As the daily usage of mobile devices continues to grow around the world, mobile apps have become an essential aspect of the business. They can help to convey necessary information, provide a quick and convenient solution to consumers, enable communication, and even increase brand visibility and customer trust. 

With that in mind, it’s no wonder mobile applications are becoming one of the most popular marketing tools among start-ups. If you’d like to boost the growth and success of your start-up through app development as well, here are some important steps to follow:

Analyse User Preferences

Before you begin developing an application, it might be wise to do some market research. Focus on your target audience, see what they like and dislike when they use mobile apps, analyse how they use their mobile devices in general, and focus on the user experiences they prefer. Create a detailed customer persona and aim to design an app according to their needs to ensure positive experiences and subsequent growth. 

After a beta version has been developed, you can also perform user testing to gather relevant feedback and improve the app according to your audience’s preferences. Successful apps are important elements of successful start-ups, but they have to be designed with users in mind.

Try to Focus on Simplicity

The popularity of mobile apps is often credited to convenience, but the ease of use plays a significant role as well. While start-ups are often tempted to develop overtly complex applications in an effort to convey authority, complications only make apps difficult to use and end up creating mediocre products that users tend to avoid. Instead, the best solution might be to keep your app as clean and simple as possible. 

When applications are straightforward and easy to use, they can provide real value to consumers and increase overall interest. The color palettes, fonts, and other design aspects can be used to deliver uniqueness and enhance the user experience, but simplicity is key.

Choose the Right Platform

Once you’ve gathered more information about user preferences and the benefits of simplicity, you can then decide on the platform and app features. It’s generally recommended for start-ups to choose native app development in the beginning, a solution that focuses exclusively on a single platform of your choice, such as Android or iOS. 

Native apps can deliver a more refined and distinctive user experience, as they’re optimised to the unique operating system and thus offer better performance. The specific features you choose will likely operate more accurately in native apps as well. They should be selected according to function, user needs, ease of use, and overall user experience.

Limit Ads and Banners

Unless you are developing a paid application, ads and banners will likely have to be included in your app to ensure profitability. However, they should never be overused. A screen that is cluttered with advertisements is particularly irritating and off-putting to users, disrupting their browsing experience and often prompting them to delete the application. 

Rather than experiencing negative feedback with these actions, try to limit the ads and banners within your application. Stick to only one or two ads per page and keep them on the sides or the corners of the screen. Users shouldn’t have any difficulties navigating through your app if you’d like them to continue using it.

Make It Offline-Friendly

Whether you choose native or cross-platform development, the way your application behaves without an Internet connection is another important consideration to have in mind. In other words, your app should still function, at least partially, without the Internet. This is quite important for improving the user experience and boosting appeal, especially as mobile devices become the most important gadgets in our daily lives. 

For instance, you can use geolocation to detect users’ locations automatically and provide relevant local information even without Internet access. A feature like this can be a great driver of success for your application.

Prioritize SEO and ASO

To reach a wider consumer base, your mobile app should be optimised for search engine optimisation (SEO) and app store optimisation (ASO). This includes identifying the most relevant and successful keywords, implementing them in each piece of text, writing compelling app descriptions and titles, updating images, etc. 

When your app is optimised for SEO and ASO, it can appear in relevant searches, rank higher in search results, boost your visibility, and increase the possibility of downloads. In turn, you will have an application that stands out from its competitors and brings more growth and success opportunities to your start-up.

Summing up

Launching an app can be an exciting process for start-ups, but it can also be a challenging and time-consuming one. Use the advice mentioned above to develop a good strategy, streamline the process, and boost your business’s growth.

Written by Mike Johnston