We have heard it before: I have an app and I want to get it featured on the App Store. Well, of course having an app featured in App Store is by no means a small feat. But, before that, why not talk about more important thing – Great product
Building a good product and in this case, ‘a great app’ is much more than just good strokes of design and cool taps and gestures. It’s a journey that takes lots of efforts and resources along the way. But finally, this is only the best who will make it to the end: To the Top.
So, what’s a ‘great product’ for users?
UX? You are right. App store is just about to explode any time. Thousands of apps are submitted daily for review. Finding an app from app store is just as difficult as finding needle is from hay. Even if a user downloads your app and launched it, you have only few seconds to impress him. And, remember, there is no 2nd time.
This is where most of the apps fail. Latest Report from Localytics might give you an idea of what we are talking here. It says that 22% of downloaded apps are only used once before being totally abandoned.
Besides, products are meant to solve ‘problems’. Whether this is a fitness tracking app or a feature rich project management app, it’s meant to be ‘only the best’. Most of the apps die their own death because, they never solve the problems, and in some worse case, become another problem. It’s very important to first identify the problem and then rise as a solution for it.
Finally, great products are built upon great design. If there is one advise that we can give you, this is: Hire the most talented, most innovative and most dependable UI/UX designer.
Now, What’s a ‘great product’ for Apple?
Apple is Godfather of modern design. People quote Steve Jobs to impress others and show them how good they are at designing products. Well, Apple takes design very seriously and so should you.
With Apple’s latest update of iOS, standards of design have been changed again. Flat design, translucence and blur effects and dogmatic advocacy for simplicity are new commandments for mobile app development. So, try following Apple’s guidelines and you would have more chances to score better among the competition. By the way, here are the apps that won ‘Apple Design Award’ in 2015.
Other than latest design trends, Apple highlights those apps as well which are very good with Apple technology. To our clients, we never stop suggesting them to update their mobile apps with latest Oss, than spending time over supporting older versions. So, while working on new mobile apps, try to consider:
- Build for latest iOS devices. Use hardware APIs like location, Wifi/Bluetooth, accessory kit;
- Latest SDK features (Game Center, Passbook, Maps etc.)
- Support latest OS releases and use APIs such as iCloud, AirPlay, AirPrint, notifications, in-app purchases;
- Build for all users, even with visually/hearing impairments. Add accessibility options like voice over, closed captioning, zoom, mono audio and white on black mode.
Finally, What it takes to design and develop Great App:
Apple tells us what it takes to make a ‘great app’. John Geleynse, Director of Technology Evangelism at Apple talked comprehensively over it. In this short video “Ingredients of a Great App”, he defines great app as:
‘Delightful, Innovative, Sate of Art, Connected, Accessible, Localized, Designed and Disruptive’
Our quick thoughts on this subject are:
- Make your app multi-lingual, when you are going to sell to different countries or worldwide.
- Free is good, but not always. Apple is much more likely to feature paid apps. No brainer.
- Update app regularly (fix bugs AT LEAST once in 2 months) to show you are still standing behind your app
- Get positive reviews. And get lots of them
- Make it compatible for all Apple devices (where applicable).
- Innovate and take risks sometimes. (Apple always buys new technologies. Remember Siri?)
You can see how a great app is produced: Mobile Apps Development At the end, don’t make just another app. If you want to spend money, you have better ways to spend anywhere else. But if you really want to have an app, make sure you have the right idea, right team and right time and then right budget to handle everything. By the way, we are always here to help you with your app ideas!