The Complete Guide to Custom App Development Process 2024 [Updated]

Last updated on December 28th, 2023

The digital transformation is being led by business leaders and start-up founders from various industries for efficient management, great returns, high productivity and scalability. Although every business is unique, you can’t escape this highly competitive world where only a unique digital marketing strategy can differentiate you. Customizing your business functionalities for your specific goals is the best way to go. Your business can gain an advantage over competitors by incorporating custom app development into your strategy.

Companies have benefited greatly from mobile app development during pandemics. The demand for custom app development reached not only tech companies, but also those in the manufacturing, food, textile, healthcare, finance, transportation, etc. sectors. When such a demand exists, is it essential to know how an app is developed? Or, more specifically, what are the steps involved?

Considering similar issues, we discuss the advantages of a customized mobile app development process – and also the best frameworks to use when developing front-end and back-end functions and the steps involved in the development process.

Advantages of Custom App Development Process

• Consider the possibility of wanting to stand out from a crowd. Those cases require you to add value in addition to an existing feature – not necessarily an additional feature, but an upgrade that no others in your industry are offering. By outsmarting the capabilities of other industry players, a custom app can empower your enterprise.
• Users of your business app will be able to gain exclusive access to exclusive features. Developers start working on the UX/UI of the mobile app as soon as they determine the fundamentals of the business.
• Any business can benefit from this scalable opportunity. Developers can help you scale the functionality of your app to unprecedented heights during the custom mobile app development process. As a result, scalability is never an issue, and you can handle increasing traffic or a massive database no matter what.
• With your existing software, you can easily integrate third-party apps. By using just one application with different integrations, you can meet your business needs instead of using multiple applications. As a result, your existing business software is customized to be in harmony with it, so the integration will be seamless and the software will function correctly.
• A higher ROI is always an important consideration for any business. As a result, your business gains high value from the app tailored to meet your business goals.
• Security: Security of user information is a highly important issue for every business owner. At every stage of the mobile app development process, our app developer analyzes any potential security breaches and takes the necessary steps to prevent them.
• Platform Independent: The client can ensure their custom app is accessible and responsive on all screens and platforms and in all browsers.

Steps for Custom App Development Process

• Doing some brainstorming
• Identifying the target audience
• Business strategy
• Specifications and core functionalities
• Identifying experts to develop the app

Since it is tailored to the client’s needs, custom app development process can proceed in many directions. The process is highly dependent on the client, the project, the software, and the specifics. Below is a general outline of the stages that can be altered in a number of ways.

Step #1: Doing some brainstorming

Prior to approaching a custom software development company, you should probably complete this step. A brainstorming session would be your first step if you are an investor looking for an opportunity. If you want an app to succeed in your country, region, or company, think about the problems present and how an app could help. Duolingo’s founder and current CTO, Luis von Ahn, believed that free education could change the world and built an app that taught foreign languages. Today, these ideas are obvious as these services can help people in many ways. If you are thinking about contacting a custom app development company, make sure that you consider such facilitation or issues first.

Step #2: Identifying the target audience

To find the right solution for a problem, you need to know who will use it. This is a pretty universal situation. In contrast, Uber caters mainly to people ages 18-60, Airbnb caters to students and lower-middle-income travelers, and Duolingo caters to those with low funds yet a strong desire to learn foreign languages. Even though these are fairly generic descriptions of the target audience for an application, they are a good starting point for your marketing research.

If you were to imagine the perfect user for your future app, you would see:

• Who are they? (gender, age, location, occupation, income, etc.)
• How often do you expect them to use the application?
• What makes your app unique in the market?

Asking people around is the easiest way to gather this data. Conduct a poll online to determine the preferences of potential viewers. Be sure to collect their information in order to develop a profile of the target audience.

Step #3: Business strategy

When you have a thorough understanding of who your users are and how their problems relate to your custom development solution, you can begin to plan how your solution will generate revenue. You will also be able to affect the customer satisfaction rate as well as the speed at which you will reach your goal depending on the strategy you select for your new project.

The following questions should be answered first:

• What are your plans for reaching the end-users? How will you inform them about the app?
• Will each user cost a certain amount?
• What kind of budget is needed to get traction on the market?

Of course, you may think that these answers could be posted later in the course of your custom web development project. Nevertheless, the earlier you start marketing your app, the faster you will see revenue after it has been released. Further, the business strategy influences whether an app needs deep links, slots for advertisements, and SEO optimization (so that the app can be searched in Google or on App Stores). Those factors are also important in terms of making the application technologically sound.

At the point of creating your business strategy, think about how you will distribute the app: through stores to individual users or even to organizations that will use it internally. It takes considerably less marketing-related work to create custom mobile applications in-house. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done in order to make it compatible with the client’s internal systems and the remaining apps. Since the app is widely available, you will need to optimize and adapt it to a variety of end-user devices.

