The 10 Most Common Mobile App Development Questions Answered

(Mobile app development – 10 most common mobile app question)

Mobile app development strategy is always amongst the highest priorities for every business, and bringing a mobile app to the market requires strategic planning and substantial research. There is a long queue of questions that you must consider at the beginning of the mobile app development process. To your convenience, we have listed down the most common questions related to mobile app development answered below, to help you understand the process better while making the decision making the process of choosing the apt strategy easier for you.

Question # 1 – Isn’t A Mobile Website Good Enough? Or Having A Mobile App Is A Must?

The first and the foremost question that comes to our minds is that what my business need a mobile app or a mobile app? The answer to this is actually dependent on the nature and objectives of the business. For instance, if your business objective is to provide mobile-friendly content to a mass audience, then having a mobile website will be enough. Mobile websites are the cost-effective options and deliver the content efficiently to the audience; however, they tend to fail in meeting the expectation of high functionality and quality. Websites users may easily become frustrated if they come across usability and performance issues. Small images, increased loading times, network availability and poor navigation may require users too hard to connect with the brand.
On the other hand, mobile applications are remarkably handy and efficient when it comes to interacting, communicating and engaging customers. A mobile app serves as a personalized communication tool for every customers helping them developing a close relationship with the brand all the time. This often results in amplified user loyalty. In modern times, when business environment is highly competitive, you should ideally have both, i.e. mobile website and mobile app. And if developed and marketed correctly, they can become the valuable strategic choice.

Question # 2 – How Can I Validate My App Idea?

There are three ways that you can use to validate your app.

• Proof of Concept: This approach is used to check if the chosen app idea is feasible or not. POC development is the most accurate and the quickest way to invalidate or validate all the assumptions that you have related to your app concept and its potential users.
• Prototype: This approach is used to see how the mobile app will actually function in the market in-rea. Being a type of user research, mobile app prototyping provides a strategic design direction to the product while providing a preliminary visualization of the mobile app working in the market. This will help you understand how the app will actually look and feel, and to test the overall user experience and design of the app.
•   Minimum Variable Product (MVP): This approach helps to identify the value proposition and core functionalities of the mobile app. An MVP is the usable and the minimal form of you complete mobile app that is ready to test and test in the market. MVP helps your development team to learn about the users of your mobile app will experience and respond to the app, and provides you learnings and insights which can help in allocating time, budget and efforts to the right areas.

By using these three experimentation and exploration methods, you can validate your mobile app concept and create a product that is useable to the audience.

Question # 3 – How Can I Make Money with My App?

By choosing the right monetization model for your mobile app. Choosing the right monetization model is critical for your mobile app’s success, and it can also impact the overall user experience negatively if chosen wrong. Another question which accompanies this concern is how the app will generate revenues without compromising the user experience and overall quality? Selection of a right monetization model is subjected to various factors, and your monetization strategy must be established before the official launch of your mobile app. There are different monetization models that suit specific types of apps. For example, the ‘Subscription Model’ is perfect for service apps such as video streaming, music, entertainment and news apps. Some other common monetization strategies for apps are Pay-per-Load, Advertising based, Subscription-based, Freemium and In-App Purchases.

Question # 4 – Should I Choose Native App, Web App or Hybrid App?

It is again dependent on your business objectives and the overall goals of the product. The decision is so powerful that it can make or break your entire mobile app strategy. Again, deciding on native, web or hybrid app involves several factors that should be taken into consideration. Each of these development types has their respective pros and cons. For instance, Native Apps are specific for platforms that are required to be highly responsive and fast, with the ability to deliver the best user experience. However, they are difficult to be programmed, expensive and not simple always.
On the other hand, Web Apps are relatively easier to maintain and can be built for all types of platforms. However, they have limited scope when it comes to leveraging hardware and devices features. They are also found to be less interactive, less responsive and intuitive as compared to Native Apps. Conversely, Hybrids Apps don’t need a web browser, and requires only one codebase; however, they are much slower than the Native Apps and cost you more when you need customization. It is thus advisable to choose development type after deeply analyzing the pros and cons of each type concerning your business goals.

Question # 5 – Should I Outsource Mobile App Development?

The fundamental aim of outsourcing mobile app development is to leverage expertise and experience when you lack them internally, or you are a new adopter to the latest trends, flexibility or technology. Or else, if your internal development team is already having too much on its plate; the outsourcing seems to be the best option for you, yet you need to consider a lot of things. You should outsource if the price and time frame taken is competitive, and the talent and resources to be invested are on-point. Some other factors that can help you identify if you should outsource include the following;

•  Your internal development staff is busy on other projects.
•  The new development project is asking for additional infrastructure development and investments.
• You want to shift the developments risks.
• Your internal staff is not skilled/expert enough.
• You don’t have enough time to develop and deliver the app within the desired timeframe.

Question # 6 – What Does It Mean by Agile Development in Mobile App Development?

The mobile app development process requires high levels of adaptability and flexibility, which can be only provided by Agile methodology and not by any linear approach. The agile development process is iterative in which requirements and features are developed, approved and tweaked before the project completion. Every stage or iteration in this method ends up with a final product. Using Agile Methodology helps you clearly seeing the project’s progress and estimating the most accurate deadlines.

Question # 7 – What Should I Look for in A Development Team?

While evaluating a development team for your mobile app development projects, it is advised to look at their portfolio, as it will help you analyzing their technical capabilities, skills and specialized areas of knowledge and expertise. Another best way to find out which team has the best potential to complete your project is to look at their past projects, as they can help you get the ideas that to what extent they have met the expectation of their clients.

Question # 8 – Which Is Better, Automated or Manual Testing?

In short-run, manual testing is less expensive and provided you with visual feedback and results which is best suited for usability exploratory and ad-hoc testing. Whereas, automated testing provides you with efficiency, speed, enhanced visibility and reusable testing for your app’s performance. Automated testing is the most preferred solution for performance, regression, recurrent execution and load testing. If you can afford, get your app tested both manually and automatically for best results.

Question # 9 – How Can I Maintain My Mobile App After Launch?

The project is not yet finished, even after launching the app in the market. Because you still need to focus on bug fixing, adding new features, new releases, and improving the overall app functionality and user experience. In simple words, you need to think of your app as a living being which requires constant consideration and attention. Once your app is in the market, you should choose relevant and reliable Monitoring Analytics that can help you closely identifying the area which requires more value.

Question # 10 – How Much Does It Cost to Develop an App?

Cost of mobile app development is dependent on a large number of factors ranging from the technical complexity to the size of the project and the skills and expertise that it requires. Considering a rough rate of $50, the development of basic mobile application costs between $25,000. However, applications with medium levels of complexity range between $40,000 to $70,000. Apps with high levels of complexity ma cost above $70,000.