It's difficult to find anyone between the ages of 18 and 65 who doesn't have a Smartphone. Each of us has our own needs, both socially and professionally, and therefore each person has a different need for mobile applications. And although there are millions of mobile applications available, it's possible that there isn't an application that you need. That's precisely how more than one app idea is born, but it's also how doubts arise: How to create an app if I don't even know how to program mobile applications?
The fact is that it would be wonderful, fantastic, and many other adjectives, to know how to create mobile apps. Even having a basic understanding of mobile application development, but if not, does that mean my app idea is over and I have to say goodbye to your project? Well, you're in luck! Nowadays, creating a mobile application is quite democratized, and you can find mobile developers to create the applications you have in mind.
Are you ready to define your app idea and turn it into a real project? Then let's get started!
WANT TO CREATE AN APP? REQUEST A QUOTE ✌️
1. I have an idea to create an app. What does it consist of?
If you already have an app idea, it may not be well-defined enough to publish the app project on developer search platforms like Yeeply.
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What type of app is it? It's different to create a simple app, compared to one based on a database, or a mobile game, for example. You'll need to clearly define what your mobile app will do. This will define the type of developers and designers you need, and even the budget you'll require.
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Who is the target audience? Knowing the target audience is key to developing an app, knowing what design to choose for the app, and even what strategy to use to monetize our app. And most importantly, is there a large enough audience to create an app with these features?
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Have you studied the market? You need to conduct a market study and thoroughly analyze the competition to find out if your idea already exists. If it doesn't exist, great, let's develop an app! If it already exists, don't give up, you're sure to be able to enter the market by offering a better product, differentiating yourself, or offering a cheaper service.
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How will you monetize your app? What are you looking for with this app? Do you want to create apps that make money? Or is it an app whose return on investment will be non-monetary? Not all mobile apps are created to make money. Although mobile app development is not cheap, and since we are going to create one and invest a large amount of money, it would be good to apply a monetization strategy to recover at least the money invested in the development.
All of these points we have already discussed in the article on 'Defining a good mobile app project', in which we have gone into much more detail.
Do I have the budget to create an app?
As you already know and as we have mentioned in the previous section of this article, creating mobile apps is expensive. We are not going to deceive you. The initial economic investment that we must make to carry out our app idea is high.
In fact, it depends a lot on the content and functionalities that you want to include in your mobile application. However, you should always keep in mind that quality is not cheap, but you will have to pay for it, especially if it is native. But the problem is that you have no idea of how much it could cost to develop an app like the one you have in mind, right? We'll make it easy for you:
Calculate your budget for developing your mobile app on Cuantocuestamiapp.com
In more than one occasion, we have talked to you about how much it costs to develop mobile applications on our blog. The prices vary and depend on many things, such as whether you need a database, registration to access the app, whether it is a game, whether it has the possibility of sharing on social networks, whether it will exist in more than one language, whether you need a complete app design, etc. If you still have doubts and need personalized advice to develop an app, do not hesitate to write to us at [email protected]! At Yeeply, we are delighted to help you!
Create a mockup of the mobile app
Despite the fact that app developers are used to dealing with different types of app designs and asking for all the necessary information before starting to create an app, it is best that you do so. Having a prepared mockup of your app idea will help both the developers and the mobile app designers at Yeeply.
Source: Purplejunction.com
No es necesario que definas tú el diseño final, sino que hagas un boceto, incluso en papel si así lo deseas, para dar una idea de cómo funcionará la app. Hacer una app y diseñarla, lleva tiempo como bien sabes. Y si le ahorras a los expertos hacer cambios en el diseño y el desarrollo por no acercarse a tu idea, el proceso de crear la app se hará más rápido y eficiente. Si te animas con crear mockups sencillos te podemos recomendar algunas herramientas para prototipar apps.
