Mobile app development is an absolute necessity for the growth of any business or organization regardless of the industry sector or the niche they occupy. 

With so much demand for app development, questions like “How to build an app?” and “How to create an app?” are on the mind of each and every individual with decision-making power in their company or organization.

 In this article, I will guide all the people looking to get a better understanding of the app development process and that goes into the magic of creating an app.

These are the seven universal steps in mobile app development, no matter the sector or the nature of the app itself. Each of the seven steps are discussed in detail below:

1. Sketch out your app idea

This is the very first step in the mobile app development process. In this step, it is all about what you want from your app, what you want it to look like, what features you want in your app, and so on. In short, this step is where you define your goals for the mobile application. You don’t have to worry about the small details on how to create an app.

There are two distinct sections in this step: setting goals and developing a prototype.

Once you have set all your goals, you can order a prototype for your application. This prototype does not necessarily have to be developed by mobile app developers. You can get a wireframe for your app created by a UI/UX designer to get a feel of what your application will ultimately look and feel like.

2. Do some market research

In my professional opinion, of the lessons I learned from my own failures, this is the most important step among all that I will mention in this article. Creating a stunning application with killer features will amount to nothing if there is no demand in the market for the purpose of the app. Doing extensive market research on what your target audience desires and what they willing to pay for it, is more important than anything else.

Once you learn about the expectations of your target audience, you can tweak your initial sketch to incorporate what’s currently in demand.

3. Create mockups of your app

This is the step where you get a designer and developer to create the mockup of your finalized mobile application design.

 Creating mockups is important since it allows you and your focus group of potential customers to assess the application. This step allows helps in pointing out any flaws in the navigation and the look and feel of the application.

4. Make your app’s graphic design

This is the step where we have to focus on the graphics layout in earnest. UI/UX developers are the lifeblood of this step. They can pinpoint the flaws in the user interface and design that are overlooked and might cause the target audience to perceive the application and clunky, bulky, and difficult to navigate.

Having the perfect UI/UX after the app development process is essential for the success of a mobile application.

5. Development of the app: Choose your technology (Native or Hybrid)

Developing an application should start with an MVP, a minimum viable product. For an effective mobile app development process, it is important to point out the reaction and to record the reviews of alpha testers. MVPs allow exactly that, with a fraction of the cost that would have been incurred for a full product.

First, before initiating the development of an MVP, we have to decide on the technologies that we want to use for the development of our application. There are several options including native, hybrid, PWSs, and so on, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Once we decide on the technology we want to use, we can move to the development of an MVP.

MVPs are essentially a strip-down version of the full application. It contains the bare minimum features that are required by the application.

Once these features are perfected and receive positive reviews, it is then time to move on to the steps for the development of the entire application.

6. Test your app

Once the entire application has been developed, it is now time for the testing process to start. The first session of testing is performed by the Q/A team of the development firm we hired for our app development.

The second session is performed by Alpha testers. Alpha testers are users within our company or organization.

The third and final session is performed by beta testers. These are testers we chose from outside our company or organization who are among our targeted audience.

7. Deploy to stores

This the final step of the list, deploying your application to app stores. There are a few differences in deploying to the Apple app store and Google app store, but nothing too complicated. Just make sure to follow their respective guidelines when submitting your mobile app to the app stores.