 2: CONDUCT A PROPER AND THOROUGH MARKET ANALYSIS

After you have compiled a feature list, the next step in making your app idea into a reality is to perform a thorough market analysis. You can check for applications similar to your idea and study their customer ratings, frequency of download, revenue, and note down their weak points. A proper market study and research will give you points that you can include in your feature list as improvements or add-ons. A market analysis will also give you a strong idea about how well your application may potentially do after release and what kind of demand it may have.

STEP 3: KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

It is crucial to recognize your audiences and understand whom you are making an application for. The types may vary and may the range may include the type of industry, region, age group, gender, niche, specific profession, etc. After identifying your audience, you need to study the features and other specifics your audience desires to have. It is beneficial to study these needs and include it in your application design beforehand.

STEP 4: FIND MONETIZATION STRATEGIES FOR YOUR APPLICATION

The prospects of earning money through your application can act as an inspiration and energizer. Moreover, it is important to consider monetizing options for your application to get the best possible returns on investment. There are various models you can follow to monetize your application:

· Subscription services

· In-app purchases

· Advertisements

· User data

· Third party sponsorships

Study and choose the option that is most suitable for your application, the industry you are working in, and your audience. It is also easier to get sponsorships for your application, if it has a social mission.

STEP 5: CONSTRUCT A WIREFRAME

An application wireframe is a two dimensional illustration of your application interface. It shows how the user will use the product. You can draw a wireframe by hand or use various online as well as offline tools available. Completing a wireframe in the early stages can help you polish your feature list in the future. Additionally, it can help you decide the navigation features in your application. It requires no technical knowledge and combined with a feature list, it can act as an excellent specification for you to develop your application.

STEP 6: APPROACH DEVELOPERS AND GET ROUGH ESTIMATES

After coming up with a rough feature list, and wireframe model, it is time for you to approach application developers and get estimates to realize your application and make it an actual product. Vendors need many details to start working on the development. They will ask many questions and it is in your best interest to answer these questions honestly and thoroughly to communicate your idea clearly. That said, it is also important for you to assess your potential vendors well. You can scrutinize the list based on their past experience, process, the time required, testimonials, and their interest in developing an application for you. Pick a vendor you seem to be comfortable with and see as a long-time partner.

STEP 7: BUILD AND FINALIZE YOUR UI/UX DESIGN

After finalizing your application development suppliers, work in tandem with them to finalize your UI/UX design. Decide upon the themes, colors, visual appeal, and font ideas. This will give you a better idea of how the final product will look and feel. After the completion of the design process, ask your vendor to put down a specific plan for the development and specify a development time.

STEP 8: GET THE APP BUILD AND TEST IT

During the development process, keep track of the development activities and give them honest feedback. It is crucial for you to check for quality assurance while the application is being built. It is equally important to test your app and check its robustness, reliability, and responsiveness.

STEP 9: LAUNCH YOUR APP AND MARKET IT

After the application development has finished, you can launch it on the desired platforms. You also need to consider marketing strategies like app store optimization (ASO) for advertisement purposes. You can choose to hire a marketing specialist or do the marketing of your application on your own. Use social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to market your app to your target audience.

STEP 10: GATHER RESPONSES AND KEEP IMPROVING

Finally, you need to constantly listen to your users for feedback and suggestions. Regardless of the response being positive or negative, you need to work towards the next step for the betterment of your application.

CONCLUSION

Building an application for your idea is a lot of work. Validating the idea will cost you a substantial amount of resources. The aforementioned steps can act as a good guide to help you plan your application to get it as close to your vision as it can be. An idea is just a start. Knowing how to realize it is the real secret to a successful venture.