App development shouldn’t be taken lightly. It requires time, dedication, and resources to create an app that’s beneficial to customers, so if you’re considering getting into the app creation business, make sure you do it right.
There are many reasons why app developers fail to create an app. One major reason is because they don’t have the right people on their team. But this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, as the reasons behind failing to create an app can vary.
But worry not, because that’s what I’ll be sharing with you in this post. From not knowing how much the app will cost to not understanding what differentiates an app from a mobile website, we’ll take a look at the top 10 reasons behind failing to create an app. This way, you can learn how to overcome these challenges in your next project.
Not Knowing What Users Want
One reason why app developers fail is because they might have not bothered to ask their users what they want. You might have got a great idea, but that means little if you haven’t tested it with real users.
So, the key here is to find out what customers care about and deliver that—rather than the idea of what users need or want. Users don’t need ideas; they need solutions. It becomes imperative, then, to find out what people require from a product and work according to that premise.
Selecting the Wrong Platform
It’s vital that your app is compatible with as many platforms as possible. But even if you do manage to build a successful app on one platform, don’t stop there; work hard at making it accessible and attractive for users on other mobile devices too. For example, if you target only iPhone owners but neglect those who own Androids or Windows Phones, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
Regardless of Android-based gadgets having spread a lot more widely than iPhones, the best applications are regularly sent off at iOS first. The Periscope application by Twitter is an extraordinary model—its Android adaptation was given the go-ahead significantly later.
You might wonder, what could be the reason for that?
The truth is, iPhone proprietors might turn out a more dependable revenue hotspot for the distributor. They are genuinely more well off and prepared to spend more on the applications they need.
Creating apps for such a fragmented platform as Android is a much more challenging task: Programmers are required to create several versions of an app in order to make it compatible with older OS versions since software updates are generally very slow on Android devices.
In the case of building an application, for example, you can select from a number of platforms, such as react-native, Flutter, Android, and Swift.
Lack of Funding
App development is a costly endeavor, and a majority of people don’t want to pay up-front for something they’re not sure they’ll use.
If you want your app developed professionally, be prepared to shell out some cash—upwards of $50,000 or more. While cost should never be your number one concern when starting a business, or even if your business is well established in the offline market, it’s important that you have sufficient capital for an efficient start.
Lack of Support From Other People in Business
The most successful entrepreneurs have mentors. These are people who will listen to their ideas, critique them, and give suggestions on how they could be implemented. The best mentors offer both positive and negative feedback. In order for your business idea to thrive, it needs both kinds of input.
If you have a mentor who has already established their business online through apps and web apps, they can help you a lot drawing on their experience and can give you a straight path for your journey.
Not Knowing how to Market Your Application
Your application can be one of a kind and have ground-breaking features. However, if you do not know how to promote it, your app will stay buried in some dark corner of iTunes.
As such, you should learn about successful marketing strategies before developing your app. Otherwise, people won’t even know your app exists. In order to get publicity and users for your app, make sure that you follow the tips below.
- Perform competitor research. By becoming familiar with your competitors, you will be able to communicate better with your target audience, differentiate your business from competitors, improve your processes, and navigate challenges in your industry.
- Create a landing page that sells. Provide readers with an innovative and unexpected mobile app landing page that keeps them informed. Make sure that your mobile app landing page contains the following components: app name, features, a clear call to action, and a promotional video.
- Reach your audience with social networks. With the help of social media, you can more easily reach your potential customers. You can communicate with your audience via a feedback form or a suggestion through social media.
- Measure your app KPIs. Analyzing your mobile app Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will help you achieve the best insight into your idea, so you will know how well your app is doing. In order to evaluate the success of your application, consider the following KPIs: app downloads, daily active users, monthly active users, retention rate.
Not Being Able to Meet Deadlines
When it comes to development, there’s nothing more important than being able to meet deadlines. This can be a major pitfall for app developers because everyone has a different definition of what “on time” is. So what you can do is identify your app goals, divide your tasks into steps, and specify the time that each step can take. Always try to complete that task before the time you set.
If you don’t set up clear and realistic deadlines, issues with meeting them are inevitable. And no matter how strong your work ethic is, sometimes things just can’t get done within a certain timeframe.
Being Spread too Thin
Imagine an app where there are too many ideas implemented, but few—or even none—of them are executed properly. How about an app that is released too early, with missing details, incomplete support, or a feature that doesn’t work as it should.
All these make users angry and can significantly hurt your app’s image.
Doing Everything on Your Own
One other reason why app developers fail is that they’re trying to do everything on their own. This can include everything from designing and developing your app to marketing it and so much more.
While you may be able to handle some aspects of development yourself, having professional help with design (and especially marketing) will dramatically increase your chances of success. If you really want to make it on mobile, don’t try doing it all yourself.
For example, you can hire a UI/UX designer and tell them to make a wireframe of the app. This will give you a visual representation of how your app will look, and then you can start developing an app as you want.
It is not uncommon for people to have business or startup ideas and even initiate the process of implementing their ideas, but they tend to do everything themselves. They fail to implement their ideas, and they give up.
What you can do is try to not make these types of mistakes anymore. Write out the steps towards implementing your ideas and hire a person who is expert in that field. You can simply focus on other aspects that you can do well.
Lack of Proper Planning
It's not enough to have a great idea for a mobile app or even a working app. Any project—app-related or otherwise—needs to be thoroughly planned out before you get started.
For example, take into account things like How much time do you expect it will take you or your team to build it? What are your potential competitors doing? Who are your target users, and what kinds of apps do they use most often?
Make a daily to-do list that includes the goals that you wish to accomplish. This can help you complete your app in your desired time.
Too Many Things at Once
Have you ever heard of cramming for a test? Cramming is one of those things that only works when it's utilized infrequently, if at all. The truth is, when we try to learn everything at once, our brains shut down and are unable to retain information.
The same applies to creating an app. Instead of trying to do everything at once, focus on just one new thing at a time. When you’re comfortable with that, add another thing until you have all your shiny new tools under your belt.
Now You’re Ready to Succeed
Developing an app following an idea is not easy, but if we pay attention to such steps as the ones I shared with you, it’s not as hard as one may think.
From paying attention to details such as planning and deadlines to avoiding doing everything on your own or trying to do too many things at once, creating an app from scratch is not all that difficult.
Simply follow the steps outlined in this post, give your idea the attention it deserves, and you can easily create the app you desire.
Now that you know that app development is a trending skill, you may be confused as to how to create a good app, and then you can learn more about app development trending topics.