Are you planning to create an on-demand mobile application and start your successful entrepreneurship journey?
But mobile app development isn’t as easy as it looks. Having an app created is a tedious process that requires focus, attention to detail, and teamwork between you, the entrepreneur, and your app building team.
So here, we’ve rounded up 11-points checklist that business owners must consider when having an on-demand mobile app developed. These points will serve as guideposts to creating a streamlined and effective mobile app for your businesses.
Let’s get started.
1. Set clear goals
What are the ultimate goals of your app? These goals should be clearly carved out even before you hire a developer for your app project.
Define your app’s core functions that’ll help people use it. And make sure to communicate it well to the app development team.
#2 Do thorough research
Comprehensive market research is the key to a superior-quality app. And this isn’t limited to your app developer. You, the business owner, must carry out market research as well and consolidate it with your developer’s findings.
Some main points to research on include:
- Behavioural patterns of the app’s target users
- User needs that the app can address
- Similar apps that already exist in the market
- Impact of using an app for your delivery-on-demand business
Doing market research lets you envision the kind of delivery-on-demand mobile app to create.
#3 Choosing app development platform
Your developer can create your app using different platforms. Below are two major and most popular app development platforms:
- Native App: This method is best suited for apps that need an easy-to-learn user interface. These apps can also be used even when the customer is offline.
- Hybrid App: These apps use plug-ins to enable different hardware and software capabilities. The apps are based on one code but can be used on multiple platforms.
With the help of your app developer, you can choose the best platform to build your application.
#4 Think about security
Security is a crucial factor when developing any app, especially an on-demand application where you require your users to pay online. You do need to secure the confidential information of your users, such as:
• Phone numbers
• Credit card details
• Bank information
Hence, you must take security seriously while developing your mobile app. Some viable security options that your development team may use include fingerprint locks and 2-factor authentication.
#5 Compelling design
App design is another important aspect of mobile app development. The app’s interface must ideally be aesthetically pleasing and easy on the eyes, without too much unnecessary clutter.
Designing a complicated UX is definitely a sure-shot way to disappoint your users and forcing them to uninstall your app.
#6 Integrating secured payment gateway
Using a safe & popular payment gateway is crucial for your app’s success. Hence, let your developers install reputed & commonly used payment gateways to efficiently collect payments from your customers.
Additionally, you may also consider using multiple payment methods to accommodate customers with diverse payment capabilities.
#7 Monetization
The core objective to create any app is to generate revenue. You must therefore consider different ways to monetize your app. Here are but some of the common in-app monetization practices:
• Advertising
• Purchases
• App upgrades/Freemium services
• Downloads
#8 Testing, testing & testing
An app that’s full of bugs & errors will not go far. Therefore, before you launch your app publicly, do make sure that your developers have done rigorous testing.
Your app developer must do all kinds of testing such as:
- Specifications testing
- UX testing
- Beta testing
- Stabilization testing
- Distribution testing
#9 Seeking feedback
Seeking valuable feedback from your app users is one of the best ways to maintain & enhance your application. Therefore, you must have a feedback section on your app and you must encourage your users to feedback about the performance of your app and seek their suggestions in improving and making your app better.
Getting first-hand feedback will definitely help you to make your app loveable by your users.
#10 Planning for maintenance
Updates & enhancements are crucial parts of ongoing app maintenance. As such, you should take into consideration possible updates right from the beginning of your app development.
Another thing to consider is the costs that updates will incur. Hence, planning for updates as early as possible lets you estimate any future financial implications on your business and allows you to prepare for it as early as now.
#11 Make your app personalised
Boost your on-demand app with personalized features for your target audience. Consider adding relevant analytic tools to let you ethically collect information about the app’s usage and audience habits.
This information can then be used to boost the app’s personalization features.
Meanwhile, you can ask your developers to add any of these extra features:
• Channels for providing feedback and suggestions
• Personalized dashboards
• Other customer-desired features (can be taken from your market research)