Imagine it: You have come up with this fantastic idea for an Android app you just know people will love. You're itching to get coding, but where do you even start?
With all new projects come many pitfalls to avoid if your app is not to fail before it's even started. Skipping that important user research or forgetting to optimize for performance mistakes you make early on can end up costing you time, money, and users.
We're going to break down the top 10 mistakes to avoid when developing your first Android app so that your vision can take shape as a successful reality.
Critical Mistakes That Can Sink Your Android App
So, avoiding them will drastically enhance your chances of making a well-written successful application. Knowing these pitfalls and taking steps to avoid them will better equip you to create an app that not only works well but matches the expectations of users and excels in the competitive market of apps.
1. Lack of Good Understanding of the Target Audience
It is another plain error that application developers make when they design an app without knowing well and truly who will use it. Many aspects of your app, from features to design and function, will depend on your target audience.
If you do not know your audience's pain points, habits, and preferences, your app will likely miss its mark. Hence, it is good to find out about your target audience through surveys, interviews, or even competitor analysis.
2. Skipping Proper Testing
Testing is another crucial mistake in making an app. Do you know 50% of users may delete your app if it doesn't work properly, freezes, or crashes?
An app should be thoroughly tested for bugs and crashes that cause issues. Tests that are done on several Android devices along with versions can quickly point out issues that will affect the general user experience.
Beta testing with real users can also discover other hidden problems. Be sure your app is stable, friendly, and not soggy with major bugs right before its launch. Poorly tested apps lead to bad reviews, high uninstall rates, and a damaged reputation.
3. Wrong Development Partner
If you have a plan to hire a mobile app development company then be careful while choosing one because picking the wrong one is also risky. Many developing companies say that they are developing wonderful apps.
However, not all those who have good experience in developing great apps have the necessary expertise in Android development, user experience, or scaling applications.
So to hire the best Android app development company, review their portfolio before hiring them and check client reviews. Ask for references about them from friends, colleagues, or previous clients who have worked with them.
An experienced team will bring your vision to life faster and avoid costly errors and delays. A wrong choice can result in substandard apps, as well as wasted resources.
4. Non-compliance With Android Platform Guidelines
Every platform has its own set of presentation and functionality standards. Android is not an exemption in such variations. A non-compliance to Android's standards may imply poor and differing usage experiences by users.
Google Material Design provides the roadmap to make sure that an application receives a native feel for the Android, thus upholding users' expectations.
A non-compliance with these standards could also cause an unpolished feel to your application or worse, denial by the Play Store. Adhering to platform guidelines makes your app user-friendly and likely to thrive.
5. Not Paying Enough Mind To Good User Interface Design (UI/UX)
The success of an app is mostly dependent on the UI and UX. As per Baymard Institute, around 90% of users don't use the app with poor experience. If the interface of the app is not user-friendly, or if it is not that attractive, users tend to drop it pretty quickly.
Keep simplicity in mind; make sure each element is reachable, and how you flow the app makes sense. And remain visually consistent with readable fonts and well-arranged elements. It will keep users on it and bring them back.
6. Not Optimizing for Performance
Performance is the life of any app. Users expect apps to load up and run very fast while consuming minimal resources such as battery power and data.
Failure to optimize the app tends to slow it down, crash, or consume large amounts of data. Testing tools should be used to measure and fine-tune your app's performance.
It should work smoothly on any range of devices, especially low-spec or older devices. A well-performance-optimized application means all the users will be glad and your application will gain an edge in the market.
7. Over-Feature Packing at Early Stages
There's a lot of feature bundling first-time developers do at the early stages, believing this will bring in more users. Too many new features will confuse users and make the app too complicated.
Key functionality first. Create a Minimum Viable Product first to test the waters and gather user feedback. Once stability is gained for the app, and users are satisfied with what you have given them in your basic features, you can extend more functionality based on user demand and feedback. Simplicity is a virtue in the beginning.
8. Not Focussing on an App Marketing Plan
A fabulous app is half the battle. Unless you have a proper marketing plan, people may never discover it. You need to plan your app marketing before the day of launch and also post-launch.
This will include a landing page, interacting on social media with your potential users, application of the ASO principles, and possibly running paid ads.
A well-constructed app otherwise may fail to get its first set of users without marketing. Build momentum early and ensure that your launch goes well through planning your marketing early. You can follow these steps as shown in the image to market an app properly:
9. Underestimating the Cost of Development
App development can actually end up costing much more than even first-time developers expect. Besides coding, design, testing, maintenance, and updates are all expenses.
Plan your budget; the costs aren't just from that one-time development expense. App hosting, app updates, marketing, and all those ongoing expenses will cost you.
It's always smart to have a cushion of overruns on top of those costs. Being prepared financially helps the development go smoothly and fewer surprises ensue. Also, you can hire Android app developers in India because you get experts at a reasonable price.
10. Ignoring Cross-Platform Development
You should not forget another aspect, and that is cross-platform development. If you want to reach a bigger audience, then you do not necessarily have to use an Android-based application, especially if you plan to distribute it on other platforms later as well.
A cross-platform development framework such as Flutter or React Native will enable the development of apps for Android and iOS in a single code base. This saves time and resources and offers access to a much greater audience.
Not taking cross-platform development into consideration from the beginning will leave you with added expenses and efforts down the line when you want to expand to iOS or other platforms.
Wrapping Up
Remember that the process of making an app is a journey through continuing learning and improvement. These guidelines are only a good beginning, so take them as a lesson for how you can work and adapt according to your specific situation and user feedback.
Also, always rely on a trusted mobile app development company in India like iWebservices for a feature-rich and smooth mobile app. All the best!