Step #4: Specifications and core functionalities

If you are not a techie and cannot define specifications in IT terms, creating the specifications is still necessary. Developers are able to create the exact solution you need based on your functional and technical requirements for the future software. A few things you should consider are these:

• Identify the user roles: this includes teachers, students, self-learners, registered and non-registered users, or returning and new customers. It depends a lot on the entire idea of the app.

• User Journey: Think about how your app will be used by each of the defined roles or how you would like them to use it. This can be done with a flowchart showing arrows and the app’s elements.
• Plan the app: This includes the expected number of screens, their names and button placements, as well as the general design of the app.
• Set up a list of features: App analytics to help adjust future marketing efforts, monetization methods (in-app purchases, ads, pay-per-download, etc.) and what the app should do and how it should do it, including integrations (such as with PayPal).

During the planning phase, there are no right or wrong choices because the more information you can gather and provide to the mobile application development company, the easier and faster you can achieve your goal.

Step #5: Identifying experts to develop the app

A reliable partner to develop an app is just the right time if you have an idea, technical specifications, marketing strategy, and business plan.

1. Go through listings: Browse listing websites to start your search. Choose your region or a specific list of services to find a custom software development company.
2. Check the portfolio: See if some of the selected teams have experienced working with applications like yours. Choosing a Web Development Service company with prior experience in your sector will provide you with more insight into what market needs and trends are.
3. Read the blog: You can meet the team on the blog before you meet in person. The articles in the company’s blog can be used to understand the company’s focus and to determine their level of experience.
4. Check market presence: As part of the firm’s market presence, the company may participate in conferences or receive awards. Consider their social media strategy and whether they develop popular apps.
5. Check customer feedback or referrals from trusted sources: Referrals and positive reviews from people you know make it easier to work with a company. Comparing feedback from different sources is also helpful.
6. Focus on data and technology security: only the selected company can provide insight into this aspect. Look for a security provider who can provide you with their security strategy right away so that you can get a good feel for their approach.
7. Spotlight on delivery time: It is inevitable that software development will take longer than expected. Talk to the selected custom application development company about the timeline and delivery time. The way they show up at your first meeting/e-meeting is a good indication of meticulous time management.
8. It is only the contract that can assist you in the case of a dispute that provides all the details, deadlines, technical specifications, etc. To protect your company from any unfortunate incidents, make sure you read the contract before signing it.

Those are just a few of the most important elements to look for in a mobile application development company. Still, it is a great start for a successful collaboration.

Step #6: Pre-development

Prior to the outsourced company and your team beginning custom web app development, defining all project details will need to be done. This stage is called pre-development. From the concept sketches to the designer’s images and UX journeys, the latter can include everything from your drafts and ideas to their presentation of the app. Custom software development is all about negotiation since it defines the whole project. Typically, a development team will produce a rapid prototype before proceeding to development.

• Build a rapid prototype

An MVP and a prototype are two different things. Don’t mix them up. You can see a prototype of an app that contains clickable elements; it is a great way to see how the app will function and feel once it is released.

• Build an MVP

MVP, or minimum viable product. This is a miniature version of your fully developed app with just enough functionality to release to early or beta-testing customers. Since early testing may reveal that your original plan for an app needs to be altered, this stage falls under pre-development.

Step #7: Development

You already have MVP at the start of step 7; this sets the tone for the remainder of the development process. You might not need to go through the design stage if the MVP is a huge success or receives only positive feedback. A custom web development company may polish or even rebrand its MVP to give it an air of novelty and encourage it to be released in full scale after the MVP is complete. Choosing the right solution will depend on the budget, the timeline, and the wishes of the end-user. As mentioned above, the traditional custom website and mobile app development would be handled through this system.

• Design

• Development

• Testing

• Training

• Launch

Do You Want to Develop Custom App for Your Business?

In comparison to off-the-shelf applications, custom app development process is complex. Building a fully functioning tailored business app involves more than just the front-end. The advantage of working with a mobile app developer like us is that we can deliver the same on time and within budget.

Frequently asked Questions to Custom App Development Process

1. What are the diverse custom app development services?

Following services comes under the category of custom mobile app development –

• Native app development –

The custom app developers design, develop, and deploy natively-built apps for iOS and android devices.

• Cross-platform app development –

Through the use of popular cross-platform app development networks, the custom app developers built apps for diverse platforms using single code.

• Maintenance and Update-

Successful development is not enough. Constant need to maintain your app and release its updated versions is necessary.

• Wearable applications-

The custom app development company have the ability to make your mobile apps dynamic by making it compatible with wearable devices.

• App consultancy –

Not just the adequate technical expertise and experience, you app needs the apt market knowledge to outperform its competitors.

• App Design –

By creating seamless backend and frontend design, the custom app developers ensure that the consumers stay longer on your app.

2. What are the top custom mobile app development companies?

Given below is the list of top custom mobile app developers. Take a look –

• iTechnolabs
• Techahead
• Quytech
• Algoworks
• Hyperlink InfoSystem
• Sidebench
• Cubix
• RipenApps
• Snotor

With vast experience and boundless expertise, the developers at iTechnolabs have the ability to transform your dreams into powerful reality.