1. Justinmind: es potente e idónea para diseñadores freelances
2. Concept Inbox: muy reciente pero efectiva
3. Fluid UI: tiene un entorno muy intuitivo. Permite prototipos Android e iOS
4. Antetype: Busca el nivel más alto del diseño. Para profesionales.
5. NinjaMock: con un acabado en lápiz, prototipos más informales. Ideal para clientes
6. Invision:La herramienta gratuita más potente. Permite el prototipado colaborativo.
2. Escoger el diseño de apps: clave al hacer una app
In this Guide on how to create an app, we also want to include the part on app design, a very important part for developing any type of mobile app, whether it's a game or a common app, for Android or for iOS. Therefore, in your search for professionals in mobile app development, you should have a good designer for your project. To a large extent, the design of apps will depend on the success of the project. This means that if the app design is bad, the mobile user will reject the app, even if they have already downloaded it, they will not use it, and they may even delete it.
Trends in design: Which one to choose for creating apps?
App design, just like in general design, let's talk about interior design, fashion design, or as an equivalent to app design, web design, is changing. And it is largely influenced by trends in design.
Currently, we see a polarization of opinion regarding app design. They are practically divided into two very popular currents, which, although they seem opposite, have many similarities. We are talking about the conflict between flat design or flat design and depth design or skeumorphism. Now we ask ourselves which is better for app design? First, let's see what each of them consists of.
Flat design or flat design for making an app
In recent years, we have seen a clear trend towards flat design, also in projects such as creating an app. This type of app design is characterized by being a design with clear lines, very transparent, that follows a very strict grid. Minimalist designs have been dominating the development of applications, but also on the web.
A good example of this is the iOS 7 update, which brought the definitive flat design to the Apple operating system. This aesthetic gradually became familiar to iPhone and iPad app designers, but also to Android app designers.
Skeumorphism or complex design
For 2015, app designers predict that during this year, a new trend in mobile app design will emerge: skeumorphism or in-depth design. This is a trend that Apple has been adopting very gradually, to go from the simplest app design to a more complex design in less than two years. The use of realistic textures such as wood, textile or metallic is abundant in this sense, to give a more realistic appearance.
But let's understand that complexity not as a synonym for difficult to understand, but rather that despite being a more complex design, it will be much more intuitive and user-friendly for mobile users. This factor, of having a friendly design, will positively affect the mobile user's engagement, which will be our priority over the number of downloads. Loyal users are always better than getting many downloads without engagement. However, if we bet on a more elaborate and complex design when developing an app, we must ensure that it is very intuitive for the user.
Other trends in app design
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Larger screens: The arrival of phablets and especially the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has made it clear that mobile device screens are getting larger and larger. Until now, the user had held and interacted with their mobile device with their thumb and held it with one hand. Now, with a larger device, the mobile user will have to hold it with one hand and interact with the other. On the other hand, let's not just talk about app design, but also it will also affect the design of games. Could this open the way to programming even more realistic and complex games with Unity 3D?
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Total customization: We are increasingly seeing that DIY tools for creating apps are losing ground. Instead, creating a native app, rather than a pre-designed app, is a more promising option and offers us more advantages. One of them is the ability to customize the app as we want, unlike tools like Mobincube or Adiante apps, which give us pre-defined designs from which to create our app. With a native app, your app will be customized. An ideal opportunity to create branding and learn how to create a unique app with a unique app design.
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Order and cleanliness: One of the trends that is coming, and that also allows us to optimize the mobile app to fit the design and usability standards for mobile apps. Increasingly, this involves having a clear and organized screen, with a clean look, and that focuses only on showing the function of what is being done at that moment. Increasingly, developers are opting to create apps that use hidden menus, which only appear when the mobile user requires them.
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Features: Adding all possible connectivity and features that allow us to share content with other users will be key. Increasingly, the ability to interact with GPS and Bluetooth is being added, as well as synchronization with social networks.
Find a designer to create the app
Do you have it all figured out? This is how app design will be in 2015, or at least that's what the current trends suggest. Now all that's left is to refine the design of your app idea and start building your team of professionals to create an app.
Having a developer is essential, but finding the best mobile app designers is also crucial. Yeeply can help you do this easily. It's as simple as entering our directory of professionals. Are you ready to start designing apps? We'll do the same to find app developers, but first... let's see what you need to consider before hiring and how to find a professional to create an app.
