By
Tony Conrad
Submitted On June 13, 2014
Naturally, you first need to determine that you need the app, it
will be beneficial to your business and you have the manpower and
dedication to maintain the app over the long term.
Next, you'll need to decide how you'll go about creating your app. There are three methods you can employ:
Hire the services of an agency or freelance developer
Learn how to program and do the coding yourself
Choose and use an app maker
The first option is more expensive while for the second it could take a very long time before you have enough know-how to personally design an app unless you already have the skill. For a small business, choosing an app builder/maker is the best option. These are easily available online for various types of apps.
Quality of your app
Before you consider the cost implication of whichever app creation platform, you need to look at the quality of product you are going for. This encompasses items such as aesthetic design, ease of use, integration with social media platforms, multi platform capabilities, push notification features and CMS among others.
Design
You want an app maker with the best templates in terms of aesthetics, the best designs with options to personalize as much as possible on the interface. The app should be a reflection of your business and website styles. With over a million apps in the market, you cannot afford to settle for any less than stellar quality.
Ease of use
The app platform/interface should be simple and natural, i.e. can be used by the average mobile phone owner. Most of your users will not have developing and programming skills; they should still be able to easily navigate through your app. The end user experience is the paramount consideration. To determine an app maker's user experience, download an app previously made and play around with it a little.
CMS
Your app builder should have an internal content management system for ease of content updates directly from the back office. A major part of this is to have a CMS with more connectors, as this will make collection of content on the app easier and its display will be better.
Social media sharing features
Your app maker simply must have capability for sharing app content on social media platforms. The more awareness you create, the higher the chance of successful downloads. You should also have a section through which users can channel their feedback.
Determining the best price/quality ratio
There are a number of other considerations to make, but the above are the most important. Now you may consider pricing. It's advisable to try the products before purchase, so go for free trials that are on offer. Use that opportunity to test every feature and functionality to determine whether it suits your purposes. And of course check for the above qualities.
Hire the services of an agency or freelance developer
Learn how to program and do the coding yourself
Choose and use an app maker
The first option is more expensive while for the second it could take a very long time before you have enough know-how to personally design an app unless you already have the skill. For a small business, choosing an app builder/maker is the best option. These are easily available online for various types of apps.
Quality of your app
Before you consider the cost implication of whichever app creation platform, you need to look at the quality of product you are going for. This encompasses items such as aesthetic design, ease of use, integration with social media platforms, multi platform capabilities, push notification features and CMS among others.
Design
You want an app maker with the best templates in terms of aesthetics, the best designs with options to personalize as much as possible on the interface. The app should be a reflection of your business and website styles. With over a million apps in the market, you cannot afford to settle for any less than stellar quality.
Ease of use
The app platform/interface should be simple and natural, i.e. can be used by the average mobile phone owner. Most of your users will not have developing and programming skills; they should still be able to easily navigate through your app. The end user experience is the paramount consideration. To determine an app maker's user experience, download an app previously made and play around with it a little.
CMS
Your app builder should have an internal content management system for ease of content updates directly from the back office. A major part of this is to have a CMS with more connectors, as this will make collection of content on the app easier and its display will be better.
Social media sharing features
Your app maker simply must have capability for sharing app content on social media platforms. The more awareness you create, the higher the chance of successful downloads. You should also have a section through which users can channel their feedback.
Determining the best price/quality ratio
There are a number of other considerations to make, but the above are the most important. Now you may consider pricing. It's advisable to try the products before purchase, so go for free trials that are on offer. Use that opportunity to test every feature and functionality to determine whether it suits your purposes. And of course check for the above qualities.
You can now choose an App Maker
that fits into your budget. Be wary of free plans, as they tend to have
limited capabilities and come with mandatory ads you cannot control.
Lastly, be sure that you can modify and update your app without being
charged for every new update.
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