In today’s world and after the technological revolution, the word “application” which is called “app” for short, is one of the most frequent words, has found a special role in our daily conversations.
What does this increasing development of applications in all areas mean for us? That’s right, good marketer!
In line with teaching application design, in this article, I intend to introduce you to the definition of application, the types of applications, and the steps of application design that all teams must adhere to; So, stay with us.
Table of Contents
What is the application?
Application in the digital world means software or a tool that we can install on our smart system (computer, mobile phone, tablet, etc.) and use it to perform or facilitate the performance of certain tasks.
Applications are generally divided into several very important categories:
Weather programs, cooking and restaurants, education, communication, finance, medicine, fitness, shopping, commuting, lifestyle, travel, social networks, personalization, photography and video, books and press, children, religion, music and sports, and…
What is the main function of applications?
Applications are made to meet our needs the main task of these programs is to use hardware resources to advance and provide software goals to make it easier to do a task.
In summary:
To create a need or respond to a need, application programmers produce and present diverse and creative applications by combining hardware and software resources and earn a significant amount in return.
What are the application design and its steps?
In general, all the steps that are done for coding, graphic design, testing, and copying of a program are called application design. This design is generally a very specialized and sometimes difficult task, especially if it is to be provided for different operating systems.
Application design steps
Application design generally consists of 8 basic steps, of course, many of these steps are integral to the design, construction, and presentation of any product or service in today’s highly competitive market.
First step: Recognizing the need
At first, you should be able to have a general picture of the need or problem that can be solved by your idea in the form of software. Your program should be able to fulfill this need by reducing cost, time, etc. for the audience and at the same time be highly efficient.
Second step: target community
Instead of trying to cast your net across the ocean, enter a pond and catch all the fish. Having a specific target community is the best way to increase the efficiency and usage of your app. In this step, you should know what gender your target community has, what age range they have, and most importantly, what platform they use most to meet their needs.
Note: If your audience may use multiple platforms or operating systems to synchronize our program, you should also consider this.
Third step: Monetization model
On what basis is your application supposed to generate profit? There are currently several different models for app monetization:
- Paid applications
- Free apps with in-app payment
- Advertising applications
- Applications with the right to download
To choose any of these revenue models, it is very important to pay attention to the target community, and apart from that, you should also pay attention to financial issues, including development, marketing, advertising, and publication.
Step 4: Design the application
In the fourth step, you should finally get to work and get your idea out of paper. There are two main ways to design your application:
- Design outsourcing to different companies
- Learning application design
I advise you if you want to do something serious and important, and application design is of great importance to you, including application programming training in your program, and then, in cooperation with experienced teams, implement what you have in mind. Complete implementation.
Fifth step: prototype development
After designing the app, it’s time to develop a prototype of your app.
But why is this obligatory?
Prototype development is essentially turning your idea into an app with its basic functionality. With this, you can persuade buyers to buy your idea and facilitate the marketing and fundraising process, and on the other hand, do not reveal your idea.
Note: Without providing the initial version, bugs and technical defects will not be visible, security defects that are an integral part of new designs will be hidden and it will be very difficult to attract capital and stabilize in the highly competitive application market.
The sixth step is: the analysis
Analyzing the applications that operate in your field is the first step, and then predicting the market trend and the efficiency of your program in meeting the market needs will significantly clarify your roadmap for you.
Use analysis tools such as Flurry, Localities, and Preemptive, and if you have a website, it is recommended to analyze the audience with Google Analytics.
Seventh step: Beta testing
Beta testing is your first chance to get feedback from your target audience.
With this method, you can not only reduce the risk of your program but also significantly increase the probability of being seen in application markets such as the App Store.
Consider some important points before beta testing:
Identify beta testers; Market research a proper understanding of the target population, and market analysis will make the beta testing process considerably easier for you.
remove defects; Your application should run smoothly on different platforms and not create specific bugs. Alpha testing helps you to remove the most errors and bugs.
get feedback; Basically, the purpose of beta testing is to get feedback from target users, By properly analyzing these feedbacks, you can remove minor flaws and improve the interface and user experience of your app.
Step 8: Debug and publish the application
First, try to measure your input criteria, check your sales and marketing funnel step by step especially analyze user behavior, and modify your application according to the feedback.
After going through the above steps, you can upgrade your app and finally publish it.
Note: Note that the release of the application is not the end of the road, but you must be able to constantly improve your user experience with monthly updates so that you can be the leader in your market.