Jasmine Birtles
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How to create apps and make money in 2024
Moneymagpie Team
27th Aug 2024
With smartphones and tablet devices always on the upgrade, new mobile apps are constantly on the rise to create better performance for mobile app development and to give users the best mobile apps available on the market.
With the following key features to keep in mind such as cross-platform development, artificial intelligence and machine learning, 5G Technology and AR vs VR. Mobile app developers have their hands full trying to accommodate every new trend and satisfy every customer’s need.
Although there are many free apps, such as gaming apps that use in-app advertising as a monetisation strategy. Using app monetisation is important to make money.
The real question however is how much does it cost to develop an app? There is no easy answer to this question as mobile app development can vary depending on the complexity of the build. App development costs can vary from £3000 to £100,000+ depending on the developers needed for the project. Essentially the more developers and days required will cause costs to increase.
This article dives into how app developers can find ideas to create an app and generate revenue.
- Next, Choose How You Will Build Your App
- Plan Your App
- Development Techniques and Tools
- Testing the app
- Launching the app
- Monetisation Strategies
- Marketing Your App
- Analysing Performance and Scaling
Next, Choose How You Will Build Your App
The next stage is the construction phase of this app. There’s one or both choices. The first thing is to try and do this yourself to create and test a wireframe. Alternatively, you can create your own app. Although the first option offers more customisation, the second option makes app development easier.
Plan Your App
The first step in creating an app is to plan what your app will do. Having a detailed app concept and knowing which platform to choose for your app is important. Having a general app idea can help an app developer code your next mobile app.
Creating a detailed app concept
You need to outline the functionality, purpose and the features your app will have. Does your app solve a specific problem or is there a need in the market for your idea? Knowing what the purpose of your app is will make it easier to develop and generate app revenue as more people will use your app.
You should also have a list of the key features that will make your app stand out from other competitors and be beneficial to your users. Some of the features you can consider using include:
- Social sharing capabilities
- In-app purchases or subscriptions
- Notifications and alerts
- User registration and profiles
- Integration with APIs or other services
You should also establish how the app will work, this refers to the user flow and will highlight the navigation system of the app for the user. The goal is to create an app that ensures a seamless experience without running into roadblocks or user issues.
Developers usually put together mockups of how the app’s interface will look to show stakeholders and other colleagues how the app will be designed and look once completed. Tools such as Adobe XD or Sketch can be used as diy app builder platforms to help map out the visuals for your app.
Choose the right platform
Once you have created the idea, you need to choose the right platform to ensure that your app is successful. Some of the key considerations you need to keep in mind when choosing a platform include:
- App Development Costs: You need to establish a budget for your app development. Whether you decide on developing IOS apps or Android apps it will be time-consuming and expensive. However, it may be less expensive if you focus on developing apps for one platform at a time.
- Development time: Plan out the timeline in which you want the app to be created and ready for distribution. Developing one mobile system at a time can result in quicker release of the app and less time spent on developing.
- Platform features: Each platform has different capabilities and features, for example, Android platforms allow for customization whereas iOS apps are better used when integrating Apple services from the Apple app store.
- Target audience: Knowing which mobile apps your target audience uses more is key in developing an app for that specific system. If your target audience is Android users, choose to develop an Android mobile app.
- Cross-platform development: Developers can also combine both Android and iOS apps by allowing cross-platform functions. Using development frameworks such as Flutter, or React Native will allow developers to use the same code on different platforms.
Development Techniques and Tools
There is a variety of techniques and tools that can be used in creating apps and writing software. The common development tools and techniques used are listed below.
Popular Programming Languages
Below are the popular programming languages you can use to create an app.
- Python: Is used in web development worldwide and is known for its scientific computing, artificial intelligence and data analysis functions.
- Java: Used in Android app development and mostly enterprise-level apps, this platform-independent programming language is object-oriented and robust.
- Ruby: This programming language is used for its elegant syntax capabilities.
- JavaScript: This is a high-level program language that is used to develop apps. Used for its interactive web page functions.
Utilising Development Tools
To help streamline the development process of creating an app, here are some integrated app development tools that can be used.
- Version control systems: These tools allow developers to track any changes in the code and manage different versions of their projects at the same time. These systems include platforms such as GitLab or GitHub.
- Integrated Development Environments provide app programmers with facilities to help debug, test, and edit code. These apps can include Pycharm.
- Cloud development tools can help to provide services to support the app’s development such as Google Cloud.
Testing the app
You constantly need to test your app to ensure that it works properly and that there are no issues in the development stage.
There are a few tests that can be done to ensure that your app functions well.
- Integration Testing: Test how the different services and modules work together. This test will highlight any issues involved when components need to work together.
