The biggest difference between web apps and mobile apps is that web apps can be accessed from desktop or mobile web browsers, and mobile apps are installed natively on smartphones or tablets. 

Unlike native mobile apps, a web app does not require any installation to use. 

While this is the most obvious distinction between the two, there are plenty of other key differences and similarities between web apps and mobile apps—all which will be covered in this in-depth guide. 

I’ll break down everything you need to know about web apps and mobile apps, including the situations when it makes more sense to build a mobile app and scenarios where a web app works better. 

Understanding Web Apps

A web app is an application program that’s stored on remote servers and delivered through web browser interfaces over the internet. 

Common examples of web apps include Google Docs, Netflix, and even Facebook. You don’t need to install any software on your devices to use these tools—as all three of these can be directly accessed from any web browser. 

While using these types of apps through a web browser doesn’t necessarily deliver the optimal user experience compared to a native app (which we’ll cover later), they still work and function as intended through browsers. 

For web apps, progressive web apps, and hybrid apps to work, they simply need a web server, database, and application server powering it on the backend. 

Web apps and websites are not the same thing, even though web apps are accessed through websites, and the average user may not necessarily notice the difference. But websites are static, and web apps are dynamic—meaning web apps are more interactive and allow the user to perform more tasks. 

Web apps typically require some type of user authentication. This is not the case for websites, as anyone can visit them by just navigating to the URL. 

Understanding Mobile Apps

As the name implies, mobile apps are designed specifically for mobile devices—like smartphones and tablets. To access the app, users must first install it on their device. 

Mobile apps leverage the native features of a device, like a smartphone’s camera, Bluetooth, or GPS. This drastically improves the features, performance, and usability compared to its web app counterparts. 

Within this category, there are also native mobile apps and hybrid mobile apps. 

A native mobile app is built for a specific type of operating system, like iOS or Android. Hybrid mobile apps can run on multiple operating systems. 

Have you ever accessed Facebook or Instagram through your smartphone’s web browser? It’s possible and gives you all of the same information. But the experience is undoubtedly better when you’re accessing these platforms directly from the mobile app installed on a particular device. 

A mobile app still uses servers and databases to power it on the backend. But mobile apps can be both static and dynamic at the same time. 

A static application doesn’t need an internet connection, online server, or database to operate. They’re downloaded and can function offline, with periodic updates. Dynamic apps are in some way reliant on a server or database to operate. 

Let’s consider the mobile app version of the three examples mentioned in the previous section—Google Docs, Netflix, and Facebook. You can use each of these while offline as a static app, but the information won’t refresh or update until you’re connected to the servers. So you can access old documents and download movies or browse old photos on your timeline. But you won’t be able to see edits to new documents, stream new movies, or see an updated post until you’ve established a connection. 

Mobile App Versus Web App: Key Differences

In comparing a mobile app vs. web app, you’ll quickly notice some significant differences. Depending on your goals, these differences could definitely sway you in one direction over the other. 

Development Environment and Tools

Mobile app development requires platform-specific development environments and tools. For example, Apple has its own IDE (integrated development environment) for iOS apps. It includes an iOS SDK, development tools, and other compilers that app developers can use to write code and debug apps specifically for iOS apps. Android also has its own development software, Android Studio. 

Unlike mobile apps, web app development environments aren’t quite as strict. Web developers have a wider range of tools to choose from depending on the programming languages they’re planning to use for the build. 

Programming Languages and Frameworks

With mobile applications, the programming language depends on the type of app and platform you’re building. Swift and Objective-C are the primary programming languages for iOS apps. Android apps commonly use Java and Kotlin. Hybrid apps can be built with C#, Xamarin, React Native, Appcelerator, and Cordova/PhoneGap. 

Web apps are typically built using JavaScript, PHP, Python, and Ruby. Generally speaking, developers have more options to choose from and tend to find web apps easier to build because they can use languages and frameworks that they’re already familiar with. If you have basic coding knowledge, you’ll likely find it easier to build a web app. 

Performance and Speed

Performance varies drastically between web apps and mobile apps—and mobile apps have the edge. First, mobile devices don’t need an internet connection for apps to work. Mobile apps are more responsive, load faster, and handle common gestures natively built into mobile devices.

Conversely, web app speed and performance are almost always tied to the strength of an internet connection. Without that connection, the app won’t work. Poor connection negatively impacts the app’s loading speed and usability. Web apps also have inconsistent performance because they’re also reliant on web browsers. 

User Experience and Engagement

Better performance and speed lead to an enhanced user experience on mobile apps. Actions performed in an app are almost instantaneous through a mobile device. There’s rarely lag or interference getting to the next stage, which can’t be said for web apps.

The app publisher also has more ways to engage with its users compared to web app developers. For example, publishers can send push notifications directly to a mobile device—prompting users to open the app or take an action. This isn’t something you can do from a web app. 

Cost and Development Timeline

Building web apps is typically cheaper and faster than building mobile apps. Mobile apps take longer because they’re more complex to build, and sometimes, two versions of the app need to be built so the app can run on multiple platforms.

However, it’s worth noting that in recent years, the cost to create a mobile app has significantly dropped. With no-code app builders, you can build a mobile app without having to write a single line of code—and you can launch on iOS and Android from a single build. This dramatically shortens the time to launch and reduces the costs associated with development.

Market Reach and Monetization Methods

Technically, web apps have a wider market research because they can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection—regardless of the device. Mobile apps are distributed via app stores, and there need to be multiple versions of the app on each store so it complies with the specific requirements of each operating system (although all popular mobile apps are available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store). 

It’s generally easier to monetize mobile apps because of the native components. While both types of apps can leverage multiple monetization strategies, web apps have more friction in the checkout process. It’s also easier for mobile apps to set recurring billing and take advantage of saved mobile wallets on the device. 

Similarities Between Web Apps and Mobile Apps

While different in many ways, mobile apps and web apps do share some similarities, including:

Accessibility and Compatibility

Both mobile and web apps are accessible to the masses and compatible across multiple platforms. 

If someone has a smartphone or tablet, there’s a good chance they’ll be able to access the application, whether it’s a native mobile app or web app. 

Security

Mobile and web apps both face security vulnerabilities. As a developer and app publisher, it’s your responsibility to prioritize data protection and user privacy. 

The exact types of threats may differ between the two, but inherently, this is still something they share. 

User-Centric Design

UX design is critical for web and mobile apps alike. In fact, 90% of people say they’d stop using an app because of poor performance. The vast majority of performance issues are design-related. 

Beyond speed, design is the most important thing to an app user because it affects so much of how they experience the app. Design choices impact how attractive the app is, how well it fits the screen, and how easy it is for users to find what they’re looking for. 

Ongoing Maintenance and Updates

Mobile apps and web apps both require updates and ongoing maintenance. Whether it’s bug fixes, new feature releases, or security patches, you’ll need to continue updating your app regardless of how it’s being distributed. 

It’s worth mentioning that there’s a difference in the way updates are deployed. For web apps, they can simply be deployed on the server without any user intervention. But for mobile apps, the user must install the latest update to access the new version. 

Integration with Emerging Technologies

Thanks to APIs (application programming interfaces), it’s fairly common for multiple apps to integrate and play nice with each other. This holds true for both native and web apps. 

For example, you might integrate Slack (either the web app, desktop app, or mobile app) with your website to automatically get notified when someone subscribes to your newsletter. Or maybe you’re integrating your app with Facebook or Google to authenticate users with SSO. 

How to Choose What’s Right For You: Web App or Mobile App?

Now that you understand the key differences and similarities between web and mobile apps, it’s time to determine what’s right for you. Here’s a quick resource that you can use to find the answer.

When to Go With a Mobile App

• Use native apps if your target audience predominantly uses smartphones.
• Build a mobile app if you want to take advantage of device-specific features, like a smartphone’s camera, mic, GPS, accelerometer, etc.
• Mobile apps are better if you want users to have offline access.
• Mobile apps are better for driving user engagement.
• If you want to monetize your app through subscriptions and in-app purchases, go with a mobile version. 
• For improved brand loyalty and focusing on building long-term customer relationships, mobile apps have the edge. 

When to Go With a Web App

• Web apps tend to have a wider reach than mobile apps, which is important if you don’t want owning a smartphone to be contingent on someone using your app.
• Web apps are often more cost-effective to build and maintain.
• It’s easier to deploy updates to web apps directly on the server without the user having to install an update. 
• Web apps can be found in search engines—meaning they’re more SEO-friendly and help enhance a brand’s overall online presence. 

Final Thoughts

In today’s day and age, the vast majority of businesses are building for mobile. Web apps are still popular in certain use cases, and they’re often used in conjunction with a mobile app. 

But the experience of using a mobile app can’t really be replicated using a web app.

In terms of performance, speed, and reliability, mobile apps are superior. 

Historically, a business might have been swayed to build a web app compared to a mobile app because of budget constraints. But that’s really no longer a factor today.

Are web apps cheaper to build? Usually. But mobile apps aren’t as expensive as they once were—and they no longer require low-level coding from scratch.

You can build a mobile app today by signing up for a no-code app builder. This would cost you anywhere from $100 to $500 per month, which is affordable for any budget. 

With BuildFire, you get the best of both worlds. You can build an app for iOS, Android, and a progressive web app (PWA), all in a single build. The app can even be built for iPads and Android tablets. 

Sign up today to get started, and try BuildFire free for 14 days—no credit card required. 

Mobile app development isn’t quite as daunting as it used to be. New technology like no-code app builders has made app development more accessible to the masses.

With that said, many businesses still prefer to outsource mobile app development—and it’s often the best path for mid-market organizations.

If you need an app for business but don’t know where to start, this guide has you covered. I’ll explain everything you need to know about outsourcing app development, including the benefits, costs, and finding the right partner. 

What is App Development Outsourcing?

Mobile app development outsourcing means working with a third-party service provider to build an app on behalf of your business. It’s a type of software development outsourcing that specifically refers to mobile apps built by an app development company or developers who aren’t part of your in-house team. 

The company seeking app development services still owns the app. They just get someone else to build it for them. 

App development outsourcing can be used for any type of mobile app—including internal apps for HR and employee communications or customer-facing apps for your core business model. 

9 Reasons to Outsource Mobile App Development

There are dozens of benefits to app development outsourcing. But these are the top nine reasons why businesses choose to outsource app development.

1. Cost-Effectiveness

Developing an app in-house can be expensive. Most companies don’t have the personnel on staff to handle app development, which forces them to hire new employees. 

US software developers make between $96,760 and $161,40, with the median sitting at $127,260. That’s just for one developer in a single year—not to mention the costs associated with benefits, payroll taxes, training, and other costs for onboarding a new employee. 

