Best App Development Software

Whether you require to build an app for your business or your clients, you need to ensure that it is well-featured, user-friendly, and launched at the right time. The best app maker can make that easy for you.

The demand for application development is escalating on a large scale. From buying groceries to finding properties, applications are being used everywhere, and the primary reason behind that is mobility and digitalization. You can use applications from anywhere and everywhere. 

Whether you are a startup, an established mobile app development company or an app developer, this buyers' guide to app development software is for you. Here, we have covered the most significant aspects of app development tools so that you can make a smart purchase decision. To further clarify, here are the top reasons why your business needs an application to be successful.

Increases Customer Engagement

Applications can enable direct communication between the organization and its customers. When a user is accessing your business application, it means that they have chosen you over your competitors. To take advantage of that, you can consistently inform your customers about the new updates and offers you are offering through push notifications. A business application simply makes your customers feel more connected to your business.

Ensures Customer Loyalty

When a customer is looking for a product or service on a search engine like Google, they may come across many businesses, but when they have downloaded your business app and are looking at your catalog only, the chances of buying from you increase. At the same time, a loyalty program can be introduced to your customers through your business application, encouraging them to earn points on purchases, which can be redeemed later in the form of discounts at the time of future purchases.

Encourages Higher Conversions

Your business application is likely to achieve higher online visibility if the right ASO (Application Search Optimization) strategies are applied. Moreover, customers, these days want to get all their tasks done quickly at their fingertips, whether online shopping or paying bills. Thus, your business application is your direct marketing tool, which can encourage higher conversions.

Builds Brand Reputation

A business application can build your brand reputation if it features everything useful to your customers. The higher the number of customers involved with your business app, the higher the chances of making them inclined toward your business. The brands having their business app are considered as reputed by the customers these days.

A great application can boost your revenue, but what if your business application has failed to impress your audience? A business that does not create value for your customers is useless. So, what would be the characteristics of successful apps? The below section can provide the answer -

Whether you are into an online retail business, a service provider, social networking, or any other business, the below qualities in your application can add value to your target audience and grow your business.

Appealing Design - Your brand can be differentiated from your competitors by the look, design, and feel it provides to the users. An attractive design for your business app can attract your audience and ensure customer retention.

Platform-Friendly - With so many devices available these days, if your business app does not work on multiple platforms, then it might not yield the conversions you are expecting. To make your business app successful, you must ensure that it is platform-friendly and easily accessible to the audience.

User-Friendly - People lack the time and patience to learn using a complicated application. To make your business app successful, you need to ensure that it is extremely user-friendly.

Engaging - Many people download the app on their devices, and very quickly uninstall it if they don't find it interesting and engaging enough. You need to keep your customers engaged with consistent notifications and updates to stay in business.

Affordable - In the world of free apps, if you charge high for your customers to download your business app or quote higher prices for your products and services, it may be a turn-off for your business application. Keep your prices affordable to your customers to win their loyalty.

Ratings & Reviews - The ratings and reviews about your business app on the app store make a lot of difference to the downloads. Spreading positive word of mouth and creating good momentum about your business app ensures its success.

There are 6 basic steps to create an application for a business, as given below -

Analyzing the Idea

You have an idea, and you want to convert that idea into an application. The idea may be excellent, but you need to ask yourself a question: Is that idea going to benefit your target audience? This question can be answered after thorough market research, and if the idea is feasible, it can be converted into an application.

Preparing Wireframes

At this stage, you know what your app will look like and what features it would be including. Also, you must have decided on the scope of work and determined the tasks to be done in-house and to be outsourced. So, now it is time to prepare a wireframe showing the application's features and how users would be navigating throughout the app. This would also provide a clear picture of the time and budget to complete the application development project.

Designing

Now that you have figured out the requirements of your application, time & budget, it is time to actually start designing the exact layout of all screens of the application. It is always better to have a unique UI for your application matching your brand identity. Your brand recognition, and reputation, would depend on the UI of your application, and thus it becomes important to keep it aesthetically appealing.

Developing

Once designing is done, it is now time to get into the technicalities of the application. At this stage, the application developers need to use their coding skills and experience to get the functionality to gain a competitive advantage for your business. The application users expect a flawless experience while using your business application, and thus you need to ensure that your application launch is bug-free and platform-friendly.

