6 Essential Steps You Must Follow to Develop a Feature-Rich Mobile App

We are living in a technology-driven world where almost everything is available at our fingertips. In 2021, there are more than 6.3 billion mobile users around the world, out of the nearly 8 billion global population. This means that almost everyone is using a smartphone today, with access to the internet.

Presently, there are more than 10 billion active mobile device users across the world. Moreover, there will be around 7.5 billion smartphone users globally by 2026. It is a massive growth. Mobile phone use is increasing daily, and the same is the scenario for mobile apps. Today, there are mobile applications for almost every purpose.

For instance, you can order food, groceries, cabs, clothing, electronic gadgets, and numerous things online using mobile apps. You can make financial transactions, watch movies, and web series, listen to songs and podcasts, rent property, track daily activities and goals, read books, etc., with mobile applications.

These are just a few examples. Google Play Store is home to 2.56 million apps, whereas Apple’s App Store hosts 1.85 million distinct apps. There are numerous apps available for every purpose. For example, when it comes to online shopping, you can do it through Amazon, Walmart, Flipkart, and eBay, just to name a few. 

To order groceries, there are mobile apps like Flipp, AnyList, Grocery Pal, Grocery IQ, etc. Hence, the market for mobile apps is so large. Since there are hundreds and thousands of apps available for every purpose, it becomes difficult for new apps to make an impactful place in the market.

If you are looking to build a mobile app for your business and want to make it stand apart from the competitors, it is crucial that the app is feature-rich and enticing.

But the question is, how to develop a feature-rich mobile application? In this quick yet comprehensive write-up, we have answered this question with insights from industry experts.

Developing Feature-Rich Mobile App

Here are some essential steps to follow to build a feature-rich app for your business and thrive in the market:

1. Have Clarity of Goals While Starting the App

Before developing the mobile app, you must set clear goals for starting the business. Along with the features to add, you should also consider the budget. What do you want to achieve with the app?

Along with this question, you need to create a list of similar questions before getting started, like:

• Who is the target audience of the app?

• Which region will be in focus?

• Why will people download your app and use it?

• What sort of problems will your app solve for the users?

• What features are needed to solve those problems?

• Who are the established competitors in the market?

• What are the unique features and functionalities of the competitors’ apps?

Research properly and find answers to all these questions and then hire one of the top mobile app development companies. It will help you to have a better idea of what you are trying to do and achieve with your idea. As a result, you will be ready with the list of competitors, and important features to integrate into the app, create a solid marketing strategy, and plan better for the future.

2. Choose the Right Pricing Model

When developing a mobile app, you have two options. First, you can hire a dedicated in-house team of app developers. Second, you can outsource the work to a mobile app development company.

In addition, you have to make a decision whether to go with a fixed pricing model or on the basis of the number of hours. If you are developing the app from scratch, the budget sometimes remains a constraint. Hence, most startup owners go with a fixed pricing model and get the app developed well within budget.

However, this pricing model has a number of downsides. For example, you need to make changes, adopt new technologies, release app updates, etc. For these purposes, additional charges are involved.

Hence, it would be better to choose an app development company that can not only develop the application but also provide you with support and maintenance. You can pay them some fixed charges for the latter services.

On the other hand, if you build your own team of developers and designers, it becomes easier to get things done quickly. However, this becomes an expensive option.

3. Prioritize Features & Functionalities As Per User Expectations

This is the most important thing to building a feature-rich mobile app and making it successful in the market. Your application must have all sorts of features and functionalities that make the user experience seamless and meet their expectations.

Every app in your segment will have common features. But what makes you stand apart from them are the modern and advanced features that only a few apps exhibit.

For this, you need to keep track of the feedback of users, along with staying alert about what’s trending in your target market. Certain features can cost you time and money, and if you are ignoring those features because of budget, it can cost you high in the long run.

People will abandon your solution and look toward your competitors. Hence, you can’t ignore valuable features because of cost constraints.

The best way to address this issue is to prioritize the features on the basis of user expectations as well as your budget. Start with adding low-cost features so that your users know that you are improving things for them.

4. Create MVP Before Final App Release

One of the common mistakes many businesses make is releasing the app right after developing it. However, this can sometimes hamper the experience of initial users.

What you should do is create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) version of the app first. This is the basic version of the application with only minimum and critical features.

During this phase, you can allow selected users to adopt the app, get experience, and validate your app idea.

Based on it, you can move towards making the required changes and releasing the best possible version of the application. It is another important step towards making your mobile app feature-rich.

5. Explore Modern Technologies

Every innovative app that you see success in the market today is relying on modern technologies like Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), etc.

In order to become highly competitive, you should also look towards such technologies based on your app segment. For instance, if you are developing a financial app, choose AI, Big Data, or Blockchain technology.

These technologies make your app advanced and provide an intuitive user experience. These are success factors to thrive and building feature-rich applications.