Rather than spending $300,000 on labor alone, you could outsource development for around $30,000. 

2. Faster Development Timeline

Launching your app quickly is crucial for getting a faster return on your investment. That’s why long development timelines can hurt you in multiple ways—they’re expensive, and you’re not getting anything in return during the app development process.

This holds true whether the app is customer-facing or solving internal inefficiencies. 

But app development companies already have dedicated teams and processes in place. They have the tools, skills, and knowledge to build apps quickly and more efficiently than an in-house team during this for the first time. It could take your IT team 9-12 months to create an app, whereas an app development agency can knock it out in 3-6 months. 

3. Ability to Focus on Core Business Operations

Mobile apps are supposed to improve businesses, not hinder them. 

If you’re investing 60-80+ hours per week managing this type of project on your own, then who’s going to handle your day-to-day responsibilities?

Lots of businesses don’t think they need to consider mobile application development outsourcing because they have skilled developers in-house. But what are those developers currently working on? Who is going to handle those duties if you allocate those resources to a different project?

Outsourcing app development means you can keep the wheels in motion and without compromising your core business objectives. 

4. App Developer Expertise

Developing an app is a considerable investment for any business. With the stakes high, you want to make sure that you have the best mobile app developers working on your project.

Sure, you might have one or two people on your staff who have built an app in the past. But wouldn’t you rather work with mobile app development agencies that have built thousands of apps?

It’s like anything else. The more experience you have, the better the final product will be. It’s rare for an agency to come across something they’ve never seen before. But if you’re using in-house talent, this could be a weekly or even daily occurrence. 

5. Access to the Latest Mobile App Technologies

App development is more than just writing code. The best apps leverage cutting-edge technology to ensure the app performs well and delivers the optimal user experience post-launch. 

But the latest and greatest technology comes at a cost. 

Look beyond the app itself. You have authentication servers, databases, push notification servers, integrations, and more—there’s an entire mobile app infrastructure that’s happening behind the scenes. It’s tough to replicate this on your own, and it often doesn’t make sense from a cost perspective. It’s easier and more cost-effective to get this technology included with mobile development outsourcing. 

6. Scalability and Flexibility

When you outsource mobile application development, it’s much easier to grow and scale compared to handling this on your own. 

Let’s say your app grows from 10,000 to 100,000 users. Mobile app development services can easily help accommodate this kind of growth without any downtime or user experience issues. 

Or maybe you want to add a new custom feature three months after the initial launch. It’s not as easy to do this on your own. 

7. Cost Predictability

The cost of outsourcing mobile application development is much more predictable than doing it in-house. More often than not, you’ll have a final quote from the development agency—and you know that the project won’t go over that number. 

But going over budget is practically guaranteed if you’re building an app in-house. Why? Things happen.

People get sick. Equipment goes down. Some sprints take longer than initially anticipated. 

An app agency will never come back to you and say, “Hey, one of our developers quit, so we had to hire a new one. So we’re going to add an additional $10,000 to your invoice to account for the training costs needed to onboard our new hire.” 

If something like this happens internally within your organization, the cost will come out of your pocket. And there’s really nothing you can do about it. You’ll have to pay whatever it costs because you need the app, and you’re not going to invest thousands of dollars and months of time to settle for an incomplete project. 

Pro Tip: Use our App Development Calculator to estimate how much it will take to build an app for your business. 

8. Reduced Legal and HR Burdens

As previously discussed, building a dedicated team to build your app is expensive. But beyond labor costs, your in-house team can lead to significant legal and HR burdens. 

You don’t have to worry about workers’ compensation claims or dealing with paid parental leave if you’re working with an agency. 

In some cases, in-house app developers could even try to claim ownership of the source code of your app. No business wants to deal with these types of headaches. 

9. Continuous Maintenance and Support

Building and launching a mobile app is really just the beginning of app development. Your app still needs lots of attention and care for it to continue working and be successful for the long haul.

What happens when a new iOS version comes out? Apple just changed its App Store requirements—not what? How will you address bugs, glitches, or new security threats?

If you built the app in-house, you need to allocate development resources to deal with this stuff on a regular basis. It’s not like you can just hire a team for one year and then fire them once the app goes live. That $300,000+ in annual labor sticks with you for the lifetime of your app if you’re building it in-house. 

But when you outsource mobile app development, you’ll get ongoing maintenance and support for a low monthly fee. You won’t have to worry about maintaining your app at all if you have the right partner. 

How to Evaluate the Costs of Outsourcing Mobile App Development

How much does it cost to build an app in-house compared to outsourcing app development? I’ll break that down below. 

Factors That Influence App Cost

When it comes to outsourcing app development, these are the most common factors that influence the total cost:

• App Complexity — Advanced features that require custom code will be more expensive than basic apps that can be developed with simple, pre-built functions. 
• Location of development team — Offshore mobile app development teams are typically cheaper than US-based app developers.
• Supported platforms — Do you need an iOS app, Android app, or both? 
• Backend technology — This refers to the software and servers required to power and maintain your app during development and after it goes live.
• Development timeline — Typically, the longer it takes to build your app, the more expensive it will cost. 

This is the starting point for most people. We also have an in-depth guide that breaks down the cost of app development in granular detail, comparing costs related to app category, design costs, and even infrastructure services. 

Cost Comparison: In-House vs. Outsourced App Development

Let’s say you want to build an average app for your business. It’s nothing too fancy, but it handles all of the basics—like allowing users to create a profile and sign in, it connects to the internet, has a database on the back end, and you want it to integrate with calendars and social media. Plus, you want to build it for both iOS and Android devices. 

If you build an in-house team, you’ll likely need at least two app developers for this type of project. We’ll estimate on the low end and say their salary is $80,000 per year, each. That’s $160,000 in labor (assuming you find quality developers willing to work for that rate). 

$160,000 before a single line of code even gets written. Servers will cost another $10,000 to $12,000 per year, plus another $10,000 to account for things like APIs, push notifications, and integrations. We’re nearing $200,000 and the app is just getting started, and we haven’t even touched upon project management or quality assurance costs. 

On the flip side, you could outsource this same exact mobile app to a third-party development team for $25,000 to $40,000. That’s your out-the-door cost to launch before updates and ongoing maintenance. 

Maintenance from an app development agency will likely cost around $5,000 to $10,000 annually. This would cost at least $40,000 in-house, even if you’re using just one developer for this and allocating their resources to other projects. 

In this example, building, launching, and maintaining your app in-house would cost about $360,000 (on the low end) over five years. Outsourcing the same app would cost $65,000 to $80,000 over five years. 

While this is just one example, it highlights what you’ll see across the board—outsourcing app development is roughly 20% of the cost compared to building in-house. 

Understanding Pricing Models in Outsourcing App Development

All app development companies each have their own unique way of pricing mobile app projects. With that said, you’ll likely find one of the following three models:

• Fixed Rate — This is the most straightforward. The company tells you the total app cost, and you pay that number. It’s the easiest way to estimate and stay within your budget, but your developer could cut corners if unexpected issues arise (although you won’t have to worry about this from a reputable development company).
• Hourly Rate — Hourly billing is more common from freelance app developers compared to agencies. Rates can vary significantly, with rates starting around $30 per hour for developers in India, $50 per hour in Eastern Europe, and upwards of $80 per hour in the US. Some developers can give you an estimate of how many hours the project will take. But if it ends up taking longer, you could go over budget. 
• Subscription Rate — With the subscription model, you pay a fixed monthly, quarterly, or annual fee to use app development software. This can range from $100 to $500 per month, depending on the tools and features you need. 

The subscription model is often the best route, assuming you have the right app development partner. It’s less of a financial burden than paying $20,000 or $50,000 upfront. That’s the obvious reason. 

But if you outsource your app project to a company like BuildFire, you’ll also have the option to leverage our in-house development team if you need something unique or custom. For basic app features, 80% or even 90% can be handled with our app builder. Then we can bridge the gap with that remaining 10-20% to help you save money while still getting exactly what you need.

The annual subscription could cost you $6,000, and a custom function (if you need it) might cost an additional $6,000. 

Hidden Costs and How to Avoid Them

The cost of building a mobile app goes beyond the development process and the app itself. You also need to account for:

• Maintaining your staff
• Project management
• Quality assurance
• Hosting
• Refactoring
• CDNs
• Training
• UX Design
• UI Design
• Security
• Administrative Services

The easiest way to avoid these hidden fees is by outsourcing. When you outsource app development, cost is essentially set in stone. You pretty much know exactly what you’re going to pay, and you don’t have to worry about any surprises popping up along the way.

How to Choose the Right Mobile App Development Outsourcing Partner

There are thousands of agencies out there that offer software development services. So how can you narrow down your search and find an app development company that meets your needs?

Keep the following considerations in mind as you’re comparing different options:

• Look for an outsourcing company that offers strategic consulting for your app idea.
• The best app development companies handle all aspects of project management for you.
• They should also deal with quality assurance and testing. 
• Pricing should be clear. If you’re not given an exact quote, you should at least be given a range with expectations.
• Determine whether you want to work with a US-based development company or if you don’t mind sacrificing quality to save money. Language barriers should also be taken into consideration.
• When you outsource mobile app development, make sure your partner gives you a timeline of when you can expect the app to be completed. 
• Make sure the outsourcing company offers post-launch maintenance and support.
• Ideally, the development agency you’re considering should have experience building apps in your industry. 

For more information, review our guide on what to look for in a mobile app developer. We also have a detailed resource on how to choose the best mobile app development company for your business. 

Managing the App Development Outsource Relationship

Once you’ve settled on an outsourcing company and started to work with their app development team, there are certain things you need to keep in mind to maintain a quality relationship with them.

First, make sure you have enough meetings before development actually starts. This ensures that everyone is on the same page so they know exactly what you’re looking for. Getting some wireframes, mockups, or even app prototypes can really help during the pre-development and design phases. 

During development, you can set some milestones and ask for updates on a regular cadence. But again, it’s best to establish this ahead of time. If you’re just going to email the outsourcing company once a week asking, “I’d like to see what my app looks like so far,” then you’re not giving them an opportunity to really work on it. 

The purpose of outsourcing is to remain hands-off. While you should still be part of the process, you don’t want to micro-manage the team. They aren’t your employees and you shouldn’t treat them as such. 

That’s why it’s so important to find the right partner from the beginning. It makes it much easier to manage the ongoing relationship when everyone is working toward the same common goal. 

Final Thoughts: What to Expect When You Outsource Mobile App Development

In short, you can expect it to be much more cost-effective and easier to outsource mobile app development compared to building an app in-house. 

Maintaining an internal development team really only makes sense if you’re planning to build multiple apps on a regular basis and use them for a variety of core business functions. But even in this scenario, outsourcing should still be taken into consideration. 