Testing

It doesn't matter how confident you are about your business application in terms of functionality, and it is always preferable to go through several rounds of testing before introducing it to the world. If, in any case, the application is launched having several bugs in it, you may get many negative reviews, and that may harm your business. Moreover, using the concept of A/B testing in applications, the developers can determine the best version of the application which can win maximum conversions. Thus, testing is one of the most important phases of the application development process.

Launching

After designing, developing, and testing the application, it becomes important to get a good number of downloads for the application. Launching the application in the right manner requires digital marketing efforts, including ASO (Application Search Optimization), and social media marketing. If people are not aware of the application you have launched, then the energy and money you have invested in designing and developing your application may get wasted. Thus, launching the app and encouraging users to use it is quite significant.

Post-Launching

You cannot be sure about the success of the application even after a great launch and getting users to download it. The challenge of sustaining your business application starts from here. You need to keep your audience engaged with the app consistently. Also, you require to analyze and monitor the usage, check reviews of the app users, and respond to them. This would help you to fix bugs and crashes in your application and improve the user experience.

The answer to this question depends on 3 different conditions.

Are you a business entrepreneur and looking forward to launching your own business app?

If yes, you need to hire a team of application developers or outsource the entire app development project, which can be pretty time-consuming and an expensive affair. 

Are you an app development company, and have too many app development projects on hand?

If yes, meeting deadlines may become difficult, resulting in dissatisfied clients, degrading company reputation, and financial loss.

Are you a newbie app developer or a freelancer?

If yes, a lack of experience and a skilled team of developers may lead to difficulties in developing a flawless and professional application.

Regardless of the conditions mentioned above, to make the entire process of app development easy, effective, and profitable in terms of cost, effort, and time, using app-making software would be a wise decision.

Yes, the market is flooded with a plethora of app development solutions, and as all claim to be the best, it becomes difficult to judge the perfect one suiting your business. Here, in this buyer's guide, we have put together information that can help you in picking the right app-building software.

App creation software helps in developing computer programs used in different areas of a business. Whether it is accounting, managing human resources, maintaining customer relationships, providing information, collecting payments, or selling online, applications are required to automate and streamline the different processes in a business. An app-building process includes gathering requirements, designing wireframes, quality testing, deployment, and integration. Mobile application development software makes the entire process of application development easy and helps the application to be successful in terms of revenue generation.

Integrated Development Environment

The application development software commonly includes a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for editing source code, compiling, deploying, and debugging. It helps in maximizing the productivity of the app developers as it allows them to speed up programming and debug code easily.

Code-Free Development

Much mobile application development software includes features like drag-and-drop & visual interface and other wizards that allow even non-technical developers to develop apps without coding.

Templates

The app builder includes pre-built templates allowing developers to build applications for common use cases like banking, shopping, field service, etc.

Testing Hardware Compatibility

This functionality of the app maker allows developers to check whether the application developed would work properly with multiple devices or not.

Synchronization of Data

The mobile app development tools help in automating data transfers and coordinating synchronization across applications providing the benefit of developing apps having common features effortlessly.

API

API stands for "Application Programming Interface." It allows developers to make the application developed to communicate with other applications, databases, and back-end services.

Analytics

The analytics functionality of app-making software allows you to gather data about how users are responding to your application and take improvement measures if required.

The types of mobile app development tools depend on the devices they support. Some mobile app development platforms can help develop apps that can work on multiple operating systems. In contrast, some are Android or iOS app makers restricted to a single platform. Below is a brief explanation of the types of app maker software.

Native Apps Development

Native apps development software allows developers to build apps for a specific operating system, further classified as iOS, Android, and Windows. Using native app development, the developers need to code separately to develop applications that can work on different operating systems.

Hybrid Apps Development

Hybrid app development software allows developers to create apps that work on multiple devices and platforms. These tools are based on technologies like Xamarin, Sencha Touch, Ionic, etc. You don’t need to buy Android or iPhone app development software separately. 

