The mobile app development market is flooded with countless apps that are designed across different platforms. However, only a few of them could achieve a firm space on users’ mobile screens.
A perfect mobile application is a result of an intuitive interface, speed of loading, attractive features, offline functioning, ease of navigation, and security of in-app data.
With the availability of cutting-edge technologies and widespread use of mobiles, many enthusiasts are funding new mobile applications for their business. Making a mobile app a huge success means overcoming certain hurdles encountered during the development process.
So, why is mobile development difficult, and how we can overcome that? Challenges can include everything from the basic app performance and productivity, integration challenges to the end-user experience.
The app developers should make a dedicated effort to address the old as well as the unseen challenges to make a long-lasting impact. More importantly, they have to find effective ways to monetize the efforts.
The blog lets you learn about the diverse challenges in mobile app development and the comprehensive solutions to overcome them.
Technical Mobile App Development Challenges
Creative and Natural interactions: The way the internet has offered an interconnected world and how we all remain connected in two-way communication has triggered a lot of interesting discussions.
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In fact, users can interact with their mobile screen with even more speed and ease if in-built advanced sensors of the devices are leveraged. This presents as another challenge as well as an opportunity for developers during the development.
Remedy:
- To ensure that your app has the best interactive design that is user friendly, make it an essential part of the design strategy
- Do not place the interactions design in the later phase of the development as it will cost a lot of time
- Give users more to play with and introduce more than basic (swipe and tap) physical gestures of interactions
- Improve their app experience by allowing them to play with different motions like tilting, shaking, and flipping
The simplicity of UI: Unlike a fashion house where fancy haute couture is highly appreciated, the mobile app user interface is something where simplicity is expected. Making the UI complicated or confusing will repel users and give them a reason to uninstall your app.
Remedy:
- Make UI easy-to-understand
- Create consistency in navigation
- Utilize a clear and simple structure
- Avoid adding complexities within functionalities
- Make the menu titles and content comprehensible
Creating apps with remarkable aesthetics: Your app will have no value and receive a weak response if it does not offer pleasant aesthetics to users. Users tend to choose apps that instantly capture their eyes and compel them to look inside. The pressure of creating noticeable apps, therefore, is high, which poses a big challenge.
Remedy:
Make your app a stunner by introducing the finest visual elements that leave a lasting impression for users. Try to design the kind of graphics and features that seems simple but having the potential to amaze users. To address this challenge, do the following exercise:
- Research into popular apps
- Know your target audience
- Remember the aim of the app
- Find out the colors of attraction
- Incorporate purpose with icons, buttons, and navigation
- Be unique and innovative
Data security: Digital interactions are wireless and offer great convenience though it comes with a price. It creates an opportunity for hackers to breach and steal data of value. Also, your apps could be vulnerable to malware attacks. This could be a serious problem when users engage with your app and give away their personal information.
Also, software or hardware disintegration issues can cost you a lot of money and time to resolve. Unlike iOS, Android has no specific instructions and guidelines for data security which means that developers will have the added responsibility of developing and maintaining a data security approach.
Remedy:
- It is advised that developers engaged in a project should practice encrypting anything shared by users while interacting with the app
- It is a good practice to encrypt everything inside your app’s DNA
- You can also protect the data by developing a backup of the program so that it goes to the archive at regular intervals
Non-Technical Mobile App Development Challenges
In-depth market insight: Before marketing comes the term ‘market.’ If developers are not conversant with what trends and technologies are making rage in the market, it will be a terrible hardship to meet the purpose for which the app is built. Market knowledge also refers to the competition existing in the similar target market you pitch for.
Remedy:
- Find out the reasons for the popularity of competitor apps
- Learn about modern trends, techniques, and technologies
- Gather insight about your audience’s behavior
- Discover the problem points that only your app can solve
- Know about features that can touch the lives of users
- Grow awareness about app store optimization
- Give a sharp eye to mobile app statistics
Development approach: As we know, the right start always takes you in the right direction and the same is the case of mobile app development. Choosing the suitable from the many development platforms and frameworks available is the key. Lack of proper development approach and development timelines can screw up the whole process.
Remedy:
- Do a detailed study to decide whether to go for simple web-based development or choose a hybrid or native development.
- Strategize UI & UX needs before finalizing the decision
- The nature of the business and the possibility of plans in the future should be considered
- Integration challenges should be met by handling diverse SQL and back-end databases
- Know your target audience and the exact purpose for which the app is built
Customer Reviews & Experience: The app design should always be built with end-users in mind. After all, they will be the ones who use the app and do real-life evaluations. With options for customer reviews and experience in app stores, negative reviews and comments can affect the popularity of the app and this can lead to losing potential customers.
Remedy:
- Make sure to keep your app design as simple as possible
- Include icons and thumbnails to improve end-user experience
- Effortless navigation within the app should be given priority
Improving performance: Apart from design elements and interactive capabilities, app performance also plays a vital role when impressing its users. The performance of the app should not be at the cost of draining battery life.
