There is a very famous saying in the marketing world that the first thing that subconsciously connects your brand to the customers is your business name.
And now with the world moving to mobile, the saying that once majorly revolved around brick and mortar business has moved to the mobile domain as well – making it completely unignorable for mobile app entrepreneurs to not pay attention to their Mobile App name.
Now the importance of giving a lot of time in deciding how to name an app was as true some two-three years back as it is today – something that made us curate an article around tips for naming your mobile application, two years back.
But with the changing time, there are a few things like example – Camel Case – that has come into prominence. Something that has made us relook at the whole mobile app naming process yet again.
Only this time, we are looking at it from a different and more personal level – How we help our partners know the steps to find an app name.
While on the journey of finding how to name an app, it does help to know what name type, word, and character count are working in the industry, let us nonetheless share the tips that we share and operate on when trying to finalize a mobile app name for our clients.
But before we move on to the tips that might help you name your mobile application better, let us first touch the basics with what all things you need to keep into consideration when starting with the brainstorming session of how to come up with the right name for your app.
A look back at the factors to be considered when answering how to name your app
A. Aim for Zero Confusion
If you don’t want what happened in the Surf Excel row where a user accidentally tweeted a backlash on MS Excel’s Twitter thinking it’s Surf Excel, it would be better to stay away from keeping names that sound too similar to other apps or brand’s name. In fact, when you try to find the answer to how famous app names were created, there is a high probability that you will come across to the point that they didn’t copy. While both Play Store and App Store are pretty slow and ignorant when it comes to verifying the similarity in names, it is only right to not take a shortcut and take advantage of the name of famous brands by piling on to their brand image.
B. Create Familiarity
In case yours is a case of an existing chain of business, with one business going mobile, it is recommended that you aim for creating a sense of familiarity. So, for you the ideas to choose the right name for the app should help you ensure that there is some familiarity in the name of your app and your parent company, simply to present your app as an extension of the brand. When we talk about familiarity, there is one other way to look at it – seeing that the app name is the best representation of the app’s aim. So, look into both the points when looking to create familiarity.
C. Understand the Stores’ Difference
When finding the answer to How to Name an App, it helps to understand the difference between the required characters limit accepted by the App Store and Play Store. While both the stores come with a character limit of 50 characters, an optimal amount in case of App Store is 23 character while in case of Play Store is 30 characters. Knowing the scope of innovation you can work around helps in leveling your field of search for the right app name brainstorming ideas.
D. Global Appeal
One of the most important things that brands generally ignore when deciding on the apps’ name is looking at it from a global perspective. Assuming that your business will not be restricted to any one geographical location, it helps to go with a name that when translates to another language is something that is culturally appropriate in the geographical location.
Well, here were the four most commonly ignored but must consider factors that you must, at all cost attend to, at the end of the day when you pick a name for an app. Now with that attended to, let us now look at how we go about naming the application for our clients’ apps.
How Do We answer How to Name an App?
A. Look at the Top Apps in the Category
We start by looking at the top apps in the category in which our clients’ app would function. The aim of this is to get the idea of what elements are the competitors choosing – is it emotions of the users they are after or are they ensuring that the app category name is mentioned somewhere when they choose an app name? Doing this gives us a head start in terms of what line we should also brainstorm in.
B. Easy to Pronounce
The second thing that we look after when deciding on how to name an app is if it is easy for the world to pronounce, especially for the user demographic who would be interacting with the application. What happens is that sometimes brands use a foreign word like suppose French or Japanese (commonly) to name their application.But, they forget a crucial thing that the internet is filled with questions asking how to pronounce French, Italian, or Japanese words – meaning, not a lot of people understand the right pronunciation. And, in the fear of being seen as a noob, they refrain from taking it altogether.
C. Talks About the Main App’s Feature
In line with the relevancy factor that we discussed above, we try to ensure that the app’s name is in line with the functionality that the application comes with – as much as possible when looking to answer the question of how to pick the perfect app name for you.After all, keeping the users confused as to what the application does, while seems like a titillating idea can backfire real quick, knowing that the patience of users who are given with n number of options is very low. So, like WhatsApp which has the word App in it or even Candy Crush, the name that tells that the users would have to crush candies, we try to include the features of our clients’ app in the name as well.
D. A Name that Users Search
Ever since we have gotten our hands on the statistics that more than half of the searches happen out of the Play and App Store, we have been taking advantage of the occurrence that people search for applications on the SERPs and then on the stores. One way we achieve that is through search engine traffic suggestions. Our team of SEO experts looks at the terms that people are using to search for the category your app is looking to master and then work it around in a way that it is present in the application’s name.
E. Match With a Domain Name
One thing that is easily missable by you as an entrepreneur is you not thinking beyond the naming your next app or startup. You might forget that mobile apps, most often than not, comes with the plan of expansion into a website as well. Now, imagine you have got a brilliant name that is just perfect and your prospective users are also in love with it but when you search it online, you find that it is already taken by a website online. Disappointing, isn’t it? Well, that is why we make sure that the name we are searching for the application is available in the website domain world as well.
F. Mix Words
Mixing words and then showing them in camel case is not just something that WhatsApp loves but we do too. Along with being an extremely fun thing to do, mixing two words together to form single flow word that describes not just the essence of the app but also the creative side of the application – can come in very handy to show a brand image as well.
So here were the six approaches that we have followed in over 70+ applications that we have named for our clients across different industries.
But after everything said and done, the crux of the matter when it comes to the Tips on How to Choose a Successful Name for Your App lies in two things – A. The name should be culturally appropriate and easy to remember, pronounce and B. No matter how well you name your app or how much time you put behind it, it is equally important to make sure that the experience you give to the users the moment they enter the app is something that is very similar to the emotion that they felt when they read the name – pure bliss.
Both the things, while being equally challenging are also the things that we are prepared to help you with. So, get in touch with our team of mobile app developers and marketers today.
There comes a time in the life of every individual with an entrepreneur-streak when they think of an app idea they truly believe in. But if you are anything like the majority of those dreamers, chances are you are sharing their state as well – lack of funds to convert the mobile app startup idea into a digital product.
A ray of hope, however, for every app entrepreneur with restricted funds is to get investors’ interest. An optimistic misconception among the would-be-entrepreneurs is that investors will automatically invest in a great app idea. If only getting app funding was that simple.
What Are The Different Funding Options Available to Me?
FAQs on How to Find Funding For Your Mobile App Startup
How Much Funding Should I Raise?
Before you start making a list of prospective investors or binge-watching Shark Tank, decide the funding you actually need for your app. A miscalculation can be a double-edged sword. If you get less funding, it’d bring you back to the square one position post-funding and if you get more funds than planned, it can still be your loss.
The more funds you raise, the more you give away your company at the initial stage of the business. This can hamper your owner’s share and rights once your app becomes a brand. A good starting point of accurate estimation can be to know the average mobile app development cost.
When planning to raise initial capital for your app, you should ask yourself three questions to determine the funds you’d require:
How much money will I need to build my app?
How much money will I need to get traction?
How much will I need for post-launch services?
These questions will give you an estimate of how much effort you will have to put behind raising money for mobile app startup. Generally, the maximum amount goes into funding for mobile app development and the rest will go into the other two questions.
Even if you are partially funding your app from your savings or getting funded by family and friends, you should have an estimate of the fund needed. This will not only help you keep proper track of funds but also will help plan the app expansion.
Once you have estimated the funding you’d require, the next step is to get on the preparatory stage.
How Do I Prepare My App to Become a Fund-Magnet?
Solidify the app idea
Why would even one of the many mobile app investors fund your app if the idea isn’t validated or have the backing of a community need? This is the most asked question when getting funding for an app. To answer this accurately, even a seemingly profitable idea should work on the following factors:
Finding a problem that the app solves
A majority of the apps in the market don’t solve a real problem. Although it works great for gaming or video creation apps, the chances of them getting overshadowed are massive. Unless and until your app is solving a problem that no one has even thought about, it’s going to be tough to sustain.
Build an MVP.
The next part of solidifying an app idea is to build an MVP. A Minimum Viable Product will ensure that your idea actually works and solves the real problem. It is an app version built with key features with an intent to help you raise money. The added benefit of the MVP is that it can gather you constructive feedback which can be used to make improvements in the final product.
Confirm your app’s value.
The last stage of validating or solidifying your app idea is setting up a charge and checking whether people are willing to pay for it. The willingness count will help you understand whether or not your app’s monetary value.
Perfect your elevator pitch
Knowing how to pitch an app idea can be of great help in your quest to get funding for an app. An elevator pitch is exactly how it sounds. It’s short, informative, and can get the attention of the app startup investors immediately. You should always dive into the pitching process with the assumption that the investors will only give you 30 seconds of their time for listening to the app idea.
Know the market
Knowing the target audience and the competition in the market will always be fruitful for you. It is very important to know the veins of the market your app will be functioning in. A market that is made up of not just your target audience but also your direct and indirect competitors, the supporting stakeholders, and even the government regulations.
How Do I Find Investors For My Mobile App?
An important part of answering where to find app startup investors lies in understanding how the investment rounds are structured.
Now when we say structured, we mean the funding rounds move in a set order. Knowing which funding round you need to poach can help answer a number of questions – where to find investors specific to your stage, whom to seek out for funds down the line, is there and if there, then what is the funding timeline? etc.
Seed Round: It is the earliest money that goes into a company, app, or idea. The seed funding mostly comes from the insiders who provide the initial startup capital for establishing the business.
Angel Round: Angel round is similar to seed round, but is usually more formal. They are often outside investors who buy common stock in the company but with more formal terms than seed investors’.
Series A: This is basically the first stage or round of large-scale venture capital funding for an app business. The Series A rounds generally bring in $2 to $10 million and get entrepreneurs the necessary capital for the business to develop its product fully and grow.
Series B, C, D, etc.: These rounds are held on the basis of the capital requirement of the company.