One unique aspect of using BuildFire for app development is that you have access to our pre-existing app development infrastructure. This drastically reduces the time and costs associated with traditional development—plus, you can launch an app for iOS and Android with a single build. 

You can also leverage our app development platform and app development services under one roof. Whether you’re looking for assisted setup and design services and then want to manage the app on your own, you want to build it on your own and leverage our team for something specific, or you want us to do all the heavy lifting for you, there are plenty of different options to choose from. 

Schedule a consultation today to see how BuildFire can bring your app to life. 

Years ago, there were only options ways to create a mobile app—one code for iOS apps and one code for Android. But developers today have significantly more options for coding apps. I created this guide to help you understand the most popular programming languages and frameworks for mobile app development. You can use this information to decide which language to learn and invest in for your mobile app.

For the purposes of this resource, I’m going to skip over cookie-cutter types of mobile app builders. Technically, you don’t need to learn how to code use programming languages for that type of mobile app development platform. Check out our guide on the five ways to build apps for more information on those alternative methods.

Types of Mobile Apps

Before we continue, I just want to quickly cover the different types of app development from a coding perspective. Generally speaking, mobile app developers can build an app in one of these three categories:

Native Apps

Native app development is coded in a language that’s supported natively by the specific operating system of mobile devices. (Example: native iOS app vs. native Android app). This is used if you’re building an app specifically for the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

This is ideal for apps with a high level of customization that need to leverage native components of each device. It’s great for gaming apps, VR apps, and apps with extensive graphics. But one code won’t work on both platforms with native development.

Hybrid Apps

Hybrid apps are for cross-platform development. These are coded in a single language that can run on multiple on both iOS and Android.

This speeds up the development timeline as you’ll only have to code everything once, as opposed to twice (once for each OS). Compared to native, you’ll lose a little bit of the flexibility in terms of what you can do with hybrid apps. But this is fine for the vast majority of developers.

The most common topic you’ll hear when discussing mobile application development is the difference between native and hybrid apps. This has become the great debate for developers for quite some time now.

As I briefly mentioned above, native apps are built for a particular operating system. So if you want to develop an app for iOS and Android, you would need to build specifically for iOS and specifically for Android, separately.

There are pros and cons to this method, along with the others. We’ll take a closer look at the advantages and drawbacks of these app development methods as we continue through this guide.

PWA Apps

A PWA (progressive web app) is a lightweight app that runs in the URL of a device’s web browser. It looks and feels like a mobile app, but it’s not delivered natively on the device.

Developers who have experience with web development can easily create PWAs. You’ll should already be familiar with the coding languages used during the development process. So there’s not as much of a learning curve.

With that said, these apps will be a bit more limited in terms of the ability to use native device components.

Best Programming Languages for App Development

Let’s take a closer look at the top 14 coding languages for mobile applications. Each option has advantages and disadvantages depending on your skill level and intended use case. Regardless of your hardware and software, you can find coders and languages below that fit your needs.

iOS Programming Languages

The iOS platform was created by Apple. If you develop an iOS app, it will work across the Apple ecosystem like iPhones and iPads. Apps built using an iOS programming language can be made available on the Apple App Store for users to download.

In order to build an iOS app, you need to have an Apple developer account to get started. You’ll also need the Xcode IDE installed on a Mac computer (you can’t build and debug properly on a Windows computer).

Xcode comes with everything you need to create apps for all Apple devices. This development toolkit has a code editor, simulators, a debugger, and SDKs.

There are two native programming languages for iOS development—Objective-C and Swift.

Let’s take a closer look at each one of these Apple programming languages below.

Objective-C

Objective-C was the first programming language by Apple to support mobile applications on its platform. It’s an OO (object oriented programming language) that uses syntax from C and the object oriented aspects of SmallTalk.

The language isn’t very developer-friendly. One of the drawbacks is that the syntax feels clunky, and the square brackets can be tough to debug.

Swift

Swift was introduced in 2014 as an Apple programming language. It was eventually available for development in Xcode the following year.

This language has quickly become the developers’ preferred language when building an iOS app. If you’re getting started with iOS app development, this one of the best programming languages to consider. The usage of Objective-C has declined since Swift’s arrival. For any modern applications built on Apple, Swift is heavily encouraged.

Compared to Objective-C and other programming languages, Swift is easier and more compact. Any Apple developer who already knows how to build with Objective-C shouldn’t have any issues switching to Swift.

Programming Languages For Android App Development

Android is an open-source software development platform run by Google. While Google has its own mobile device options for phones and tablets, other manufacturers, like Samsung, Huawei, Microsoft, and more also produce phones and tablets that are powered by the Android OS.

To build an Android app, you need to get the Android development toolkit that has debuggers, emulators, and the required SDK. The best integrated development environment (IDE) for Android app development is Android Studio. This makes it easier if you’re developing mobile apps for Android. There are other options available, including cross platform app development tools (to build Android and iOS apps, and mobile apps for other operating systems) but Android Studio is definitely the most popular for Android app development.

Android IDEs can typically be run on any OS, including Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Let’s take a closer look at two Android programming languages—Java and Kotlin.

Java

Since Android was officially launched in 2008, Java has been the default development language to write Android apps. This object-oriented language was initially created back in 1995.

While Java has its fair share of faults, it’s still the most popular language for Android development since it runs on a virtual machine. As an object oriented option for mobile development, Java is commonly used to develop Android apps.

Most of the other Android languages are considered a version of Java or a flavor of Java.

Kotlin

Google announced that it would start supporting the Kotlin programming language in 2017. It’s an alternative language to traditional Java for Android development, and it runs on the Java Virtual Machine. Even as a new language, it’s very popular.

Kotlin and Java are interoperable, meaning they can make use of the same information. All of your Java libraries can be accessed with Kotlin. From an execution standpoint, the Kotlin language complies with Java Bytecode. Overall, it’s considered a neater and cleaner version of Java.

Native Development App Programming Languages

As I said before, all of the programming languages for native mobile apps. have their pros and cons. Whether you’re using Objective-C or Swift for Apple or using Java or some other flavor of Java (like Kotlin) for Android, these are the benefits and drawbacks.

Native Programming Pros:

• Most control over the device
• Low-level coding for cutting edge technologies that are added on to the device
• Fastest access to latest and greatest features through your language
• Fastest in execution bottom line

Native Programming Cons:

• Slowest to develop
• Most costly development method
• Takes highest skilled and specialized mobile app developers to build for iOS and Android
• High barrier to entry

While native programming languages give you the most control over your app, they are difficult to learn and take a long time to develop. Unless you’re building a highly specialized app, you probably won’t need to go the native route.

Hybrid Programming Languages

Hybrid applications are developed once, but written with a programming language that works for multiple platforms.

Most commonly, a single development will work for both iOS and Android. Although some hybrid languages extend their functionality to other platforms, like progressive web apps (PWA) or mobile web apps. This is nice to have for those of you moving into a more web-friendly environment.

When you’re building a hybrid application or want to develop cross platform apps, you’re generally dealing with some sort of JavaScript-based language, framework, or toolkit. Hybrid apps work on varying mobile devices.

Let’s take a closer look at some of these options below.

C#

Developed by Microsoft, C# (pronounced C sharp) is another object-oriented programming language. It’s a popular programming language for game development and command line scripting for Android operating systems.

Other low-code types of alternatives like OutSystems and Kony have an SDK that can be used with different languages, not just one. There are other languages for mobile app development that use system programming language with syntax similar to C#.

Using an IDE for hybrid development, the C# code is cross-compiled to run natively on iOS and Android devices.

Xamarin

Microsoft eventually acquired the Xamarin framework, which allows app developers to program using C# against other frameworks. Technically, Xamarin isn’t a language. It’s an open-source development platform for iOS, Android, and Windows applications.

It’s a .NET platform that uses C# as its core language.

React Native

Reactive Native uses JavaScript to communicate with pre-built functionality that is native to their framework. This allows you to manipulate the UI, collect data, and retrieve data so you can present it to the user.

Basically, this means that you’re heavily relying on JavaScript to manipulate native components. Programming a mobile app this way has its pros and cons.

Appcelerator

Like Reactive Native, Appcelerator also uses JS to communicate with functions to a native framework. Appcelerator Titanium makes it possible to create native apps for iOS, Android, and Windwows.

Appcelerator Pros:

• Using Java to manipulate something native
• Access native functionality directly from JavaScript

Appcelerator Cons:

• Doesn’t tap into things like HTML5 or CSS, which are technologies that are generally used with anybody developing in JavaScript to freely manipulate their own user interface

The barrier of entry to learning this programming method is around a medium level.

Cordova/PhoneGap

Cordova/PhoneGap and Ionic type frameworks are really just built on top of the Apache Cordova programming language. Hybrid mobile application development using this programming language are built by porting over a web experience into a native experience.

What does this mean?

This method allows you to build just like you would do for a website. So if you’re a web developer, you’ll feel right at home here. It uses Javascript, HTML, and CSS. That web environment is ported over natively to iOS and Android. The final software will work on multiple types of mobile devices.

Pros:

• Low barrier to entry
• Anyone with a web development background can easily start programming this way
• Learning curve is easy

Cons:

• Giving up a little bit of frame rate

If you’re developing mobile games, a machine learning native app, or augmented reality (AR) native app, this solution probably isn’t best programming language for you. Both of those require a higher frame rate.

PWA Programming Languages

Progressive web apps offer app-like functions from a mobile site. It’s a fast and reliable alternative to traditional mobile websites. Unlike a website, web applications can operate offline, and access native device capabilities (like camera, GPS, etc.).

Here are some of the programming languages you can use for PWA:

Ruby

Ruby is a general-purpose programming language that can be used for a wide range of use cases, including PWAs. Lots of developers rely on Ruby for web applications because of its simplicity.

The language has been around since 1990, and continues to be favorite in the development community today.

While shipping code with Ruby is easy, finding bugs and debugging errors is not always as simple. So just keep that in mind if you’re going this route.

Python

Python is another general-purpose coding language. It’s an object-oriented language that gives developers the flexibility for small and large-scale deployments alike.

In addition to PWAs, Python is commonly used for data analytics, data visualization, websites, task automation, and other types of software.

Most developers would agree that Python is a bit more challenging than Java. It has a steeper learning curve compared to other languages in this category.

CSS

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a rule-based language. It helps describe the presentation of code that’s written in markup languages, like HTML.

You can’t create a PWA with CSS alone. But you’ll likely use it as an addition to your JS or HTML code.

JavaScript

If you have web development experience, using JavaScript to create a PWA might be the best option for you. You can use JS on top of HTML and alongside CSS to create your web application from scratch.

