When you decide to start a business, let it be a store, you usually first look for a “place” to put your products or offer your services.  This is a good idea, but what if I told you that you can make this store mobile that is not tied to a specific time or place?  This is what the electronic application provides.  So how can you create an electronic application for your business in 2022?  What are the benefits of investing in applications?

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What is meant by creating an electronic application?

It is the process of building software that runs on smartphone systems such as Android and iPhone, to perform various tasks required by the business, as applications help automate operations and increase efficiency.  This process includes several steps from gathering application requirements and designing prototypes, all the way to the programming and testing stages, after which you release your application to customers.

The importance of creating an electronic application for your business

When you start building an online application, you open up several endless growth opportunities, as most consumer activities are currently done through applications.  Below we list the most important benefits of creating an electronic application for your business:

1. sales promotion

Electronic applications help grow business revenues in many ways, as they are easier to access and purchase for consumers, and their targeting is broader.  The electronic application shortens the way and makes the process of buying and interacting with the brand easier with a “press of a button” from anywhere in the world, even while on the move.

2. Reduce the cost of service

Electronic applications allow customers to access basic information and frequently asked questions without having to contact a support or service center.  Some of them also allow IVR or Chatbot interactive  voice response  instead of wasting a lot of time and money in human support centers, thus reducing service costs.

3. Reduce marketing costs

Your taking the step of creating an electronic application will benefit you in many ways, and perhaps the most important of them is that the application opens the way for a new marketing channel that business owners may not  notice.  Apps allow ads to be shown through push notifications to customers and front-ends.  You advertise your offers or your new product through it.  The cost of the marketing method is more effective compared to  other advertising  methods, as it reaches the customer directly.

4. Enhance customer experience

Many websites do not look good on different screens.  Even if it has seen a significant improvement in recent years with the trend of Responsive Design, mobile apps are purpose-built for smaller screen sizes, so they are easier to scan and use.

5. Create a competitive advantage

Companies are currently rushing to develop electronic applications due to the large growth in the smartphone and electronic applications market.  Studies  have indicated that the application market is expected to grow from $484.81 billion in 2022 to $792.51 billion by 2029, at a compound annual growth rate. amounted to 7.3%.

We find that the fierce competition in the markets today does not allow you room for error or delay in making decisions, if you are not constantly informed of the market conditions;  You will gradually lose your customers.

6. Enhance customer loyalty

Companies make a great effort to develop and improve their brand and enhance  customer loyalty  towards it.  Electronic applications give you a great advantage to set up  loyalty programs  and highlight the professionalism of your business and put it at their fingertips always, wherever they are and travel.  This way your business will be in your customer's pocket in a literal sense, not metaphorically.

7. A renewable source for an uninterrupted stream of valuable data

Apps are a platform that your customer interacts with directly without any middleman.  Thus, you will likely be able to learn a lot about customers once they download your app and while using your app, such as their geographic location, their purchasing preferences, and the times when they are most active.

You can also easily get actionable insights from your customers via analytics tools like  Google Analytics, by running an in-app survey, or by analyzing customer reviews in app stores;  To get an opportunity to analyze areas for improvement, quality of products and services, etc.

Types of electronic applications

Electronic applications is an umbrella term that expresses different types of mobile applications. Below we mention these types:

native apps

Original applications are applications developed for use on a specific operating system. The application developed on the iPhone system is not suitable for the Android platform, and vice versa.  There are also programming languages ​​dedicated to each system separately, so if you want your application to be used on the iOS system, it must be developed in Swift or Objective-C, while developing an application for Android users requires the use of Java or Kotlin.

Web apps

Web applications are not applications in themselves, but rather websites designed to look like applications, so that they are compatible with mobile screen sizes.  Web applications are usually developed in HTML5,  CSS3,  and JS and run in mobile browsers by adding their own URL.

Hybrid apps

Hybrid apps are apps that can be used for both platforms, Android and iOS. It uses specific technologies and frameworks that combine the characteristics of the two systems, such as React Native and Flutter. But the performance here is often lower than the native app since native apps are only for the platform they target.

What are the steps to create an electronic application?

Creating an app is not something that can happen overnight, but there are many steps you have to go through to ensure that your app is launched properly. Here are the correct stages to start developing a new app:

The first stage: planning

In the beginning, several main steps must be taken through which you can understand what you want to do and develop a well-thought-out plan of action to rely on in the following stages:

1. Determine the goal of your application

You cannot start the stages of creating an electronic application without setting a clear goal for it. Try to think about why you are designing an app and what you plan to accomplish. Put on your thinking hat and write down the answers to the following questions:

  • What is the main goal of your application? What exactly do you want?
  • What problem does the app solve?
  • Who is the target audience? What are the ways to attract them?
  • How will your application stand out from competitors?

