Mobile apps have dominated every aspect of our daily lives and mobile app development has proved to be the most profitable business. Competition in the field of mobile app development is fierce as millions of apps are launched on app stores every day.
Every app developer aspires to develop an app that makes it to the top of app stores, but not all of them succeed in doing so. This is because developers often fall into the trap of some common app development mistakes.
In this article we have listed mistakes that you must avoid making before and after launching your app to ensure its success:
Mistakes To Avoid Before Launching An App
Insufficient Market Research
Every mobile app must be unique in order to stand out and get noticed. And to design a unique app, thorough market research is required. Market research involves researching the features of your competitors’ apps, their target audience, and the user feedback on those apps. You can use this information to create a unique app that fills the gaps in your competitors’ apps and offers an enhanced user experience.
Market research also helps you to stay updated with the latest trends in mobile app development and incorporate them into your app. It also saves you the trouble of adding features after developing the app, which is a lengthy process.
Neglecting App Store Optimization
Launching an app on an app store does not mark the end of its development process. App store optimization is what will get visibility for it. ASO is similar to search engine optimization. It involves researching for relevant keywords for an app and using them in its name and content, and in its title and description on the app store.
The ideal lengths for the title and the description on Apple App Store are 30 and 4000 respectively, and 50 and 4000 respectively on Google Play Store. You can find the right keywords for your app by searching on online search engines for words that are most commonly used to search for similar apps.
Ignoring Beta Tests
The most common reasons for app uninstalls are bugs and crashes. User experience is very important for mobile apps, and beta tests can help to improve it. These tests must be done on all apps irrespective of their type. They help to find and fix bugs and crashes in apps that may not have been found during in-house tests. Often neglected, they are tests of software that are conducted on a select group of users in the final stage of the development process. They must be done in advance so that there is enough time left to make necessary changes to apps based on the user group’s feedback before launching them. Beta tests can help to avoid negative reviews for apps, improve their word-of-mouth, and increase their downloads.
Not Deciding Upon A Launch Date
Fixing a release date for your app will help you to plan its pre- and post-launch marketing campaign. It will also help you to avoid launching your app at the same time as your rival or when another major event is scheduled to take place in the same place as your app’s launch. This will ensure maximum exposure and media coverage for your app.
Not Considering App Store Guidelines
Every app store has a set of guidelines that developers must follow while developing apps in order to get listed irrespective of their size. Only those apps are listed that follow all these guidelines. One common mistake that most developers make is to consider the guidelines halfway through the development process. This leads to apps getting rejected and developers investing additional time in making changes to apps to suit the guidelines.
Mistakes To Avoid After Launching An App
Neglecting Reviews
Your potential users will consider reviews of fellow users before downloading your app. You must pay equal attention to both positive and negative reviews. Negative reviews will provide you an insight into the issues in your app that you need to address to improve user satisfaction. You must immediately respond to all user reviews, as this will show your potential customers that you care about and listen to your customers.
Sending Users Too Many Push Notifications
Push notifications are a great way to stay connected with users. However, one mistake that developers make is to send users too many notifications throughout the day. This results in users treating apps as spam and uninstalling them. Allow your users to customize your push notifications. Allow them to choose how many notifications they would like to receive and when.
Not Updating The App
Updating an app is a very important ongoing process that plays a huge role in ensuring user retention. Apps must be updated according to user feedback, to fix bugs and other glitches, and to incorporate the latest trends. Failing to update the app can make it look outdated, resulting in uninstalls for it. Keeping your app updated can also help you to stay ahead of your competitors.