Now that you have gotten insights into the first part of how to raise money for an app idea, getting a list of investors should be the next thing on your agenda. There are numerous investors to get funding for an app from but not everyone is the right fit. AngelList is a website that has more than 40,000 investors but you should pick only the top 40 or so to get your app funded. Other websites to find investors for app ideas are Funded.com, Angel Investment Network.
Get referrals
There’s no harm in getting some benefit off of your network. Referrals are a great way to see investors so if you know someone who knows an investor, ask them to help you. Connecting with mediators who can refer you to some great app funding companies will be a smart move. A platform like LinkedIn is great for forming connections and asking for referrals. Once you get their attention, send in your pitch email with all the necessary details.
With this, we have seen the second part of ‘How to raise money for mobile app startup funding’, and now let’s move on to the third and final section.
After you have done your part to get mobile app development funding, it’s time to look into the different ways of raising money for startup.
What Are The Different Funding Options Available to Me?
Angel or Seed funding
Angel investors and venture capitalists are the first options that a startup app development company advises to their clients.
Angel investors do not generally ask for much business control in exchange for the money they give and that gives you more freedom. Venture capitalists, on the other hand, ask for more business control in exchange for funds. They however also provide mentorship. In the end, both Angel and Seed funding for app startups are a great way to secure funds.
Self-funding or Bootstrapping
How to raise funds for mobile apps yourself? You can become your own investor. Funding the business yourself in the initial stage will give you great benefits since you will have complete control over the business. And in cases where the apps become a success, you might not even need funding in the future. But you can always go to investment firms for loans in the later stages.
Bank loans
You can always go to banks for personal or business loans. Although you might have to keep collateral, the process of getting funds would be the fastest compared to any other option on the list. These days, governments are also being supportive of the startups’ growth, meaning you can expect more funding-assistance reforms coming in your way.
Crowdfunding platforms
Crowdfunding for mobile apps means raising money from a pool of investors where each one is offering a small sum of money. This kind of funding is usually done on crowdfunding platforms that are present online or on social media. In exchange for the contribution, you can give a reward or share of the business.
ICO & IEO
ICO and IEO funding is great for blockchain-based startups. The money is raised in the form of cryptocurrencies which makes it a little risky since such funds have an uncertain future. But this risk is hardly a concern for blockchain startups for being in the industry, they understand the pros and cons of cryptocurrencies.
This was our take on how to get app startup funding. Contact our team of startup app developers for further queries.
FAQs on How to Get Funding For Your Mobile App Startup
Q. How to raise funds for a startup?
The process of raising funds for a mobile startup is a multi-layered event. You will have to answer all these questions:
How much do I really need to fund my app?
How to get investors for an app?
What are the different ways to get funded?
On the basis of these answers, you will get several steps closer to getting funded on your mobile app idea.
Q. How to find investors for a mobile app?
There are many websites you can head out to for finding investors: AngelList, Funded.com, Angel Investment Network, etc. There are also several meetups that are held across the world for entrepreneurs and investors to meet and converse.
Q. When should I raise funds for my app idea?
According to our app developers for startups, the best stage when you should seek app funding is when you have crossed the app validation process and you have a basic understanding of what app features and technologies you have to focus on.
Everyone who is in one way or the other involved with the mobile app development process, understands the importance of prototyping.
A crucial part of any user interface design, mobile app prototype, is a representation of how an application would flow from one screen to other is something that cannot just come in handy for a team of mobile app prototype builders and designers looking to understand the mobile app idea but also prototypes come in handy when looking to raise funds for your app project.
What Is Mobile App Prototyping?
Prototyping is an essential part of the design process, as it lets you and your group review ideas and share feedback in the beginning of a project. Prototyping is a significant exercise which brings about perception of how the application will work by showing user flows and portraying a functioning layout and design.
A mobile app prototype shows how a product will work. There are numerous techniques for prototyping, yet in mobile application development, a prototype commonly begins with sketches or a paper interface that develops into an intuitive model, resembling the end result. The main motive behind a prototype is to convey a product’s design and route stream to increase the proficiency of development.
What Is a Rapid Prototyping Tool?
Rapid Prototyping Tools (RPT) is an authoring apparatus to help business analysts, designers and developers assemble and build web and mobile prototypes. This model permits customers to simulate the real world business experience. It assists with approving business necessities and essentially improves the visualization of the finished product.
Rapid prototyping’s popularity implies that there are all types of brilliant assets accessible for designers to explore. We’ve arranged some of our number one quick prototyping tools for developers and UI/UX designers to assist you with integrating the procedure into your work process or find some new tools to enable your programming and design practices.
Now that we have very slightly peeked into the benefits that mobile app prototyping offers – something that we would look into much details later, it is time to objectify the piece.
Well, the objective of this article today is to look at the different prototyping tools for UX/UI designers that will rule this year and for some time to come.
But before we start with the list of top mobile prototyping tools, let us first look into the features of prototyping tools that make for a good app UI prototyping tools.
What Are The Characteristics Of A Good Prototyping Tool?
1. Offer custom component library made especially for mobile
The mobile app prototype design tools that you use for your mobile app should make it easy to customize the component library according to the different mobile screens and app mood that your brand is planning to portray.
2. Output demo to mobile for making the preview of effect easy
The prototyping model you choose should make it possible for you to see the effect of every change that you are making on the prototype design straight in your mobile device.
3. Support mobile gesture functionality
The prototype model should give you the functionality to select your device so that you can design the prototype around the in-built gesture elements of the device.
4. Support transition animation in a switch of the mobile view
Animations have grown to be an important part of mobile app design company. So it is only appropriate that all the good software prototyping tools for UX design should have the functionality of adding the transition animation so that the designers, developers, and investors alike know the movement of the application from one screen to the next.
5. Generate flow chart
An important element of your mobile app prototyping tool should be to give you the ability to generate a flow chart, which would then come in handy for all the first level prototype stakeholders to know how the events will flow from one screen to another.
Knowing the features that would act as a checklist for finalizing the best prototyping tool is not enough. It is also necessary to look at it in the context of which tool would give you the benefits that will bring you closer to attaining the advantages that mobile app prototyping offers on a bird-eye level.
What Are The Main Benefits Of Mobile App Prototyping Before You Start Building The Product?
Prototyping a mobile app offers you a number of benefits like –
Sharing of concept and Gathering of feedback Mobile app prototyping, being the process that gives the first level ready flow of how your mobile application would look and function, is an amazing tool for sharing the concept with associates, the probable user base, and the investors. In addition to the ease of sharing the concept with the stakeholders, the prototype gives you the ability to gather feedback on how the app is looking.
Saving money on the mobile application design company and development team. In a time when the mobile app development cost is established on the number of hours that goes behind every resource when you approach a team of designers and developers with an operative prototype that is a rough version of your original mobile app, you get to save on the cost that would go behind them putting in time to develop design your prototype.
Clarity on what is to be built If there is one hands-down best thing about software prototyping, it is the fact that it gives the designers and developers the clarity on what exactly has to be built. This clarity helps them with getting a headstart on what is required to start with the whole app development process.
Types of Mobile App Prototyping Tools
Paper Prototyping
This prototyping model enables you to start with designing your mobile app prototype without the need of you having to learn any special skills or even get an understanding of the different online tools used to learn to prototype.
There are quite a few tools that will come in handy when you start paper prototyping:
Sketch templates for the tablet, mobile, and web platforms from sketchappsources.com
Offline prototype with the help of stencil from uistencils.com
Use popapp.in to connect the sketch of your photos from one another, thus creating an app flow
Software Prototyping
While paper prototyping comes in handy for entrepreneurs to share their idea with the world, software used to create and develop mobile app prototypes are a lot handier and time and cost saving, along with being the essence of our article.
Without further delay, let us get to the 27 prototyping tools for mobile and web apps that are known to make the whole process easy for the entrepreneurs, designers, and mobile app developers.
Now although we have listed all the prototyping tool to design mobile apps that we are a fan of, first let us look at the prototyping tools for mobile app designers:
Our List of 27 Mobile App Prototyping Tools
1. Sketch: The Vector Based Designing Tool Having an Intuitive Interface
The vector specific design tool makes it easy for designers to not think about resolutions or the screen densities when they create mock-ups, logos, and layouts. The tool comes with very powerful image edit abilities that make it somewhat as capable as Photoshop.
One of the best parts of Sketch is the set of symbols that the tool comes with. Using the symbols you can pre-design elements like buttons, widgets and other navigation items. The next best part is the ‘export to code’ functionality. Using that, you can format the design in codes rapidly and with high convenience, thus facilitating the fast development process.
2. Adobe Experience Design: The Go-To Tool for PC Users
The Adobe XD tool is the one that has managed to become one of the most used tools in a very less time. The website when the designer first logs in, ask their experience level. The tool is 100% integrated with all the other Adobe products which makes it easy for designers to copy and then paste the different assets from Photoshop or Illustrator.
The tool comes with all the functionalities that are present in Sketch and have a very intuitive, clean interface. Adobe XD comes with a drag and drop functionality which creates an image mask for objects that are dropped from finder to a specific space in the tool.
3. InVision: Sharing and Review of Mockups
The famous prototyping tool allows the designers to develop very interactive mockups for mobile and web projects. One of the main striking features of the tool is the fact that it offers designers the ease to review, design, test and then share results with the internal team members.
Also, InVision comes with the ability to sync with Photoshop or Sketch documents which allow designers to update the prototype in real-time inside the design suite of their choice. The second amazing feature of InVision is its project collaboration that enables clients to give quality feedback on the digital product.
Lastly, the tool allows designers to add animations and interactions in the static images while giving them the functionality to upload file types like JPEG, GIF, PSD, PNG, AI etc.
4. Framer: To Concentrate on Creativeness
The tool is designed especially for the elite Apple users and allows them to develop elaborate UX Flow and add text and shape to it. It even simplifies the development of layout which is responsive to every screen size while keeping UI elements intact.
One of the best parts of Framer is the advanced path editing which allows you to draw everything which is optimized for the web. In addition to this, the tool offers designers the best icon and style needed for building exceptional prototypes.