3. Where can I find a developer to make an app?
In the long process of creating a mobile app, one of the key steps is finding app developers. We can say that this is the most important and most difficult step to carry out. That's why, in this guide to making an app, we want to include an article, this article, that deals with this process, which we have talked about so often on the Yeeply blog.
At the beginning of this guide, we talked about how to turn that app idea into a project. And then, in the process of creating apps, we encounter app design. Now, let's focus on finding app developers who will program the mobile app from scratch or using frameworks, as you choose.
As you already know, there are options for creating a mobile app without knowing how to program. There are "do-it-yourself" tools, as you know, but they don't program from scratch and are not native, but rather use pre-designed templates. But if your idea is unique, it's logical to opt for a unique and native development, and to hire app developers for your project.
Yeeply, app developer search
Despite the existence of several platforms for finding freelance app developers. In Yeeply, we offer you the possibility not only of finding a single app developer, but also of finding large development teams that are ideal for more complex and ambitious app projects. But also freelance app developers for the most modest projects.
Source: Freepik
But we also offer you the possibility of outsourcing the entire app creation process with our platform. In Yeeply, in addition to app developers, you can find mobile professionals and experts for the entire outsourcing process of mobile app development.
Professionals you can find in Yeeply:
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Mobile app developers: For all programming languages and platforms. From iOS developers to Android developers or HTML5 app developers.
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Mobile game developers: Although it may seem almost the same, the development process for mobile games is more complex than that of apps. If your project is a game, you will need to find app developers who know how to program in Unity or other tools for creating games.
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App designers: To ensure that design and usability are aligned, you need an app designer to create a unique experience in your application.
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Mobile marketing professionals: To promote your app, get downloads of your application, and above all, loyal users through the analysis of your mobile user.
Operating systems and programming languages
Okay, we know you have that mobile app idea in mind and you're in the process of finding the perfect app developer. But for a moment, before you start programming, think about which operating systems you're targeting and which programming language you should use to develop your app. Before choosing an app developer, you can ask them what languages and operating systems they handle based on your project to create an app.
Source: jfingas / Foter / CC BY-ND
The operating systems currently available are several, but some have a larger market share than others. Therefore, some will be essential if we want to create a successful mobile app, while others will be dispensable, at least for now:
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Android: The Google operating system is the absolute leader in the market worldwide, except perhaps in the United States, where Apple still has a strong presence. More than 80% of mobile device users use Android. Therefore, you will need Android app developers, there is no doubt about that.
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iOS: Second place in the top of most used operating systems, Apple follows Android, and leads with the iPad the tablet market. It is also recommended to develop your app on iOS, for which you will need iOS app developers.
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Windows Phone: It is Microsoft's OS, which has also wanted to enter the mobile world with its mobile devices. It is the third most used system, but with a very low market share, so developers for Windows Phone will also have a place in your project.
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BlackBerry: With BlackBerry, the same thing happens, although this brand's operating system is still giving its last blows in certain countries. It will only be useful to have your app in this market when you have dominated the previous ones.
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Symbian, Ubuntu Touch and Firefox OS: These smaller operating systems are the subject of a few specialized app developers. But there will always have to be some Symbian, Ubuntu or Firefox developers to develop large apps like Facebook or WhatsApp.
Source: Caspio Blog
There is practically a native programming language for each operating system. However, there is what is called multi-platform development that allows us to create mobile apps for several systems from a single original development. These developments are not native, but they have very good results for certain types of apps, but you will also need to count on multi-platform app developers.
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Web Apps: This type of apps are programmed in HTML5, CSS and JQuery Mobile, among others. The functioning of these applications is good within their limitations. They restrict access to certain features of the mobile device. The most used framework for this type of development is PhoneGap, for which looking for multi-platform app developers with experience in PhoneGap will be a good option.
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Interpreted Apps: In this case, the interpreted mobile app is programmed and then translated into the programming language of the terminal. This type of programming allows for very fast development for the app developer and facilitates access to different platforms with less effort.
