1. Set your goals

What are your goals for developing your mobile application? What are you trying to achieve? Are you planning to build an app to make life easier for your users? Are you planning to create new revenue streams and make money? Is your app aimed at customer loyalty and enabling greater customer self-service?

2. Go Deep With Your Users

Understanding your user’s expectations are very important. If you understand your user base, you can then create an app specifically tailored for them. If you do your research well and identify what your audience likes and wants you are more likely to build an app that is liked.

3. Choosing the Right Technology

Mobile app development technologies are constantly evolving and we are introduced by new techniques and technologies as the mobile market grows.

It is important to go over your business goals and decide on the right technology to build your app.

You should be able to answer some questions like:

• Should I build a native app (iOS/Android) or a cross-platform app

• What languages should I use to build my backend?

• Do I need a web app?

• Which screen sizes should my app support?

4. Design With Ease of Use

The number of smartphone users is forecast to grow from 1.5 billion in 2014 to around 6.648 billion in 2022; that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re adept at using them. For that reason, the mobile app should be so simple that even a newbie mobile user can navigate it effectively. Several elements that help in building an attractive UI design are:

• Input controls

• Navigational components

• Informational components

• Containers

5. High Performing and Fast Loading

Mobile apps need to be reliable, fast and responsive, all of which are the fundamental requirements and expectations of an app user. Slow-loading apps or apps that may crash on more than one occasion will ultimately find their way out from the user’s device.

6. Integrated with Social Media Networks

Most people are spending their time on social media platforms. A developer building an app for a startup firm must offer integration with all social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.

7. Early User Feedback

Your early users are your best testers. They will be using your app in ways that you never thought of finding bugs and identifying areas to improve. The early feedback you will get from your audience is gold.

8. Multiple Releases & Frequent App Updates

Did you know that users will re-engage your app when new features are updated? Statistics show that every time you update your app, users that are gone cold start engaging your app again.

9. Test Your Application “Again and again”

Final testing of a developed app to identify errors and bugs is imperative and must never be avoided or taken lightly. A comprehensively tested (and QA-passed) app before the final launch will ensure that the end product is fit to reach out to its target audience and enthrall them. So, Test your application again and again.

10. Analyze the Results

Without measuring and analyzing your app usage and data, you won't be able to determine the success of your app.

Determining your key metrics early on is crucial and should help you measure success once your app is online.