Think about building an app?

Don't think of skipping the user testing and QA

Too many apps of low or high value are released without sufficient quality testing and control, making it important to tighten up testing and certification processes if a brand is to avoid the financial or reputational damage of seriously disappointed and angry end users.

Mobile is important to any business now

The number of app downloads will reach nearly 269 billion by 2017 and this shift into mobile is impacting companies of all shapes and sizes, making it one of the most competitive ventures the company will face.

Market that app, whats the risk you ask

59 percent of applications released on iOS actually lose money for the developer, an even more. Surprising number is that 80 percent do not generate enough revenue to be a stand-alone business. Only 11 percent of developers had their application reach 500,000 downloads or more. 63 percent of app creators saw less than 50,000 downloads for their app. The applications that were successful spent an incredibly large amount of time and money marketing their app. (Via Venture Beat)

Users are sending a message

The types of errors that were most frequently reported on public app stores and twitter and is expected to rise.

User Interface issues 59% 59%
Performance 52% 52%
Functionality 50% 50%
Device compatibility 45% 45%

6 elements for a successful app

Consistent Performance

The success of an app depends upon how consistent it is, performance-wise. It has to be a well-tested app, taking into account all aspects of performance under the most extreme conditions.

A top-selling app is one that works perfectly, irrespective of whether the phone connection is on or off, and also one that ideally consumes the minimum possible CPU and battery power.

An app that constantly crashes will never ever get anywhere near becoming popular with users. Hence, reliability in performance is the first and most important characteristic that goes to make a successful app

Loading Time

Apps that take too long to load are automatically avoided by users. Anything under 5 seconds of loading time is fine. But if the app takes more than that, users will tend to become impatient.

Of course, if the app is complex and requires large amounts of data to startup, it is bound to guzzle up more time too. In such a case, you could take the user to a “loading” screen, which tells them that the loading process is on.

Large apps such as Facebook for iPhone and Android are fine examples of this aspect. Users prefer to stay and wait before using the apps, because they can see some ongoing activity when they start using the app.

Utility Value

Any mobile app has to usable, in order to become successful in the marketplace. It also has to be unique and help the user with some task, making life that much simpler for him or her.

A top-selling mobile app is one that sets itself apart from the rest of its kind, in some way or another. It offers that something extra, which is what engages the user and encourages him or her to use it repeatedly.

Compatibility with Mobile Platform

Secondly, the app has to be completely compatible with the mobile platform it has been developed for. Each mobile platform has its own particular features and traits, as also guidelines and work environment. An app that has been developed, keeping these aspects in mind, is one that will offer the best possible UI experience to end-users.

For instance, creating an iPhone app around the standard application bar, using standard navigation controls, will best suit this type of mobile platform.

Unfamiliar features that fall outside the framework of a particular mobile platform may make end-users uncomfortable while using the app, hence ultimately decreasing its popularity quotient.

Freezing Frustration

Apps that constantly freeze will never be considered cool by users. Hence, the general UI thread should always be open and active, if the app has to become successful in the app marketplace. The end-user will immediately reject apps that hang-up or crash on a regular scale.

In case your app is rather advanced and requires some more time to run, try to run a secondary thread so that it takes much lesser time than otherwise. Many mobile OS’ offer thread separation. Figure out if your desired platform gives you this benefit before actually developing your app.

An Ad-Free Experience

While this is not an actual essential, it helps to make your app as ad-free as possible. A free app filled with ad banners is never going to that much favored by users, though it does help the developer make extra money from the sales of the app. Instead, it is better to create a paid app and make it ad-free, so that the user is not interrupted while he or she uses the app.
Information is written by: Priya Viswanathan, Mobile Devices Expert.