- Functional Testing: Ensures that all the app functions work as intended and that the user’s expectations are met.
- Performance Testing: Testing the app’s speed, stability and responsiveness in different conditions.
- Unit Testing: Testing the functions of the app individually to find any faults that may affect user’s experience.
- Security Testing: To ensure that the app is protected against potential threats such as authentication issues, security risks or data breaches.
- Regression Testing: This testing ensures that the functions that are already developed are not affected by added features.
- Acceptance Testing: This is the last test to ensure that the app is suitable and meets all requirements for consumers.
Launching the app
Once you have tested the app, and it is working 100%. You are now ready to launch your app. However, there is a process to follow to ensure that your launch is a success.
Market Research
Market research is important to know before you launch your app. Understand the market trends, competitors and your target audience to help you develop an effective marketing strategy to start making money.
Beta Testing
Choose a group of users to test out your app and provide you with feedback. This will help you identify any functions that may need further development before the app is ready to be downloaded.
App Store Optimisation
When you list the app on either the Apple Store or the Google Play Store, you need to ensure that it is listed correctly to increase its visibility. Ensure that you are tagging the correct keywords and showing high-quality images of the app to encourage users to use the app.
Marketing Strategy
Put together an informed marketing strategy that includes influencer partnerships, social media campaigns, press releases and emails.
Monetisation Strategies
Here are some of the popular app monetisation methods that can be used when you are monetizing your app. A sure way to generate income is to upload the app onto app stores, then you can include the following strategies to earn money.
Subscription Models
Having consumers subscribe to your app will help provide a steady stream of money that can be changed as a monthly or annual fee. This fee will give users access to all the premium features that the app provides.
A free version of the app can also be made available to show users how the app works, to encourage more users, you can allow a free trial period to help them try out the app before they commit to a subscription.
In-App Purchases
Allowing in-app purchases will give users the opportunity to upgrade to premium features or virtual goods within the app that can enhance their overall experience. These can be bought with virtual currency, if it is a gaming app it can help with unlocking premium features such as extra lives, moving up levels or even items to help the player win.
For other apps such as streaming platforms or entertainment apps. these in-app purchases can help remove ads displayed or give the user advanced functions to use.
Ad-Based Revenue
Allowing Ads to be displayed in your app can also increase the revenue model. These formats of ad-based revenue can include video ads for upcoming mobile apps, interstitial ads or even banner ads. You can increase the revenue from promoting ads by partnering with an ad network.
Partnerships and Sponsorships
Another monetisation method is to collaborate with sponsor’s brands alongside your app. This way, every time people hear or see a specific brand, they will immediately identify your app.
Marketing Your App
Marketing your app is important to generate revenue and increase app downloads. These are the marketing strategies that popular mobile apps have used to promote their apps.
Have a brand presence
A strong brand presence will help people easily identify your app. You can do this by having a logo that is memorable and easily recognizable. Use a color scheme that works well together and use the same tone of voice across multiple platforms.
Create a website to showcase your app’s features, benefits and user testimonials to provide potential app users with enough information to boost online sales.
Use content marketing and social media
Creating content for social media can help draw more consumers to your app. You can also use affiliate marketing to help drive your social media presence, this means as soon as a user clicks on a link to your app, a percentage is paid to you as part of an in-app advertising strategy.
Analysing Performance and Scaling
To ensure that your app has long-term success you need to continuously monitor its performance. This can be done by analyzing the Key Performance Indicators to track the functionality of the app.
Here are some tools that can be used by app owners to analyze the app’s performance.
- Retention rate: Tracks how many users return to the app after using it for the first time.
- User satisfaction metrics: Monitors the customer’s satisfaction scores to identify loyalty to the app.
- Churn Rate: It shows how many users stopped using the app over a period of time.
- User Acquisition Metrics: Tracks how many app downloads and how many sign up to use the app.
- User Engagement Metrics: Monitors how many people use the app daily.
- Conversion rates: This tracks how many people have in-app purchases or subscribed to use the advanced feature of the app.
Another way to analyze the performance of your app is to gather feedback from the users. Here are some ways you can collect this information.
- App Store Reviews: App stores allow users to rate the app after they have downloaded it which helps potential users understand how the app works before they use it.
- In-app Surveys: These surveys can pop up from time to time to help the user leave their opinions of how well the app is working for them.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned steps will help an app owner develop an app that will make money by adding in-app purchases or creating free mobile apps that incorporate mobile ads and in-app subscriptions as part of the monetisation models to make money while still giving users a free app.
Disclaimer: MoneyMagpie is not a licensed financial advisor and therefore information found here including opinions, commentary, suggestions or strategies are for informational, entertainment or educational purposes only. This should not be considered as financial advice. Anyone thinking of investing should conduct their own due diligence.
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