Do you want to develop an app? Don't forget to take this into account.

There are a variety of challenges throughout the mobile app development lifecycle. These range from choosing the best approach to developing the app, to creating an app that is good enough to stand out from the competition.

It is a fact! More and more people use mobile devices in their daily lives. Due to this, large amounts of money are constantly invested in the development of mobile applications.

Companies understand the importance of providing this type of solutions (apps) to connect with their customers. However, what sometimes may not be so easy to understand is how to develop the application without encountering a variety of challenges that may arise along the way.

Here we tell you what are the most common challenges when developing mobile applications.

Approach

When starting a software development project, the first point to consider should be to choose the best technical approach to achieve it, because we must make the right decision in the early stages in order to obtain favorable results and avoid rework and waste of time / money.

When we talk about approach, we refer to native, hybrid and cross-platform applications.

• Native applications. This type of development is where an application is created using the specific tools of a certain mobile operating system. This approach, like everything, has its advantages and disadvantages; you can read more about it in our article "Native mobile development. Why is it better?" . A fundamental characteristic of native applications is that, as they fully adapt to the device for which they were developed, they have access to all its features, such as the camera, GPS and microphone. Therefore, they can also collect a greater amount of data from users and use it in their favor to, for example, determine which features and/or functionalities should be improved or discarded through usage reports.
• Cross-platform applications. The second approach is called cross-platform development. Just like its name implies, this type of development is ideal for those looking to run their apps on different mobile operating systems. Although the approach sounds tempting, there are important points to consider within this type of development. A cross-platform project could not have specific processes on the different platforms; for example, the augmented reality offered by iOS is not the same as that offered by Android.
• Hybrid applications. The third approach is hybrid mobile development. These applications are developed using standard forms of programming, such as JavaScript and CSS. Hybrid applications are characterized by combining elements of native applications with elements of web applications. In other words, they are web applications that have been placed within a native application structure. This means that mobile app developers only require one source code for the app and it will still be usable across multiple platforms.
  

Choosing the right development approach is a crucial decision in creating mobile apps. For this reason, it is important to carry out a preliminary investigation of the scope of the project to choose the best option based on the needs and objectives of the app owner.

User experience

When developing an application, you must ensure that the user has a good experience when using it and that it does not present failures. At e•Saurio, we work under an iterative, non-linear process that helps us understand people, challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions. This is Agile Design Thinking and we have implemented it as a work methodology for each project, always offering the best user experience in the products we develop.

Remember: two points that you should take into account are ease of use and loading times, since they are just some of the most important factors for the user.

Compatibility

Another key factor in mobile user experience design is ensuring that the app works well on a range of recent mobile devices. If it is not compatible with certain popular devices and the screen size is not taken into account, your app will not catch on with a large part of the users and you will have reputational problems.

Visibility in app stores

Mobile applications are extremely popular and for this reason it is a very competitive market. One of the biggest challenges of mobile app development is promoting it. If people can easily find your app within a marketplace, they are much more likely to download it.

If you have built a high-performing app that has a great user experience but no one can find it, you won't achieve your business goals, so consider using marketing strategies from professionals in the field.

As we told you at the beginning, today we show you some challenges that may come your way once you decide to start mobile development. Of course, many other factors must be considered, however we hope that this base will help you to have a clearer idea as to what you should consider when embarking on the mission of creating an app.

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