4. Security in app development
In numerous occasions, both on our social networks and in several articles on our Yeeply blog, we have discussed the importance of taking security into account when developing mobile apps. In the article where we talked about 5 tips for developing apps, we already mentioned that special attention should be paid to this issue.
First, it is important to know the data on the importance that is given to security when developing mobile apps. Users certainly do not give it the same importance or relevance as companies and app developers. Why is there such a difference? What is the biggest concern for the user? And for the company?
Now, we want to give special importance to security when developing apps, because it is a sometimes overlooked but very important aspect that should not be taken lightly. Security is a very important aspect of our mobile app, because it will contain all the private and personal information of our users. This information that they have entrusted to our app along with their trust, and that we must protect properly.
Statistics on security when developing apps
As you already know, there is very specific data on this topic, and we know how companies proceed regarding security and developing mobile apps. And we come to a very surprising conclusion: Companies don't give much importance to security when developing mobile apps, which causes deficiencies in the security of the apps.
A study by IBM –presented in this infographic–, as we already indicated, reveals that 50% of companies do not dedicate any of their budget to security in their mobile apps. This leaves them vulnerable to future attacks, in addition to devaluing the sensitive and confidential information of app users.
On the other hand, 40% of companies do not review the code of their app in search of security vulnerabilities once it is finished. Sometimes this happens due to the outsourcing of the app development process. Since companies do not have an in-house development team, many opt to discard these tasks instead of paying for app maintenance to a specialized company, even the developers who created the app in the first place.
Therefore, at Yeeply we always recommend that developers offer their clients post-development app maintenance. We also recommend this to the app owner if they don't have specialists in their company, always seek someone to take care of this maintenance.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that, on average, companies do not review half of the apps they create, and 33% of them never check the security or errors that occur over time. As a result, these errors remain unknown and unaddressed, which could lead to the failure of a mobile app. These data also translate to the fact that 1.000 million records with personal data were exposed to cyberattacks in 2014 alone. This will cause mobile users to delete or remove their accounts and not want to use the mobile app if it is insecure and has errors.
Permissions when developing mobile apps
Android is the operating system most attacked by malware today. Due to its high market share and the vast number of existing mobile apps with security flaws or other reasons, we must be especially careful with these security flaws when developing apps for Android. Malicious apps and Trojans are the most frequent causes of these security flaws, so we must be especially careful with the permissions we allow and that are requested from the user.
Image: AndroidAyuda
In this regard, when developing mobile apps, we must be clear that before the user downloads the mobile app on their device, a confirmation window with the list of permissions required by the app must appear to them.
Regarding permissions, we should avoid requesting permissions for functions that the app does not necessarily need. In these cases, both the developer and the client should act with caution. The first to avoid requesting too many permissions, and the second to not grant them without knowing what they entail. The importance of app permissions in terms of security is evident, so we must be careful when developing mobile apps.
How to make apps more secure?
From the Danish cybersecurity company SPAMfighter, we are told that although mobile users "are aware of the threats, the vast majority do not take any measures to protect themselves from any danger," according to a study conducted by the company.
The data speaks for itself: 63% value the high virus detection rate and the need to have an antivirus as very important. "But the truth is that a significant percentage of them still do not use any antivirus to protect their devices and now their smartphones and tablets," add from SPAMfighter.
How can we make apps more secure for users? When developing apps, if we focus on making them much more secure, there will be less need for antivirus. If the app itself is more secure, it will withstand more attacks.
These are the most common errors in mobile apps:
Image: Incibe
And these are the security control proposals from OWASP of the National Institute of Communication Technologies to prevent these security errors when creating a mobile app:
Image: Incibe
You can also find more specialized information in this same Institute's article on mobile app security. Have we convinced you to pay attention to the security of your mobile app? Topics such as mobile marketing or monetizing a mobile app are also key to creating a successful mobile app, so we recommend that you continue reading our blog to learn all the strategies for taking your app to the top.
He is a professional in the field of computer science and systems engineering, with a solid career in business and relationship management within the technology sector.
Currently, he holds the position of Business Manager at Quental, where his focus is on managing and developing innovative projects that contribute to the growth and consolidation of the company.