Compared to other options for PWA, this has a lower barrier to entry for those of you who have some basic technical knowledge and coding experience. But it’s not quite as flexible as a Ruby or Python for PWA.

PHP

PHP is a general scripting language that was first introduced in 1994. While it has several potential use cases, PHP can also be used to assist PWA.

With that said, it’s not necessarily the best option. You can use PHP on the backend for application, but you’d still want to serve HTML, CSS, and JS on the front end. Using PHP to just create a website wouldn’t have the same look, feel, and capability as a traditional PWA.

In short, PHP alone won’t deliver a progressive web application. But the lots of your work can still be written in PHP.

Choosing the Right Programming Language

As you can see, each programming language has its pros and cons. You can’t definitively say that one is better than another. It all depends on the app type, budget, timeline, and technical knowledge.

Native development is typically the most expensive and most challenging to learn. But it’s necessary for certain types of apps, like gaming apps.

Hybrid languages are easier to learn for users who have some technical knowledge and web development experience. You can get your app to market quickly with this method since you won’t have to use two deployments.

In addition to choosing a specific language, you’ll need to choose your approach. We have a complete guide that breaks down the differences between synchronous vs. asynchronous programming to help you decide between these two popular methods.

When to Use a Coding App

Coding apps like Grasshopper, Sololearn, and Mimo are all excellent options for beginners. So if you’re just starting your journey as a developer, you’ll definitely find these tools helpful.

Alternatively, you can use an app builder to create an app without writing a single line of coding. No-code app creators like BuildFire make it possible for anyone, regardless of technical knowledge, to create an app for iOS and Android simultaneously.

Unless you want to become a developer, using an app creator is the best option. The time it will take you to learn different programming languages probably isn’t worth the investment if you just need to create one app for your business. Even if you do learn how to code, your first app likely won’t be ready for real users.

MBaaS (Mobile Backend as a Service)

All of the hybrid frameworks and native programming language to build mobile apps all have two things in common—they all need to be built from scratch, and they are all missing a major component.

Anybody who has developed a mobile application in the past understands that the app itself is only a portion of the entire environment and the total solution. You’ll also need a massive mobile backend as a service—better known as MBaaS.

What do you need an MBaaS for? Here are a few examples:

• Host your data
• Host user profiles
• Compile analytics
• Send push notifications

The list goes on and on. These are all servers living in the cloud that you need to develop as well to support your application. Unless you’re building a simple app, like a calculator, you generally need some type of user authentication, database, CMS, etc.

BuildFire JS

This is where the BuildFire JS comes into play.

The BuildFire JS framework allows you to build just like you would in a Cordova Hybrid platform. You can use web technology like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. But this framework doesn’t force you to build everything from scratch.

Things like authentication and push notifications are built on top of an existing platform. That platform has all of the typical functionality that most apps need, like user logins, password reset functionality, access to databases, access to CMS platforms, and so on.

With the BuildFire JS, you only need to build what is unique to your specific application.

Analytics servers, databases, push notification servers, API gateways, and so much more are all part of the massive MBaaS provided by BuildFire.

All of this is bundled in an open-source environment that allows people to constantly add new features to the platform. You can integrate those features into your app without the worry of security problems or licensing.

Once all is said and done, and you’ve developed your app with BuildFire, there’s a backend control panel that allows you to administer your app over the air without having to deal with the hurdles of publishing and upgrades.

Since your app is built on a platform with an MBaaS, you won’t have to worry about any new policies, regulations, compliance issues, features, and more on iOS and Android. BuildFire makes sure that your app stays compliant.

Final Thoughts: Best Programming Languages

What’s the best programming language for mobile app development?

There is no right or wrong answer to what programming language you should learn or what framework you should invest in. The best programming languages for me and my mobile apps might not be the best for you and your app development scenario. All of the options listed in this guide are good and valid choices to consider. They each have pros and cons. There are even additional programming languages for mobile app development, like Python for server-side programming, and more.

You just need to find out what’s best for you, your business, and your goals.

What type of application are you building? What does the application need? Where do you want to put the most effort? Do you want to develop it once or multiple times? What mobile device will the end-user be on? Are you building for multiple platforms?

What about data access control, statistically typed programming language, or interpreted programming language?

Will you be leveraging any low-code/no-code development tools?

These are some of the questions that you need to ask yourself to determine where your time, effort, and resources are best served. At the end of the day, just make sure you can go to market quickly with the best possible app.

App testing is a key part of iOS app development. If you’re using Xcode to create an iOS app, you can test your app using a real iPhone and iOS device with Xcode’s built-in simulator. 

While simulators are great, some features don’t quite work the same unless you’re using an iPhone.

For example, maybe you want to send an SMS message from your iOS application. Or maybe you want to test the app’s compatibility with an iPhone camera. You can’t do this from your Mac.

In addition to testing for functionality, running your app on an iPhone for the first time can also help with debugging. Xcode even has a built-in debugger tool that helps you identify bugs and problems directly within the source editor. 

Ready to start testing your iOS apps? This guide will show you how.

What is Xcode?

Let’s start with the basics. If you’re new to development and haven’t started building anything yet, you might have some questions about Xcode and how it works. 

We have an in-depth tutorial on how to code Xcode that’s written for complete beginners. I strongly suggest giving it a read for a full explanation of how Xcode works. But I’ll quickly summarize the key highlights below before we continue with the testing instructions.

Xcode is an integrated development environment, better known as an IDE. It’s the official IDE for Apple that’s used to create, test, and debug apps for iOS devices, including iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV.

Xcode is also great for team collaboration. So your entire development team can work together on the app and ensure it’s ready for testers before deployment. It’s much easier to use Xcode for testing and debugging apps before they’re added to the app store.

Testing on a Simulator vs. Real Device

App development isn’t complete until the application has been fully tested. There are several different ways to test mobile apps, but these options can generally be segmented into two categories—simulators and real devices.

Simulators let you run applications that weren’t intended for your computer’s operating system. Developers can use iOS simulators to test their code on an iPhone or iPad without actually running the app on one of those devices. 

Some simulators double as emulators, which mimic the capabilities of real devices beyond a simulation. You can even find simulators that support both iOS and Android for testing multiple versions of your app.
Xcode has a built-in simulator that’s great for testing during the early stages of development. This allows you to run a simulation without having to lay out the user interface.

You just need to configure your settings and click the run button on your toolbar. 

Then select what type of device you want to simulate your app on. This can be selected from the run destination menu of the toolbar.

If you want to test the app using an older iOS version, you can click “Add Additional Simulators” at the bottom of this pop up menu.

Again, simulators are fine for certain aspects of testing—especially in the early stages. But they can’t really show you the user interface and how your app flows when it’s really being used on a device. That’s why you’re better off testing on an iPhone in the later stages of development before the app gets pushed to the App Store. 

Simply put, simulators aren’t ideal if you need to run a UI test. But they’re fine for running unit tests, which verifies that the code written will work as it’s expected to.

Setting Up to Run Xcode On a Real Device

Before you test your mobile app on an actual iOS device, you need to make sure that everything in your Xcode project is configured properly. Then you’ll be able to run the app on an iPhone without having to write any extra code.

Grab your device, and connect it to your Mac.

If you’re testing a macOS version for an iPad application, then you’ll also need to choose a scheme. Xcode app schemes are essentially settings that clarify the build configurations, targets, and executable environment. 

To choose a real device for testing, you’re going to follow the same steps you took earlier for selecting an iOS simulator. Only this time, you’re going to choose the connected iPhone from the run destination menu for device management in Xcode.

Similar to what we described earlier, you’ll just click the run button to proceed after you’ve selected the connected iPhone.

With the device connected, Xcode will automate the process, install the app, and attach the debugger. Once this happens, the app should appear on your phone. From here, you can navigate to the debug area of Xcode to test your app. This is an opportunity for you to examine variables and debug any errors.

If your build is unsuccessful, you can view any error messages or warnings in the Issue Navigator. You can do this by selecting “Navigators” from the “View” menu and choosing “Show Issue Navigator.” Any messages will appear here. 

How Do I Test My App on My iPhone?

Here’s a quick summary of the requirements for testing apps on iPhone using Xcode:

• You need to plug the iPhone into the Mac that’s running Xcode.
• Then you must download the app to your Mac.
• When you select a real device in Xcode for testing, you need to add your Apple ID in the Accounts preferences of your project editor.
• If you’re part of the Apple Developer Program, you must register the device before running the app. 
• You can also pair Xcode with iOS and tvOS apps if that device is on the same network as Xcode. When you open Xcode, any paired devices should appear on the toolbar.

Final Thoughts on Using an Xcode Test App on iPhone

I hope you found this tutorial on testing your Xcode app on iPhone helpful. 

To bypass these steps and avoid unnecessary headaches, you can use BuildFire as an alternative solution. The BuildFire SDK is developer-friendly—allowing you to create new app features using Javascript, HTML, and CSS using your preferred framework. 

BuildFire gives developers the ability to build on top of our existing infrastructure, which saves a ton of time and money during the Apple development process. 

If you’re a complete beginner who doesn’t have any coding experience, there’s really no reason to learn Xcode and test your apps on your own. Unless you want to become an iOS developer, it’s much easier to let BuildFire create an app for you. Check out our full-service app development solution, BuildFire Plus, for more information. 

For those of you who are still early on in the development process, read our step-by-step guide on How to Make an App to learn more.

Learning how to code Xcode is an important skill for any Apple developer. You’ll be writing code on Mac to create applications for the App Store.

The great part about Xcode is its versatility for iOS development and building applications across different Apple devices. It supports development for iOS apps, macOS apps, tvOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. 

New to Xcode? That’s why we created this guide.

This in-depth Xcode tutorial is designed for complete beginners. It explains everything you need to know about Xcode, how it works, and how to learn Xcode.

What is Xcode?

Xcode is Apple’s official IDE (integrated development environment). It was released in 2003 specifically for building software on Apple platforms. 

IDEs are centralized environments that consolidate the different aspects of building software. Unlike other IDEs, Xcode is only available for Mac, and it’s an all-in-one solution to build and code an app. 

An Apple developer can use Xcode to create apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. It’s most commonly used for iOS app development (creating a mobile app).

Swift 5.5 and SDKs for iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, tvOS 15, and watchOS 8 are all included with Xcode 13.

Xcode is the only official tool for creating and publishing apps on the Apple App Store. It’s designed for beginners and experienced developers alike.

Xcode comes with all of the tools and resources you need to create an app within a single source of truth—including a compiler, text editor, and name system. This makes it possible to not only write and compile but also debug an app. 

Once you’re done writing code, you can submit your app to the App Store with ease. 

Xcode contains lots of great tools that help streamline the development process, making it easy for experienced developers to push apps out quickly. But it’s also a user-friendly IDE, so the learning curve isn’t as steep for beginners.

