As more businesses shift to a digital landscape, the need to invest in app development becomes an expected step for business players hoping to be on top. Today, being on the move and accessing the Internet fast are the expected norms: almost 60% of people today have mobile internet, and 95% of the global population live in communities covered by mobile broadband networks.
This makes the need to know how to build a successful mobile app even more pressing for companies valuing their performance.
The availability of the mobile network is also growing, allowing users to pick among thousands of options. Just in 2023, global mobile app downloads reached 257 billion. The Apple App Store features almost 2 million apps, and Google Play offers approximately 1.68 million. These numbers demonstrate the popularity of mobile apps and the high level of competition.
With such numbers, it’s clear that developing a mobile app is not enough — it needs to be outstanding, and a company has to provide regular updates and work on it as it receives user feedback. Exploring users’ needs allows businesses to build an app that meets the demands of their target audience and turn a good app into a great one.
We’ll cover the basics of building apps, explain why it is important, discuss mobile application features, and offer app development tips you might want to consider.
Why build an app for your business: Key reasons
What makes a good mobile app so crucial to introduce for your brand? Here are the main reasons that might persuade you to build a mobile app.
Enhanced customer engagement
While you can definitely connect with your customers via a browser if you’ve got a good website, this isn’t enough today. Mobile app development brings users directly to you: customers admit to using apps 92% of the time compared to just 8% using browsers.
Creating an app significantly boosts your chances of reaching a wider audience. Personalized notifications, in-app messaging, and tailored content offer functionality that only mobile apps can deliver. Building a mobile app gives you more frequent interaction and helps you foster customer retention and improve communication with more users.
Brand recognition and loyalty
When you build a mobile app, you increase your visibility — having an app keeps your brand in front of users, ensuring regular engagement and boosting recognition. This increased visibility fosters brand recognition, and by offering valuable content or services through the app, you can build trust and brand loyalty.
An app featuring your logo strengthens brand recognition across every platform. A well-developed app with the right functionality keeps customers loyal — they won’t need to look elsewhere.
Boosting sales and revenue
Businesses that create mobile apps are more likely to sell their products, especially on a regular basis. According to Forbes, users are 50% more likely to book an appointment via a mobile app than any other digital channel.
Due to the ease of use and simplified design, combined with the ability to track all orders in one place, mobile apps can significantly enhance your sales and revenue. Even when building an app from scratch, the long-term benefits yield more profit under the right management and monetization.
Increased accessibility
What’s more appealing than making a purchase with just a tap? Build an app to allow customers to skip the hassle of remembering passwords whenever they want to purchase. Developing mobile apps simplifies sign-ins and makes your business accessible 24/7 — right on the device customers use the most.
Many users open an app when bored, browse around, and may even place an order. When you build an app, you bring your clients closer to your product by being available at the touch of their fingers.
Valuable analytics
Many apps collect analytics demonstrating user behavior, choices, and even specific preferences in purchases or browsing. If you create a mobile application, you get analytics on what features work, which sections your app users open more often, or even when they stop using the app.
These insights offer a glimpse into emerging trends or gaps you can address early, keeping your app ahead of the curve. Over time, they can shape your business strategy and help you spot app issues early.
Features to attract your customers: What users look for
What makes an app successful, and how can you distinguish yourself from others? While every app has its specificities, creating mobile apps has a few universals. Below are the key features of successful mobile apps.
User-friendly design
Who likes a bad design and functionality? According to Google, more than 60% of users admit that their favorite apps are easy to navigate and use. A user-friendly interface should allow customers to navigate an app smoothly without needing a complex go-through. An intuitive, clean design with simple navigation keeps users engaged and coming back.
The challenge is balancing complexity and simplicity — build a mobile application with too much of either, and users will be frustrated or bored. Focus on simplifying tasks within the app while ensuring a smooth, enjoyable experience.
Personalization and customization
Why are personalization features important in a mobile app? Apps make it easier for companies to learn about their clients’ behaviors and preferences via searches and interactions. This makes customization much easier.
Depending on your profile, personalization can differ. If you offer an app as a service, such as a mental health program or an audio subscription, it may include theme options, layout preferences, or personalized settings. However, if you plan to make a sales platform, it might consist of customized product recommendations and unique offers.
Keep your buyers’ experience relevant. The ability to make users feel valued is what makes a good app and helps it last.
Performance and speed
No one enjoys using a slow or lagging app. Even if it looks nice, a good performance is still among the main features of a mobile app. The industry standard is impressive: the percentage of crash-free sessions on iOS and Android is 99.93% and 99.81%, respectively. Such numbers show that an average individual has high expectations from businesses building mobile apps.
Users expect apps to respond instantly to their commands, and any delays can lead to poor reviews or your app being deleted — and regaining trust is more difficult than maintaining it. Optimize the speed of your app’s performance, ensure smooth transitions between screens, and conduct regular updates to keep up with your users’ demands.
Security and privacy
In recent years, there has been a challenge for digital security: while many countries have introduced strict privacy and security measures, cybercrime has also grown. Despite technological progress making security and privacy more accessible, users are extremely vulnerable. In the third quarter of 2023 alone, over 438,000 mobile malware installation packages were detected.
What consumers want in an app is security — since they are more aware than ever of how vital their privacy is. Provide transparent privacy policies and offer more information on demand, demonstrating your openness. Include data encryption, secure authentication, and regular security audits.
