Nowadays, a smartphone has become a cross-functional device. Using smartphones, people can entertain themselves in various ways and solve a wide range of problems. All these are possible due to plenty of mobile apps. The app stores offer users millions of apps for different tasks and needs. Still, while some apps are becoming more and more indispensable for users, others gather dust. So what is a formula for success? What can make your app highly-sought and successful? Let’s beat the matter out.
Features that make your app successful:
Valuable functionality
First of all, an app must provide value for users. That’s why it must offer a unique experience that is nowhere else available. Having set your mind on your own mobile app development, you should thoroughly study the market and detect its gaps and needs. Otherwise, you just run a chance to create a useless duplicate. If something similar already exists, you should fulfill your idea in a way to stand out from others, offering faster and more efficient task solutions.
High performance
Speed is of great importance for a successful mobile. An app that takes forever to load is deleted by users at once, as there is nothing more annoying than waiting, especially taking into account the current fast pace of life. Slow response time is like a millstone around the neck, while a lightning-fast loading is a way to users’ hearts.
User-friendliness
To be extremely successful mobile apps must not only have valuable functionality but be user-friendly, which is meant to be convenient and easy-to-use. That is why you should pay particular attention to the app design that must be eye-catching but quite simple at the same time. An app must have a well-thought layout, intuitive navigation, various hints, filters, and other tricks that make your app easy learning and simple to use. Remember, users install your app to save time performing certain tasks and do not want to spend a ton of time trying to understand how to use the app.
Security
Application security is vital for making a successful app. But what is application security? Simply put, application security is the process of developing, adding, and testing security features within applications to prevent security vulnerabilities against threats such as unauthorized access, data breaches, and other malicious activity. Today, many applications store users’ sensitive personal information, so security is crucial for most apps. For some apps, data protection is even regulated on the legal level as an online breach of confidentiality is inadmissible. Hackers and cybercriminals regularly search for loopholes in the apps in order to access and steal users’ data. All of these potential risks mean that you should do your best to guarantee complete security. Robust security can make your app reliable and increase users’ loyalty.
Advanced technology
Data science, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, machine learning, etc. can significantly improve task performance and enhance the overall experience of your mobile app. Those that use these brand-new technologies have established a reputation for successful mobile apps. Implementation of modern technologies helps to provide maximum user satisfaction, that is why do not neglect it developing your app.
Freedom from bugs
It is important to develop and launch a product that is as bug-free as possible. There is no need to say that numerous critical bugs and constant system crashes disappoint your users, and you take the risk to lose them forever. That is why it is important to dedicate enough time and effort to QA procedures. Comprehensive automation software testing before each release can detect most bugs, provide a good quality of your app, and ensure user satisfaction. What makes a good mobile app is a high quality.
Feedback
After the app launch, it is essential to get quick feedback from real users. Make sure that users can easily leave reviews and comments. Thus, you can get valuable information about users’ opinions, app disadvantages, post-release bugs, and possible ways of app improvement. Feedback can help you define your app’s future development, while a fast response to complaints and suggestions can significantly upgrade it.
Frequent updates
Users expect to find more and more conveniences in the apps. That is why it is crucial not to stay still but regularly update an app fixing bugs, implementing new features and technologies, and optimizing app performance. Continuous improvement is a ticket to success; that is why a good app must be frequently updated.
Now, as we have defined the main features that make an app great, let’s look at the list of useful tools that help develop a successful app.
List of the best tools to create a successful app:
Xamarin
It is a mobile app development platform for native app building with one shared NET code base.
Phonegap
It is a cross-platform mobile app development tool integrated with various libraries. It helps developers save a ton of time and improve app functionality. Its powerful backend system makes the development process faster. Phonegap also deals with the phone’s hardware like accelerometer, camera, geolocation, etc. for feature-added functionality on the apps.
Appcelerator
It is a mobile development tool that helps shorten time to market due to cross-platform development, testing, and easy access to data via optimized APIs.
Ionic
It is one of the most popular easy-to-use HTML5 based mobile development frameworks with CSS and SAS for hybrid mobile app development. Ionic is perfect for interactive mobile app development.
Ninox
It is a cloud-based platform for custom database app building with solutions for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and web browsers.
MobSF
It is an automated mobile app security testing tool either for Android or iOS apps that can perform static and dynamic analysis and web API testing.
OWASP Zed Attack Proxy
It is a mobile app security testing tool that is used worldwide. OWASP ZAP helps to detect security vulnerabilities during development and testing automatically.
Firebase Crashlytics
This tool tracks, prioritizes, and fixes stability bugs in real time. Using Crashlytics, you can spend less time trying to troubleshoot crashes.
Onsen UI
It is an easy to use tool for complex mobile app creation that offer the most various user interface components.
Vuforia
It is a SDK for augmented reality application development.
Pusher
It is a tool for push-notifications. It supports most programming languages and frameworks.
Braintree
It is a payment gateway with open source code for mobile apps. This payment platform supports credit and debit card payment, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
Watson
It is a toolset that helps to build, run, and manage AI.
We believe our article has helped you understand how to create a successful app and what makes an application successful. So, do not hesitate to start your app development or improve an already launched app.
About the author
Oleh Sadykow is a co-founder at DeviQA, a reliable software testing company that provides professional QA services in various business domains for customers from all over the world.