A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Custom App Development

A custom-built mobile application is a way to go for your company’s success. Customized apps allow for efficient management of business processes, high productivity and scalability, and, ultimately, great returns. 

If you’re looking to take your business to the next level, here’s your complete guide to the custom app development process. Inside, we’ll walk you through all the crucial steps from identifying your goals to creating a conversion-driven app tailored to your specific goals to testing and deploying it into the market.

Let’s dive in!

Step #1: Define Your Goals

The initial stage of any custom app development process involves defining your goals. Because every business is unique, your goals will serve as a roadmap for the entire app development process.

What kind of app do you want to build? Is it really necessary for your business? What pain points are you trying to solve? How will this app set you apart from the competition?

Ideally, you want to discuss your project requirement in detail, setting clear and actionable objectives. Otherwise, you might get lost when you finally start building your app.

Step #2: Identify Your Audience

You need to ask yourself who your target audience is before you create an app. If you were to conduct market research, you’d learn more about:

• Who is more likely to use your app? (Age, gender, location, income, etc.)
• How many people would be interested in your app?
• How often are they likely to use the application?

To gather this data, you can create an online poll, conduct interviews, run a focus group, or research your competition. This will help you figure out who your target audience might be so you can create an app that improves the customer experience.

Step #3: Spell Out Your App Features

Your app’s ability to solve the intended problem will depend on its specifications and core functionalities. However, don’t be tempted to add unnecessary features to an app.

The more features you add, the higher the technical requirements and development costs. Only include specs and functions that matter. Common examples of app features include:

• Number of screens
• Video, audio, and image hubs
• Booking Capabilities
• Ecommerce charts
• GPS capabilities
• Calendar integrations

Simplicity is crucial at this stage of the custom app development process. If a user’s exact location isn’t required, do away with the GPS feature.

Step #4. Sketch Your App’s Wireframe

A wireframe is a conceptual layout of your app. Wireframes— also known as low-fidelity mockups— don’t have to be too formal and can be sketched on a piece of paper, a whiteboard, or a digital wireframing tool.

You can create a wireframe without worrying about your app’s graphic design. The idea behind the wireframe is to simply give a visual structure of your app’s features and lay out the schemes.

When creating a wireframe, focus on aesthetics (structure and flow) and user experience. The app’s UX design needs to be responsive so that users can receive the best experience whether on Android, iPhone, or iPad.

Step #5. Choose Your Development Platform

You’ll need to decide on which platform is the best for creating your app. When making the decision, consider factors like your technical skill level, app type, budget, and time to market.

For starters, Microsoft PowerApps is a cost-effective way to build a custom application. This platform enables non-technical users to create mobile- and web-based apps on their own without having to write any code.

PowerApps comes with a plethora of pre-configured templates and features. All you need to do is select a template, drag and drop the components into the PowerApps canvas, and customize the app to your liking.

With Microsoft PowerApps, anyone can build a professional app in just a few minutes, all without having to learn a new programming language. You can also hire Power Apps specialists like Valto if you need help with anything about the platform including licensing, support, or app development.

Step #6. Develop Your Custom App

This step is the soul of the mobile app development life cycle. The mobile app development stage covers multiple activities like frontend app development, backend app development, custom API integration, and adding personalized text, images, color schemes, and other design graphics that align with your goals.

Custom app development is usually done in stages. You’ll need to set measurable milestones to keep track of the development process.

Based on the app’s complexity, the task could be completed within a few days to a few weeks. Measuring the progress against the timeline of milestones ensures you’re meeting the deadline.

Step #7. App Testing & Launching

Once the application is up and running, the testing process takes off. You need to test the app for any functionality errors before releasing it to the market.

In the real world, any unidentified bugs can hurt the user experience, so the Quality Assurance process is inevitable. Once the app is fully tested and any functional defects fixed, it’s ready for deployment.

The app needs to be submitted to different app stores for approval before it’s made available for the general audience to use. The approval criteria vary for Google Play Store and Apple App Store. So follow the submission guidelines to make sure the app is not rejected.

It’s Time To Build Your Custom App

The custom app development process isn’t always easy. In comparison to off-the-shelf apps, building an app that’s tailored to your business is a lot more involved.

But with new technology and tools like Microsoft PowerApps at your disposal, you can create a functional and tailored application with zero coding skills required. Take advantage of this platform and create a custom app for your business.