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What area needs mobile applications. App development apps: How to make an iOS and Android app yourself. Why you need a mobile app

About 20% of traffic in RuNet is accounted for by mobile operating systems. And this figure continues to gain momentum. Isn't this a reason to think about whether to adapt your site for mobile traffic, because this is a completely different audience.

Responsive design for different screen resolutions of electronic gadgets has long become a modern standard in website development. However, the percentage of such sites on the Internet is still not large. And there are even fewer sites that have their own mobile version. So is it worth creating a separate version of the site for mobile phones, or is it enough to make the design adaptive?

Why does the site need a mobile version?

It is much more convenient to use the mobile version of the site from smartphones and mobile phones: there is no need for horizontal scrolling, all functionality works correctly (on some non-adapted sites, it is even impossible to put goods in the basket!).
AT mobile version can be developed additional features aimed specifically at this target group visitors: organize sending SMS directly from the site, determine the location and distance to the nearest point of sale, etc.
Navigation of such sites is made adapted to the touchscreen (Touch screen), which is also much more convenient.
The mobile version of the site is lighter, has less code, so it loads faster, which reduces the user's cost of downloading it when paying mobile traffic.
Search engines use mobile search for phones, so the mobile version of the site will be ranked higher, which means there will be more transitions to your site.

Types of mobile version of the site

Mobile version can be identical to the main site: repeat structure, content, design. This effect can even be achieved special services without contacting the developers.

Independent mobile version of the site. Here, the structure and functionality are already completely changed, only style matches are repeated, partially elements and content, so that the user knows that he is on the same site.

What is required for the mobile version of the site?

Design. Perhaps the most important ingredient. The latest design trends for mobile sites are the ultimate in lightness and simplicity.
Compatibility. The site should display correctly on the most popular screen resolutions (240x320, 480x320 and some others). On such sites, it is better not to use or use minimal javascript, use xhtml.
Content optimization. This is especially true for pictures: they should be light both in size and in kilobytes.
Usability. Good navigation is the key to a successful mobile site!

Mobile version or responsive design?

You will not find an exact answer to this question. There are different points of view that rely on the disadvantages of both one and the second option.

To the main disadvantages of adaptive design refer to the fact that the “weight” of the site remains large, which means that the site will still take a long time to load. In developing adaptive design simpler than the mobile version, but it cannot be disabled on the mobile screen, while if the user does not like the mobile version, he can always switch to the standard version of the site.

Which sites need a mobile version?

Research shows that it is advisable to create a mobile version of the site for the following types of sites:

Reference site
Social networks and services
Web services
Online shopping

If you have already thought about whether your site needs a mobile version or not, analyze the traffic to the site for last year through analytics systems. If the share of mobile traffic is 15% or more, the answer is obvious!

Numbers

Haven't decided yet? Then consider these statistics:

Cell phones used by 87% of the total population. Apparently they are not only in small children!
Growth mobile commerce is projected to increase 99 times in the next 5 years!
Only 21% of sites are adapted to work with mobile devices. You still have a chance to get your share of the traffic!

Useful statistics are given below in the infographic (clickable).

Of course, everyone understands that the mobile environment is a goldmine for business. In 2018, most people use smartphones for online shopping and mobile apps (over 50%, according to StatCounter). Do you have your own business and are you thinking about whether to create mobile app?

In this article you will find answers to questions:

what types of applications are there?
In what areas of business is it justified to create a mobile application?
how to understand if an application is needed in your particular case?

Types of mobile applications

Mobile applications for business can be divided into two types:

1) for the internal needs of the company;

2) for marketing, branding and increasing sales.

Purposes of using the first type of applications:

Business automation;

Increasing the productivity of collaboration, for example, creating file sharing, connecting social network messengers and trackers for internal communication, as well as project and task management systems.

Purposes of using the second type of application:

As an addition to the company's online services: storefronts, catalogs, ticketing applications, Internet banking, goods delivery status tracker, and so on;

Creation mobile program loyalty.

There are certain nuances to using these types of applications. Applications for business automation are usually installed in a mandatory order by all members of the business team. But applications for the company's customers are installed at the request of customers. Who need to be convinced: installing the application is important, convenient, simple, solves some problems.

We must be prepared for the fact that a considerable part of users still do not want to install the application if the same information can be obtained through mobile browser. They refuse to install the application for several reasons: troublesome (you need to search in the online store, download, provide some permissions), take a long time, take up space in the device’s memory and slow it down. All this led to the fact that the popularity of mobile applications gradually began to fade: if five years ago only about 30% of Europeans installed an application once a month, and today more than 60% of users in the world install applications less than once a month.