Web Apps Development

Web apps need a browser to run. The web app creator software helps developers to create apps that run on web browsers using CSS, HTML5, and JavaScript languages. The most prominent examples of web apps include online retail stores, auction sites, webmail applications, etc.

App-making software offers many benefits that, include -

Quick Development

This is the primary reason for using mobile app development software. The app development tools automate the code-writing process, facilitating the app developers to develop the apps quickly and bring them to the storefronts. 

Easy to Integrate Data

Integrating the data with external databases and back-end services can be difficult. Application development software makes integrations simple, including user-friendly APIs that can integrate the data easily.

Coding Skills Are Not Necessary

You can create apps using mobile app development software even if you don’t have programming skills. Mobile app development tools include templates and visual interfaces allowing users to develop apps quickly.

Allows Usability Testing

App development tools can integrate with software development kits for iOS, Android, and other platforms. This helps in testing the usability of the application before it gets launched. Thus, the developers get a chance to solve the design and functionality issues in the app, if any.

Enhances User Experience

App usability depends on the user experience it provides. The mobile app development tools include various features that allow developers to focus on enhancing the user interface, ultimately leading to improved workflows and user experience.

Rapid App Development

Rapid app development involves code-free technologies, including visual wizards, drag-and-drop interfaces, readymade templates, etc., which can make the entire app development process quick. This method of app development enables developers to deploy minimal technical skills. It is thus suitable for marketing, and customer service professionals, helping them launch their apps quickly and stay competitive.

Application Performance Management (APM)

Application Performance Management (APM) is a mobile metric integrated into Google in 2016. It enables the users to eliminate the possibilities that are likely to slow down the app's performance. APM helps boost the application's overall performance and thus has become a preferred tool used in the app testing process.

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) is a platform that includes components like app security, managing finances, and maintaining the application. It is being used by businesses to streamline business processes through mobile computing. It enables employees to exchange data, applications, and information over mobile devices, enhancing productivity and efficiency within organizations.

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

Integration Platform as a Service allows integrating on-premise apps with cloud applications and vice versa. It enables the developers to deploy these apps without managing any hardware requirements. All the important data can be accessed and managed on the cloud in a secure manner, which can lower the cost of development and make the applications extremely user-friendly at the same time.

Cross-Platform Development

The mobile app creator software you choose should allow you to create cross-platform apps, including iOS apps, Android apps, Windows apps, and responsive web apps. Every day new devices are being introduced in the market working on different operating systems. You need to ensure that by using your app builder, you can create an application that works on other platforms with a single code. This way, you don’t need to invest separately for an android app builder or iOS app builder.

Pre-Installed Templates & Visual Editor

The pre-installed templates and visual editors, including components like Ionic, AngularJS, Bootstrap, HTML5, etc., can help the users develop the applications without coding skills or experience. It makes app development easy with drag-and-drop functionality provided by the visual editor. Moreover, you only need to select the template instead of coding to create the application from scratch.

Customization & Advanced Development

Not all businesses are the same, so your application may require some customization or advanced features. The app maker should allow you to include third-party plugins, write CSS & Javascript codes, and export customized themes to develop the applications exactly the way you want.

Application Testing & Deployment

The mobile app creation software you select should allow you to share the application link with other mobile users to test your application without downloading it. Also, it should facilitate you to distribute the tested application to different app stores to launch it successfully.

Analytics

The mobile app builder you choose should provide you with an analytical report about how many users downloaded and used your application. It should allow you to fetch feedback from the users, enabling you to improvise the application and ensure its success in the future too.

User-Friendliness

This is the essential requirement of any mobile application development software. Developing apps should be easy for non-technical users using mobile application development software. So, ensure that the application development tool you choose should be highly user-friendly, allowing your team of developers to start developing apps quickly and easily.

Security

While creating applications, many crucial pieces of information and data are being used and stored. Make sure that the application development software you selected includes high-end security features to avoid malicious acts or data loss.

Hosting

App-building software can be either cloud-hosted or require on-premise hosting. The benefit of opting for cloud-hosted app creation software would be that you don’t need to use your server, but at the same time, it may not be scalable enough to fit your requirements in the future. Whereas, in the case of an on-premise app builder, you have complete control over its features and can customize it as per your requirements.

