The first few questions you should ask yourself before starting the process of building a mobile application are: why do I want to build this application? Is there a need for it? Do I or others struggle personally with something we encounter during our daily life? and does this idea solve for that struggle? If you have very reasonable answers to your questions, then you have a very good chance of building a successful mobile application.
Here I summarize the 5 foundational steps you need to start building a mobile application:
Problem/Need/Idea
If you are creating an application, there should be a need for it, otherwise, it is pointless to create something that there is no need for. Think about the apps you use on your phone every day. Most likely, you do not use an app that estimates how many paper squares are on a roll of toilet paper.
User Experience Research
Ask potential users if they would use your application. If they say yes, you can ask them what features they would like to see. If you have a budget or can set up a work trade, you can hire a UX researcher to do this for you. If you are limited on budget, there are books you can read to do this on your own. One I recommend is “Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days” by Jake Knapp
Outline User Flow
It is very important to include the user flow in your application and to be specific as much as possible. It will be helpful if you can use one of the wireframing softwares out there such as Adobe XD and if you want a free one use Figma. This step will help you during the development phase of your application by setting a clear path for the developers to follow.
Stick with basic features
It is nice to have a full-featured application, but it is very important to stick with the basic and necessary features in the first version of your application. This will help to make sure the core functionality of your application is 100% covered and to keep the cost down in the beginning.
Have a design for your application
Having a design will help you visualize how your app will look like. In addition, it will help you have a perfect idea of how the user will experience navigating through your app. I would recommend, if you can afford to hire a designer, it will be worth it down the road. A well-thought user flow and wireframe will simplify the communication between you two. Also, a nice design is more likely to get investors interested in funding. You can have excellent code, but if you don’t have a great design, it won’t come to life.
That’s how to get started! I hope this helped you. Watch out for my next blog posts on the remaining steps to further develop your application.