The importance of clearly defining goals is not limited to a specific stage but rather represents a reference to return to throughout the process of building the application.  Writing down the answers will be a great reference to keep you on track.

2. Develop a plan

Having thought through the answers to your questions in Step 1, you should now take this information and sketch out the scope of your project.  During this stage, you can delve deeper into how the application creates value for users or the application business model in a more correct sense, define the features of the application and chart a path for the flow of your ideas and how you can implement them.  Think of this stage as the stage of drawing up a roadmap for your application.

3. Conduct market research

It is important to  understand the niche market  for your app and to get an idea of ​​what you are facing.  The world of applications is a very diverse and competitive arena, which requires making sure that your application idea and the features that are planned to be implemented are suitable for the market.

Don't be afraid of what you see during the research and analysis process.  The fact that there are many applications similar to what you are trying to implement in your application does not necessarily mean that your application will not outperform them.  Researching your competitors' work will show you what you're missing and inspire better ideas about what to incorporate into your app.  Know what technologies your competitors are using and pick up where they left off.

In addition to analyzing competing applications, analyze and pay attention to user comments and reviews, through which you understand what users currently love about existing applications and what they dislike, and how you can solve this problem.  During this step, you can also go back to your written and sketch notes, edit your own and get an idea of ​​how to proceed.

The second stage: application design

The UI/UX design stage is an essential stage for creating a good electronic application, as you design the appearance and interfaces of your UI application, as well as design the  customer journey  within it.  This stage gives you more space to modify and delete elements and interfaces before coding and writing the code, as the cost is lower, by reducing the time wasted in modifying after development.  It includes several steps as follows:

1. Create wireframes for the application

An org diagram or wireframe is a draft that visually shows the architecture and structure of an application.  In this step, you take the initial goals and plans you drew in Phase 1 a step further and create a basic outline of what your app will look like, how it will work, and map out the user journey within it.  You can do diagrams on paper, but some tools allow you to create them digitally, such as  Balsamiq  and  Miro.

These charts are very basic and almost devoid of color or pictures.  Never attempt to aestheticize these org charts while designing them.  They are technical documents that are intended to clarify ideas for stakeholders, not to build on them in advanced stages.

Once you have your application organization charts in place, you will have a good overview of the pages you will need and how your application will work.  You don't have to pick or make a final decision at this point, and you can tweak and change however you like.

2. Front-end design

Now it's time to think about the actual design of your app and create good-looking and realistic mockups.  This is a very important step because based on it, the path and form of the application will be determined until the end of the process of creating an electronic application.

Take the schematic as a reference to the structure of the interfaces, then add aesthetics through colors, lines, and icons.  Keeping the design of the app simple, aiming to make the user experience as fun and easy as possible.  And remember that the phone screen is small and does not allow us to provide a lot of information at one time, as on the website screens.

Don't rush out the final app design, take your time and test the designs and make sure they are effective with the target audience, and check that the basic app features and actions are easy to access.  You can design applications yourself if you have the skills of designing  digital products  and are good at using the tools designated for that, or resort to  application designers  who can complete the application efficiently and quickly for an economical price that you can only find in Fiverr.

The third stage: is an application development

At this point, you start actually coding and start seeing real output about how the app looks and features.  This stage is divided into two parts:

  • Front-end development:  It is part of the development process that is concerned with programming everything related to what the user sees, and it depends on the design files.
  • Back-end development:  It is the part responsible for writing and coding application procedures and all operations that occur in the back-ends, such as storing and sending data.

If the project is small, a single developer responsible for both sides of the development process, known as a Full-stack Apps Developer, may be appropriate.  But if it's a large project and the design of the app has complex features, a whole team with multiple developers from different software backgrounds might work on it.

The fourth stage: testing the application and ensuring its performance

After completing the programming of the application, the testing phase comes to ensure the performance of the application and that everything in it works as planned.  Given the importance of this stage, most engineering teams have integrated it during all phases of the software development cycle, and sometimes the responsibility for these tasks is assumed by specialists called;  QA Engineers.  This way, your team can spot any bugs and quickly make improvements to the app before releasing the app to customers.

Application Testing and Performance Verification - Create an electronic application

Fifth stage: launching the application

Now that you have finished designing, developing, and testing the application from all parts, and that you have confirmed its performance, comes the stage of making the application available for use in a real environment.  Sometimes companies launch applications in two stages, as follows:

1. Launch a trial version

Beta testing means releasing an initial version of your application and making it available for use on a small scale to a specific group of users.  To see how it works in a real environment and check how users interact with it.  It's important at this point to get users to give their feedback about your app, let them know you'll value their feedback, and use that feedback to fine-tune things based on what you see and the feedback you receive.

Once you have the feedback you need and interact with it, and analyze how your app looks and works in a real environment, it's time to reveal your masterpiece to the world and make it more widely available.

