Do you know that 53% of paid search clicks come from mobile apps? With e-commerce taking over the conventional methods of business, companies are switching from regular websites to responsive mobile apps. According to a survey, the global revenue from mobile app revenues amounted to 69.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2016.
And the figures aren’t even surprising! Consider yourself for instance. When was the last time you waited to get back home and switch on your laptop to order something from Amazon? Seems like a fading memory, right?
From shopping to booking flights – we all depend on the mobile apps, thus making web development a demanding field. As a result, there is an increasing need for a competitive and efficient mobile app developers. While a basic understanding of the programming language can help you build an app, it certainly is not all that it takes to create a high-end mobile app.
As a mobile app developer, you need to make sure that it serves the purpose it was built for and that it runs smoothly, to start with.
Hacks For Mobile App Developers
In this era, when every brand is coming up with a smart mobile app, it is important to create an app that helps your client’s brand to stand out in a crowd and provide the client with a fantastic user experience.
What does it take to build a mobile app that will definitely fetch 5-star ratings?
Irrespective of whether you are a rookie or an expert, here are 10 tricks that you can use to develop a flawless mobile app!
#1 Knowledge of Language
It goes without saying that the first thing you need to have is a thorough knowledge of the programming knowledge. But that is certainly not all! Different types of apps have different requirements. So, it becomes your responsibility that you choose the appropriate programming language for the app in question. When you develop an app using the wrong language, the chances are high that it won’t function smoothly and end up receiving a bad review or a poor rating.
To avoid that, you need to develop the app using the right programming language. While Java is the primary language for developing apps for Android, Swift and Objective-C are preferable for developing iOS apps. You need to have knowledge of the multiple languages so that you can develop apps for various frameworks like Windows, Android, and iOS.
#2 Use Proper Threads
Threads are basically the background tasks that run while the user uses another phone. Quite often we have seen how an app crashes when set to perform a task in the background. Since our entire world breathes inside our phones, we cannot afford to have a moment when our phones become dysfunctional. This makes it crucial to use proper threads when you develop a mobile app so that it can override other apps and perform tasks in the background without interfering with whatever the user is using the phone for.
Using robust threads ensure that the app can execute tasks ever after the user has exited from the app. With the use of threads, the app can perform heavy tasks in the background without having to wait for it to complete the task.
#3 Use the right Query to search Google
None of us know everything about our professional field. I have been a web/app developer for the past one decade and yet there are chances that I might have to turn to Google for answers. Google has all our answers and is like an ocean of information. But just searching on Google is not enough.
To get the right kind of solution, you need to know the right way to search for the answers, tips, and tutorials on Google. You must know how to put in the accurate query to be able to get the appropriate response from Google. You need to make your search more specific and refined.
Quite often, I have seen my students searching for shortcuts from Google. The last time I had set one of them to design a dummy app for an online site, I saw them searching Google with a query as generic as “how to create e-commerce app for iOS”. I would tell you exactly what I had advised him – make your search more specific.
Instead of asking for a tutorial as a whole, break down the process into parts and then search for tutorials that will be helpful to your search. That way, you will come across better information which will help you build better apps.
#4 Use Display efficiently
As a developer, you must remember that while lucid visuals can make your app more appealing, its weight can make the app slow. So, you need to be aware before choosing Bitmap for your app. While visual appeal is important, it is not the primary focus and certainly not what a user looks for while downloading an app. High definition bitmap can consume a lot of device space, thus slowing down the user’s phone.
So what is the solution? As a developer, you should know how to use bitmap images so that it does not affect the smooth running of an app. Try to make the size of the images small as and when necessary.
Otherwise, just try to avoid Bitmap images altogether and use XML or vector images instead. Image libraries like Picasso and Fresco can be a solution here, using which you can efficiently load and store images to use them later.
#5 Develop a dynamic app suitable for all Devices
When we talk about mobile apps, you need to understand that the term covers a broad spectrum of a framework and devices like Android, Windows Phone and iOS. Keeping that in mind, you must make sure that the app you build is compatible across all devices. It is only when your app is dynamic, that it is likely to get a bigger audience. Like responsive websites, responsive apps are a need of the hour too.
The app you develop must be configured in a way that supports different languages and adapts to different screen sizes easily. Use multiple layouts and maintain density to manage margins, visuals and text size for different types of devices.
#6 Test the app after an addition
Almost like the task of editing, you must test the app repeatedly after you develop a part of it. Imagine developing the entire app first and then seeing it fail while testing it? That would be such a loss of time and effort, right? To avoid such a situation, make sure that you move forward only after testing each stage of the app. which cannot be stressed enough.
Conduct a thorough check for snags and bugs and take steps to fix the issues so that the user is totally satisfied with the final product. There are many emulators available that you can use to test your app. Especially if you are working on large-scale applications, I would suggest that you test every module before assembling the app.
#7 Choose a good cloud service provider
You must choose a good cloud storage service so that your app does not crash often and can take in all data. Quite often, users have uninstalled apps that have crashed while performing a task. So, if you do not want that to the destiny for your app, then you must select an efficient cloud service provider for it.
That is the only solution for your mobile app to function seamlessly, without the buffer wheel spinning. A reliable cloud service provider will provide you with an uninterrupted networking and support all the time.
#8 Make your app social media friendly
Who does not have a social media account these days? Design the app so that it is compatible with all the social media platforms. Nowadays, everybody wants to share their activities on the social media handles. An app that lets the users do that is sure to be a success. Moreover, a social media friendly app will help the brand discover better options and will be able to retain more users.
In the end, remember that mobile apps are developed to make our lives better. So, as a developer, it becomes your responsibility to create an app that can solve the problems and serve its purpose for its users. Unless your app makes things smoother for the user, chances are that he or she will uninstall the app. Your app should provide a solution for a real-world problem and only then will you be successful as a mobile app developer.