Also, the least expectation of the users is to have an app with no crashes or bugs. Moreover, the app should be using very minimal space on their device. So, the challenge is to create something that is flawless, intuitive, and aesthetic but that consumes optimal power.
Remedy:
- Always test your app for its general and battery performance.
- If possible, create a Beta version and run test cases
- Analyze the results fed by test users to take remedial actions
- Launch an MVP to minimize the damages
Win the attention of potential users: The reports say almost a million apps got submitted into the app store in the last 3 years. And that is why being a good app and a successful app makes the difference.
There are many good apps that just got vanished from the app market in a matter of a few months or years. Making a successful app is another big challenge faced by mobile app developers.
Remedy:
- The prime strategy is to win the attention of the potential users
- Perform good research to know what an end-user expects out of such apps
- Build good strategies to penetrate the market effectively
- Make the client understand the importance of app marketing and promotion
Challenge In Mobile Design
Tackling different screen sizes: To surprise and delight worldwide mobile users, makers introduce devices with varied screen sizes. So, developers must develop a mobile app that functions consistently across multiple devices. Screen quality is another major challenge down the path of app development.
Remedy:
- Responsive design is an ideal solution to this problem as it offers flexible adjustments to fit the screen size
- The one-size-fits-all solution adjusts itself across a range of device platforms and screen sizes
Compatibility with different handsets: The limitations of devices based on their in-built technologies is one of the biggest challenges for mobile app development. Making sure that the app reaches the end-users despite the type of devices they are using is a big challenge.
Remedy:
- Like we have already mentioned, the app design should be inclusive of various screen sizes, resolutions, and pixel densities
- The app should be equally accessible for users with mobile devices, tablets, or other smart devices
Dealing with different operating systems: In addition to all, one of the major problems faced in mobile application development is the efficiency of the app while running on different operating systems. In most cases, they stick to just 1 or 2 common operating systems to develop an app, but it will cost you many potential users.
Remedy:
- To address OS-related compatibility, it is a good plan to first release a Beta version
- The bug fixing process needs to be performed in all available operating systems.
- Make a detailed app design suitable for cross platform development
- Consider the diverse UI objects and patterns that are specific to certain operating systems.
Challenges In App Development as A Developer Working on A Client Project
The pressure of limited time frame: App development companies are told to provide an estimation on the timeline along with other project essentials. Promising a fixed time frame to complete the project can result in pressure among developers and it can get even worse if some sudden technical challenges come from nowhere.
Remedy:
- If it is necessary to give an estimation, make it a little flexible. Consider unexpected hurdles and the time it may take to solve them before finalizing on project delivery date
- If possible, stay away from committing a precise date and try to give a rough month of delivery so that you will have some time to fix the uninvited tech problems
Estimating the proper funding: Building an app is never a one-time investment as it seems from a distant view. To cope up with the competitive apps and to improve the performance on the go, the app should be updated at least quarterly or as and when it needs.
Read Also : Software Development Life Cycle(SDLC)
The client may not be aware of this while deciding on the funding and it can lead to later chaos.
Remedy:
- The app developer should be able to do a rough estimate of the possible updates needed in the future.
- Give a clear idea about the extra funding needed for updates beforehand to the client.
- Make presentations regarding the usual cost needed for regular updates and what you will be doing differently to make it optimal. This move will surely win the confidence of the client.
The difference between concept and reality: There is often a huge divide between the way clients envision the app to be and what developers visualize it during the design. There will be a lot of requirements regarding app design from the client-side and developers can come across many surprises while trying to make it practical. The difference between the concept and reality is a challenge that puts a lot of pressure on developers.
Remedy:
- Keep your client updated on how the process is going and what resources will be needed to fight the challenges
- Persuade the app owner to understand the adversities involved in the process, which may require frequent iterations before the app approval.
- Clarify on points that signal any doubts. Avoid any confusion and find a way to resolve it before it is too late to turn back. Make sure that the product at the end of the work looks the same as discussed at the beginning
Best Tips for App Developers to Be in The Game
Going by the trend in the last decades, technology will only get better and intelligent day by day. So, in order to stay in the limelight, app developers should make serious efforts to grow with the technology.
This simply means to stay updated by learning new skills and do enough research and learning to think differently and be ready to do more than normal. Here are a few tips that might be a great help for developers to stay in the game:
- Educate others and learn new skills from others
- Always use healthy, updated, and well-known libraries
- Always choose from widely used design patterns and not your favorite
- Make use of all available resources to keep yourself updated
- Develop a strategic approach to the app development, deployment, and management
Final Words
In a nutshell, before the outset of the mobile app development process, the concept of the app idea always looks practicable. However, as it moves to different phases, mobile app developers begin to encounter unforeseen challenges.
Only the veteran app development firms can invest industry-grade resources, innovations, and creativity required to overcome them in the first place itself.
However, we hope this blog has given even the fresher developers enough idea to anticipate the possible unseen circumstances and make adequate preparation to overcome the various challenges.
More than just the technical skillset and the experience, it is all about how you respond to the different situations. The key is to build a better user experience and app developers should make the best use of the boundless opportunities around them.