2. Launch an official version

Finally, it comes to publishing on the app store, you have to take into account the regulations and rules set by each store to publish the application on it.  Android applications are published on the Google Play Store, and you usually wait for three days for the application to be officially launched on the platform.  As for the iPhone, it often takes a little more than that.

Once the app is published, it's a good idea to keep track of comments and reviews, so you can make necessary updates and modifications as needed.

What are the costs of creating an electronic application?

The costs of designing and building applications vary according to two main factors:

Application features _

The application's uses and features control the direct cost of creating it.  For example, the cost of creating an electronic application to read books added by one party will be less than the cost of designing an application that is an intermediate platform between readers and writers.  To view and sell books and buy them.  In the first application, you will not need to add many features and details, while you will have to develop an application that contains many advanced features, add payment gateways, choose advanced databases, and others;  in the second application.

application type _

The cost of creating an electronic application also varies according to the type of application. Hybrid applications are usually less expensive than developing native applications.  The cost also varies according to the prices of the developers. Sometimes, iOS app developers charge more than Android developers, as security restrictions imposed by Apple require more effort (this is not a rule, but prices vary from place to place).

How to form a project team to create an electronic application

In no way can you dispense with the development team while creating an electronic application.  The first step to creating a strong app is to build a team of people with different backgrounds and experiences.  Here are the most important job roles that you should be keen to include in your application development team:

1. PM Project Manager:  Responsible for developing technical specification documents and developing the project roadmap.  In addition to setting deadlines for delivery and requirements, defining team responsibilities and direction, and preparing periodic reports on the level of project progress.

2. UX/UI Designer:  Designs app user interfaces, icons, and graphics, conducts UX research, and charts the user's journey within an app.

3. Mobile Developer:  Responsible for programming and developing system functionality, integrating APIs, optimizing databases, and other development tasks.

4. QA Engineer:  Tests the app to ensure it runs smoothly on every device.  They are responsible for finding any software or security bugs.

5. Digital Marketer:  Helps you launch your app successfully with outstanding marketing strategies, such as  search engine optimization (SEO), and prepares analytics on the growth of the app.

In addition to the above, application development teams may include additional members, such as  UX writers,  software developers,  information security specialists, and technical writers.  In any case, take your budget and priority areas in which you need professional help into account from the start.  hiring  freelancers  and purchasing their services to carry out specific tasks;  One way to manage an effective project budget and ensure adherence to it.

Final tips for creating the perfect web applications

When developing or building anything, it doesn't have to be software, you need to know the best practices and most frequently asked tips from industry leaders and domain experts.  Below we list a set of tips that will help you, as a business owner, to create an ideal electronic application:

1. Don't start without a clear plan and roadmap for your app creation journey.

2. Do your best to explain your idea to the work team at all stages, so that you can get the best results.

3. Determine the target audience in the application from the beginning, this will help you define the features that your application includes and the things that you should focus on over the rest.

4. Design your app's interfaces according to best practices recommended by industry leaders, such as  Google's Interface Optimization Guidelines  and  the Apple Human Interface Design Rules.

5. Develop a project schedule and present it to the stakeholders and the work team, so that the specified period is taken into account during the work.

6. Be specific about what features your app design should have, as well as what design patterns you like and want to include.

7. Where available, provide examples and models of what you want to achieve and the outputs you envision for each stage.  To make it easier for the team to understand your ideas.

8. Be prepared to make changes during the development process.  The team may not always be able to get everything done the first time, so don't be afraid to make adjustments.

9. Stay in touch with the team and provide feedback as often as possible.  This helps ensure that the app meets your expectations and requirements.

10. Keep in mind that your users may not always be online, so you should plan to design features that allow them to use your app offline.

11. Give great importance to the testing phase during the development process, because the earlier bugs are found, the cheaper they are to fix.  Only tests can guarantee whether your application works fine or not.

12. Keep the “Norman Door” concept in mind during the design review, which states that usability is more important than creativity when designing a product.

13. Pay attention to the effect of  colors  on the user.  Likewise, your choice of fonts will affect the look of your app.  Make sure you think about the hidden meanings that these design elements communicate and choose them very carefully, making sure that they are consistent with each other.

14. Developers most of the time ignore the security of the mobile application which puts the users at risk.  Application security is as important as any other component of the application development process.

15. When a User uses an Application, the Application shall be able to provide an experience tailored to their wishes.  This is one of the mobile application development best practices that are seen a lot nowadays.  For example, e-commerce applications have a way of tracking user behavior and then using the data to suggest products based on their interests.

Conclusion

Finally, after we have discussed how to create an online application and mentioned all the details related to it, including the correct steps in developing and publishing a successful application.  You can now start planning and developing your own application, and do not hesitate to  seek the help of a specialist to carry out these steps efficiently.