Mobile apps are the perfect companions for people nowadays. Apps have taken place within the essential needs of life. Know why? Even if we take an example of WhatsApp, can you think of a day where you didn’t use WhatsApp? No.

Of course, who doesn’t want to stay in touch with their loved ones? We all are connected to people all around the world, just because of some apps. Isn’t it?

This is the main reason why Social media apps take most of our time. These apps were designed according to the user’s needs. No wonder these apps are ruling the world now with massive success.

The human mind is creative enough to come up with hundreds of new and unique app ideas. Every day approximately 2913 apps are published on Google Play Store.

Creating an app is like bringing your thoughts into reality, or we can say that it is a reflection of what we see is missing in the app market. There was a time when people would say, “I wish there was an app for that,” and now it’s quite the opposite because nowadays, one would say, “there’s an app for that!”

This is exactly how the normal world changed into the digital world in the past few years. There are apps for literally everything. From buying your favorite things online to selling your products online, there is an app.

You might have an app idea in your mind, and most probably, that’s the reason you’re reading this article. Before we get straight into our main topic, let me share an amazing app success story with you.

Solar System 3D is an app developed by Madhsudhan, who is an expert app developer and blogger. The app was launched in 2017, and by now, it has more than 100k downloads. According to Madhsudhan, the app was successful without any promotion and because of two things. First is the idea, of course, and second is the description.

If you have an amazing and unique app idea and wonder if it’s worth turning it into reality, then this article is definitely for you.

Is your app idea worth developing?

Having an app idea in a highly competitive and developing app industry is like being one small fish in a vast ocean. But losing hope without implementing an app idea is the worst thing you can do to that idea. If you are ready to implement your app idea, then it is the right time for you to develop an app idea.

Here's how:

Steps to develop an app idea:

Specify the main goal

It is more than important to know what exactly you want to do or what your goal is. Having a clear vision is essential before building an app because there will be no turning back once you start the process. It all depends on your goal. If you don't have the primary goal, then all your hard work and efforts can go into vain. Take time and think about how you want your app to be so it will be easier for you to follow the further process.

Market and competition research

The second important step of developing an app is market research. To identify the market trends, competition and needs, you have to do proper market research. Look for what's missing in the app market. Make sure there are no similar apps, or even if there are, then see the missing feature in those apps so that you can build a more developed, unique, and perfect app to stand out in the highly competitive app market. To attract users, your app should be unique in comparison with other similar apps.

Unique selling proportion:

Unique selling proportion plays a major role when it comes to apps. What makes your app different from hundreds of other apps? That one difference is the game-changer. Each developer believes that their app has a unique selling proportion that sets them apart from the world. The main key here is that your USP has to be focused, strong, and deliverable to differentiate you from your competitors. The pro tip here is to keep updating your USPs because the app market is evolving, and you have to stay up to dated to thrive in the developing app industry.

Identify the target audience.

It is one of the most crucial steps of developing an app idea. Identifying your target audience in the early stages of developing an app idea is essential because, in this way, you can keep your audience in mind whenever you're going to make any decisions or making changes regarding your app. You should know the gender, age, interests, country, etc. The best way to identify your target audience is to do the research. Look for the ratings, reviews, feedbacks given by users on the apps of your competitors. Look for the pain points of that target audience. Does your app solve them?

User's Needs

Once the research is done, you will come to the conclusion of the user's needs. You have to identify users' needs to build an app that will be helpful for them. See what advantage your app can give to the users and how it can help them. Your app should make their life easy. Remember, they have the freedom of choice to choose from hundreds of similar apps, so your app should stand out.

Time-saving

Why do you think that the world is becoming digital? Or why is digital the new normal? The reason is it saves our time ultimately. For example, businessmen can attend meetings with anyone across the world just through an app, or the best example is that now even we can buy anything from any corner of the world. It will take a lot of time to actually go to the places and buy things, so people shop online. So your app should be designed in a way to help people save their time.

Let's take the example of Uber. Imagine you are standing on a busy road getting late for your work. You're waiting for a cab to stop by you, but you are not even sure if a cab will come. For this problem, an app like Uber is a pro time saver. While getting ready for work, you take out your phone, open the Uber app and call a car for you to pick and drop. Easy!

Solving problems

Most people download or buy a specific app to solve their problems. For example, an app called "I Can't Wakeup" is for those heavy sleepers who hit the snooze button of alarm just to get some more sleeping minutes. For turning off the alarm, the users have to solve a math problem, rewrite the text, or find a pair of words and so-on. This stimulation guarantees to wake up the brain. Now you know how this app solves a certain problem. Your app should do the same. Search out for user's problems and make an app so unique and problem-solving that users can't resist downloading it.

Now that you know each and every step of developing an app idea, you should quickly go to the next step, which is building an app, or you can say that bringing your app idea into reality step.