Scalability

An application development software should be able to expand to fit even your future requirements. A stagnant app development tool can get obsolete quickly, and then you will have to reinvest in other software, which can be an unnecessary financial burden for your business.

Support

Support is one of the most important aspects which you need to look for. Can the mobile app builder software vendor you have chosen provide prompt support and help you solve your queries? Review the users’ reviews to know whether you are selecting the right app development tool.

The cost of a mobile app builder depends on the platforms it supports and the features it provides. App development tools are available, ranging from $2 to $1500 per month. You can select app builder software that suits your budget and the required features. For example, Appmakr can cost you $2/per month, and Wave Maker at $1500/per month. You need to check their features carefully, as investing additionally for the features you will not use will cost you more unnecessarily.

If you are not comfortable paying monthly for the app development tool you will use for a long time, you can go for WhiteSource, which costs $4200/year, or Sencha, which costs $1199/year. And, if the budget is low, you can also go for Scriptcase, which would cost you only $349/year.

There are also app development solutions that you can purchase at one-time charges. For example, DHTMLX can cost you $1169, and Zend Server at $240. Just pay once, and you are free from the hassle of paying for your app creation software regularly.

And, if investing is not on your to-do list now, you can consider free and open-source app development software like Buildfire.Js, Apache Cordova, etc., to build the customized applications you require.

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have been the center of attention for the last few years due to their significant breakthroughs in new technologies in mobile application software. Integrating AI and ML with applications can not only make them smarter but also saves a lot of manual effort, time, and money for app developers, thus helping businesses to grow in revenue generation.

Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is a record-keeping technology behind the bitcoin network. Considering the application development tools, blockchain technology is used to build many payment apps to provide high-end security during transactions. 

Increased Use of Wearable Apps

The increased use of wearable devices like smartwatches, fitness bands, etc., has also evolved the demand for applications. The users now require applications that support wearable technology. The developers now need to understand this demand of the users and ensure that their application integrates well with wearable devices. 

Chatbots

It has been predicted that in 2020 the adaption of chatbots will increase at an exponential rate. The users now appreciate chatbots for quick answers and round-the-clock availability. To stay competitive, the app developers need to ensure that the chatbots have been integrated with their applications in cases like online shopping, food delivery, cab services, etc. 

IoT

Using IoT technology, people can control non-IT equipment using mobile applications. This technology has evolved with time and has now become an essential part of users' lives. To stay competitive, application development companies must adopt and integrate this technology into their app development projects.

Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) provide real-world experiences through applications. The Pokemon Go game is one of the most known examples of augmented reality in applications. Referring to its success, many app development companies are now using AR & VR technologies in their applications to increase downloads and escalate revenue for their business.

The app-making software list, intricately curated by the GoodFirms team, allows you to analyze different app development tools with users' reviews & ratings, all in one place. Moreover, the below points justify this fact.

• The GoodFirms team follows a thorough research process based on emerging and upcoming technologies and trends to form an app development software list used for different business processes.
• The app-creating software listed by GoodFirms includes authentic user reviews, which would instantly give you an idea about which software would suit your requirements.
• Having a team of researchers, GoodFirms can consistently expand the software listing categories, which has provided better exposure to the latest technologies and won the trust of globally based companies.

Business applications can automate and streamline several processes in an organization, help improve productivity, and achieve predetermined goals. Apps are now the primary reason why companies have been able to cut down their costs on manual processes. Using applications also eliminates human errors, resulting in effectiveness and efficiency in all the functions of an organization. The apps have not only helped businesses in reaching out to their customers in an effective manner but also helped customers in completing tasks like shopping, paying bills, banking, etc., from anywhere and everywhere.

These reasons have elevated the demand for mobile application development software, which can help make the application development process quick, easy, and effective. Even if you do not have technical skills or knowledge, you can launch your business application quickly with the help of mobile application development software.

Picking the right app development software requires understanding your requirements and thorough research. So, we hope that this buyer's guide to app development software has helped you to a great extent in understanding the process involved and the options available. The best app maker can ensure the effective launch of your business application and that it is performing well post-launch, which can ultimately be a rewarding experience for your business.