A search option
As apps’ functionality grows, users expect to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. Creating a mobile app with a built-in search option is essential for larger programs with a lot of content.
Integrate this option into your program through an accessible search bar that makes it easier for buyers to utilize. Many find it easier to quickly look through something on your app instead of browsing through categories of items. It’ll save you time and improve the sales.
Seamless integrations
While it might seem like a minor detail, the ability to integrate payment methods, provide smooth and easy sign-ins, and connect with other apps can be the decisive factor when choosing one product over the other.
These insignificant mobile app features can be all it takes to persuade more users to download your product. Offer social media or email log-ins and include popular payment options to simplify the process.
These integrations streamline the user journey and keep them interested and engaged. Too many steps to complete a task? Users will hit delete and find a simpler option, which is a real risk in today’s crowded market.
In-app support
What makes a successful app? First-rate customer service — it’s central to boosting your clients’ engagement and loyalty. While your app can feature a database, it’s not the same as having in-app support with real people ready to provide answers.
Include a chatbot or direct contact options to allow your users to solve their issues fast and without a need to leave the app, go to the mobile browser, and again sign in just to find the contact information. In-app support makes customers more confident about using the app and enhances retention.
Key steps of building a mobile app
Now that you’ve got more knowledge on what makes a great mobile app, we can move to tips for building a successful mobile app. By understanding how building an app works, you can anticipate challenges. Let’s look at the most crucial steps that you might want to include and things to consider when building an app.
Determine the purpose of your mobile app
It’s simple: before developing an app, ask yourself what your program’s goal is and what problem it will solve for your customers. Every application is a tool that is added to a larger toolbox (a device), so you have to think about what purpose you’ve got in mind.
This step will determine every other part of your plan, so make sure you can easily form your idea in one or a few sentences. View it like a pitch to yourself.
Do market research
Every market has its specificities, and it’s necessary to build mobile apps with the unique knowledge of the industry. You’ve got to know your competitors and what they offer, what gaps in the field you can exploit, and what mistakes you might avoid. Analyzing competitor apps and identifying industry trends can help you understand what works and what doesn’t.
You’ll also learn about your target audience: what pain points haven’t been covered by others yet? What are the groups you shouldn’t approach? Asking such questions would give you more knowledge of what gaps you can fill.
Choose the right development partner
Business owners don’t need to be development specialists — all they have to do is find the right one, which might already be tricky. What are the biggest challenges in building a successful app? Choosing the right development partner is critical to building a high-quality, smooth-running app and they should know the answer to that question.
When choosing between an in-house team or an outsourced one to build a mobile app, consider your costs, the level of involvement you plan to have, and your company’s size. Regardless of the final choice, look for a strong portfolio, experience with similar apps, and a clear understanding of your goals.
Don’t hesitate to ask a few companies or specialists until you find the right fit; this means ensuring that they understand your vision and can communicate well.
At Eastern Peak, we create high-performance, user-centric solutions designed to meet customer expectations and help your business thrive in today’s competitive market. Looking to build a successful mobile app?
Start with an MVP
If you need to learn how to create a successful app but want to test it, consider making an MVP. MVP, or a Minimum Viable Product, allows businesses to test their product before adding more “meat” to the app’s functionality. MVP means the simplified version of the software with basic features — essentially, it gives a company a chance to dip one’s toes into the water to test it.
By starting with an MVP, you can gather valuable feedback from real users before diving fully into creating other details. It enables brands to test the viability of their business idea and avoid unnecessary risks.
Read also: MVP Development for Startups: 12 Mistakes to Avoid
Support and iterate
Creating apps is just the beginning of the entire business journey. Maintaining an app is like owning a home — you’ll need regular updates and maintenance to keep everything running smoothly. You’ll need to provide updates to fix bugs, track users’ feedback to boost performance and introduce new features.
Most new apps face a steep learning curve in their first few months as the gap between idea and reality becomes clear.
Market your mobile app
A solid marketing strategy can be a critical determinant of your app’s success since you won’t reach the target audience if they don’t know about you. Marketing your efforts is the only way to find your audience in the oversaturated market where developing apps is a bare minimum.
Businesses are aware of this, too: ad spending is estimated to reach $1,077 billion in 2024. Choose advertising channels that align with where your customers spend their time.
The most popular marketing methods are social media campaigns and digital advertisement, but specific brands might even opt for traditional options (for example, health tracking apps for senior clients) if that can expand their reach.
Final thoughts
Even after you’ve developed your program with the knowledge of the features of a successful mobile app and potential roadblocks, your journey is far from over. Maintaining your software, ensuring it attracts new customers with new updates, and fixing bugs are crucial ever-repeating steps.
But even as you move forward, you have to keep in mind the competitive landscape: how to develop a successful app for the future, and how will it stand out among millions of others?
Getting a bit overwhelmed with what to do? It shouldn’t be a task for one. Our team has years of experience with making all sorts of apps, and we’re always ready to take on new challenges. We know what makes a mobile app successful and matchless. Contact us, and we’ll help you figure it out from scratch or make your ideas happen.
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About the author:
Alexey Shalimov, CEO at Eastern Peak
As CEO at Eastern Peak, a professional software consulting and development company, Alexey ensures top quality and cost-effective services to clients from all over the world. Alexey is also a founder and technology evangelist at several technology companies. Previously, as a CEO of the Gett (GetTaxi) technology company, Alexey was in charge of developing the revolutionary Gett service from ground up and deploying the operation across the globe from New York to London and Tel Aviv.