This is the only official way to create apps by Apple. Xcode comes with excellent debugging tools that make it easy for developers to troubleshoot problems faster. The platform also comes with project management resources to help you stay organized with coding files, image assets, and everything else you need to create a great app.

Xcode Requirements

Before you start a new Xcode project or try to install Xcode, it’s important for you to understand the platform requirements. Xcode is only available for Mac users running a version of macOS 10.14.4 or later. You’ll need at least 7.6 GB of hard drive space to download Xcode as well. 

For those of you who don’t meet these requirements, there are some alternative methods you can try for writing Xcode in older Mac visions or PCs. But with that said, this is generally not something that we recommend. 

Getting a Mac is your best option here. The workarounds for other devices can be tricky and could not only impact your experience but also affect your app.

Is Xcode Good For Beginners?

To clarify, Xcode is an IDE (integrated development environment). It just provides developers with a user interface for writing code. As a programmer or developer, you still need to have a basic understanding of programming languages before you can start using this interface builder and code editor.

Xcode is a tool that helps you write code for Apple platforms, but it won’t teach beginners how to write app code. You still need to learn that on your own.

A complete beginner with no prior coding knowledge could not download Xcode and immediately start to create apps. With that said, once you have the coding knowledge, Xcode has a friendly UI that’s easy for beginners to navigate and understand. 

What’s the Best Way to Learn Xcode?

The best way for beginners to learn Xcode is through Apple’s own documentation. If you’re starting from scratch, Apple has excellent developer resources that will teach you how to code. 

It’s in your best interest to learn Swift—the official programming language to build apps for the Apple App Store and Mac App Store.  

The great part about using a Swift tutorial from Apple is that you’ll be learning to code and building a foundation for navigating Xcode simultaneously. 

Swift Playgrounds is another option to consider. This is an iPad app that teaches you how to code and create apps with Swift. You can also explore app forums, Udemy, Codetree, and other online resources that can teach you about Xcode, Swift, and source code.

How Does Xcode Work

The first thing you need to do is install Xcode. To start a new app project in Xcode, you’ll need to select a template for the platform you want the app to run on. Then choose the type of app you want to create (game, single view, document based, etc.).

Starting with the right Xcode template is a crucial step to ensure you can start creating an app as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

Configuration

Before you start to develop anything, you need to provide Xcode with information related to yourself (as the developer) and your app. This includes:

• Product Name — Your app’s name as it will appear in the Apple App Store and on devices when it’s installed. Product names must be at least two characters and less than 255 bytes. It should be similar to the name that you’ll ultimately enter in the App Store Connect.

• Organization Identifier — This is a reverse DNS string to identify your organization. For those of you who don’t have a company identifier right now, you can use com.example. as a placeholder until you distribute your app. This must be replaced before distribution.

• Organization Name — This is the name that will appear in all boilerplate text in your project folder. This is not the same as the name that appears in the App Store for your app.

It’s worth noting that you cannot change your App ID after it’s been uploaded to App Store Connect. Here’s the official wording from Apple:

Creating a Project

Here’s a quick overview of the steps you must follow to start a new project:

1. Download Xcode and launch it on an Apple platform.
2. Select “Create a new Xcode project” in the welcome window or navigate to File > New > Project.
3. Select a template (iOS, watchOS, macOS, Cross-platform).
4. Fill out all of the required information.
5. Choose your language and user interface (for example, Swift and SwiftUI).

Choosing SwiftUI also gives you the option to develop for all platforms and view an interactive preview of your layout. 

Managing Files

Any time you start a new project or re-open an existing project, Xcode will open your main window. This shows all of your code files and required resources to create your app. 

You can use the project navigator as a way to quickly access different areas of the project. 

All details about the files you select will be shown in the “inspector” portion of Xcode on the right side of the screen. You can always hide this to free up space on your screen as well.

The “toolbar” is where you’ll create and run your application as a simulator or from a real device. If you’re building an iOS app, just select an app target and simulator from the toolbar menu before clicking the run button to proceed. 

You can refer to Apple’s official developer guidelines for more information about how Xcode works.

Windows

As previously mentioned, Xcode is meant for software development on macOS. With that said, there are ways for Windows users to use Xcode for app development as well.

While this isn’t really something we recommend, you can create a virtual environment on your PC. If you’re really tech-savvy, you can create a “Hackintosh”—which is essentially a PC that’s been modified to run macOS. This-party solutions like React Native, Xamarin, Appcelerator, and PhoneGap are other ways to create an app for iOS using the programming language of your choice from a Windows machine.  

Xcode Tools and Features

The latest version of Xcode offers tons of great features, including SDKs for new versions of Apple platforms. Here’s a quick overview of the noteworthy highlights:

Team Comments

Xcode has an inline team comments feature that makes team collaboration a breeze. Reviewers can quickly comment on lines of code, which will appear with their name and avatar—limiting the need for a third-party collaboration solution.

Simulators

In addition to the app simulator for iOS and Mac, Xcode now offers a CarPlay simulator as well. This makes it easy for you to test the CarPlay experience for apps across different types of cars, screen sizes, and other variables. 

Crash Reports and Feedback

You can get detailed crash log reports from TestFlight users to help you quickly identify what caused the app to crash. Testers can add feedback as well to explain what actions they were doing when the crash occurred. 

Xcode Debugging Tools

There are plenty of debugging tools built into Xcode. Piggybacking off the last point, crash logs are displayed inline so you can quickly jump to the relevant code with just a simple click.

What Programming Language Does Xcode Use?

These are the programming languages compatible with Xcode’s integrated development environment:

• Swift
• Objective-C
• Objective-C++
• C
• C++
• Java
• Applescript
• Python
• Ruby (Ruby on Rails)

Objective-C++ can compile the source files using a combination of Objective-C and C++ syntax. 

Advantages of Using Xcode

Xcode is a robust, easy-to-use, and well-designed IDE that’s great for writing code, debugging, and simulating apps built for Apple platforms.

Other Xcode pros include:

• Supports a wide range of programming languages
• User-friendly interface
• Simple navigation from the view controller
• Supports testing and debugging
• Allows developers to create apps for iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and iPadOS

Disadvantages of Using Xcode

Here’s a closer look at some potential drawbacks to consider when using Xcode:

• You must have an Apple ID and Mac
• Doesn’t support development for Android
• App publishing requires complex steps
• Limited drag-and-drop functionality

Using BuildFire SDK as an Alternative to Xcode

For beginners and experienced developers alike, BuildFire SDK is a simpler alternative to learning Xcode. This is the best way to avoid the pains and drawbacks associated with Xcode.

BuildFire makes it possible for developers to create custom functionality using Javascript, HTML, and CSS with any framework. So you’re not limited to the restrictions that come with Xcode.

You can also take advantage of BuildFire’s existing infrastructure and leverage built in tools, including authentication servers, image servers, file servers, databases, and more. 

BuildFire also takes care of all the publishing for both iOS and Android. So you won’t have to go through the complex steps that would normally be required to publish an app from Xcode. 

Take full advantage of our development features like:

• Data tracer
• Remote debugging tool
• Testing tools
• Plugin IDE
• Command-line interface (CLI)
• Hot loader

BuildFire also has hundreds of open source-plugins that you can use and redistribute for free. Our UI components will save you countless hours on development.

Conclusion

I hope this in-depth guide answered all of your questions about Xcode and its use cases. 

Rather than learning how to code and using Xcode as an IDE, you can use BuildFire SDK as an easier alternative. Complete beginners should consider BuildFire Plus—our full-service app development solution. Instead of wasting your own time and internal resources to learn something new, let BuildFire create the app for you, so you can focus on other areas of your business.

Get a free consultation to learn more about our custom app development services.

In today’s competitive software market, the importance of delivering high-quality, user-friendly applications cannot be overstated. Beta testing plays a crucial role in the software development lifecycle, ensuring that the final product meets users’ expectations and functions seamlessly. 

As app development experts, we recognize the significance of beta testing in delivering top-notch mobile apps—which is why we’ve created this comprehensive guide. In this post, we’ll explore the concept of beta testing, its importance in mobile app development, and best practices to help you get the most out of your beta testing process.

What is Beta Testing?

Beta testing is the second phase of software testing, following alpha testing, in which a limited group of end-users tests a nearly-complete version of the software or mobile app. 

The primary goal of beta testing is to identify any remaining bugs, usability issues, or other problems that the development team may have missed during internal testing. By collecting feedback from real users, developers can gain valuable insights into how their product performs in a real-world environment and make any necessary improvements before the final release.

Alpha Testing vs. Beta Testing

Alpha testing is the first phase of software testing—conducted internally by the development team and a select group of employees within the organization. This testing phase aims to identify and fix any critical bugs or issues before the software reaches the beta testing stage. 

While alpha testing focuses on functionality and stability, beta testing emphasizes usability, compatibility, and overall user experience.

Here’s a more in-depth comparison of alpha testing vs. beta testing.

Importance of Beta Testing for Mobile App Development

Beta testing is particularly vital in mobile app development for several reasons:

• User Experience: Mobile apps need to be intuitive, responsive, and easy to use. Beta testing allows developers to collect feedback from actual users and make adjustments to ensure the app delivers an excellent user experience.

• Device Compatibility: With the plethora of devices, screen sizes, and operating systems, ensuring compatibility across all platforms is crucial. Beta testing helps developers identify and resolve any compatibility issues that may arise on different devices.

• App Store Rankings: Positive user reviews and high ratings are essential for a successful app launch, as they significantly impact app store rankings. By addressing any issues during beta testing, developers can increase the likelihood of receiving favorable reviews upon release.

The Beta Testing Process

The entire beta testing process can be broken down into six simple steps:

1. Planning and Preparation
2. Recruitment and Selection of Beta Testers
3. Conducting the Beta Test
4. Collecting and Analyzing Feedback
5. Iterating and Refining the Product
6. Preparing for Release

We’ll cover each of these in greater detail below. 

Step 1 – Planning and Preparation

Before initiating the beta testing process, it’s essential to define clear objectives for your tests. These objectives may include identifying bugs, validating features, and assessing overall user satisfaction. Having well-defined goals will help guide the testing process and ensure that the final product meets your desired standards.

You also need to identify the target audience of your app or software. That’s because your beta testers should represent this target audience—as they’ll provide the most relevant feedback during your tests. Consider factors like demographics, technical expertise, and device usage when selecting your testers.

Make sure to provide your testers with all of the necessary resources, including the test build, user manuals, and any supporting documentation. Ensure that your materials are clear and concise to enable testers to use the app effectively.

Step 2 – Recruitment and Selection of Beta Testers

When choosing beta testers, consider their technical expertise, familiarity with similar apps, and availability. It’s essential to have a diverse group of testers, as this will help identify a wide range of issues and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the app’s performance.