Who needs a mobile application to solve business problems?

There are areas of business that need a mobile application. For example:

Which companies are not suitable for this solution?

This solution is definitely not suitable for small businesses. Many businessmen do not fully understand what kind of waste they expect after the launch of a mobile application.

Many users delete the application a day after installing them. To prevent this from happening with your application, you need to constantly develop it and allocate considerable funds for this. So what items of expenditure await the company after installing the application?

Funds for improvement mobile service and adaptation to new models of gadgets;
The cost of advertising campaigns and attracting new customers for the application. This includes installing banners, buying traffic, optimizing in app stores, etc.
Salary expenses for a person involved in the promotion of the application, user support and installation of new features;
Additional costs for the helpdesk, call center, which should provide assistance and respond to user comments. And this entails the cost of renting an office and taxes.

Before you start creating an application, weigh everything - and get ready to invest a lot of money and time.

Benefits of Mobile Apps

Sales increase

Increase sales with push notifications about promotions, discounts and bonuses. This motivates customers to come back and shop from you. Moreover, messages can be sent in unlimited quantities to those who are close to your store, restaurant, etc.

marketing tool

This is an excellent marketing tool, as information about new products and hits stimulates additional sales. In addition, by studying the client's browsing history, you can send him only those ads that are of interest to him. This provides an individual approach to the client.

Collection of customer information

The mobile application makes it possible to collect information about customers. What they buy the most, how much money they spend, how often they make purchases. You can conduct analytics and data collection using the Skywell Smart Tracking application.

Communication with customers

Solving problems of management, logistics and control

Mobile applications can improve the efficiency of the company, track the path of goods and much more.

Service Quality Improvements

For example, Internet banking allows customers to instantly buy tickets, book tables in restaurants, order food, call a taxi.

Loyalty increase

By integrating the loyalty program into the application, you can save on the purchase of plastic cards, as well as increase the number of fans of your brand.

Attraction of new clients

If your application is really useful, it will be recommended to friends and acquaintances. It will also increase your brand awareness.

Savings on advertising campaign

If you maintain interest in the application, you can save on advertising campaigns and increase the effectiveness of the application.

How much does it cost to create a mobile application

Developing a mobile application for a website costs much more than the website itself. Moreover, the return on investment is lower than that of the sites.

You need to understand that this is a long-term investment. In order not to spend a lot of money in vain, your application should be necessary, useful, interesting, profitable and, preferably, free. These are the apps that users love. How to make such an application?

The cost of creating such an application depends on the expected result. It is better to contact a team of specialists who can integrate the application with your website, CRM or ERP system, accounting. Not every freelancer can handle this kind of work. And if knowledge is enough, then he definitely knows the price of his services.

You can save on application development by using ready-made templates, but in this case it is very difficult to add non-standard options to it.

How to know if your company needs it

To understand if your company needs something, ask yourself these questions:

Who are your customers, do they use smartphones? Perhaps your target audience enough to create a mobile version of the site. You can get this information through the Google and Yandex analytics tools that are installed on your website.
You need to clearly understand what tasks you want to solve using the application.
Think about how you plan to market the app. This will require additional advertising, site refinement, the introduction of a loyalty program, as well as additional funds for contextual advertising, promotion in App Store and Google Play.
How will you evaluate the effectiveness of the application for business? What results would be considered a success for you?

When is application development justified?

Application development is justified if you are sure that your application will be used. If you run a small shop or restaurant, then this is not for you.

The cost of developing, maintaining, and updating the application must be worth the return on investment, meaning you must understand the cost-benefit of the project.

For example, business applications are also beneficial in such cases:

To control remote employees (locating, data collection, price monitoring, auditing, vehicle control and more);
To organize b2b sales (sending requests, viewing stock balances, working with the client base);
To provide a product catalog;
To increase sales in the b2c, retail segment (sale of tickets, ordering goods, booking tables, etc.).

Application development alternative

Mobile applications are called "native", as they are developed for the operating system of smartphones. Their creation is a rather complicated and expensive process that not all companies can afford.

But in 2015, an alternative to app development appeared – building an app from a PWA site.

Comparative characteristics of PWA and "native" applications

PWA	"Native" applications
Works even when there is no internet	Work is only possible online
To search, just enter the name in Google, click the link and the application on your device.	It's hard to find from the many similar applications in the market.
Application weight - 2 MB	Weight is about 25 MB
Easy to develop	Quite difficult to develop
Google raises PWA higher in the search bar (website promotion on PWA is the same as promotion of a regular site, marketing tools are used, contextual advertising, SEO)	Unable to promote with standard Google marketing tools
Allows you to make one application for all devices, cross-platform development.	Create multiple apps for different devices
Does not require updates. For the client, PWA site content updates occur automatically when an Internet connection is connected (Service Workers system)	Requires constant updates

In addition, PWAs provide fresh content and an SEO improvement interface.

