Developing a mobile application is tough. What are the key things you need to know?

1, Platform and device compatibility 2, User interface and user experience 3, Data storage and security 4, Networking and APIs

Developing a mobile app entails: - Grasping your target audience - Selecting the optimal platform - Emphasizing UX/UI design. - Detail technical specifications - Adopt agile development methodologies, and conduct comprehensive testing. - Determine a viable monetization strategy and craft a strategic marketing plan. - Commit to regular maintenance and updates, while ensuring legal compliance with relevant regulations. These steps collectively pave the way for a successful app journey, from conceptualization to launch and continual improvement.

The goal for most apps these days is to have a presence on both iOS and Android. The main decision in this case is whether to develop two similar but separate native apps or to use a cross platform solution such as ReactNative, Flutter, or Kotlin Multiplatform. The advantage of having two native apps is being able to squeeze the maximum performance from the app. The disadvantage is requiring a larger and more costly development. Cross platform solutions vie to have a single code base for both platforms and the ideal is to have a smaller team and even allow web developers to contribute to app development. However, performance can be an issue, and cross platform frameworks often lag behind native.

In my view, here are 5 key mistakes to avoid: 1. Neglecting API Documentation: Overlooking thorough API documentation review can lead to misinterpretations and errors in implementation. 2. Ignoring Error Handling: Inadequate error handling leads to bad user experiences and potential data loss during network or server issues. 3. Overlooking Security Measures: Ignoring HTTPS and proper authentication exposes the app to vulnerabilities. 4. Insufficient Testing: Skipping through API testing can lead to hidden bugs and unreliable app behaviour, especially in diverse networks. 5. Lack of Scalability Consideration: Neglecting scalability planning and adapting to API changes hinders long-term success & introduces maintenance challenges.

Networking code is often the biggest contributor to perceived poor performance in a mobile app. The latency of making a connection and transferring data can make an app feel slow. A key decision is what data will live on the device and what will be fetched over the network. A sound caching policy will speed up performance. Performing network calls as soon as possible will yield a snappier experience. Developers should strive to make apps that can be used even when offline. One proven strategy is to build a database in the app that acts as a single source of truth. When the app is online, it can sync the database with the back end. Syncing strategies add complexity, but the ability to work offline adds a ton of value for the user.

Both App Store Connect (iOS) and Google Play Console (Android) have facilities for testing groups. Before releasing an app into production, it is a good idea to distribute pre-production builds through these avenues. Testers, whether internal or external, will often expose bugs or behaviors that were not anticipated by designers and developers. It's critical to a great user experience to be able to iterate on the app as it would be released to users. Even this sort of testing won't catch everything, so monitoring tools are important for continuing to improve the app in future versions. Tools like Crashlytics and analytics tools that record app events are useful in discovering how apps behave in the hands of users.

Project Planning In my view, the initial step in any project should involve crafting a comprehensive plan aimed at achieving the desired results. This plan should encompass various aspects, including creating a meticulous wireframe or design prototype that closely resembles the final application. By developing such a prototype, stakeholders can gain a clear understanding of how the application will function and navigate. This foundational step lays the groundwork for efficient development and ensures that the project progresses in the right direction from the outset.

Marketing and analytics: Develop a marketing strategy to reach your target audience and promote your app. Utilize app analytics tools to track user behavior, gather insights, and identify areas for improvement.

Some of the important things missing in the list are 1) Audience (or the end customers) - Who is the actual user?, What geo are we targeting? What age group are we targeting? 2) MVP Product - What's the core purpose of the mobile app? 3) Investment planning - Wat is the scope of investment? What is the OpEx per customer? What are the cost involved in marketing? 4) Revenue channel - How much is the ARPU or ARPPU we are targeting? What are all the revenue channels for the app? These things will heavily influence all the 6 tasks mentioned above. These things strongly determine - 1) On what platforms we develop? - Android, iOS, Unity 2) How many form factors we support? - Web, mobile, TV, auto, wear 3) Cross platform vs Hybrid Vs Native