Today’s consumers are increasingly adopting mobile as their medium of choice for searching, researching, browsing and shopping. Businesses have realized that they need to be where their customers are and many companies are already into the transition of making a Mobile App Development Strategy along with their Corporate Strategy. But still a few start-ups continue to roll their thoughts for the immediate future apps rather than planning for a long-term, comprehensive and effective mobile strategy.
Today we will be talking about some myths associated with the mobile application development.
As more business recognizes the values offered by mobile apps, they are jumping on board to have an app of their own. Nice.
But the problem here is that in this relatively fresh field, mobile app development is still surrounded with a lot of misinformation, pre-conceived notions and unnecessary stereotypes and today we are here to bust them all. For businesses, these misconceptions can have very serious consequences. Their situation can turn worse ranging from complicating a simple development project to wasting hundreds and thousands of dollars.
While the list could certainly have been much longer but here are 9 common myths of mobile application development are enclosed:
Myth #1:
Mobile Application Development detailing of steps can just be done at the start:
Fact:
Customers hesitate in working with mobile application development companies because often they can have a misconception that every detail of app development process should be discussed before the development is started.
On the contrary, the fact is that programmers and technologists have creative minds and they can fill up the gaps which you may be facing in mobile app development process. The app development strategy is what can be decided earlier. Even if the client discusses the basic requirement and business goals, the mobile app developers can easily craft a unique applications and the wireframes which precisely meet the requirements of client and definitely appeal to the target audience.
Myth #2:
Misconception regarding total turnaround time and cost of application:
Fact:
Many people believe that Mobile App Development is a simple process and hence an app can be created in a few days. Not true! I must even say that mobile application development process is not a short term business goal to be achieved by these companies, instead it is an ongoing process which definitely needs a fool-proof mobile strategizing. Asking for high-level estimate in the very beginning helps you get ball-park estimates about time and effort. But as the two parties proceed, it often happens that you end up with the completed app way before the estimated time at way different costs. (And vice versa may be true as well!)
Myth #3:
Correlating the physical size of Mobile App with development time:
Fact:
Many great people even make the mistake of equating the physical size of mobile application with the development speed and cost. They believe that because a mobile app is so small, such as those one-screen apps, it must be easy to create. Right? But that’s not true.
The kind of apps in a professional portfolio typically consumes months to build and hundreds of man hours and which definitely goes true for development cost also. But even a single 3rd party plugin/support integration might be enough to consume days and weeks of development. With complete blueprint and strategizing, the entire development process is a time taking task but technology professionals can help you save this time.
Myth #4:
An app which looks good gets 5 star rating in the app store.
Fact:
Definitely, the application which have good looks undoubtedly contributes to get a five star rating in the app store. However, it does not mean that it is the only thing that is responsible for getting a remarkable rating on app store. The application must be scalable and robust in terms of performance. A smooth running, free flowing, glitch-free app is also what contributes a lot into enhancing an app’s rating on the play stores. It definitely implies that the quality of work into the app is important when you are looking for mobile application developers.
Myth #5:
Once the mobile application development is completed, job is all done.
Fact:
Your Mobile Apps are like snowflakes. Each one is unique, but if you are trying to get people to find your app, it is like telling them to go look for your snowflake (your app) in a snowstorm. Invest effort, time and resources on marketing and promoting your app. Strategize smartly. There are thousands of applications on the App store which are quite similar. Online marketing tactics are necessary to sell the apps.
You might be building an app for your customer, or you might be getting it developed for business users or mass consumer distribution. Without a proper strategy, business users won’t flock to your app. No matter how qualified developers you have hired for getting your mobile application developed, your money and their hard work goes to waste if you fail to use concrete strategies.
Myth #6:
Just the Development Cost of mobile apps matters:
Fact:
Once you have developed it, who shall maintain it? Companies who solely focus on the development cost and ignore Total Cost of Ownership miss a lot. They forget about the maintenance, upgrades and enhancements to the application which is quite necessary for the app when it is built.
Mates, lot of clients come up to us with an assumption that they will pay us for an app, build it and everything is great forever. As technology partners and consultants, Algoworks Technologies always suggest clients to lay down an effective mobile application maintenance guidelines which primarily takes care of fixing of bugs and system updates. We help them accomplish this, even if they don’t chose a support plan. Application optimization process- This definitely becomes need of an hour as you would definitely want your application to be optimized to work with updated browsers, iOS, Android or every other platform you would like your app to be on as your app grows. As these systems update and upgrade, your app will need to be compatible with their newer versions as well. This can stand true for other things as well such as technology tools, 3rd party plugins, language of coding you integrate with, etc.
Your application will change and it ought to happen with changing market scenario and technology updates. Therefore, finding a developer or a team who can standby with your commitments for a long run will be a wise decision for laying efficacious Mobile strategy.
Myth #7:
Native Apps provide better experience while HTML5 apps will soon be forgetful
Fact:
We all know that mobile apps come in a lot of flavors: Native, Hybrid, and Mobile Web (often termed as ‘HTML5’ app). Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The main problem arises when you choose any type of application without taking into consideration your needs and your audience. Many assumes that native mobile app delivers best experience. It can be true to some extent but in other cases the native approach may be the worst choice.
And now tools such as Xamarin have come in support for HTML5 and are making sure that not only cross platform app development remains at par with native app development but has the ability to beat it in the coming future.
Myth #8:
Great features make a successful app
Fact:
We get clients who are often enthusiastic about the idea and features of the applications. ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we add this fab feature in our app? ‘I think putting this feature in an app makes lot of sense’! Indeed this is necessary, but if that’s what you think will be enough to compete against the best in the market, you are mistaken.
Let’s take an example. Say if you have a sales team in the field. Giving them an instant access of a list of clients on the move makes sense, so you got an app developed for them. But if the application does not integrate with the CRM at the base or requires a lot of pre-loading of client lists, it’s not going to be useful. Remember mates, the features need to fit together within the app, while the app needs to fit in an effective mobile strategy. And finally your mobile strategy needs to fit into a greater corporate strategy.
Too many enterprises are hung up on the features while ignoring those features which can actually be of great help for their customers. Features don’t make a great app, but benefits do.
Ask yourself these questions about all kind of features – What does this feature do for my users? How does it solve their problems? How would these features when incorporated in application can make users’ life easier? If you fail to answer these questions, perhaps the feature is not worthwhile, no matter how cool it seems.
Myth #9:
Mobile apps fail to access data stored in a legacy systems:
Fact:
Organizations made large investments in systems like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software and are hesitant to develop mobile apps. They look for seamless solution where a suite of enterprise apps may connect to multiple backend systems and APIs like Sharepoint, Oracle, MySQL and SAP. An enterprise-grade MBaaS (mobile backend as a service) solution with an API infrastructure can help in seamless integration with these technologies enabling mobile devices to easily access legacy systems.
Conclusion:
It is these little things you can be careful of which can be the telling difference between the success vs failure of your app. Mobile Application development can indeed be chaotic for businesses that lack a strong strategy. And even it was perfect, we now know it is not enough to launch a successful app. Find no shame in consulting with mobile application technology consultants if you have to because at the end of the day, some risks are just not worth taking!
References:
http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7186-mobile-app-myths.html
http://www.gotechark.com/4-myths-mobile-application-development/
http://www.brainvire.com/fantastic-four-myths-mobile-application-development/
http://www.techworld.com/blog/talking-shop/4-mobile-myths-that-developers-need-be-aware-of-3606036/
Ajeet Singh