5. Balsamiq: For sketching the concepts when on fly mode
One of the biggest selling points of Balsamiq is the prototyping speed which enables UX designers to quickly sketch concepts. It is a graphics tool which comes in handy in almost every different circumstance – Mobile Apps, Websites, Desktop Apps, and User Interface.
Balsamiq is convenient to drag and then position the different elements, all the while giving designers the same experience as they would get when working on whiteboards. Ultimately, with its slick UI and minimalist charm, the tool makes it possible for designers to develop prototype and wireframe for the clients, very quickly.
Now that we have looked at the top 5 mobile app prototyping tools that we will be focusing on this year, let us look at the other 22 tools that we have come to work and love overtime at the back of our 900+ apps.
6. Origami
The standalone interface design tool which is created by Facebook engineers has been used by the brand to design apps like Instagram and Facebook Messenger. It is hands-down a complex tool which Facebook makes up for by giving amazingly great functionality.
It allows you to preview the app prototype through Origami, copy and then paste layers with Sketch and get them to work on Origami. The tool even enables you to record a prototype and then send it to people from the app itself.
The last amazing functionality that Origami offers is that it can be connected to your Android or iOS device and you can preview it live.
7. Axure
It is a complete design tool for designers. It gives you the functionalities needed to design apps from beginning to end. In addition to prototyping, Axure also enables you to design mockups, idea board, persona, wireframe, diagramming, etc.
The interesting thing about Axure is that it is not just for the designers but also for coders. It enables you to code and add the ready components plus libraries, helping you create better designs, absolutely seamlessly.
8. Atomic
One of the top web based prototyping tools, Atomic requires Google Chrome to work to give the designers the control and flexibility that they need to fine-tune their interactions. The tool offers easy access to the developers as well by offering a shared prototyping system which is effortless.
Atomic also offers you a history option that enables rewinding of previously done iterations and creation of new versions.
9. Principle
The platform-independent prototyping tool makes designing elements illustrating pop, ease, and bounce extremely fast. The tool gives users the freedom to transition between one screen to another, while providing the capacity of animation to the designers, enabling them to animate more than one element on the same page.
10. Just in Mind
The all in one tool used for development of interactive prototypes comes with over 500 widgets for web and mobile app prototype designers to choose and work on. The prototyping tool also gives them the facility to test mock-ups from the device of their choice.
11. Wireframe.cc
The minimalistic web app makes it easy to create low-level prototypes that come in handy for quick visualization of the app idea. The best thing about wireframe.cc prototyping tool is that it supports and promotes teamwork, making it easy for the team to comment on hotkeys, prototype, and sharing.
12. Pidoco
The tool brought into existence mainly for convenient team collaboration at the stage of prototype development makes not just teamwork but also template customization convenient and easy for the team. With the tool, you can create very interactive prototypes in very minimal time. Also, the usability that Pidoco comes with, lowers the development and design phase while sparing the extra cost incurred.
13. Mockplus
The tool, which is also one of the top prototyping tools makes it easy to develop and analyze the work of a lo-fi prototype. Even though the functionality of Mockplus is minimalistic, you can create interactive prototypes, no matter what difficulty level they belong to, with the help of the wide UI component library.
14. Proto.io
The tool enables you to develop a very detailed prototype, thus giving you the ability to work on the micro-interactions with mobile app users, with the help of its interface animation feature. It also makes it possible to test developed prototypes with the help of a convenient system used for teamwork and sharing.
15. Flinto
The tool is basically a fully functional app operating in Mac that enables the creation of a hi-fi prototype. The app can easily be integrated with Sketch via a plugin – which in turn gives you a convenient way to develop an animated prototype. The tool also gives you the freedom to create the prototype and then share it with the team.
16. UXPin
This multi-purpose web tool allows the creation of both high and low-fi prototypes. It comes with an easy commenting system that offers easy collaboration within the team. It also gives you the provision of opening up projects from both Sketch and a library of dozens of the UI kits.
17. Marvel
Marvel is hands-down one of the easiest web and mobile app prototyping tools for designers to start with minimal to zero experience in the field of prototype development.
The simple interface that the tool comes with, promises a very low learning curve for the designers. The biggest appeal of the tool is its features that satisfy advanced designers, specifically the powerful integration with Sketch and Photoshop, making it not just one of the best prototyping tools for beginners but also for their experienced counterparts.
18. OmniGraffle
The diagram design prototyping tool gives you the freedom to create a prototype of screen flow, wireframe, strategy maps, and a number of other diagrams. With the help of OmniGraffle, you can easily visualize flow of the app for it helps in planning the whole app development process without much hassle.
19. HotGloo
The sound interface design tool, with its amazing interactive features, enables designers to prototype a number of mobile applications which need a specific user interface. It makes it possible for the designers to operate on specific wireframe from no matter where they are.
Since HotGloo is a web-based tool, you can work on it from anywhere and will not be asked to download any specific software.
20. Zeplin
The collaboration tool for developers and designers is much more than workflow and design – it enables app designers to develop a complete masterpiece. It makes it possible for you to upload the visual designs and wireframe from Sketch and Photoshop and then add it to your Zeplin’s project folder.
With Zeplin, the iterations happen in real time, meaning developers never have to wait for designs to finish for they are introduced to the whole process from a very early stage in the design process.
21. IconJar
Organizing the icons and bringing them in one place cannot get any easier. Iconjar makes it possible for you to upload and then store all the icons in a single place from where you can search, drag and drop them in the project on Photoshop or Sketch.
When you design prototypes, searching for and uploading the icons can be very stressful and extremely time-consuming – something that Iconjar helps getting a solution in by helping you organize millions of icons in a single place and then adds them in the Photoshop, Sketch, or Illustrator with a simple drag and drop.
22. Fluid UI
It is a one-stop shop solution for design, communication, and collaboration requirements. The platform is a must-have tool for the designers looking for powerful collaboration features that can be used to design and then edit in real time and with the team. It lets you create prototypes, present designs and then collect feedback all inside a single platform.
23. MindNode
The simple interface and zero complex features tool comes in very handy in designing the relationship maps. The tool enables you to prioritize the most important work when you are working on some design. It even lets you set deadlines and reminders on the platform itself to ensure that you are working within a timeline.
Using MindNode, you can fold and then unfold nodes when you need access for the project. Also, with the help of their Cloud software, you can easily share the project with other people and handle it through a collaborative effort.
24. Vectr
The tool lets you design the prototype on Vectr’s desktop and web app designed for Windows and Mac. One of the top mobile app prototype software helps you design the prototype on both desktop and the web browser – making it easy for you to work when you are ready while giving you access to all the changes. The prototypes that you make using Vector can be shared to others through URL and get integrated into applications like Slack for a more powerful collaboration.
25. Prott
The nifty prototyping tool gives you the ability to photograph the rough sketches and then import them straight into Prott’s Android and iOS apps. The sketches then can be used to build prototypes. It also makes the presentation extremely easy with the help of its interactive, effective presentation resource. Prott is also known to offer a wide range of collaboration tools for the designers to make sharing the design an easy process.
26. Webflow
Webflow is outfitted towards making good quality web animations, interactions, and responsive website design.
At surface level, Webflow may have all the attention of being simply one more website builder. But webflow additionally offers a code free interface. This is incredible information in case you’re just needing to make sharp, striking websites without having any computer science degree. One of the other striking features that makes it stick out and sparkle is its eCommerce feature. This includes making Webflow captivating for developers to construct smooth, modern shopping sites or web applications.
27. CanvasFlip
The last in our list of best prototyping tools of is CanvasFlip. The tool is known to ensure 4 times faster prototyping when compared to the many other prototyping tools in the market.
It comes with several notable features like timers showing splash screens, setting of footers and headers, layers for displaying messages, etc. Features that both developers and designers benefit from.
Wrapping Up
Now that we have looked at all the different 27 mobile app prototyping tools that our team of designers has been vouching for their collective years of experience, it is time to bring an end to the whole discussion with a parting note.
While we rely on the five prototyping tools mentioned at the beginning of the listicle and our team of designers have enjoyed working with all the 27 prototyping tools, the use cases that every project come with might ask for varied prototyping tool, something that can only be estimated after looking at the project idea.
So, if you wish to know which out of all the 27 prototyping tools would be the best fit for your app idea, get in touch with our mobile app designers and UI design company in USA today.
Google has decided to give its Android app developers other tools to earn money from users who don’t wish to pay. And if you are thinking it’s subscription-based then no it’s not.
Google is going to introduce a new way to let it’s Android developers earn money. The programme is called ‘Rewarded products’ and will allow developers to show videos on their apps to monetize the apps.
The programme is a win-win for both developers and app users. How will this work? The app users won’t have to spend money on the app instead they can just spend some extra time to earn benefits. But the trick here is that these benefits will also be received by the app developers.
For instance, if a user scores 30 points in a gaming app then the developers can put an option to double the points by viewing a video ad. This is how both the parties are winning without either of them losing money.
Google also said that developers can easily adapt to it as the integration process is not difficult and does not require additional API calls or extra SDK integration.
The developers are quite happy with this new change but we still have to see how the users react to the video ads. It also depends on how the videos will be added in the app. The video ads are the first of the rewarded products that Google has added. There may be more of these products to come in the future.
In a blog, Google said, “Developers are increasingly using multiple methods to monetize their apps and games. One trend has been to reward users for a monetizable action, like watching a video, with in-game currency or other benefits. This gives users more choice in how they experience the app or game, and has been an effective way to monetise non-paying users,”
This new programme was influenced by developers demand to reduce app store tax. Google has been very supportive of its developers and has constantly been adding new tools for developer. This new programme might seem somewhat similar to most but there is a difference.
Developers had already been using advertisements to monetize their apps but this new programme will become the official product of Google. This will make integration an easier process and will also give Google an edge in competing with third-parties that offer something similar.
The rewarded products can be added to any app in the Google Play Billing Library or AIDL interface. All this can be achieved with just a few additional APIs and would not need any SDK as mentioned earlier.
