Many people and companies are coming up with new mobile app ideas to make it big in their field. They either want to reach a new audience or better serve their existing customers. However, people are relatively unaware of the steps or processes required to turn the idea of ​​a mobile app into a reality. Due to a lack of capacity and knowledge among startups and established companies, most of them do not know how to shape the app idea.

I have helped many companies build their own mobile app. Here are the 10 key steps I have followed in my 6 years of experience. I believe my list can help anyone from any industry to turn their mobile app idea into a reality.

Step 1: Write Down Your Feature List

Begin conceptualizing your idea by taking some notes. Before doing anything, you should write down whatever comes to your mind. Writing a feature list on a piece of paper helps you focus and expand on your idea. I recommend writing down your idea several times and in many ways. This list will also be helpful when you are discussing with your co-founders, designers, investors, or developers; They’re all going to ask for it. Note that you must have them sign an NDA before sharing your feature list. Your feature list should be clean and easy to understand. Also make sure that it has popular and unique features, which will play a major role in the success of your product.

Step 2: Do Market Research

After you’ve written your robust list of features, you’ll want to conduct market research to find out the competition, trends, and market needs. Make sure there are no similar apps in the market. If so, find out their reviews, ratings, feedback, and what they lack. Add features to your app that make it unique and more attractive to the audience. You should update your feature list after doing market research.

Step 3: Identify Users/Audience

It is very important to find out who will be using your app and who will be the audience for your product. Your users are from a particular industry, gender, region, age group, existing customer, income group, specific profession, or any other group. Once you’ve identified certain demographics about an audience, you can find out what people in these demographics like or are like. Knowing your audience helps you to tailor your app and its features to meet their needs. Your entire project revolves around user engagement. You can also conduct focus group studies to find out what your audience might like or dislike. Your audience will determine the success of your product, and this insight from a focused study can go a long way in defining product success.

Step 4: Identify the Monetization Strategy

Earning money is the biggest reward and provides energy for your idea. You can make money with your app idea in a number of ways: subscription fees, in-app purchases, in-app ads, user data, sponsorships. You want to know which one works best for your app, audience, and market. Launching a paid app doesn’t work these days, but you can make the app free with an in-app purchase option for more functions. In-app ads are also losing their shine these days due to user experience. Having user data is becoming a major monetization technique, as you can use it to create indirect wealth. You can find sponsorship for the app; It works for an app with a social mission. It is important for you to select 1 or 2 techniques that will give you a good return on investment.

Step 5: Make a Rough Sketch/Wire Frame

Maybe you haven’t done it before, or don’t know how to do it. However, the rough sketch or wireframe helps you define the concept and refine the requirements of your product. You can make a rough sketch using paper and pencil, while a wireframe can be made using online tools. When you start sketching / wireframing, you’ll be able to further refine your app ideas and features list. Also, it helps you to decide the proper navigation of the application. You don’t need technical skills for this step but should have a general understanding of how navigation works. Your wireframe, along with your feature list, will create the very best specifications for you to build a mobile app.

Step 6: Contact Local Mobile App Developers and Get Estimates

Once you have the feature list and your first version of Wire Frame, you want to start identifying vendors who can build your mobile app in a high-quality, cost-effective way. You should seek and reach out to local vendors and some global vendors. Once you have shortlisted 5 to 6 good vendors, ask them to sign NDA and send them the project details. A good salesperson should check your details and ask you a lot of questions. You should be sure to answer them in detail so that your ideas are fully communicated. A good salesperson should also be able to give you some suggestions to improve your idea. You should get offers from multiple vendors and compare them along with the time and cost for development. You should check vendors on past performance, process, price, timing, testimonials, and their eagerness to work for you. In the end, you should be able to select a vendor and start working with them.

Step 7: Complete the UI/UX

Once you have selected the company, you should work with them to build the UI/UX of the app. You should first make them a detailed wireframe of the application so that you can visualize each screen, function, and flow of the application. After review, you can decide to add or remove features. Once the wireframe is complete, you want them to create a visual design of the application. It should give the colors, themes, fonts, and visual appeal to your idea. This step will give you an almost final picture of what your mobile app will look like and how it will flow. Once this is done, get your vendor to re-evaluate the development plan, time, and cost. If the first estimate of time/cost has gone up, get more money or cut some features. You want to pay the right price to your mobile app developer.

Step 8: Develop and Test the App

Have your app developer start building the app for you. They should be able to send you the app (in progress) every week and be able to test you and give them feedback. It is very essential for you to QA the app as they develop it, as it helps you control the quality, cost, and timeline, and find out if the mobile app needs some tweaks. You can also involve your friends in the test. If you come up with a new set of features during development, discuss them with your app developer and get time and cost estimates. If it fits your budget, do it right away. If not, wait for the next step.

Step 9: Launch the App and Market It

Once you are satisfied with the app, launch it in the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store. You should also start marketing the app. Get some advice from the experts in in-app marketing. You can also do self-marketing. Start on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as this is an easy way to spread the word about the app. You should also reach out to journalists and bloggers who might be interested in your app and write about it. Press releases on free sites or paid sites can be very useful. If you have more in your budget, you can hire a PR or app marketing company.

Step 10: Collect Market Feedback and Prepare for the Next Step

After the first launch and marketing, you can collect user data, market feedback, and demand. If you get a good response, you can plan the next step for the app. Repeat steps 1 through 9 for the next step. This time, you should be able to do them a lot faster and more efficiently. If the app is not well received in the market, find out what is hindering development and create a plan of action.