Steps towards building an app

Enhance the features

Note down the possible functions your app can perform, and then make sure to evaluate whether the leaders of the market include them in the mandatory list. The number of features doesn't really matter. What matters is that even if there are a small number of features, they should be implemented better. That's the main thing.

A financial plan

Building an app is indeed a daunting task. You need to have a perfect and balanced financial plan while you are aiming to develop an app. Note down where you are going to spend or invest your money in the process of building an app. For a financial plan, you need to ask yourself the following few questions:

What is the expected app development cost?
How much will it approximately cost to maintain and support the app?
How much I have to spend on developing new versions?
How much I have to spend on marketing and promotion?

Include App development, marketing, infrastructure, retention, including customer service, maintenance, and improvement costs in your financial plan.

Finding investments

Every human has a unique brain that can generate thousands of ideas of literally anything. Most people have amazing app ideas but not enough resources to bring that dream into reality. Lack of funds is the main reason why some people back off in the process of building an app. But, every problem has a solution. In such a case, you should definitely go for one of the following options:

Crowdfunding –it includes interacting with users in the future to attract investments for the development of the project.
Sponsors –there are many organizations that offer financial support for app development if you agree to promote their brand in your app.
Investors –organizations and wealthy people can provide you with seed capital for app development. If you have an understandable and clear plan and know how to turn your app idea into reality, they can finance your entire project.

A prototype of basic app idea

After you are thoroughly done with the research and analysis process, it's time to create a prototype. A prototype is a model of the final product. It helps solve most of the usability issues in the very beginning. It helps to improve the success of your app idea because it combines both rough sketches and interactive layouts.

SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) gives you a balanced view of your app idea. The purpose of this analysis is to build you a good overall picture of your app. In this analysis, you explore internal and external influences that may impact your app. Here's how you can have an idea of a SWOT analysis:

Strengths –what makes your app different from other similar apps? Does your app have any special features which are not launched in the app market yet?

Weaknesses – the improvements your app needs.

Opportunities –the new trends and technology you can use to make your app unique.

Threats –any new challenges you may come across or any financing constraints.

Building an MVP

MVP –minimal viable product is a program that helps you figure out the fundamental features required for your app and without which it can't possibly work. MVP allows you to create a comparatively affordable initial model of your app idea and assess the user reaction. It helps you to test your app idea and improve it accordingly.

Mobile app marketing

There are so many ways to promote your app even before launching. You can launch an advertising landing page that describes your app's unique features or the benefits it is offering to users. SEO traffic and paid ads also help to increase your app recognition.

Got an app idea that's worth creating? Contact Appedology –a software company in the USA. We create stunning apps.

Now that you have come to the conclusion that you will soon establish your app with the idea you had in your mind for many days. What things should you do to protect your app idea during presale? Here's everything you need to know about it.

Protecting an app idea during the presale phase:

While you are all ready to launch your app with your app idea, you might have a question in your mind that, "What if somebody steals my app idea and launch the app first?"

You were so busy planning, building, or developing your app idea that the "stealing" thing didn't even cross your mind. Don't worry, and it's even better if you are reading this article before launching your app on the App store.

There are tens of apps that look like clones, and you don't even want to see the copies of your app, so here are the few things you should consider to protect your app.

Best ways to secure an app idea

Signing an NDA

NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) is a way to make sure that all the information that you shared about your app will be kept confidential and cannot be disclosed. It is always a good idea to sign an NDA even if you hire freelance developers or app development agencies. Mutually signing NDA is inevitable if you are presenting your app idea to possible investors.

Copyright your app

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO):

"Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of "original works of authorship," including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly."

Thinking of getting the copyright and protect your app? You should know that copyright does not protect the idea of your app. Copyright laws only apply to the expression form.

This is how it is explained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO):

"The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine."

So if you get a copyright, it means that other developers can build an app with similar features, but it will protect your design, source code, graphics, texts, etc.

Trademark your app

A trademark protects the name of your mobile app and the logo associated with it. As described above that, any developer can create an app with similar features, but a name can differentiate your app from all those similar apps. An App's name is its identifier. A registered name will help your target audience remain confident while downloading your app because they are not getting an imitation but an original article.

Apply for a patent

Apps can be patented, and for that, they must meet the criteria. However, the patent is the most reliable way to protect your app idea from stealing. Your app idea needs to be a true invention –non-obvious, useful, and novel in order to get a patent. If any other person has patented something similar before you, you won't get a patent.

Conclusion

Now that you have come to the point where you know each and everything from an app idea to developing and protecting an app idea, you should know what to do next. According to Statista, 218 billion mobile apps were downloaded from 2016 to 2020, and it is expected that in the year 2022, an estimated 258 billion mobile applications will be downloaded worldwide. So if you go with a unique or innovative idea, there will be a sure shot of mobile app development success. Make sure you follow each and every step discussed in this article, and if you are ready to turn your app idea dream into reality, then contact Appedology. Our experts are ready to implement even the most unique and ambitious app ideas. We are just a message, call and email away. Get a free quote now.

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