5 Common Mistakes to Avoid when Developing Mobile Apps
10 April 2023
Introduction
Have you ever caught yourself asking the question “why is there a mobile app for everything these days?” It is unsurprising that we have to open our phones to do a quick search or make a payment for something these days. With millions of businesses worldwide adopting mobile apps, the pressure is on for everyone else to launch their first mobile app. Here are 5 common mistakes to avoid when developing mobile apps.
1. Failing to Identify a Need for a Mobile App
Before you begin any development, you will need to understand the demand for your mobile app. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
- What is my need for a mobile app?
- Should I build a responsive website instead?
- Why would my users need a mobile app?
- How can my users stay motivated to use the app?
- How will my app be different from my competitors?
- What values does my app bring to my user?
2. Poor User Experience
User Experience (UX) can make or break your mobile app. With user expectations being high these days, you need to meet the demands of users to make sure your app is both functional and looks good.
3. Not Leveraging Multiple Platforms
Do not underestimate the reach your app can get when you optimise your app for the two most popular official app stores, namely iOS App store and Google Play Store.
- 1.74 million apps are published on the iOS Apple App Store
- 3.76 million apps are published on the Google Play Store
*courtesy of 42matters.com (as of 3 April 2023).
It is not just the number of apps on these platforms that matter. Another consideration to take is whether or not you want your app to be available for free or at a premium, and how much it would cost. These factors will also determine the popularity of your app.
The top 5 app categories on the iOS App Store are:
The top 5 app categories on the Google Play Store are:
4. Adding Unnecessary Features
Doing so will clutter your app and make it confusing for your user. Sometimes, having few but highly useful features make your app more composed, purposeful, and easy to understand.
A top tip we have is to monitor the behaviour data of your users during the first version of your app . From there, you can leverage which features to keep and which to remove.
5. Not Developing a Marketing Strategy
As we alluded to earlier, you have plenty of competition in the mobile app space. Without proper marketing, your app can easily drown in an ocean of competition.
You may employ a growth hacking strategy, which aligns your product, marketing, and development departments together to develop product features according to the overall business strategy. Learn more about growth hacking here.
Conclusion
In summary, to contend with your competitors in the mobile app space, you will need to avoid these 5 common mistakes in mobile app development. They consist of failing to realise a need, having poor user experience, not leveraging popular app stores, adding unnecessary features, and not developing a sound marketing strategy.
