If you have a good idea for a mobile app, you may be able to create a good one that will do well in the highly lucrative mobile app marketplace. The idea is the seed that the app will grow from, but it won’t grow on its own: you will need to take a few steps to allow the seed to grow.
Contrary to what many people think, you don’t need to know how to code to build an app, not if you develop your Android app by taking it to an app developer who will help you start from scratch. But it does help to know how to code, of course.
To that end, here’s a look at what it means to code an app, and six steps you’ll need to take to build a good one.
1 Learn How to Code
Coding sounds difficult, right? Well, it is, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. If you put in enough effort and muscle, you might be able to learn how to code in no more than 30 days. And you can learn to code by teaching yourself—no need to enroll in a coding class at a coding school (though doing so might not be a bad idea).
2 Identify Your End Goal
Not all coding is the same. You can learn Python or other kinds of coding, but if your end goal is to make an app, you don’t need to do that. Instead, consider learning a do-it-yourself (DIY) mobile app builder, which is easy to navigate and will:
- Provide step-by-step instructions
- Make downloading software unnecessary
Other benefits of DIY mobile app builders are that they are:
- Affordable
- Fast
- Intuitive
3 Create a Prototype
You can think of a mobile app prototype as being a blueprint for the mobile app you will eventually make. It’s bare-boned, clean, simple, and provides clear proof of concept.
You can create a prototype using a DIY mobile app builder.
4 Design the Look
Mobile apps are not merely a tool. They are also a visual entity—something users will look at. They should look good, and match the overall vibe of the app.
Colours and so, for instance, a meditation app designed to help users calm down should have calming colours and typeface.
When you create a hard design, you create exactly what your app will look like, from the colour scheme to the font and typeface, the layout to the icons, and the text spacing to the background images.
5 Determine the Steps
Once you’ve created the hard design for your mobile app, it is time to plan its development step-by-step. That means figuring out your order of operations, and how you will build all the other parts of the app. You can do so yourself, by coding, or you can do so through a mobile app developer.
6 Test the App
Now it’s time to have users test the app. Chances are the first draft of your app won’t be perfect, just as the first draft of a novel won’t be perfect, so ask the users who test out your app to be honest in their assessment of what works and what does not. If possible, keep what works and change what does not.
Be patient. You may have to go through many drafts of the app until you get it right.
