7 Best Practices for Mobile App Development in 2022

Even though the market of mobile apps is growing exponentially both in downloads and revenue, not all mobile apps are successful. Did you know that at least 80% of apps fail. There are not one but many reasons for the failure of mobile apps. The top reasons that mobile apps fail are lack of unique value proposition, failure to solve user’s problems, bad user experience, and unclear monetization strategy.

Now, you might be wondering if that’s the case, why opt for mobile app development in the first place? Also, can anything be done to avoid failure of your dream mobile app project? Of course, yes! You can follow the best practices in the mobile app development process. Moreover, following the best practices will also help improve the app’s performance, functionality, security, and overall appeal.

Check out the top app development practices that every business should adhere to!

Top 7 Best Practices for Successful Mobile App Development

  1. Follow SCRUM Management Principles

Mobile app development includes many tasks. It can be challenging to ensure that you don’t miss out on any of them. So, one of the best practices is to break down the larger tasks into smaller manageable milestones. Due to that, the overall process will not seem intimidating. Not only that but you will also have better control on all the activities. This is known as Scrum management where big tasks are divided into smaller tasks known as Sprint. Every sprint cycle has certain targets and responsibilities that the app development team will work on.

  1. Focus on Providing Personalized Experiences

A personalized mobile app experience is the key to keep users engaged and interested. Today, none of the users like generic interactions with an app. They don’t want notifications or suggestions that are not relevant to their needs or choices. Therefore, one of the best practices while developing mobile apps is to focus on personalization. There are two areas to offer personalization to users:

Inside the app – special offers, discounts, pop ups, and search recommendations by location.

Outside the app – push notifications

  1. Optimize your Mobile App for Speed

Making your users wait while the app content is loading is the last thing you want to do right now. That’s because people tend to leave the page or application that takes too long to load and never return to it. Thus, the mobile app needs to be fast and responsive. It is suggested to keep a feedback system in place. It will allow users to put in a request as well as see the effect of their actions.

The best practices for mobile app speed optimization are:

  • Show the progress indicator
  • Offer distraction while the page loads
  • Make use of a skeleton screen
  1. Send Thoughtful & Timed Notifications

Aggressive marketing may have it’s benefits in other fields but that doesn’t hold true for the mobile app market. In fact, it can backfire because users get spammed with distracting notifications all the time. If your app’s notification is one of those then they may uninstall the app to get rid of the notifications. To avoid something like this, take into consideration the factors such as target audience, content that will appeal to them, and their preferred mobile operating hours. Every message and notification should leave an impact.

Some tips for sending push notifications are:

  • Don’t go overboard
  • Don’t send notifications at odd hours
  • Try to use different mediums like emails, push notifications, in-app notifications, and more
  • Create engaging content through the art of storytelling
  1. Focus on Mobile App Security

When a user downloads an application, they trust the app with sensitive and personal information. As the app needs to store and use such sensitive information, it should also be able to protect the customer’s information from attackers and third-party owners. Making security a priority is among the best mobile app development practices.

Following are a few recommendations for mobile security:

  • Write secure code
  • Use high-level authentication
  • Encrypt all the data
  • Be careful while using third-party libraries
  • Use only authorized APIs
  • Deploy proper session handling
  1. Integrate Analytics from Beginning

There is no point of making and deploying an app if you can’t track its performance in the marketplace. For that, you will need to look at the app’s analytics. Analytics gives app developers an understanding of the current situation and audience’s response to their app. At the same time, developers can predict their mobile app’s potential scope and limitations by analyzing past and current data.

Important metrics to track are listed below:

  • User engagement
  • Adoption influence
  • Customer retention management
  • Customer engagement in high-value activities

Before you get carried away in all the available data, here are some best for mobile app analytics to note:

  • Invest in qualitative data
  • Measure only the required data
  • Consider analytics at the design stage itself
  • Use mobile analytics tools
  • Take time to understand the user journey
  1. Set an App Development Budget

An app development budget is necessary to keep things running smoothly without losing focus on the goal. If you slack off in planning for all the potential expenses then you will end up spending more than required money and resources. As various factors directly impact the app development cost, it is necessary to consider all of them and prepare a systematic budget accordingly.

Final Word

There is no doubt that to survive in the mobile app market, you need to be innovative. Offering something to the users that is already out there is not going to help. While coming up with new features and functionalities, you also need to constantly collect user feedback. This will not only make the users feel heard but also let you improve on the areas where you lack. Keep in mind that all of this is an ongoing process as the mobile app market is dynamic and platform guidelines keep on changing.

Last but not least, market the mobile app in a way that it not only reaches the target audience but also achieves the business goals. If you don’t market the app it will end up lost in the sea of million apps that are already out there. On an ending note, keep up and follow the best practices of mobile app development to get an edge over the competitors right from the beginning.

Author Bio

Josh Turner, a resident wordsmith with GoodFirms discovered his knack for writing early on and intends to present his ideas to the world by talking about technology, how it’s changing the world and how it will continue to do so. When he is not writing, Josh can be found journaling at a local coffee shop, experimenting with new genres in reading or gardening.