Another catch with this sudden launch is Apple’s full embracement of subscription. We have seen that subscriptions have become the largest source of revenue growth app stores recently. As good as it sounds for Google to be introducing the new monetization programme for apps, they still don’t have an upper hand.
iOS users are more likely to pay for apps that they enjoy than Android users. This is why Apple has seen almost double Google’s revenue even with fewer downloads. All this resulted in the very heated argument of Android vs iOS which has still not settled.
For Android developers, this means that they won’t be able to use the benefits of subscription any time soon unlike Apple. This also means that developers going for cross-platform development will be more inclined towards iOS just for revenue growth.
It’s a good thing that Google introduced this rewarded products programme for proper monetization of apps. This might bring back the developers’ attention to Android and hopefully increase the in-store sales of Android.
The rewarded video product is launching in open beta and will be available for developers in the Play Console.
This was all about Google’s new Rewarded Products programme launched for the Android app developers. Stay tuned for more or contact our Android developers at Anteelo.
The competition in the app market is too high for you to compromise with the quality of your app. But with high quality comes high costs and when we say high costs, we mean it. This may be a reason why most people avoid app development altogether – which, in turn, does more harm than benefiting.
The world is going mobile rapidly so it becomes important to make your place in the same world. Businesses have doubled their revenues and sales with the help of their mobile app. So, when you see at the long term benefits, these initial investments seem quite worth it.
However, mobile app development cost can still be high for startups since the capital is limited and there is not much to offer. But that shouldn’t stop any startup from reaping the benefits of having an app. For the same, we figured out some great strategies to help you reduce app development cost.
We will discuss the mistakes you can avoid to reduce app development cost and some strategies to reduce app development costs.
According to many researches, the cost of actual app development almost always exceeds the budget allocation for the project. There are some hidden costs in the entire app development process that needs to be identified and removed to reduce app development cost.
We tried to find some mistakes that can cause the cost of app development to rise. Let’s see if you are aware of any of them.
Mistake 1. Wrong UI/UX and QA Testing Cost estimates
This would probably be the first mistake that you can make. The cost of UI/UX depends largely on how many devices, OS and features are involved in your app. It also involves the type of designing an app will have. Simple designs and features are less costly than complex designs and too many features.
Another place where the costs increase is the testing stage. For every device and every OS, independent testing is done. For this, it is advised that a conservative number of testing should be done before launching the app. Once the app is launched, the feedback can be used to decide whether further testing is required or not.
Mistake 2. Not Taking into account the cost of updates
There is a common misconception that you only need to launch updates when something needs to be changed. In reality, the mobile app needs updates for improving the interface and fixes any bugs. There are also UI tests that need to be run so that the user experience is enhanced.
As per the AnyPresence survey conducted for enterprise apps, it was revealed that 80% of the apps were updated twice a year and some of them were updated twice a month. These apps show great performance and have a high rate of active users.
The mistake made here is that most app startups don’t consider the costs that incur post app launch. So planning for these big and small updates are some ways to reduce app development costs for enterprises.
Mistake 3. Not Being Able to Decide Between Native and Hybrid app development
As a startup, you may not be aware of the difference between a native app and a hybrid app. And when going for app development, knowing the difference between these two types of apps is important. Once you know the difference you will be able to decide which is better for you, hybrid vs native apps. Also, the cost of app development is different for both types of apps.
Well, a native app is built from scratch and is developed for a particular platform. This means that the cost of development will be charged twice, one for Android and one for iOS. But the native apps have high performance and provides the better user experience.
Whereas a hybrid app is built for multiple platforms and gives more of a web app feel. The quality of apps differ from native apps since its built for multi-device and developed at the same time. The one-time development method reduces app development cost for hybrid apps.
In this situation, you must be aware of what’s going on with your app. You should be aware of the type of app that you are getting and the costs involved in the development process.
Mistake 4. Ignoring The cost of Adding Latest Features
Sometimes there may come a need to add some latest features to your mobile app and then you will be the inventor of the feature. You can resell it to many companies after licensing it and earn huge profits. But that may also be costing heavy. Of course, the benefits are going to be there but there again comes a factor of cost.
If you ask your developers to build something that hasn’t ever been built in the market before, you are putting yourself in a position of cost overrun possibility. Here comes another issue that the developers can cause. Most developers would not warn you if you are unknowingly adding cost to your app development project.
This is why working with a genuine app development company is important. There are many companies like Anteelo, that help in finding ways to reduce app development for enterprises. These are the companies any startup should be working with for their app development.
Mistake 5. Not Considering Implementation costs
Even after identifying all other costs, you may forget the cost of implementing everything. For an app, there are different features that need to be added and this depends on the type of app it is. For instance, an e-commerce app will have features like payment gateway, the category of products, wishlist and a lot more. All of these features will have to be implemented, maintained and improved.
To ignore implementation costs will be a serious issue since it comes under the hidden costs of app development. To reduce app development cost, keep in mind that these factors also contribute to the overall cost of app development.
These were some serious mistakes to avoid to reduce app development cost for startups in 2019-2020. Now we move on to the strategies or tips to decrease mobile app development cost.
Strategies to reduce app development cost for startups
Almost all the startups planning to go mobile have been asking ‘How to reduce app development cost?’ Even though the cost of app development cannot be slashed 50% yet there are some ways we can reduce it enough to make it affordable. Here we will see some incredible ways to reduce the app development cost.
MVP
Minimum Viable Product or MVP is built with fewer features and at low cost than the original product. You can get an MVP built and release it publicly. You can avoid wasting time and money on building the original app in the first attempt and use the MVP to raise money for your app. Once you do that you will gain profits and feedback to work with for the original product.
Readymade templates
How to reduce app development cost? Go for readymade templates. As good as building things from scratch is, it’s not very cost effective. There are many templates that are present online for use and would fit perfectly with any app. Using these readymade templates will reduce the time and cost of the app development process.
Regular troubleshooting
Even after the launch of the app, it will require constant improvements and fixes. Hiring an expert for that would a good idea since they can provide tips to decrease mobile app development costs throughout the process. Keep in mind that if you hire cheap freelance developers from far away places then you might have to spend a whole lot of money in redoing the app in case things go downhill.
Access Mobile-specific features
Every device has some built-in features such as the camera, GPS, call options, etc. Employing them into the app may seem a good idea but there are two issues to face. First, not every device has the same features which mean the app may not function for some users. Secondly, adding these features incurs a cost which can be simply avoided if there is no need for those features. For instance, a news app does not need to access the GPS so it can be skipped.
Regular communication flow
We cannot stress enough on the fact that regular and continuous flow of communication between you and the developers is essential. This regular communication will make things more clear for both you and the developers. It also helps in keeping a track record of how the process is going.
UI/UX Simplicity
One of the strategies to reduce app development costs is to go for simple yet elegant designs. A simple UI design is very important especially for new users since adaptation becomes easy. Most apps and websites are opting for a minimalistic design which is extremely cheap to design. Complex designs and too many features will not only confuse the users but also will add unnecessary costs to the project.
Hire skilled testers
If you want to save cost and time then hiring an expert team of testers is the best investment. At Anteelo, we practice an agile testing process so that there are less cost and less time in the testing process. This is one area you should invest in properly since it will only enhance the over app experience for the users.
Don’t hurry the process
Most of the times developers hurry the client in order to finish the project early but that may not be the right way. Unless and until you are working with a team of experts, you cannot hurry the development process. The reason is that in case of any mistakes, there will be an extra cost incurred. It will be a wise choice to go slow and deal with each part of the development patiently.
Outsource app development
One of the biggest reasons why businesses outsource is to lower the mobile app development cost. You see, when you get an app developed in eastern nations like the USA or Australia, the average hours of development is in the range of $100 – $120, while in the case of eastern nations it is $60 – $80 per hour. The difference is very massive.
So this was our take on how to reduce app development cost for startups. Want to get an app developed by us? Contact our team of developers.
All the different app development processes take their individual development time.
Although research stages take up around 2 to 3 weeks of development time, when done right, they can not just save time on a later stage but also aid the smooth sailing of processes.
Factors that slow down the mobile app development timeline are changes made mid-project inexperienced developers and use of complex technologies
RFPs, MVPs, and Cross-platform development tend to speed up the app development process.
There is no doubt about the fact that with 350 billion app downloads worldwide, businesses are looking to get the same attention. It’s very normal for a business to inquire about the app development process and the mobile app development cost.
Usually, businesses and clients are interested in knowing how long does it take to create an app, the cost of app development, and all the efforts involved. As soon as they learn the benefits of having a mobile application for their business, they wish to get on with it. Hence, the question how long does it take to develop an app.
{Also read our article on – How much Does it Cost to Develop an App Like Careem & Uber}
Now, usually, the average time to develop an app looks like the below image. But there is no definite time as it depend on person to person and company to company
But there is no definitive-ness. And thus this article.
In this blog, we will not only look at the mobile app development process, factors affecting the average time to build an app but also will determine how long it takes to mobile app development.
Key Stages of The Mobile App Development Process
The app development process has different stages and all of these stages require different time slots. From the planning process until the launch of the application, the entire process is interdependent on each other and requires proper attendance. It is quite obvious that apps with different sizes and different features have different app development time.
Each development stage is discussed below to answer the question ‘how much time does it take to build an app?’
This is one of the main documents that entrepreneurs and app developers often miss out on. Ideally, the better the brief the lesser time it would take to understand the software project and the requirements. In fact, this one step can have a HUGE impact on the time required to develop an app.
There are some things that you have to include in the brief which you are working with such as the company information. But to help give your app development agency a detailed understanding of the project and the mobile app development services they will have to deploy.
The outcome of this stage is usually: The Brief of an App Development Before we look into the different design and development related phases, let us first look into the time it takes to set the basis of all the design and development processes that follow.
Project
Project goals and the success metrics
RFP
NDA
The budget range
Delivery date
Stage 1: Forming ideas and research
It’s easy to get great ideas but it’s not necessary that everyone will agree to it being great. The idea formation and research part very much affect how long it takes to build an app. This stage involves starting with an idea and then researching it for more improvements.