To recruit a diverse group of testers, you can reach out to your existing user base, use social media platforms, or collaborate with online testing communities. Be sure to clearly communicate your testing objectives and expectations to potential testers, as this will help you attract individuals who are genuinely interested in providing valuable feedback.

Step 3 – Conducting the Beta Test

Share the beta version of your app and any necessary supporting materials with your selected testers. Depending on the platform and the type of beta test (closed or open), you may need to use specific distribution methods—such as app store beta testing programs or third-party distribution tools.

Clearly communicate the testing process, objectives, and expectations to your testers. Provide them with step-by-step instructions for installing the app, reporting issues, and submitting feedback. This will ensure that testers can effectively participate in the testing process and contribute valuable insights.

You should also set up a dedicated channel for testers to submit feedback and communicate with your team. This could be an online forum, a bug-tracking system, or an email address. Ensure that your team members are available to respond to testers’ questions and concerns in a timely manner.

Step 4 – Collecting and Analyzing Feedback

As feedback comes in, organize and categorize it based on factors such as severity, frequency, and impact on the user experience. This will help you prioritize which issues to address first and allocate resources effectively.

Then you can analyze the collected feedback to identify any patterns or trends. 

For example, if multiple testers report similar issues or suggestions, these may indicate areas where the app needs improvement. By recognizing these patterns, you can make more informed decisions about which changes to implement.

The initial feedback collected in your beta tests will help set up your feedback loop for iterations and future testing.

Step 5 – Iterating and Refining the Product

Based on the feedback analysis, make the necessary changes to your app. This may involve fixing bugs, enhancing features, or making adjustments to the user interface. Ensure that your team is aligned on the changes and that they are implemented effectively.

Once changes have been made, conduct further testing to validate that the issues have been resolved and that the app’s performance has improved. Depending on the scope of the changes, you may choose to involve the same group of testers or recruit a new group for a fresh perspective.

Step 6 – Preparing for Release

Now you can finalize your documentation and other software resources. 

Update your user manuals, help guides, and other documents to reflect any changes made during the beta testing process. This helps ensure that users have access to accurate information upon the app’s release.

It’s also in your best interest to keep all stakeholders, including your team members, testers, and investors, informed about the app’s progress and the planned release date. This will help maintain engagement and support throughout the development process.

Types of Beta Testing

Generally speaking, there are two main types of beta testing—closed and open. 

To determine which type of beta testing is best suited for your mobile app, consider factors like your testing objectives, target audience, available resources, and desired level of control over the testing process. 

Some developers opt for a hybrid approach, starting with a closed beta test and then transitioning to an open beta test to capitalize on the benefits of both methods.

Closed Beta Testing

Closed beta testing is a private testing phase where a select group of users is invited to test the app. Access to the app is restricted, and testers may be required to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to maintain confidentiality.

This method allows for more controlled testing conditions—enabling developers to receive targeted feedback from a specific group of users. Closed beta testing can lead to a more focused and efficient testing process. However, the limited number of testers can result in less diverse feedback and may not uncover all potential issues.

Open Beta Testing

Open beta testing, also known as public beta testing, involves opening the app to a larger audience—often without any restrictions or invitations. 

Users can voluntarily participate in testing, providing a wider range of feedback and helping to identify issues that might have been missed during closed beta testing.

Here’s an example of an open beta test from Google:

Open beta testing provides a larger pool of testers, increasing the likelihood of identifying a wide range of issues and gathering diverse feedback. This type of testing can also generate buzz and create a sense of community around the app before its official release. However, managing the feedback from a large number of testers can be challenging, and there is a risk of receiving low-quality or irrelevant feedback.

Beta Testing Challenges and Solutions

To ensure your tests run smoothly, it’s important to understand some common roadblocks and hurdles that often result in inaccurate or ineffective tests. First, we’ll identify those challenges and then give you some key tips for preventing and overcoming them. 

Common Challenges Faced During Beta Testing

These are the three areas where software teams tend to struggle the most when they’re running beta tests:

• Time Constraints: Limited time for testing can lead to rushed processes and insufficient feedback. Balancing the need for thorough testing with the desire to release the app quickly can be challenging.

• Limited Resources: With finite resources, developers must prioritize which issues to address and which features to test more extensively. This can lead to difficult decision-making and potential trade-offs.

• Managing Tester Expectations: Testers may have different levels of experience and expectations, making it challenging to ensure a consistent and productive testing process.

Solutions to Overcome Challenges

These simple yet highly effective solutions will make it easier for you to run successful beta tests:

• Efficient Test Management: Establish clear objectives, expectations, and guidelines to streamline the testing process. Utilize tools and strategies to prioritize issues and allocate resources effectively.

• Leveraging Tools and Automation: Use testing tools and automation to increase efficiency and minimize manual tasks, freeing up time and resources for other critical aspects of the development process.

• Establishing Clear Communication: Maintain open lines of communication with your testers to address any questions or concerns, and provide regular updates on the app’s progress. This will help manage expectations and ensure a smoother testing process.

How to Measure the Success of Beta Testing

Running the test is just one aspect of beta testing. You also need to understand what you should be looking for in the tests to see if things were done properly or if you need to go through another round of testing. 

The following KPIs are a good indication of whether or not your test was successful:

• Bug Discovery Rate: Track the number and severity of bugs identified during testing. A lower bug discovery rate may indicate a more stable and well-developed app.

• User Engagement: Monitor user engagement metrics such as session length, frequency of use, and feature adoption. High engagement levels can signify a positive user experience.

• Feedback Quality and Quantity: Assess the quality and quantity of feedback received from testers. Valuable and actionable feedback can help drive meaningful improvements to your app.

Then you can analyze the collected KPIs and other data points to make informed decisions about the app’s readiness for release and any necessary adjustments. 

Be prepared to iterate on your product based on the insights gained during the beta testing process. Keep in mind that achieving success in beta testing is not about attaining perfection but rather about identifying and addressing the most critical issues and improving the overall user experience.

Leveraging Beta Testing Feedback for Future Development

Software testing is an ongoing process. So rather than looking at each test in isolation, you should also take steps to improve your testing and development process as a whole. 

Learn from Feedback

Take the time to thoroughly review and understand the feedback received from your testers. This feedback can provide valuable insights into potential improvements, feature requests, and areas of user dissatisfaction. Use this information to prioritize future development efforts and create a roadmap for ongoing enhancements.

Maintain Relationships with Testers

Your beta testers can be a valuable resource even after the testing phase has concluded. Keep the lines of communication open and maintain relationships with your most engaged and helpful testers. They can provide ongoing feedback, help generate buzz for your app, and even become early adopters or advocates for your product.

Continue to Improve and Iterate

Remember that the development process doesn’t end with the release of your app. Continually refine and iterate on your product based on user feedback, analytics, and market trends. This will help you stay competitive and ensure that your app remains relevant and appealing to users.

Final Thoughts

Beta testing is a critical component of the mobile app development process, providing valuable insights into your app’s performance and user experience. By carefully planning and executing the beta testing process, you can identify and address potential issues, validate features, and ultimately deliver a high-quality app that meets the needs of your target audience.

We hope this ultimate guide to beta testing has provided you with the knowledge and tools necessary to effectively implement beta testing in your development process. 

Having a bug tracking system is essential for any app development project to succeed. Without a system in place, tracking and fixing bugs can quickly become overwhelming and lead to costly delays. 

This ultimate guide explains how to make a bug tracking system for mobile development and explores the best practices for using one effectively. We’ll also cover the different types of bug tracking systems available, how to set up a system that fits your specific needs, and provide tips for integrating a bug finder into your mobile development process. 

By the end of this article, you’ll have the knowledge and tools necessary to create and implement an efficient bug tracking system for your mobile development team.

Types of Bug Tracking Systems

Bug tracking systems are critical tools for developers to track issues and errors within software. There are four main types of bug tracking systems—open-source, commercial, cloud-based, and in-house. Each type has its own unique features and benefits that make them well-suited for specific use cases.

Selecting the right bug tracking system depends on the specific needs and resources of your development team. It’s important to carefully evaluate each option and choose a system that fits your team’s workflow and requirements.

Open Source Bug Tracking Systems

Open-source bug-tracking systems are free and offer a flexible and customizable approach to tracking bugs. They’re typically developed and maintained by a community of developers and offer a range of features like issue tracking, reporting, and collaboration tools. 

One advantage of open source bug tracking systems is flexibility—as they can be tailored to fit the specific needs of a development team. However, since they are community-driven, support and updates can vary, and customization may require additional technical knowledge.

Pros:

• Free to use
• Customizable to fit specific needs
• Large community support

Cons:

• Support and updates may vary
• Customization may require additional technical knowledge
• Limited customer support options

Commercial Bug Tracking Systems

Commercial bug tracking systems are paid solutions that offer advanced features and support. These systems are designed to be user-friendly and offer robust functionality, such as automated bug detection and integration with project management tools. 

Jira is a popular option that’s used by app developers and software teams. 

It’s a project management solution, but it has built-in features for bugs and issue tracking. 

While these systems can be costly, they offer reliable support and updates and may be a worthwhile investment for larger development teams.

Pros:

• Advanced features and support
• User-friendly interface
• Reliable support and updates

Cons:

• Can be costly
• May have limited customization options
• Limited community support

Cloud-Based Bug Tracking Systems

Cloud-based bug tracking systems are hosted on remote servers and accessed through a web browser. 

These systems offer the convenience of accessibility from anywhere with an internet connection and often come with additional features such as automatic backups and security measures. However, they can be subject to internet connectivity issues and may require ongoing subscription fees.

Pros:

• Accessible from anywhere with an internet connection
• Additional features like automatic backups and security measures
• Scalable pricing options

Cons:

• Subject to internet connectivity issues
• Ongoing subscription fees may be required
• Limited customization options

In-House Bug Tracking Systems

In-house bug tracking systems are created and maintained internally by a development team. These systems offer complete control and customization options but require significant technical knowledge and resources to set up and maintain. 

For example, Apple has its own internal bug tracking system called Radar.

Anyone within the Apple developer community can use it to report problems and send feedback. 

They can be a good choice for larger development teams with the necessary resources to build and maintain their own system—which a company like Apple obviously does. 

Pros:

• Complete control and customization options
• No ongoing subscription fees
• Can be tailored to fit specific needs

Cons:

• Requires significant technical knowledge and resources to set up and maintain
• Limited support options
• May not be scalable for larger development teams

Setting up a Bug Tracking System for Mobile Development

A bug tracking system is a vital tool for any mobile development team to manage and track software bugs effectively. However, setting up such a system can be daunting if you don’t know where to start. The following steps will guide you through the process of setting up a bug tracking system for mobile development, from defining your requirements to testing the system.

