Having an app built specifically for your business can make it easier to run your business. You can easily collect payments, build a user base, sell products, offer services, and countless other functions.
Need Las Vegas Mobile App Development?
We can turn your app ideas into a reality with our expertise. Whatever your idea may be, we can code it, design it, test and optimize it. We utilize the best standards of UX/UI design to produce an easy to use, clean and functional application.
From the initial stages of planning and design to testing and completion, we have your entire development stack covered. We’ll work directly with you to make sure we both achieve your vision and make something that your customers will want to use.
Does My Small Business Need An App?
If you’ve thought about getting an app for your small business, consider it to be one of the many ways you can reach out to customers. A study has shown the following statistics about mobile phone users:
- Apps take up more than half of a user’s time when using a device.
- 85% of consumers prefer to use an app over a company’s mobile website
- 42% of all mobile sales for Fortune 500 companies are through their apps.
- Mobile app revenue is expected to hit almost $189 billion in 2020
- Most consumers average about 30 apps installed on their device. They spend on average at least 35 hours a month using them.
I’ve got an app idea. What’s next?
I’ve got an app idea. What’s next?
Having the right idea can take you a long way in standing out in the app marketplace. But there’s more to making an app than just having an idea. At Starfire, we can help guide you through the process to determine your exact needs and how the app will suit your business. Before we begin any development, we usually want to ask the customer the following questions:
- What do you want your app to do?
- How does it tie into your online marketing?
- What audience are you targeting?
- How are you going to incentivize customers to use the app?
- Cross platform or platform exclusive? (ie, only for iPhones)
- Do your competitors have apps? If so, what do they do?
- What’s your development budget?
- What timeline are you looking at for development? Do you have a desired launch date?
- Do you have a plan or idea of how to market your app?
Answering these questions will greatly help us scope out your project and decide ultimately what your app needs to do. While we understand that during development and testing things may change, we want to ensure that there is a clear light at the end of the tunnel.
Establishing Objectives & Goals For Your App
This might be the most important step in app development. Figuring out what your app needs to accomplish will set the basis for the entire development process. There are a few things to address at this stage:
- What will the app solve that your current website or digital media can’t do?
- What will be the primary features of the app?
- What is the core appeal of the app?
Once this is outlined, we can work together to find a balance between your budget and our time frame. More often than not, customer engagement should usually be the priority for your business rather than services exclusive to the app.
Wireframes & Design
The next step is to determine how your app will be laid out. This is often referred to as the wireframe stage. Whether it be through a pencil and paper sketch, PDF, mock-up tools, or numerous ways we want to lay out exactly what your app will look like. The pages in the wireframes will be built out based on your needs from the previous step. A flowchart or map will also be created to show how all these parts link together and what the user experience will look like.
Backend Specifications
At this point research will be done to determine what back end components are needed for your app. While under review, certain goals and functions from previous stages may have to be altered to fit the scope depending on the technical difficulty.
Finalize & Test
Once all the specifications have been put in place, we can begin finalizing the wireframe and begin development on a prototype. This is an essential part of the process and a time where many things could change from the initial plan. It’s important to keep your original goals in mind and to avoid “feature creep”. While the roadmap, design or flow may change, what you want the app to accomplish should not.
Coding & Development
Now that we know exactly what the app will look like and what it will do, we can begin building the full application. This can be a lengthy process depending on the complexity of the app but will have been outlined in the previous stages. Once we reach a point where the app is in a functional state, we will begin testing and bugfixing.
Launching the App
It’s time to launch your app once all the testing is complete and the app fully functions the way it’s intended to. Simply uploading it to the Play store or App store will simply not be enough to get your app noticed. You’ll need to have a marketing plan in place to spread the word about the app. Maybe the first 100 customers to sign up can get some kind of incentive? Perhaps you offer exclusive pricing on certain products through the app?
Before your app launches, you’ll ideally want to capture some user information to either notify them when the app is ready or set up accounts ahead of time. This can be done through an existing website, email list, or other means of data collection. You’ll want to get the word out early on social media as well.
Develop Your App With Starfire
Mobile app usage continues to grow in the coming years. With customers spending the majority of time on their phones in apps, perhaps your small business could benefit from one of your own. Contact us today to get your project started.