Even if the idea of the app seems right, a test must be run to keep things as real as possible. This can prove to be a very important step taken in the initial stage. Testing application ideas also ensure that when the app is launched in the market, the users are going to love it.
Another thing that this stage involves is targeting the right audience. It is in this initial stage that the right audience is targeted for the app. Defining the target audience not only helps in boosting the app after its launch but also in shaping the app in the right direction.
Different apps have different size and ages of the target audience. For instance, Facebook has all ages of people on its platform whereas Tinder has a younger target audience. Targeting has made these apps so successful therefore is suggested that proper targeting and research should be done.
Analyzing the competitiveness of the market and the app is also necessary. During the research about the app, one should also gather information about the competitors and potential threats. This will prepare the app owners for any difficulties after the app launch.
The entire research takes several weeks. By the end of the research, you should know all the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors, the app strategies and defined target audience.
By the end of this stage, you should get these outcomes:
Minimum Viable Product
User Stories
App Prototypes
Stage 2: Planning it all out
The next stage is the planning stage. Once you know all about your market, its time to plan out the app development process. The planning stage involves decisions regarding the configuration of the app. These decisions include making a choice between iOS and Android, native or hybrid, cross-platform or not, web-based app or mobile app, etc.
Once these plans are made, its time to add on the features. Now the features of an app should be such that neither does it complicate the app nor slows it down. There are many basic features that an app should have such as search bar, social media sharing buttons, profile building, login option, etc. These features make a basic app much convenient for users.
As the app size increases, the features are more and more directed towards the type of app. For instance, any e-commerce app will have the ‘Add to cart’ feature. Similarly, social media apps have the option of media sharing and various other features for engagement on the app.
All these planning is quite complex and will require a month or so.
Stage 3: Design Sprints and Idea Validation
Design sprints processes are being used for testing different aspects of an application. It takes around a week to complete the whole design sprint. The idea of the stage is to test different aspects of the idea and get them validated by a pool of prospective users.
Design Sprint helps businesses understand if users value a feature, how they use it, when they would be using it, how easy or difficult do they think it is to navigate the application, etc.
Stage 4: Development stage
In the development stage, there are three elements that need to be built: the UI, Front End and Back End. Once all the planning is done, the developers and designers will work their magic and start building the app. So how long does it take to build an app? Well, the development and designing stage takes about six weeks.
The UI of an app is taken care of by graphic designers. This gives the apps an appearance to enhance the user experience. UI is important for any app to flourish in the market because the users seem to like visually appealing apps more.
The Frontend and the Backend are also very important components of the app development process. The Front End is what users see and how they act in an app but nothing will make sense until the Back End is developed. The Backend connects the UI with the system and allows the proper functioning of the app. So, how to make a mobile app without either of these? Well, you cannot.
Let us deep dive a little to know what both the engineering processes consist of:
Picking the best development team is never simple, even when you have the best team you are in constant search of more. To help you with the hunt, you can either look for them locally, which is quite difficult or outsource the task to either app development companies or to freelancers that will turn into a team under your influence. Or if you want, you can opt for companies in your area like mobile app development company in USA if you live in the US or any other area where you reside.
Obviously, the most ideal alternative is to find a current development team with demonstrated experience in the industry and direct all the requirements to them. There are a few reasons behind that:
Having a team means that they know each other and are strong as a group.
As the developers know each other thus, their work timings and pace are similar minimizing any sort of delays.
Having a strong team with a project manager will help you to place all your requests to an individual (project lead/manager).
Another incredible benefit of selecting a ready to work development team is that, they will give you the end result and will handle all the application development stages themselves. In addition, proficient groups can provide you with a good understanding of the process of developing apps, guide on improving the work process, and assist you with picking a native or a hybrid app, based on your objectives.
Stage 6: Testing
What does it take to run an app? To know whether the app is even going to run after the development is finished, we need to do test runs. We cannot deny the fact that the app will have some or the other bugs that need to be fixed before the final launch. These bugs can be identified with the help of tests.
There are many ways to test a mobile app’s performance and functioning. We, at Anteelo, have our own strategies for testing mobile apps. The quality assurance tests are run so that users don’t find any issues when they first use the app making the app more likable.
Alpha and Beta testing are done on the app to make the app error-free. After the testing, the app is launched. Post-launch whatever feedback is gathered from the users, the necessary changes are made.
Stage 7: Deployment on Stores
The time that it takes to deploy the app can be divided in two sections: submission & review. When you submit an application, either on the Apple App Store or on the Google Play Store, there are some guidelines you will have to follow, such as:
Screenshots
App Descriptions
Icons
Video or Image demonstration
App Store Optimization
The time stores take for deploying your applications.
When you compare the time it takes to launch apps on App Store compared to publishing them on Play Store, Apple follows a very detailed reviewing process – which increases the launch time to some extent. On the other hand, Google makes use of algorithms for pre-analyzing your apps, thus lowering the app launch time.
What Slows Down The App Development Process?
As seen in the section before, the app development process usually takes about 2-3 months. But there are some things that delay the overall process and the answer of how long it takes to create a mobile app.
Mid-project changes
Developing apps is a continuous process where all the stages are connected to each other in some ways. If there are sudden changes in the plan in the middle then the process is bound to get slower. These mid-project changes can also affect the app’s performance since too many changes in an already built code base can do that to the app.
Unexperienced developers
What does it take to build an app that is successful? Great ideas, proper budget and a good developer, for sure. Often business especially start-ups make the mistake of hiring developers that aren’t up to the mark with the work. This results in slowing down the process as well as a poor app for the business. Our team of app developers is highly skilled with good experience at hand which has allowed us to launch high performing apps one after another. We also have helped our clients with their app ideas so that they get the best outcome for their business.
Complex technologies
Technologies like machine learning, artificial intelligence, VR, AR, etc. cause the slow down of the mobile app development process. There’s no doubt that these technologies make the app a better experience but everything good comes at a price. And the price of using the latest technology is that they might slow down the app development process.
The reason why this happens is that the technologies are a bit complex and takes time to fit in the app.
Industry-wise difference
The industry for which the app is being built also plays an important role in the average app development time. The answer to the question of how long does it take to make a social media app is 1-2 month(s). Whereas on-demand apps take more time to be developed. Therefore, the industry is another factor that affects the time required to make an app.
How to Speed Up The Time of Application Development?
With the fast growth of mobile apps, one cannot afford to slow down in the development process. Businesses, be it startups or enterprises, are looking for mobile app developers who can develop apps faster without compromising the quality of the app.
There are no problems without solutions and the same goes with time required to develop an app. When it comes to startups, then gathering a massive crowd is a survival goal and for that mobile apps are the solution.
By now we know how to create an app and what does it take to make an app? We have also known what factors affect the time to make an app. It’s time to see how we can reduce the time of application development.
MVPs or prototypes are a great way to save time. They can be built easily and resemble the original idea of the application. Once the MVPs are out in public, the actual app can be built by adding features and making improvements. Many businesses like Airbnb, MailChimp, etc. started as MVPs before the actual implementation.
Go for cross-platform
Android vs iOS is the biggest debate of all times and sometimes people get so confused that they don’t know which to choose. The timeline and cost of app development of both the platforms individually are relatively high. But cross-platform app development is a solution for this. With tools like Xamarin and PhoneGap, great multi-platform apps can be built which take less time.
Hire a professional developer
A professional app developer for your app is the best you can do. Not only will the app have amazing UI/UX design but also will take less time to develop. In fact, the hours will only lower if you choose to outsource. Being one of the top reasons why you should outsource, when you choose a professional app development company off-shore, you’ll not just get a good experience but will basically make your work easier. Appinventiv is also a professional app development company that has developed several successful apps for clients.
Agile development
There are numerous app development organizations that follow agile development as it accelerates the development cycle. The main purpose behind agile app development is that the organizations can’t face the challenge of starting all over again. It has a flexible and adaptable programming structure that is ideal for open-ended communication between app owners and developers. To put it plainly, it speeds up the development process and guarantees that the application is developed on time.
White label solutions
White label solutions are products that were produced by one company and then is rebranded and made to look like other company’s. This will save a lot of time since there will be no need to build anything from scratch. However, this will not result in a good application especially not the one that generates huge traffic or sales.
Automated testing
Automated testing, although it sounds a quite obvious thing but this is ignored by many. This type of testing is one of the significant periods of development that reduces the mobile app development cycle. The best thing about automated testing is that it can run a whole set of tests all at once. This decreases the time spent on manual testing and helps in improving the security of the application. Automated testing involves several testing methods that are applied to save time. As the testing process becomes quicker, the development process also aces its speed. Executing more than one testing strategy can offer error free code.
This was our take on the mobile app development process timelines and some ways to reduce app development timeframe. Feel free to contact our app developers at Anteelo for any further queries on how to reduce yours.
Request For Proposal is a significant part of the starting of any mobile app development journey. The proposal written by businesses who wish to get an app built states all the important information, requirements and necessary details of the contract.Businesses write mobile app proposals when they are looking for long term, custom made solutions that will help them achieve their goals. Going through an RFP process means that the business is looking at the app development process for its long term benefits. Anteelo has seen many requests for proposal over the years and knows well how a perfect one is written. We respond to RFPs on a regular basis and also help our clients with the RFP process so that they are able to define their projects better.
To make the knowledge of drafting the best RFP a common language, it was only about time that we shared a template for everyone who wishes to start the process of their mobile app development journey on a sound note. And so, we have prepared an RFP template for entrepreneurs for you to pass your requirement to the app development agencies with utmost clarity.
But before we move on to the mobile app RFP 2019 best practices, let’s first go through some terminologies associated with the procedure.
What are RFP, RFQ, and RFI?
An RFP or request for proposal represents a company in front of its potential collaborators. Basically, RFP for mobile application development is a document that outlines all the necessary requirements for a specific project. This is a mobile app business plan doc that identifies the most qualified developer for the project.
There are certain terms that sound close to RFP and are often misunderstood. Terminologies like:
RFI – stands for Request for Information. RFI is used to gather information from various sources but there are no intentions of making any proposal. This is solely used to gather necessary information which may be used in the RFP process later on.