By following these steps, you’ll be able to set up a bug tracking system that meets the specific needs of your mobile development team, improves collaboration, and streamlines the bug-reporting process. 

Step 1 – Define Your Requirements

To define your requirements, you need to consider the scope of the project and identify the specific needs of your development team. Start by assessing the size of your team and the project, as this will impact the number of users that will need access to the system. If you have a large development team, you may need a bug tracking system that supports multiple users and provides collaboration tools.

It’s also important to identify the type of project you’re working on, as the requirements may vary based on this answer. Some bug tracking systems are designed for specific industries, such as healthcare or finance, while others are more general-purpose. Consider if you need a system that supports a specific programming language or integrates with other tools, such as project management software.

For example, if you’re working on a healthcare mobile app, you may need a bug tracking system that supports HIPAA compliance requirements. This would require a system with advanced security features and customizable workflows to ensure that you’re adhering to HIPAA regulations. 

You should also consider the level of customization needed for your project. Some bug tracking systems are highly customizable, while others are more rigid in their workflow. Identifying the level of customization you need is crucial to ensuring that the system fits your development team’s workflow.

By defining your requirements early on, you can narrow down the available options and choose a bug tracking system that meets your specific needs.

Step 2 – Choose a Bug Tracking System

With so many bug tracking systems available, it can be overwhelming to decide which one to choose. To make an informed decision, consider factors such as cost, features, and compatibility with your existing tools and systems.

In terms of cost, some systems offer a free version with limited features, while others require a paid subscription for access to advanced features. While cost shouldn’t be the only factor you consider, it’s essential to choose a system that fits within your budget.

Another factor to consider is the features of the bug tracking system. Consider which features are essential for your team’s workflow and make sure that the bug tracking system you choose offers those features. For example, some systems like Zoho Bug Tracker offer basic features such as issue tracking. Other tools offer more advanced features such as automated bug detection and integration with project management tools. 

You should also consider the bug tracking system’s compatibility with your existing tools and systems. If you’re already using project management software, make sure that the bug tracking system you choose integrates with that software to streamline your workflow.

Let’s say you’re working on a large mobile development project with a complex workflow. You may need a bug tracking system with advanced features such as automated bug detection and custom reporting. You’ll also want to make sure that the system integrates with your existing project management software to ensure a seamless workflow.

This is an important step, so don’t rush through it. The right bug tracking system can ultimately help improve team collaboration, increase productivity, and streamline your bug reporting process.

Step 3 – Customize the System to Fit Your Needs

The purpose of this step is to ensure the system fits seamlessly into your team’s workflow. This may involve configuring the system’s settings, adding custom fields, or creating new workflows. 

By customizing the system, you can streamline your bug reporting process and ensure that bugs are reported consistently.

Start by identifying the specific workflows and requirements of your team. Consult with your team members to get a sense of their needs and preferences. Once you have a good understanding of your team’s requirements, you can begin configuring the system’s settings and workflows to match your team’s workflows.

One way to customize the system is by adding custom fields. This can help you track specific information related to your projects, such as the severity level of a bug or the environment in which the bug occurred. By adding custom fields, you can ensure that bugs are reported consistently and that they’re properly prioritized based on their severity.

Another way to customize the system is by creating custom workflows. This can help you match your team’s bug reporting process and ensure that bugs are being reported and tracked accurately. For example, you may want to create a workflow that involves a developer reviewing a bug report before it’s marked as “closed.”

Step 4 – Train Your Team to Use the System

Properly training your team to use the bug tracking system is crucial to ensuring that everyone is using the system correctly. This may involve creating training materials, providing hands-on training, and answering any questions your team may have. This gets everyone on the same page and ensures they’re using the system effectively.

Create training materials explaining how to use the bug tracking system, how to report bugs, and how to view and manage reported bugs. If necessary, you can also provide hands-on training to your team, walking them through the process of reporting and tracking bugs. 

It’s also important to encourage your team members to ask questions and provide feedback. This can help you identify areas where your team may be struggling with the system and make adjustments to improve the user experience.

Step 5 – Test the System

To test the system, start by creating test scenarios and simulating bug reports. 

Then you can verify that the bugs are being reported correctly and that the system is tracking them accurately. Additionally, you may want to test the system’s performance and scalability to ensure that it can handle a large number of bug reports.

For example, you can use Xcode to test your iPhone apps and deploy a debugger. 

Then you can add any bugs in the reports to your system, set up your automations, and try to move the issue through your flow. 

It’s important to involve your team members in the testing process to ensure that the system is meeting their needs. Encourage them to report any issues or bugs they encounter during the testing process. This can help you identify any issues with the system and make adjustments to improve its functionality.

Best Practices for Mobile Development Bug Tracking

Effective bug tracking is crucial to ensuring the success of a mobile development project. But simply setting up a bug tracking system isn’t enough to guarantee success. 

To track and manage bugs successfully, it’s important to follow best practices that can help ensure that bugs are being reported and fixed in a timely and efficient manner.

• Consistent Bug Reporting — Consistency is key when it comes to bug reporting. It helps ensure that all bugs are reported in a consistent manner, with clear and detailed descriptions of the issue. This makes it easier to prioritize bugs and assign them to the right team member.

• Prioritizing Bugs — Not all bugs are created equal. It’s important to prioritize bugs based on their severity and impact on the project. Critical bugs that impact the functionality of the app should be given top priority, while minor bugs that don’t affect the overall functionality of the app can be addressed later.

• Assigning Bugs to the Right Team Member — It makes sense to assign bugs to team members based on their skills and expertise. For example, if a bug involves a specific feature of the app that requires knowledge of a particular programming language, it should be assigned to a team member with experience in that language.

• Setting Deadlines for Bug Fixes — Setting deadlines for bug fixes can help ensure that bugs are fixed in a timely manner. It’s important to set realistic deadlines that take into account the complexity of the bug and the workload of the team member assigned to fix it. Deadlines can also help ensure that bugs are properly prioritized and don’t fall through the cracks.

• Regularly Reviewing and Updating Bug Status — Someone must be held responsible for viewing the status of bugs to ensure that they’re being addressed in a timely manner. Updating the status of bugs can also help ensure that everyone on the team is aware of the progress being made and any updates to the status of the bug.

By following these best practices, you can ensure that your bug tracking process is effective and efficient. 

However, it’s important to keep in mind that bug tracking is an ongoing process that requires constant attention and monitoring. Regularly reviewing and updating your bug tracking process can help ensure that you’re addressing bugs appropriately—and, ultimately, delivering a high-quality mobile app.

Integrating Bug Tracking into Your Mobile Development Process

Bug tracking is an essential aspect of mobile app development that helps developers catch and address issues throughout the development process. Integrating bug tracking into your development process can help streamline workflows and improve the quality of the final product. 

First, it’s important to determine how bug tracking fits into your mobile development lifecycle. Consider when and where bugs are likely to arise and how they will be addressed throughout the development process. By doing so, you can ensure that your team is prepared to address any issues that arise during development.

Next, integrating bug tracking into your project management tools can help streamline workflows and ensure that everyone on the team is aware of the status of bugs. This can help improve collaboration and communication among team members—ultimately resulting in a better final product. Consider using project management tools that include bug tracking features or integrating your bug tracking system with your existing project management tools.

Automating bug tracking can also be beneficial for mobile development teams. Automated bug tracking tools can help detect and report bugs quickly, reducing the amount of manual work required from the development team. This can help free up time for developers to focus on other important tasks while still ensuring that bugs are being addressed in a timely manner.

Consider setting up regular bug tracking meetings to review the status of bugs and ensure that everyone on the team is aware of the progress being made. Then you can make tweaks to your process based on the team’s feedback and workflow preferences. 

Final Thoughts

A well-implemented bug tracking system can be a game-changer for mobile app development. By following the best practices outlined in this article, you can ensure that your bug tracking system is effective and efficient—ultimately resulting in a higher-quality final product.

Integrating bug tracking into your mobile development process can also help streamline workflows, improve collaboration among team members, and ultimately lead to a better final product. 

By taking the time to implement a well-designed bug tracking system, you can ensure that your team is equipped to handle any issues that arise during mobile app development.

In today’s digital era, mobile app performance testing is more crucial than ever for businesses to stay ahead of the competition. Ensuring a seamless user experience is at the core of mobile app performance testing—and it’s one of the primary factors used to determine the success of an app. 

As consumers grow increasingly reliant on their mobile devices for various needs, app developers must prioritize app performance to create a lasting impression on users.

This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to measure mobile app performance using specific KPIs for apps. Understanding these KPIs can help developers, businesses, and stakeholders make informed decisions and optimize user experiences. This guide will also help you drive the growth and success of your apps. 

By the end of this guide, you’ll have a solid grasp of the various metrics that contribute to app performance. You’ll be able to leverage this knowledge to build and maintain a successful mobile app.

Identifying Your Goals For Mobile App Performance Testing

Before diving into the different KPIs used to measure mobile app performance, it’s essential to first identify your app’s goals. Defining success for your app is a critical step in determining which metrics matter the most to your business.

Here’s the best way to define success for your app performance testing:

• Establish clear objectives for your mobile app
• Understand your target audience and their needs
• Determine the desired outcomes and milestones for your app
• Align app goals with business objectives
• Recognize that different app types (e.g., gaming, ecommerce, internal communication, productivity) may require different KPIs
• Tailor your KPIs to your app’s specific goals and objectives
• Avoid focusing on irrelevant or less important metrics for your app

By taking the time to identify your app’s goals and align them with your business objectives, you’ll have a better understanding of which KPIs are most relevant and critical to your app’s success. This will allow you to focus on the right metrics, optimize your app’s performance, and ultimately deliver a valuable experience to your users.

Make sure you keep these tips in mind as we continue through this guide, as they’ll help define your entire mobile app performance testing process. 

Overview Mobile App Performance Testing KPIs

After establishing your app’s goals and objectives, it’s time to delve into the KPIs (key performance indicators) that play a critical role in mobile app performance testing. We’ll quickly cover what KPIs are, their importance, and the various categories of KPIs used to evaluate mobile app performance.

What are mobile app KPIs?

KPIs are quantitative and qualitative measures of app performance. These metrics can ultimately help you track progress toward your app goals.

Tracking KPIs is crucial for app mobile app performance testing because it helps developers facilitate data-driven decision-making. These metrics will help you monitor your app performance over time and assist in allocating your resources appropriately. Mobile app performance testing is also the best way to identify areas of improvement for your app.