Users can go to the PWA site through links in social networks while browsing the web. Installation is offered only when you visit the site again and occurs instantly due to the fact that all components are installed in the cache during the first visit. But even without installation, all the functions of the application will work.

Progressiveness lies in the fact that the application can work on any gadget, anywhere, and PWA functions expand when the user switches to another, more “advanced” and modern device.

The conversion of many companies has increased after the implementation of the web application:

76% increase in conversion of Alibaba, the largest trading platform in the world (30% increase in the number of mobile users with Android OS;

The Weather Channel 's mobile page load times were up to 80 times faster . The channel is one of the top 20 most popular sites in the US, and after connecting PWA to the site, the channel became available in countries where there were problems with the quality of the Internet connection - now it works in 62 languages in 178 states.

Despite the fact that the mobile development industry in Russia is just a few years old, it has already taken shape. According to CMS Magazine, the number of companies providing services for mobile development in 2018 approached 570, and the total number of applications they developed exceeded 12,500. At the same time, all developers have different experience and specialization. How to choose the most suitable contractor for the specifics of the future project?

Drawing up a brief (draft of the future TOR)
Drawing up a list of your own requirements for a future contractor
Search for candidates matching the list with the requirements
Tendering (optional)

Below are more details about each step.

1. Drawing up a brief

Usually, a detailed TOR (terms of reference) for the application is already drawn up with the help of the specialists of the selected contractor. However, in order to choose a developer agency, you need to create its light version (brief).

At first, it is enough to fix the most important theses in free form or fill out universal pattern brief . Here are some questions you need to get answers in the process of writing a brief:

Do you really need an application, and not a responsive site or its mobile version?

What are the goals and objectives of the application (for example, it can be sales or the collection of statistical information)?

What is the benefit of the application for users?

What is the specifics of your business/application?

What is the target audience of the app?

What target actions are required from users (purchases, communication, etc.)?

Do you know apps similar in functionality or visual style to what you need?

Information required for the brief:

What is the timeline for app development

What platforms do you need the app for (Android, iOS)

Application type (game, educational, online store, etc.)

What are the features of the topic you represent (food, finance, sports)

Features of the target audience for which the application is oriented

Features you think you need Personal Area, authorization through popular social networks, real-time notifications, etc.)

Integrations with which systems and services will be needed

Another one important information, with which you need to decide on the first step, but which you can not specify in the brief - this is the amount of the budget.

2. Drawing up a list of your own requirements for a future contractor

Like it or not, but, perhaps, the main criterion is the budget of the project. Moreover, not only and not so much the cost of man-hours of a particular developer is important, but also the level of the minimum budget with which he is ready to work.

Premium (the contractor does not take on projects with a budget below 1,000,000 rubles), Upper (from 500,000 to 1,000,000), Medium (from 200,000 to 500,000) and Lower (budget does not exceed 200,000 rubles). That is, if you have, say, 400,000 rubles available, then you need to look for your contractor among the agencies of the Lower and Middle price segment.

What else you need to pay attention to:

Agency experience and age

Location of the agency (if it is important for you to be with him in the same city)

Specialization on the desired operating system ( Windows phone, Android, iOS)

Experience in developing applications of the required type (games, social networks, online stores, etc.)

Experience with topics related to your future application (entertainment, finance, business, sports, etc.)

For example, we suggest imagining that we need an educational game on iOS (we decided to test on this platform, if successful, we plan to order later on the rest). At the same time, the maximum that we have for these purposes is 400,000 rubles. In this case, the list of requirements will look like this:

Age of the company: from 3 years (remembering that there are no "oldies" on the market yet)

Location - doesn't matter

Specialization in Windows Phone, Android, iOS (after all, we plan that iOS is just the beginning and it is important for us to think for the future)

Development experience mobile games, while experience in the field of gaming education is highly desirable

Lower or Middle price segment

3. Search for candidates matching the list with the requirements

The next step is to find contractors that match the list. For this, we recommend using a tool such as Mobile Application Developer Rating. The best representatives of the market are gathered here, but this does not mean that they all have a high price tag. For convenience, there are several filters at the top, one of them - Prices, allows you to see representatives of a certain price category.

How to work with the rating? Let's return to our example and the list of requirements for the contractor, which we got. Based on this hint, let's select iOS in the OS filter, then in the Categories filter - Games, and then in the Price filter - Medium. The system issued a list of suitable agencies. By clicking on their names in the rating, you can study their cards or websites.

