We all are living in the age of smart devices, where Android is leading the market. The reason behind this success is the user-friendly interface and flexible features, the platform offers to its users. Another reason is the growing number of Android applications daily for almost all sorts of consumer requirements. As per the report of Statista, there were around 3.14 million Android apps available in the Google Play store in the fourth quarter of 2020, making it the most prominent house for mobile applications out there.
The increase in popularity of Android applications brings a significant demand for android app developers in the market. However, Android development is not a child’s play. It isn’t just about designing an application and uploading it to the play store, it is far more than that. A productive application requires full-proof strategic planning, market trends analysis, and proper testing before implementing it in the play store.
Therefore, whether you are a product owner of an android app development agency or a beginner in Android development, if you are willing to learn and include the basic features and processes in your Android app development, this article is for you.
What is Android App development, and what are the stages involved in developing an android application?
As the name suggests, Android app development is the designing and curation of an android application for mobile phones and other similar smart devices. An android app primarily runs on an Android OS. To make it likeable by the users and stand out in the market, you need to follow a specific step-by-step process given below:
Making a strategic plan for your app
It is the very first stage of android app development. Before initiating anything, you must have a proper plan according to which you should perform all the tasks related to that thing. For developing an android app, you need to target your audience, analyze the demands of the users, and think about putting in the specifications in your app accordingly. In this stage, you prepare the Terms of references (TOR) for your app.
Creating a design for your app
After you prepare a plan, the next stage is making a design for your app. It is like creating a prototype of your actual application that will be visible to the users.
Developing the app according to the design
It is the development stage. Here, the developers create the app as per the prototype designers provide.
Testing the developed app
The next stage requires the testing engineers to test the application for quality assurance. This stage is crucial as it checks whether the app is working correctly or not.
Launching the app for users
This is the final stage of your android app development. After the full-proof testing of the application, you are all set to launch it in the market for user access. For this, you have to register the app and upload it to the play store. However, your job does not come to an end here. You need to maintain the app, respond to the users’ feedback, update the app regularly, and add new features to it to retain in the market.
Phases involved during the development of an Android application
There are three main phases or parts involved in android app development:
- Back-end development: This phase includes server-side development. All the functioning, user accounts authentication, social network integration, and much more occur in this phase.
- Creation of API: An Application Programming Interface (API) is responsible for linking the internal and external interfaces of an android application.
- Front-end development: This is the client-side of an application that interacts directly with the users. It deals with the orientation, screen size adjustments, content display, and many such things in android app development.
What are the features to be available for a successful android app development?
A successful android app meets the target audience’s requirements and offers them the features they seek in an application. Below is the list of some of the features that an app should consist of:
User-friendly interface
Before the users access all the general and technical features of an app, the first thing they interact with is the application interface. If they do not like it, the chances are that they will not go through the entire app after that. Therefore, it becomes crucial to create an interface that is simple to understand and is user-friendly.
Fast-loading application
When your users are in a hurry, having an app that responds late can be a severe problem. Make sure your android app development services load your application real fast to show the contents quickly. Nobody wants a slow-responsive application, and having one can let you move out of the frame.
Payment methods integration
If your application is an ecommerce application selling any products or services, it will be better to integrate a secured payment gateway into it. Users like the application that have in-built payment methods and do not require additional tools for the same.
Multilingual application
Since applications on the play store are generally available for a global audience (unless specified for a particular region), people from different areas can access your app. Therefore, developing an application that supports multiple languages spoken on a large scale (both national and international) can make a big difference.
Space for user feedback, requests, and complaints
A successful business always listens to its user’s feedback, no matter how good or bad, positive or negative they are. Therefore, always provide some space where users can submit their feedback about your apps and make sure you respond to them. It will help you in two ways: Firstly, it will build the uses’ trust in you that someone out there respects their opinions and feedback. Secondly, these customers’ reactions can help you modify your app in the places it requires improvement.
Final Thoughts
The advancement in android app development is growing at a rapid rate. To withstand your competitors in this tech rivalry, you need to ensure that your android app development agency must create an app that is packed with all the essential features a user looks for. Now, since you might have got a basic idea of android app development and its characteristics, you might want to quickly implement them to design a breathtaking application for your business.
