5 Pitfalls to Avoid While Developing an App

Bangalore: Apple, while marketing the App store for iPhone and iPod Touch rightly said “There's an app for just about anything.” Mobile applications have simplified the way people converse, play games, watch movies or listen to music.  A recent study by Flurry, an industry analysis firm found that users spent about 81 minutes on mobile apps and 74 minutes each day surfing the internet.  

Comparing to the internet, the mobile apps market is still young with many problems yet to solve. Paul Myers, CEO of Bappz in his article provided some pitfalls to be avoided while developing apps.

1.    Don’t Over-Promise and Then Under-Deliver
Myers advised app developers not to over promise the users about their apps and then under deliver them. Developers would have boasted about the functionality of the app through advertisements and make the user have high expectations.  If the app doesn’t meet the expectation of the user, its rating will decrease and people will avoid downloading the app.

2.    Don’t Let Your App Lapse
Releasing the app is not the end of the development process. To ensure that the user enjoy using the app, developers needs to frequently update their apps apart from adding new and exciting functionality. Without any updates, users will get bored using the app and would search for another app that has better functionality.

3.    Don’t Try To Be Something You’re Not
Myers also advised app developers to stick to the idea they had from the inception and to avoid adding other functionality to the app when it’s in the development process. Example: If you’re building app that will provide driving information to the nearest restaurant, users would not like to know the menu the restaurant offers.

4.    Only Release It When It’s Ready
Myers strongly suggests that the app should be released only when it’s ready. Releasing beta versions of the app in order to get reviews from the user would not help. If the user doesn’t like the app he/she may give a bad score to your app and this will remain even if you have modified and released the full version of the app.

5.    Don’t Over- Think the Development
It is good to keep your app simple. If your app is too complicated, it would not only increase the cost of development but also it will be difficult for you to tests your apps for bugs and other issues.