So do you have the next Flappy Bird in mind? Or perhaps the next Whatsapp?
As a mobile app development company we have seen we have seen and heard all manners of crazy and creative app ideas. We have brought these ideas into the app store and even led to millions of downloads. But in this process we have also seen a bunch of mistakes that startups or businesses make while building their first app.
Here are some of the top mistakes that deter a mobile app’s growth:
Lack of focus on MVP
As startups or budding businesses, we understand that decision makers have a mountain of responsibility upon their shoulders. With the opportunity of an app, suddenly there is an all new sales and marketing channel opened. In such a state, it is easy to lose focus on the MVP and a wholesome product begins to sounds very lucrative. Not only does this increase go to market time but also results in an app that is burdensome and overcrowded with features. Keep it simple and intuitive.
Lack of robustness and scalability
The initial MVP lacks the durability to expand the app in the later future. Every company may expand their operations and services, the app must be scalable enough to support this growing nature. A very nice example of someone who has avoided this mistake is Uber, who are single handedly running their operations on their app while expanding their operations and features.
Half baked app
Invest ample time in getting the development done and verify its acceptance before reaching to the market with it. Strike when the iron is hot not when you get the hammer! Good development is a fruit of patience, overzealousness and feverish haste to reach the market will only result in major backlash. One of India’s largest apparel shop, Myntra, went app-only in May 2015. In this jocund spirit they launched a ‘Appreciate Yourself’ sale to invite app engagement, in this haste an underdeveloped Myntra app failed to support the traffic and with the website also obliterated Myntra suffered tremendous losses.
Building for Multiple Platforms at Once
There are over one millions app on both iTunes and Play store. There is no need to enforce competition upon oneself by building on multiple platforms at once. We understand that the market is ripe on both iOS and Android but one must always test the waters with the first app. Multiple platforms segregate your business and double your maintenance costs and time.
Poor UI & UX
This here is the most crucial part of present era mobile apps. Majority of apps see the light of the customers’ eye just ONCE and before they face the dreaded sword of uninstallation. The UI and UX must be so sublime that the user gets forced to keep the app on his/her device.
Businesses now do not dedicate much time and resource into UX and the meaning of UI to them is very ambiguous, restricted only to design. In our understanding, one can allow skimming of UI features but UX is something that is simply non sacrificable.
Not dedicating enough time on UI & UX is a common mistake and unfortunately a grave one as well.
Apart from the overall look, feel and development of the app, the following two mistakes are also quite frequent.
Lack of Analytics
We never think of launching our website without using analytics so how can we launch our apps without analytics. Data driven decisions can only be derived through analytics.
We can only manage what we measure, here are a few things you can measure using app analytics:
Daily Active Users (DAU)
Retention Rate
Average Time Spent within the App
App Crashes
Engagement
Marketing After Releasing App
We have faced so many scenarios in which startups got their app made and put live in the play store but with an absolute lack of marketing. It’s important to start marketing your app as early as possible. Don’t wait until submitting the app to the App Store to start your social media and media outreach.
Build up a thrill and suspense before the release. Facebook pages, Twitter handles, etc to will only add to the buzz. There are various tools one can use to promote app release through mass email marketing which is a wonderful email marketing tool these days.
Business without marketing is like winking at a girl in the dark!
Startups are enthusiastic and eager about work, our personal experience with them has been and continues to be a magical journey. But with enthusiasm comes a great tenacity to push product into delivery and thus the above mentioned mistakes occur in a haunting guise.
So if you are a startup, just relax, heed to the above few relatable points and let your app spread the magic that it is capable of.
I hope you enjoyed the article. For more of such posts around startups, mobile app development and other leading edge technologies, sub to the blog and we will keep you posted.