In some situations, the search for a contractor ends already at the third step - if a suitable one is found, to whom you can immediately write a request by attaching a brief.

4. Conducting a tender

If you could not immediately find the only developer who would delicately fit your tasks, it makes sense to hold a tender. This is a more automated option, ideal for situations where you want to study a larger number of potential contractors at a time.

There are two simple and free ways hold a tender for mobile development:

Check the boxes in the rating of the participants you like and click the "Organize a tender" button, which will appear below
Immediately contact the Workspace digital contractor search service and fill out this form

In order to get as detailed (and therefore useful) responses as possible, we recommend setting at least 2-3 weeks from the moment the announcement is submitted to the deadline for accepting applications. After that, in fact, you can form your own TOP-3 applicants, who can be invited to personal meetings or skype-call (if they are not located in your city). As a rule, 1-2 meetings with leading questions from both sides are enough to make the final choice and discuss the details of the project with a specific contractor.

We hope you found this guide helpful.

Good luck and success to your project!

An application (or application program) is a program whose purpose is to perform user tasks. Typically, applications use the operating system to access computer resources.

There are following applications according to their type:
- general purpose;
– special purpose;
- professional level.

General purpose applications include:
– graphic editor;
– text editors;
– systems for computer imposition;
– database management systems (DBMS).

Special purpose applications include:
- multimedia applications (for creating or editing audio and sound, players, etc.);
– expert systems;
– hypertext systems (eg reference systems and dictionaries);
– content management systems (CMS).

Professional grade applications include:
– computer-aided design systems (CAD);
– automated workstations (AWP);
– automated control systems (ACS);
– automated process control systems (APCS);
– billing systems;
– geoinformation systems;
- customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

According to the scope of application, applications are divided into software:
- organizations and enterprises, as well as their individual divisions;
– enterprise infrastructures (servers Email, DBMS, etc.);
- information worker (serve to meet the needs of a particular user);
– access to content (eg browsers, multimedia players, etc.);
- educational (with their help, knowledge is tested);
- simulation (simulation of any systems for scientific and educational purposes, or for entertainment);
- for working with media (programs, audio and image editors, programs for printing processing, HTML editors, etc.);
– design and engineering (used in the development of software and hardware).

How to make a mobile application - expert opinion

Paul Ferro, President of 5 Nerds Software Development, a design and development agency with full set services ranging from branding and design to app development from scratch.
Andres Max, founder of Ideaware, an agency specializing in product strategy, UX/UI design and front-end optimization. Prior to founding the studio, Max was the Lead UX Designer at Mashable.
Daniel Hindi is Chief Technology Officer at BuildFire, a mobile app building platform used by over 50,000 companies. Even if you don't know how to create mobile apps, with BuildFire's WYSIWYG editor you can still make a professional app.

The responses from these entrepreneurs let us know that building a mobile app doesn't necessarily involve coding or getting your hands dirty at Adobe. With a great idea, a bit of business acumen, and a lot of effort, you could be at the helm of the next Uber. Let's take a look at their opinions.

1. Brainstorm

The first step on this long journey is told by Paul Ferro, who, in addition to starting his own business, helps other entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality:

You have a great idea for a mobile app. This is the next viral game, or the utility that everyone will use, or the next step in the path of social expression. In any case, you know that it's great and you want to get your idea across to everyone. Where to begin?

First, it is very important to be specific about your idea. You can sketch out the basics of your app in your head, but have you thought through all the little details that separate a fantastic app from just a normal one? It is very important to sit down and take a few minutes to think about the whole experience of using the mobile application.

If it's a game or something like that, then you don't need to compose each level in your head, but you do need to understand how the levels differ. Are there in-app purchases? Multiplayer game? Connection with social networks? As you answer all these questions, you begin to mentally put all the pieces together and overcome all the problems and pitfalls. Or, if someone is building the application for you, they will want to know as much as possible before starting, and this will help the development process.

2. Present your idea to friends, family and colleagues for feedback

Everyone thinks their ideas are amazing, right? How can you understand that the concept of a mobile application that you came up with seems interesting to others as well? Turn your "inner circle" into a cordon sanitaire that tests ideas for viability:

Now that you have a working idea, it's time to test it out and see if it's really as good as you think. There are tons of good apps out there that do pretty much the same thing, but for one reason or another, some rise to the top and become loved, while others don't. Your app doesn't have to be #1 in the store to be popular or profitable. But he needs at least some visibility.

