Checklist to have an app made: What questions should you ask yourself when having an app made?

1. What is the purpose of the app?

This is a question you've probably already asked yourself. Haven't you done that yet? Then that's a good start. What is the purpose of the app you want to have made? What problem should the app solve? Without having a clear goal in mind, it is difficult to realize a successful app. Questions that can help you in this phase are:

• What problem do you solve with the app?
• What do you want to achieve with the app?
• What need or provision does the app fulfill?
• What is the story of the app (storytelling)?
• What is the added value of the app?
• Is your app concept unique?

It is not necessary that your idea for the app is unique. With the millions now apps in the stores, this may not be the aim either. What you do want is that the app offers added value for the user. Why is your app idea a better alternative than the options that are now available in the stores?

2. Who is the target audience of the app?

Who will ultimately use the app? Is there a need for the app and can the target group be reached via mobile? By means of choose and define a target group you can determine what the further app strategy will be. What can help you in this phase:

• Set up personas: how old are your users, what hobbies do they have and what social channels are they active on?
• Possibly run small social campaigns with a small budget (25 EUR.) to validate where the needs lie.
• Read this blog where we take a closer look at the different phases from app idea to successful app.

3. Which functionalities should the app have as a minimum?

App functionalities. People regularly think that an app idea is unique due to the amount of functionalities and possibilities. However, this is often not necessary in practice. We advise our clients often the reverse: less is more!

It is good to assess which functionalities contribute to the problem you want to solve with the app. Make a list of features that have priority and then make a list of features that are nice-to-have. Keep in mind that you can also add functionalities in a later process, when you have already collected some revenue and user feedback. What can help you with this:

• Engage a developer and get advice.
• Develop a prototype first such as a MVP

4. Which technique suits your app idea?

Choosing the right technique is extremely important for the success of the app. You want to give the app user the best experience with an option that will also be beneficial to you in the long term. If all goes well, you have already done preliminary research. You now know who the target group is, what the app's purpose is and what functions the app should have. In addition, you should have engaged an app developer. Do you want a mobile app or a mobile website?

Certain functions are or are not possible per technique. Does the app have certain hardware like GPSNeed , Bluetooth or the camera or should the app send push messages? Then a native app might be appropriate. Is this not necessary and do you want an app that can be reached directly in both the Play Store and the Apple App Store? Then a hybrid app can be used in the innovative new programming language React native might offer a good solution.

What can help you choose the right app technique:

• Look at similar apps and write down what you think are logic and no logic functions.
• This blog in which we discuss the techniques with associated pros and cons.
• Check us out portfolio, there are the cases per app technique. This way you can take a good look at the possibilities per technique.

5. What is the app's business model?

Without a smart business model (also known as revenue model) it is difficult to build a profitable app. Often people are so enthusiastic about their app idea that they forget that there is also a profit to be made. We recommend that you always have a good revenue model for developing the app. How will you ensure that the app pays for itself? It is smart to think about this now because it is easier to implement the revenue model immediately than to develop the app later.

What can help you with this:

• This page in which we discuss all possible revenue models
• Take stock: when do you expect to play quite when you look at the investments and the income?

It is important that you think about the profitability of the app during this step. How do you ensure that users keep returning and your target group is large enough to eventually earn back the app and is willing to pay money for your app?

6. How will you market the app?

How will you promote the app? How do you ensure that the app reaches the target group you envisioned in step 2 and that the app pays for itself as described in the previous step? Marketing the app can help with this. It is important to see what the purpose of the app is. Is the goal branding your brand, achieving more efficiency with a certain production process or do you want to provide the target group with an extra service? You then connect the marketing to this. We always advise our customers to use 50/50 when we develop an app. 50% of the budget for marketing and 50% for development costs. You also start with marketing from day 1 of developing the app. This method often achieves the most app success.

Tips when promoting the app:

• Start on time! App promotion starts when the app is built. This way you can already familiarize the target group with the app and you have a loyal group of users immediately upon launch.
• A good example of this is one of our clients 'Range', here's why they had thousands of app installs on day one.

What questions should you ask yourself when promoting the app:

• How do you ensure that the target group knows about your app?
• Which channels do you use?
• Are you App Store Optimization (ASO) of content marketing to stake?
• How will you reach ambassadors and testers for the app?

Research has shown that the app market is still big business. The number of apps in the stores is still increasing exponentially and on average users spend about 3 hours a day (!) on apps. In concrete terms, this means two things: 1. There is a large potential market for your app. 2. Competition is intense. The chance that your app will stand out and reach its intended goal without promotion is unrealistic.

7. Do you have sufficient resources available?

The HAM question. The final balance has been drawn up. You know which one functionalities the app must have at least, which app technique suits the target group and which one revenue model you are going to wager with the corresponding app marketing. Is your app idea feasible within the framework of sufficient resources? In other words: do you have money and time?

What is often overlooked is that developing mobile apps is a time-consuming and expensive process. Are you having the app made by a professional developer like us? Then the production costs start at ten thousand euros. This is because we only deliver custom apps that are unique and offer added value. These apps have a high degree of complexity and are fully adapted to the objectives of the client and user. Custom apps are scalable, so they are specially designed for thousands of active users. In addition, the app be easily developed with additional features. Developing the app takes relatively longer, but then you have an app that will last for years and has the potential to pay for itself quickly.

If you do not have these resources available or are not willing to pay such an amount, there are several options. You can choose to:

• Build the app yourself (technical knowledge required).
• Have the app made abroad cheaply.
• Find an investor.

Do you want more information about apps? Or do you already have a specific idea for an app and are you curious how long it will take to realize your app? The resources below can help you further.

• How long does it take to create an app?
• How much does developing an app cost?
• Our blog page