RFQ – stands for Request for Quote. This is used to get the pricing information, delivery and supply policies from the seller. Businesses send an RFQ to developers asking about the final pricing and other details of the deal.
These three are the terms that are often used during the proposal of a document for any project.
Now that we have attended to the Whats of RFP and what are the concept’s similar terminologies, it is only normal for one to wonder, why is the business plan for mobile app concept so important? The answer is in the next segment.
Before we move on to the mobile app RFP template, we need to see why is it so important to write a good RFP for your app development. For one, the proposal helps in conveying all the necessary requirements a business has. And two, finding the right app developer that meets those requirements and qualifies to carry out the project.
RFP process takes a lot of effort and time so only two reasons cannot be enough for its necessity. Following points will give you some more solid reasons why good RFP should be written for your mobile app.
Important requirements
An RFP helps your business in stating the requirements in an organized and detailed manner. The RFP template should be designed such that it holds space for all the information to be noted down. When these documents reach the app developers, they know exactly what the business wants. A better approach is made by the developer and the business when both know what the exact project is about.
Comparison
When an app development company responds to the RFP of any business then these responses can be used for comparison. The comparison then gives an idea of the right app developer. The pricing, skills, time of completion and other additional information are used for comparison. Choosing the right fit is important as mobile app development process is one that costs both money and time.
Return on Investments
When comparing different responses, businesses are also able to analyze the return on investment from various app developers. It also helps in comparing the advantages that a business will be getting from different developers. It’s always better to have options so that the fittest one can be chosen.
These were some compelling reasons to write a solid RFP for your mobile app development. Let’s now move on to the most awaited segment that answers the question ‘How to write mobile app RFP?’.
How to Write Mobile App RFP?
Following is the sample of mobile app RFP template for writing a proper Request For Proposal:
1. Purpose and strategy of the project
This is the section filled by the issuers or the business. Each business has a different purpose and therefore the templates may differ. The business should state the necessary information related to the purpose of building the project here. It should also contain details that would convince why an app development company or a single developer should respond to the RFP. Often the purpose and app strategy are not known to businesses so it’s important to learn those. Following pointers must be included in this section of the RFP:
Business problems: The problems that the mobile app will be able to solve for the business should be mentioned here. The reason why this problem arose and what brought in the idea of having a digital solution should be explained.
Leading body: The next thing that should be mentioned is the leaders of the project. The developers must know who is involved and in what level in the project. The decision makers, stakeholders, funders and project leaders are mentioned here.
The scope of the project: The scope of the project answers whether the project is part of a larger project, does it mean a new line of business or an extension of an existing one, etc.
End users: The information regarding the end users of the app must be disclosed to the app developers. Information like Personas, journey maps, and user research and methodologies should be mentioned here.
Features of the app: The features are the most important part of an app. Businesses should mention what features they want in the app in the beginning as well as in the future updates.
Competition: The ones building your app should know who is a threat to your business. Both the weakness and strengths of the competitors should be mentioned here. A proper competitive overview will help developers understand the business and find solutions that give you an edge over the competitors.
App design: The issuers should provide references for app designing to app developers. The importance of UI/UX in app development is just too huge to ignore, therefore detailed description must be included in this section. The latest designs are most recommended in today’s market.
Platforms and OS: The platform of development and supporting OS should be decided in the initial stages. This is one of the most important decisions in the app development process. The decision between native vs mobile web apps, Android vs iOS apps, etc are some important ones.
Integration: The app’s architecture and integration is another thing that must be mentioned in the document. The questions of API development and architecture should be answered for the developers.
Prototypes: If the app has any prototypes that have been built earlier then it must be mentioned. The prototypes should also be provided to the developers.
Marketing the app: The developers must know what will be driving engagement for the app and how it will be used to market the app. The promotion, distribution, and marketing of the app depend on how the app will be built. Also, many businesses start the marketing of the app way before the app is developed.
Launch date: The completion of the project on time is very important. Developers need to know the estimated date of launch to see if they can deliver it on time or not. There should also be time for any improvements in the app so the completion of app and launch date should have some gap in between.
Goals and outcomes: What any business is expecting from the app developers must be known to them. The goals, outcomes, and expectations after the app are launched should be mentioned in this section. Goals and outcomes will be measured in certain ways and those should also be mentioned here.
2. App developers background and capabilities
This section is designed by the business and has to be duly filled by the responding party. It consists of questions that analyze the capabilities of the agency. The main goal of the issuing business is to find out which companies match the requirements for app development. The questions are designed such that they help to issue businesses gather all information for comparison between different development agencies.
History: The background of the company and a short summary of the company will be mentioned here. This way the businesses will be more familiar with their work if chosen for the project.
Differentiators: The agency should mention some key points that differentiate them from other agencies. This should be answered very carefully as it may be one of the deciding factors for the project.
Portfolio: The summary of the top app projects and the problems faced during the project should be mentioned here. Also, mention the ways how the problem was dealt with.
Awards and Recognitions: Mention the awards and/or recognition that the agency has received or anything similar.
Designers: Details of the designing team members are mentioned here. The number of designers, their special skills and their mastered skills, types of designers (freelancers, full-time, overseas, etc.), the process of communication with the designers (direct or indirect, weekly or daily basis), a summary of how the team designs ADA compliant experiences, resume of the head of Designing team and resume of two more members of the team.
Developers: The agency should mention how many developers does the agency has, their skills and specialization, type of developers (freelancer, full-time, overseas), the way of communication with the developers and how often will the interaction take place, resume of the head of the development team and resume of two more members, the development process followed and measure taken to ensure proper development.
App Security Protocol: The security of the app is crucial, therefore, answer the security measures that will take place. Mention how will the app be protected from malicious codes, use open source libraries, security of third-party libraries and client materials.
Quality Assurance Process: Details about the QA team members and their qualification, type of QA members (freelance, full time), interference with QA team and communication facilities with them, resume of the head of QA team and two other members, a summary of the QA process they follow, etc. should be mentioned here.
Project Managers and Management Process: Information about the number of project managers, type of managers (full time or freelancing), any overseas work or in office team, etc. The agency must also answer the communication process with the project managers, capabilities of the PM team, resume of the head of PM team, a short resume of two PM members, communication with the two PM members and the automation strategies.
Reference Projects: The agency needs to provide at least three similar reference project for which interviews shall be conducted.
This was all about the practices to write RFP for mobile app development. Contact our app developers’ team at Anteelo for further details.
The introduction of IoT in India has brought the next level industrial revolution in the country. Besides in the new “Digital India” program launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, IoT plays a prominent part in the contribution. With a vision to create $15 billion of the IoT industry by 2020, the government has drafted a strategic roadmap to bring India on the global IoT map.
But before we discuss the impact of IoT in India, it is important to understand what this term exactly means. More often we get to hear new jargon like AI(Artificial Intelligence), ML (Machine Learning), Big Data, Cloud computing, Blockchain,etc. with the evolution of technology. Similar to these technical buzzwords is the term IoT also known as Internet of Things.
Internet of Things or IoT is basically the extension of internet connectivity into physical devices and day to day objects. In vague terms, IoT empowers “smart” devices for sending and receiving information. The IoT devices are mainly smart watches, smart health wear gadgets, smart home appliances, voice assistant devices, etc. These IoT devices are embedded with electronics, internet connectivity, and other kinds of hardware. The devices communicate and interact through the internet and are easily remotely monitored or controlled.
Getting back to the subject, as per ET CIO, “the IoT market in India will make at least $15 billion by 2020”. It accounts for nearly 5% of the total global market. Also, the usage of IoT devices in India has shown a significant increase from approximately 200 million units in 2016 to 2.7 billion units by this year.
The IoT devices generate data that fuels innovation not only in solutions that are targeted at end-users but also in manufacturing processes and creating new business models. Whereas, according to the NASSCOM report, IoT adoption in India is expected to keep the country in lead. In fact, the IoT industry is already imminent to rejig the Indian manufacturing industrial landscape.
What are the IoT Trends in India for the Year 2020?
With the potential to enhance the connectivity of everything everywhere, the Internet of Things (IoT) has brought a massive change in the manner of doing things. Currently, India has a landscape of 120 IoT firms! These firms hold required technical skills, driving the IoT revolution and making India one of the key countries poised to implement large scale IoT projects.
Ever since the technology of IoT in India has been introduced, the nation has already started working on the latest upcoming trends. Here are the top IoT trends in India for the year 2020:
Smart Factories
The journey to create the fourth industrial revolution also known as Industry 4.0 is the project for developing smart factories that are agile and autonomous in nature. These digitally-enabled smart factories will be optimizing resources for manufacturing to provide high-quality output.
Smart Homes, Smarter Grids
The IoT adoption in India is massively going to be effective in the utility management processes for electricity, water, gas, and sewerage. Further, the trend of smart homes with smart grids will improve the applicability of infrastructure and will help in the efficient management of resources.
Data-Driven Healthcare Sector
One of the best IoT trends in India for 2020 is bringing advancement in the healthcare sector. With the help of the latest IoT trends, the service providers and hospitals in India can easily get access to real-time data. This would further help in mitigating the risk of diseases and in remotely monitoring patients.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) with IoT
This trend will continue to grow higher in 2020 and the nation will witness a lot of positive development in this platform. The AI techniques will be used in analyzing the huge bulk of information collected through IoT devices. The amalgamation of AI, Big Data and IoT will surely pave a way of the next generation experience for end-users.
Apart from these top four IoT trends in India for 2020, the Indian industries are also experiencing growth of segments like connected building and homes, smart lifestyles, etc. which are quite recent concepts.
Will IoT Adoption in India Lead to the Growth of Cyber Risks Too?
No matter how far the evolution of technology takes place, a hacker’s mindset will always remain the same. The loop of attempting cyber attack goes on with identifying weaknesses in the network or a system, exploiting vulnerabilities and repeat! Whereas now, since the advanced connected devices are being introduced, a new addition to the cyber attack surface has further expanded.