Bring your idea to maximum number people to get their opinion on it. Here's an expert tip: When you present your idea to others (friends or family), tell them that you know someone with the idea and want to invest in it. Then explain the idea itself. Your listeners will be much more honest knowing that the idea is not yours and that you could lose your money by investing in less good app. Ask - will they use it? If they do, why? If not, why not?

Ask them to point out shortcomings. Ask if they have seen anything similar? This approach can be much more productive for discussing an idea than just finding out that you have many friends and relatives who do not want to offend you.

If you have done all this several times, and your idea has not met with a strong rebuff, then it's time to start! Here you have a choice. You can make it yourself or hire someone.

3. Even if you can't make a mobile app, you can make a great prototype

Andres Max reiterates the importance of testing an idea and goes further: “I have always encouraged entrepreneurs to do market research. Dig deep to gauge the demand for your idea, what worked in the past and what didn’t, then make adjustments as needed.” For example, you might think you have an amazing idea for a photography app and only then find out that it's already made and on sale. This does not mean that you should stop working on the idea - it is just information for you to help you understand what you can do better.

One of better ways to compare is, of course, to make a prototype. Max says, “After you've perfected the idea, create and test a prototype. Gather all the valuable information on its basis.” A prototype can be just a sketch of your design, or you can create a fully functional prototype in a tool like Proto.io. It does not require programming or design skills.

4. Decide whether you will hire a studio or a developer - or learn how to develop yourself.

The next step, says Ferro, is to figure out who will turn your prototype into a real application. You may not believe it, but you can very well create an application yourself (even if you have no experience). Provided, of course, that it is simple enough:

“Learning how to build applications can be challenging task especially if you have no experience. But it is possible. Especially if your idea is about the uniqueness of functions - and not the technology itself. Take, for example, Flappy Bird. The application itself is extremely simple. But the idea was unique and exciting. Now look at the Apple Passbook. The idea is relatively simple, but the technologies that allow you to keep your data secure, contact merchants, tie your fingerprint, etc. are relatively complex.

If you need advanced technology in your application that uses the device in a way that no one else has used it, then independent creation applications can be difficult. It can take years to figure out how to use all the features of a mobile device. If you understand that you can build the application yourself - great! But even if you don't have development skills, there's room for advancement pretty quickly."

5. Make Sure You're Using the Right Tools to Build Mobile Apps

But how to gain this very speed? You can either go through (there are plenty of resources for that) or use tools that are available even to beginners to create your mobile app. One such tool is BuildFire, explains Daniel Hindi:

“What if you have a killer idea but don't know how to build mobile apps? This is exactly the problem we wanted to solve in our BuildFire platform. We have over 80,000 apps, from small companies to large corporations, all made with little or no programming knowledge. While this is great for simple applications, the lack of programming skills usually limits you to the feature set that the platform offers. BuildFire solves this problem and we will soon open up an API for developers to add to existing BuildFire applications.

We see more and more startups and small companies connecting to our core platform with an extremely low entry threshold. Once the app has proven its worth, they ask third-party developers to create the missing pieces of the puzzle, saving a lot of time and money.”

6. Make sure you're hiring the right people

Whether you're hiring people to finish a project you started on a platform like BuildFire or building an app from scratch, it's important to find the right developer, says Ferro:

“Now, if you decide to hire someone to develop your application, then things will be a little easier compared to if you were learning to code on your own. But here, of course, the question of cost arises. Hiring an office has a number of advantages compared to self-development. They have experience, they already know all the pitfalls of development, they will make an optimized and quick app, its design will not be terrible - I think it is not necessary to explain in detail the advantages of going to professionals.

But you need to make sure you are hiring the right professionals. First of all, this means finding a company that will listen to your story and fully understand it before they even start writing code. A lot of people want to jump right into development and start billing you, but that's not the way to go. Talk to several companies to find the one that suits you. You should feel comfortable working with them, communicating and overcoming problems with them. And trust me, there will be problems!

Once you find the right company, everything will work out. They will dive into your idea and unravel the loops, fill in the gaps, suggest features and functions by providing high level service. Top Apps occurs when a great idea meets a great team that breathes life into it.”

Time to act

Ferro ends by reminding entrepreneurs that building an app is one thing, but getting users to download it is quite another:

So, you have made and released the application. Don't stop there. Promote it. Talk about him. Share it in in social networks- everywhere! You need to talk about it. There are many ways to promote your app and you should try them all. Blogs are always looking for new apps to talk about. Contact them. If your application is a utility, find out where it can be most useful and tell people about it. Whatever you do, you should always share your application as much as possible.

And how are you doing? Have you made your dream app? Tell us about it!

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