6. Choose the Right App Development Company

A development company plays a big role in creating a robust mobile app. While choosing mobile app development for a small business, find a reliable company that holds expertise in building solutions in your niche. Their developers will work on the app and bring their experience to create an enticing platform.

From initial success to long-term success, it is vital that you get a feature-rich app developed by the best app development company.

In case you choose a company just because of its low cost, they might not be able to integrate modern features or work on the latest technologies. Hence, make the decision wisely.

Closeloop Technologies has been recognized as one of the Top Mobile App Developers In California by DesignRush.

Now that you know the best practices and steps to take for building a mobile app that stands out, let's look at some key features of the different mobile app types.

Native Vs. Cross-platform App

When developing mobile apps, the first choice that you have to make is the platform. Are you going to build it specifically for Android or iOS, or Both?

Native apps are platform dependent. In other words, you will have to build different apps for different platforms. It may sound time and resource-consuming, but it has its own advantages.

Cross-platform apps, on the other hand, have a single code base that can be deployed across multiple platforms. Cross-platform apps have the advantage of being more affordable and take less time to develop.

However, it is important to note that cross-platform apps will not be able to offer the level of performance, functionality, and user experience you can have on native apps.

Must-have Features for a Native Mobile App

There are certain features essential to any native iOS or Android mobile app. These include:

• Support Features: Consider incorporating voice assistants for more seamless and hands-free interaction. Additionally, ensure that your app includes intuitive navigation, clear instructions, and easily accessible help resources.
• Accessibility Features: Implement accessibility features such as adjustable font sizes, screen reader compatibility, and color contrast options to ensure that users with disabilities can access and use your app effectively.
• Performance Features: Enhance app performance by optimizing loading times, minimizing app crashes, and implementing efficient caching mechanisms to provide a smooth and responsive user experience.
• Scalability Features: Build your app with scalability in mind, incorporating features such as cloud-based storage, load balancing, and horizontal scaling capabilities to handle increasing user demands and accommodate future growth.
• User Interface (UI) Features: An intuitive and visually appealing user interface is a must. It should have features like clear navigation, consistent branding, and a responsive layout.
• Navigation Features: Provide intuitive navigation features such as a clear and organized menu structure and search functionality to help users easily navigate through different sections and find the desired content or features within the app.
• Communication Features: Features like in-app messaging, push notifications, and social media integration will improve user engagement and retention rates.

Must-have Features for a Hybrid/Cross-Platform Mobile App

The features we have mentioned above are equally relevant, if not more, for hybrid mobile apps. But there are some finer details to keep in mind.

• Responsive Design: You will want your end users to have a consistent experience, irrespective of the screen sizes and devices. This is achieved by using flexible layouts and scalable graphics. Your app should adjust its interface and visual elements to fit different screen resolutions.
• Native Functionality: Even though hybrid and cross-platform apps are created from a single codebase, it is crucial to include native functionality for each platform. This will help you make the most of the capabilities of the particular platform and enhance functionality and user experience.
• Offline Capabilities: Offline capabilities are essential for hybrid/cross-platform apps, just as they are for native apps. This can be achieved by caching data locally or providing offline access to certain features.

Also Read: Why Choose to React Native for Cross-platform App Development

How to Hire the Right Mobile App Development Agency?

Developing a mobile app from scratch is no easy task. You need highly qualified developers, advanced tools, and a strategy. Other than this, the development process itself goes through several iterations to reach the best final product.

Not to forget the app maintenance and update part. It requires a dedicated team in itself. That's why most companies prefer to outsource their development needs. If you are also planning to do the same, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Experience and Expertise: The mobile app development agency should have a track record of developing high-quality apps on schedule and on budget. Additionally, they ought to have experience creating apps for your industry and target market.
• Communication: Even though you are outsourcing your development, it still has to be a collaborative effort. That's why effective communication becomes so crucial. The mobile app development company ought to respond to your inquiries and feedback and offer timely updates.
• Cost: App development is costly and gets quickly out of control if you are not careful. Make sure the mobile app development agency delivers a high-quality app that fits your needs and expectations while offering value for your money.

Wrapping Up

These are the most important factors that help you develop an excellent app solution, onboard users quickly, keep them engaged, and experience fast growth. Having clarity of vision, adding advanced features & functionalities, building MVP, using modern technologies, and opting for a good development team are things that you simply must not ignore.

For more information about application development, feel free to connect with our team of experts.

FAQs

1. Can you list the best features of the iOS app?

The best iOS apps have a seamless user interface, are extremely secure, and integrate seamlessly with the Apple ecosystem (such as Siri and Apple Pay).

2. What are some cool features of the iOS app?

Some cool features for iOS apps can include augmented reality (AR) capabilities, facial recognition (Face ID), advanced camera functionalities, gesture-based navigation, and integration with Apple's latest technologies like Core ML for machine learning.

3. What are some of the best Android app features?

The best Android apps have material design, customization options, device compatibility, deep integration with Google services (such as Google Maps and Google Assistant), and multitasking capabilities.