These IoT technology-based smart devices like home security sensors, wireless applications, smart grids, etc., offer more options to access points than ever before. These sensors and smart devices present great opportunities for hackers to find vulnerability or loopholes.
Although the developing landscape of IoT has made it easier and faster to carry out day to day activities, it is important to make sure that no cyber risk is prevailing in the back door. And when we talk about cyber risks associated with the IoT, security and privacy could be considered as one of the most critical issues.
With the emergence of 5G technology, the IoT devices will become more empowered to collect, store and share data across other platforms. Due to lack of right security and privacy measures, the generated data can be left open for identity theft or misuse of personal information. Also, insufficient security risk assessment tools and irregular IoT security testing of devices is another major challenge to deal with.
As for organizations that have adopted the latest IoT trends, it is essential for them to identify and understand the vulnerabilities existing in the connected devices and systems. These vulnerabilities may turn into severe cyber threat postures for the entire IT infra of the organization if not patched from time to time.
The year 2020 is undoubtedly going to have leaps in innovation along with unpredictable data breaches and cyber attacks. As our responsibility towards cybersecurity it is important to ensure that our devices are hard to access and do not fall victim to cyber threat actors. For this, organizations must implement security awareness training for their employees and help them in navigating IoT operations in order to secure the network and data of the company.
Implementation of IoT devices can be all fun and games unless you realize how vulnerable the latest technology can leave the cybersecurity of your organization. Remember, prevention is better than cure, do not wait for a devastating cyber attack to take place. Now is the right time to step up for proper cybersecurity measures and make IoT work fruitful for you with the right IoTsecurity testing.
Till a few years back there were around 285 million visually impaired people in the world a number that is now growing and is expected to reach 115 million by 2050.
On one hand, while the number of visually impaired is on a rise in this colorful world, on the other, technology has made a series of advancements to impart all the possible visual abilities to the impaired so that there is no difference in the digital experience that someone with a perfect vision and those who challenge on the front encounters.
However, if you look at the time that has gone by, while it is impossible to argue that revolutionary work has been done to make the visually impaired independent (such as voice-based user interfaces), the grim side of it all remains – out of all the mobile app user demographics, visually impaired are the ones that are rarely planned for (if at all brought out of the backseat).
But when you too, like those technologists who work at making the digital experience similar for both the user set, look at designing accessibility apps for visually impaired holistically, what you are likely to find a promising scenario. A situation suggesting that designing apps for the visually impaired is not just a humanitarian move but also your ticket to reaching that n – 285 million user base.
For those of you who are still sitting on the edge on whether or not to invest in accessibility apps development or if you are still unsure on the clarity if at all your user base is made up of any share of the visually impaired population, let us concur here that there are in fact ways to make your app accessible without having to ignore the 70% of world’s population.
In this article, we are going to look at the different ways you can inculcate accessibility in your app design to impart a memorable user experience to the millions of people suffering from visual impairments in the world.
But before we head there, let us step into the shoes of the visually impaired and see what they see.
Colour Blindness
The concept of color blindness does not automatically mean a situation where visual impairment sufferers see things in black and white. In most cases, users simply confuse one color with another for they cannot see any difference.
Apart from color blindness, a disease that every 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women have in the world, there are a number of visual impairment challenges that you will have to attend to when you work on accessibility app development.
Let us now show you what different visually impaired people see by making you visually impaired for the next 2 minutes through the help of NoCoffee Vision Simulator Chrome Extension.
Now that you have stepped into the shoes of the visually impaired and have seen what they see when they visit a website on desktop, imagine how annoying would be their experience when the screen size reduces several inches and the device changes from a widescreen laptop to a palm-fitting smartphone.
And while you are imagining the irritability also note how low your app’s usability is proving to be with every passing visually impaired interaction.
With you now having stepped in and out of the same shoes as the million of your visually challenged users and witnessing their frustrations and your lackings first hand, it is time to look at the solution – How to Make Your Mobile App Accessible for Visually Impaired?
How to Design Mobile App Experiences for the Visually Impaired?
1. Use ENLARGED TEXT in Abundance
Sometimes, what your users need is a large size text. Now instead of relying on the zoom function which is notoriously famous for increasing the unnecessary time in the app session and spoiling the user experience, what our team of UI UX app designers, who excel in design for visually impaired suggests is giving a manual option to the users to adjust the font size of the text on the mobile application.
2. Use Alt Text for Images in Surplus
A number of structural elements like images can be a difficult area for people with very low vision. Now what happens is that the visually impaired people generally use in-built screen readers present in mobile devices.
In the case of images, these screen readers read out the entered Alt text, hearing which users imagine what the image is portraying.
In that context, it becomes of prime importance that you use a very descriptive text explaining what is happing in the image instead of 4/5 words when you design for visually impaired.
3. Be Wary of Contrasts
Deciding on a color combination can be one of the most difficult choices that you would have to take when designing accessibility apps, especially for the color blind user segments. Now, instead of limiting yourself to a Black and White combination, there are a number of other pairings you can use to show the difference in background and the front element or any two elements.
When deciding on the contrast, you should ensure that the contrast ratio is at least 4:5:1 between the text and background.
Also, there are some clear combinations that you should avoid at all costs to ensure that your app is not a nightmare session for your color blind users.
Green & Red
Light Green & Yellow
Blue & Purple
Green & Brown
Green & Blue
Green & Black
Green & Grey
Blue & Grey
4. Make Textures Your Friend
While the majority of your visually impaired users would have a problem with identifying the different color shades in the mobile application, using textures in place of colors to differentiate one element from another will help solve your purpose while helping your users have a memorable experience within your application.
In fact, it is not just your visually impaired users who would appreciate the usage of textures but also all the other users as usage of different textures can be very appealing, design wise.
5. Refrain From Using Just Colours to Give Out Information
Haven’t we all experienced the time when we fill in a form and accidentally put in the wrong information which makes the box turn red? While the whole situation has been in-built in our digital journey, imagine someone who has difficulty understanding colors facing the situation. Imagine how they would struggle not knowing what they are doing wrong simply because they can’t see a red margin box on the screen.
The solution to this dilemma is pretty simple and even aesthetically alluring – using icons, vibrations, and text to show every right and wrong action taken by the user within the application.
6. Make Minimalism Your Mobile Accessibility Apps Design Principle
Whether you are making Android accessibility app or one for iPhone, if there is one element that can make your mobile app a visually impaired user’s magnet it is Minimalism. The secret that revolves around giving the most minimum to the users design-wise, has a two-fold benefit – A. The visually impaired users have a memorable experience and B. Your visually strong users will also love working around the white space in the application.
7. Make Dark Mode Your Companion
This one element would come in most handy when you have a lot of texts in your mobile app. The low vision users will find it much easier to read the content in the Dark Mode as opposed to the Light mode on your app.
A thing to note here is that if you are making an Android accessibility app, you will have toimplement the dark mode design, but if you are developing accessibility app for iOS, you will ensure that your team of developers is working on an app that is compatible with the Smart Invert Colours feature.
What is Accessibility Testing?
The process of testing whether or not your efforts to make your app design right for low-vision users was successful is what defines accessibility testing for visually impaired users.
As you are making accessibility refinements in your mobile app, you can make use of the accessibility scanner app available on the Play Store. But what our experience tells us is that accessibility testing for visually impaired users is more often than not incomplete until you take your application to real users. While the accessibility testing tools for mobile development can come in handy, you can never be too sure.
Also, instead of waiting for your whole accessibility app development process to end, conduct testing at every stage to prevent yourself from going too down in the wrong way.
Navigation, Multiple browser design, and perceivable content are just a few things that you will have to prepare your application for to ensure that ALL the users who visit your app, irrespective of whether they have a 20/20 vision or are colorblind, have a great experience.
Now that you have seen it all, there is just one thing left to do – shed the misassumption that these accessibility refinements in your mobile app will only attend to the low-vision users and understand that they will benefit all – as ALL your users will be able to have an easy on the eye experience in the application.
Well, there you go. You are now ready to launch your accessibility app in the market and reach all the users who were unconsciously left behind.
How many times have you opened an application and have found the button and element placement going beyond your device screen? Or do you remember how you felt the last time you clicked on an option and it took you to a screen which was filled with bold colours and a lot of text?
Everytime we face an issue related to the app design, especially in terms of it being starkly opposite to what we expected, the outcome is almost always app uninstallation.
The design industry has crossed many rivers to become innovative and immersive. While there are some brands like Uber with its design guideline or MailChimp who have understood and went with the flow, there are brands that are still not giving app design its fair share of attention.
Read this blog as a beginner’s guide. One that will help you, an entrepreneur with the understanding of what makes the role of user experience and UX review process as important as the development and testing process itself – After all, the present time is operative in such a way that the importance of UX and UI design in an App development is not just crucial but unquestionable.
To understand the importance of mobile app UI/UX design, let us understand both the terms first.
What is UI Design in a Mobile Application?
The abbreviation UI stands for User Interface. It is the way through which users can interact with any mobile apps. Mobile app user interface design is aimed towards easy, enjoyable and effective interactions between users and the app. UI in IT is any device that allows users to interact with monitors, screens or mobile devices. The primary goal of mobile app UI principles is to provide the best interaction possible.
What is UX Design in a Mobile Application?
UX stands for User Experience. The whole idea of UX is to create a system that provides the best experience to the users. The aim of mobile app UX principles is to turn customers into loyal customers by providing a positive experience to them. UX is responsible for a user’s journey through the mobile app or website which ultimately decides the success of the business.
Mobile app UI UX design is always put together as they are complementary to each other. For an app to be successful it must be the best.
What are the Deliverables of UI/UX App Design Development?
The work of any UI/UX designer has many phases. During the UI and UX designing process, various deliverables are created for the clients. These deliverables are created for reasons like better communication with clients, documentation or presenting the ideas in a proper way. Both UI and UX have their separate deliverables, let’s take a look to get a clearer understanding of the role of mobile app UI/UX design in the mobile app design and app development process.
A. UI deliverables
Mood boards
Mood boards are used for presenting innovative ideas in a way that everyone understands. It helps the clients understand the app idea that the designer will be working on.
Visual designs
Visual designs will help understand the effects of elements in a design. The effects of elements like photography, typography, space, colours, layouts, images, etc. are better understood with visual designs.
Dynamic prototyping
Another one of the UI deliverables is the dynamic prototypes. Prototypes help in improving the overall functioning of the app as well as making improvement as and when needed. With dynamic prototypes, UI can be built as per the clients’ desire.
B. UX deliverables
Competitive analysis report
The competitive analysis report is created to measure the level of competition your app has. All the efforts go into vain if the app is in a highly competitive market or if it is not prepared to beat the competitors. With a competitive analysis report, the strength and weakness of the competitor’s app can be found out.
User personas
Designers have to make sure the client understands what their customers need and expect from the products. Creating a buyer persona not only helps in understanding customer behaviour but also in communicating the same to clients. The UX process involves user research to learn the behavioural pattern.
User journeys, experience maps and user flows
Experience maps showcase users overall behaviour towards a product. The expectations, time spent, reactions, thoughts, needs, etc. are all displayed in the experience maps.
User journeys or user flows are specific steps taken by the user to interact at different stages of the product. These can be the current interactions or potential interaction with a product.
Interactive prototypes
Interactive prototyping is another one of the deliverables of UX. Rudimentary prototyping saves a lot of time and effort and works well enough to get the job done. The prototypes help in demonstrating how the actual product will work once it’s fully developed. It also helps the designer communicate the ideas better.
Now that we have looked into what UI and UX stands for and what is the role of mobile app ui/ux design in the app development process, let us move on to the importance of UI/UX design in delivering a bespoke product.
The Key Components to Know When Designing Mobile Applications
There are some main components which have to be considered when you design mobile apps UI/UX.
A. Information architecture:
The idea behind IA is to offer users an easy navigation, irrespective of which browser they are using. It mainly surrounds offering them a top-level navigation experience.
B. Interaction design:
It is the creation of a conceptual design through which users interact with the app. It includes elements such as colors, aesthetics, icons, fonts, images, etc.
C. Usability:
This part of the mobile app design principles deal with figuring out if users are getting the information they need through the use of the application and if the app gives them a self-serving way to handle issues.
D. Wireframe:
This part of the user interface design for mobile applications is all about the creation of an app’s sample for the purpose of testing features, usability and look of the app before it gets live in the market.
E. Visual design
It is all about defining the app’s brand in the users eyes. It is not only about choosing the best colours, icons, images, fonts, etc but also its appearance that can have an impact on the users at different times of their interaction.
Importance of Mobile App UI/UX Design
To know the significance of ui ux design in an app development is a must. Most developers create an app with great performance but fail to focus on the designing which leads to the downfall of the app. The balance between the functionality and importance of UI UX design of an app is hard to keep but that’s what needs to be done.
To answer the question, ‘What are the Benefits of User Interface and User Experience design?’, let us look at the pointers below:
Attracts users
A saying goes, ‘A good teacher is the one that grabs and holds the attention of the students and then teaches the lessons.’ This saying is very apt in the case of UI/UX design for mobile apps. The designs grab the attention of the users and ensure they spend as much time on the app as possible. However, the users should be able to understand the designs and navigation well enough to stick around for the long term.
Creates a good impression
For a startup or any small business, the importance of a UI/UX design lies in the creation of the first impression. When users visit your app, they should be hooked to it immediately so that they come back for it again and again. A good app has higher usage time and this can be done with the app’s UI UX design.
Get featured in app stores
Whether a mobile app is good or not is determined by how many users like it. The ratings and reviews by satisfied users will bring your mobile app to the top lists. To get your app featured in Play Store or App Store, make sure the users get a good UI UX. getting featured in the top lists of any category will automatically bring more traction to your app.
Get loyal customers
Attractive apps have more users and it’s a fact. Apps like Instagram, Facebook, Candy Crush, etc. have great UI/UX which has drawn millions of users to them. The satisfaction that comes from great user experience is what makes users loyal. Word of mouth is another reason why UX design is important.
Saves time and cost in the long run
When you work with the understanding of the mobile app best UI/UX practices from day one, you have the guarantee that there will be less need for app maintenance and updates. And since those two things will be at bay, the challenges that you might face after app launch will also be very low.
Builds brand
Putting resources into a productive Ul/UX design helps in rising consumer satisfaction subsequently ending up with cheerful customers. Individuals like working with brands that make them happy. They will be willing to take up features that can be upgraded, and thus, put resources into improving your application. This builds the credibility of your business as a customer makes great relationships with your organization and brand. The aftereffect of this is the development in the worth of your business and your brand name.
Increased traffic
A good UI/UX consistently makes their users stay. If your website or mobile application is designed splendidly and client experience is staggering, nothing can prevent them from exploring the pre-decided target and transforming the users into valuable customers. Hence, it’s the duty of you and the UI/UX Developers’ responsibility to guarantee the greatest UI/UX of your site/application.
Now that you have seen the importance of mobile app UI/UX design, let’s move further into the concept. It’s a common assumption that if you have mastered the UI/UX development process then you don’t need tips for improvement. However, there’s no harm in going through some great tips, considering how the effect of UI/UX design can be long lasting.
Mobile App Best UI/UX Practices
Use conventional elements
Using familiar elements in the app will save time for users. They can quickly learn the app without getting confused. Elements like buttons, icons, colors and symbols should be designed in the way it’s designed in most apps. The quicker users learn to operate the app, the higher will be the chances of liking the app.
Maintain uniformity
It is very important for the design to be uniform across all the windows. The uniformity shows the quality of work put in the UI UX designing of the app. Not only with icons or buttons but the colors and patterns should also be the same across all media.
Employ the right UI and UX designer
If you are focusing on the mobile app user interface design and experience then working with the experts is highly recommended. You can also outsource app development for your app from an expert app development agency to make sure the UI UX designs are on point. The UI UX designers should understand all the end-to-end user interaction and incorporate them within the app.
Make it as interactive as possible
An interactive app is better than a non-interactive one and that’s a fact. When you allow users to interact with the app, it creates a connection between them. Interactive apps give freedom to users to navigate themselves through different windows.
Consider platform specific designs
There is a stark difference in the iOS app UI design and Android app UI design. Likewise, considering the way both the platforms are designed at the device level, the iOS app UX design also varies from the Android app UX design.
What is important is for you to understand both Material Design and Human Interface Design in addition to the elements that separate them from each other.
Don’t hamper the speed of the app
The speed of the app is just as important as the design. Startups do make this mistake by thinking the app only needs its appearance to attract users. But the truth is, the functioning of the app is just as important. The mobile app needs to be speed while having a good mobile application interface design.
Keep it simple and don’t complicate things
If a feature can be put in a simple way there is no need to overdo it. The users will appreciate the simplicity just as much as the overall app. Complicating designs leave app users either confused or furious and we don’t want either of those. It is also seen that apps with simple design have more users than complicated ones.
Keep the focus on limited things
Often the UI/UX development process focuses on so many elements at the same time that the entire user experience turns bad. If too much is going on the screen then that won’t let the user focus on the content of the app. Overcrowding content on the screen is another way to quickly lose users.
Have detailed understanding of your audience
After everything’s said and done, the only thing that can save the effect of ui/ux design from being negative is having an understanding of your users. Only by knowing who you are making the product for, you will be able to deliver a memorable experience to your user set and the world. One way to achieve that is through a well strategized product discovery workshop.
The only thing left for you to do is find a trustworthy and reliable app design company to partner with. A proper app design and app development company will help you expand your mobile ui ux design services.
The Top UI/UX Trends 2021 and Beyond
To get started with the best mobile app UI UX designing, let’s look at what the future of UI/UX holds in 2021.
Voice-based UI
Google Home and Alexa have taken over the voice assistant world. These two technologies are being used by people to get anything and everything done. Voice searches are becoming more and more popular and by in the end of 2021, 50% of the searches will be voice-based. Users are preferring buttonless options to do their everyday tasks, and increasing with this demand is the need to understand how to design voice user interface.
Foldable/Split screen
With foldable phones app development being on the rise, the split screen trend is one of the hottest 2021 app design trends. The idea of actively using two screens together, whether on websites or mobile phones, is amazing! The trend has come back after a short break and is looking more alive than ever. Split screen in mobile allows more user interaction all the while giving aesthetically appealing visuals.
Variety & combinations in fonts
Fonts that will fit any writing space will have another place in the latest UI/UX design trends. Earlier, inserting text in writing spaces had limitations in terms of adjustment. It also made designers send multiple files for the font designs used. Variable fonts are a great solution for this, since it only needs one file for any design.
Dark mode
With both Apple and Android focusing their efforts on bringing health focus in the picture through dark mode app design functionality, the 2021 trend is also inclining towards it. In fact, our app designers feel that it is only about time when health betterment will become the outcome of the importance of a good user interface design.
Animation
The use of animation in apps makes them more visually appealing. It connects with customers more than any other design. Designers are using this tool to create a positive impact on the users with the help of meaningful animations. Earlier, things were simple with flat logos, icons, buttons, etc. but now animated buttons, icons, and even logos are happening. In the coming years, animation will be one of the trends for UI UX designing.
This was our take on the importance of User interface/User experience design system services for mobile apps and the foreseeable future of UI/UX as we reckon. The next step for you herein is to get in touch with a bespoke mobile app design agency that can help you deliver lasting memories.
FAQs About the Importance of UI/UX Design
Q. Why do apps need efficient UI/UX Design?
The importance of UI/UX design in mobile apps goes beyond simply making them appear well to the end users and the other stakeholders. These are some of the other reasons that mark their importance:
Attract users
Increase probability of getting featured in the stores
Increase brand’s ROI
Lower the app maintenance time and cost in the long run
Q. Why is UX important for business?
Here are some business benefits of investing in an efficient user experience –
It has a direct effect on your conversion numbers
It helps saves long term app updation costs
Increase the probability of getting word of mouth referrals and ultimately brand evangelists.
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