Common categories of KPIs for mobile app performance testing include:

• User acquisition metrics
• User engagement metrics
• Conversion metrics
• App performance metrics
• User satisfaction metrics

Understanding these different categories of KPIs will enable you to adopt a holistic approach to mobile app performance testing. In the following sections, we’ll explore each category in greater detail—providing insights into the specific metrics that can help you optimize your app’s performance and achieve your goals.

User Acquisition Metrics

User acquisition is the foundation of your app’s growth and success. It’s essential to measure how effectively you attract and convert users into active app users. 

• App downloads: The total number of times your app has been downloaded from app stores. This is a fundamental metric to track your app’s visibility and reach.

• Cost per acquisition (CPA): The average cost spent on acquiring a new user, calculated by dividing the total marketing spend by the number of new users acquired. This metric helps you assess the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and allocate your budget more efficiently.

• Organic vs. inorganic downloads: Organic downloads are those resulting from users finding your app through app store searches, word-of-mouth, or other unpaid channels. Inorganic downloads come from paid marketing campaigns. Comparing these two types of downloads can help you gauge the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and the overall discoverability of your app.

• App store rankings: Your app’s position in app store search results and category rankings. A higher ranking can lead to increased visibility and more downloads, making it essential to optimize your app store listing with relevant keywords, screenshots, and descriptions.

• User sources: The channels and platforms through which users find and download your app. Examples include social media, search engines, and referral programs. 

By closely monitoring and analyzing user acquisition metrics, you can identify trends and patterns that highlight the strengths and weaknesses of your marketing and user acquisition strategies. This valuable insight enables you to make data-driven decisions, refine your approach, and ultimately expand your user base more effectively.

User Engagement Metrics

User engagement metrics help you understand how users interact with your app and identify areas that may need improvement to enhance the overall user experience. Here are the top ones you need to track to help measure your app’s performance:

• Daily active users (DAU): The number of unique users who engage with your app on a daily basis. This is a strong indicator of your app’s stickiness and daily user engagement.

• Monthly active users (MAU): The number of unique users who engage with your app within a given month. MAU helps you understand the broader engagement trends and user growth over time.

• Session length: The amount of time a user spends in your app during a single session. Session length helps you identify how engaging and compelling your app’s content is for users.

• Session frequency: The average number of times a user opens your app within a specific time period, typically daily or monthly. A higher session frequency suggests stronger user engagement.

• Time spent in the app: The total time users spend interacting with your app, often measured as an average per user. This metric can be a good indicator of the overall value and relevance your app provides to users.

• Screen flow and user paths: The sequence of screens and actions users take within your app. Analyzing screen flow and user paths can help you identify bottlenecks, optimize navigation, and enhance the user experience.

• Retention rate: The percentage of users who continue to use your app over a specific period, typically measured after a week, a month, or longer. A high retention rate indicates that your app is successfully keeping users engaged over time.

• Churn rate: The percentage of users who stop using your app within a given time frame. A high churn rate suggests that users are not finding enough value in your app, and you may need to address issues related to usability, content, or functionality.

In addition to the metrics mentioned above, it’s important to consider the specific context and goals of your app when evaluating user engagement. Different types of apps may require unique engagement strategies and KPIs—and what works for one app may not necessarily be applicable to another. 

By continuously monitoring these metrics and iterating on your app’s features and content based on user behavior, you can create a more personalized and enjoyable experience for your users.

Conversion Metrics

Conversion metrics help you measure the effectiveness of your app in driving these outcomes and identify areas that need optimization. It’s important to ensure that users complete desired actions within your app, such as making purchases, signing up for services, or reaching specific milestones. 

• Conversion rate: The percentage of users who complete a specific action or goal within your app. Making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter would both be examples. This helps you gauge the effectiveness of your app’s design, user experience, and overall value proposition.

• In-app purchases: The number and value of transactions made by users within your app. Tracking in-app purchases can help you identify popular items, pricing strategies, and user preferences, which can be used to optimize your revenue generation.

• Average revenue per user (ARPU): The total revenue generated by your app divided by the number of active users within a given period. ARPU helps you understand the revenue contribution of each user and can be used to inform pricing strategies and app improvements. 

• Customer lifetime value (CLV): The estimated net revenue generated by a user throughout their entire relationship with your app. CLV takes into account factors such as average revenue per user, retention rate, and churn rate, allowing you to prioritize resources and marketing efforts to attract and retain high-value users.

• Goal completion rate: The percentage of users who achieve a predefined goal or milestone within your app, such as reaching a specific level in a game or completing a tutorial. This metric can help you assess the effectiveness of your app’s onboarding process, content, and overall user experience.

• Funnel analysis: A method for analyzing user behavior by breaking down the steps or stages users go through to complete a specific action, like making a purchase or signing up for a service. Funnel analysis can help you identify points of friction or drop-off and optimize your app to increase conversions.

By carefully monitoring and analyzing conversion metrics, you can gain valuable insights into your app’s ability to drive desired outcomes and generate revenue. 

App Performance Metrics

Technical performance is a critical aspect of your app’s overall success—as it directly impacts user experience and satisfaction. App performance metrics help you evaluate the speed, stability, and reliability of your app, ensuring that your users have a seamless and enjoyable experience. 

• App launch time: The amount of time it takes for your app to load and become fully functional after a user opens it. A fast app launch time is crucial for user satisfaction and retention, as users are likely to abandon apps that take too long to load.

• Latency: The delay between user input and the corresponding response from your app. Low latency is essential for providing a smooth and responsive user experience, particularly for apps that rely heavily on real-time interactions, such as games or messaging platforms.

• Crashes and errors: The number of times your app crashes or encounters errors during use. Tracking crashes and errors can help you identify and fix issues that impact user experience, stability, and overall app performance.

• API response time: The time it takes for your app to communicate with external services, such as servers or third-party APIs. Monitoring API response times can help you ensure that your app is effectively interacting with these services and can provide insights into potential performance bottlenecks or areas for optimization.

• Device and OS compatibility: The range of devices and operating systems on which your app functions correctly and optimally. Ensuring broad device and OS compatibility is essential for reaching a larger audience and providing a consistent user experience across different platforms.

These KPIs are crucial in terms of proactively identifying and addressing technical issues that may affect your app’s user experience. Addressing these issues in a timely manner can help you maintain a high-quality app that users will continue to enjoy and recommend, ultimately contributing to the growth and success of your app.

User Satisfaction Metrics

These metrics help determine the overall satisfaction and loyalty of your users based on ratings, feedback, and other indicators. Continue below to discover the key user satisfaction metrics that can provide valuable insights into your app’s overall performance from the users’ perspective.

• App store ratings and reviews: The average rating and feedback provided by users on app stores. Monitoring ratings and reviews can help you identify areas for improvement, address user concerns, and showcase your app’s strengths to potential users.

• Net promoter score (NPS): NPS measures user satisfaction and loyalty—calculated by asking users how likely they are to recommend your app to others on a scale of 0 to 10. Users are then classified as promoters (9-10), passives (7-8), or detractors (0-6). NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. A high NPS indicates strong user satisfaction and loyalty.

• In-app feedback and surveys: Direct feedback collected from users within your app, either through surveys, feedback forms, or other methods. In-app feedback can help you gather insights into user satisfaction, preferences, and potential areas for improvement.

• Customer support interactions: The number and quality of interactions between users and your customer support team, such as response times, resolution rates, and user satisfaction with the support received. Monitoring customer support interactions can help you ensure that users receive timely and effective assistance, ultimately contributing to overall user satisfaction.

User satisfaction is a key determinant of your app’s long-term success and growth. Ensuring that your users are happy with your app can lead to higher retention rates, increased word-of-mouth referrals, and better app store rankings. 

How to Analyze and Interpret KPI Data in Mobile App Performance Testing

Once you’ve identified your KPIs, it’s crucial to know how to effectively analyze and interpret the data to make informed decisions and improvements. These five steps will help you successfully evaluate your app’s KPI data and drive its growth and success:

1. Choose the right analytics tools
2. Establish a benchmark for KPIs
3. Periodic monitoring and reporting
4. Identify trends and patterns
5. Make data-driven decisions

Continue below for a deeper explanation of this five-step process.

Step 1 – Choose the right analytics tools

Selecting the right analytics tools is the first step in effectively analyzing your app’s performance data. BuildFire offers built-in analytics tools that make it easy for you to track and analyze your app’s KPIs without the need for additional third-party services. 

These tools provide comprehensive insights into your app’s performance, helping you identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions.

Step 2 – Establish a benchmark for KPIs

Before you can effectively analyze and interpret your app’s KPI data, it’s essential to establish benchmarks or target values for each metric. These benchmarks can be based on industry standards, competitor performance, or your app’s historical data. 

Establishing benchmarks enables you to set realistic goals and measure your app’s performance against these targets, allowing for a more focused and goal-driven approach to optimization.

Step 3 – Periodic monitoring and reporting

Consistent monitoring and reporting of your app’s KPI data are vital for tracking progress and identifying trends over time. Establish a regular schedule for monitoring your app’s performance. (like weekly or monthly). Then generate reports that highlight key insights and changes in KPIs. 

Regular reporting ensures that you stay informed about your app’s performance and can quickly identify and address issues as they arise.

Step 4 – Identify trends and patterns

As you monitor and report on your app’s KPI data, pay close attention to trends and patterns that emerge over time. Identifying trends can provide valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your app, helping you pinpoint areas that require optimization. 

Look for patterns in user behavior, app performance, and user satisfaction to identify opportunities for improvement and capitalize on your app’s strengths.

Step 5 – Make data-driven decisions

Armed with the insights gained from analyzing your app’s KPI data, it’s time to make data-driven decisions to optimize your app’s performance. 

Use the trends and patterns identified in your analysis to inform changes to your app’s design, user experience, marketing strategy, or technical performance. Continuously iterate and refine your app based on data-driven insights to ensure that it remains relevant, engaging, and successful in the competitive mobile app market.

Final Thoughts

Understanding and effectively measuring mobile app performance is crucial for any app’s success. A data-driven approach enables you to make informed decisions based on real insights—helping you optimize various aspects of your app, including user acquisition, engagement, conversions, and satisfaction. 

By continuously monitoring and analyzing key performance indicators, you can identify areas for improvement and ensure your app remains competitive in the fast-paced mobile app market.

As your app evolves and grows, it’s essential to adapt your KPIs to align with changing objectives and user needs. This process of continuous improvement requires regularly reevaluating your app’s performance, setting new benchmarks, and iterating on your app’s features and functionalities. 

Staying vigilant and responsive to your app’s performance data allows you to create an engaging and successful mobile app that meets the needs of your users and thrives in your industry.

Web apps have become essential to our daily lives—powering everything from social media platforms and online marketplaces to productivity tools and online learning solutions. Whether you are an entrepreneur looking to launch a new startup or a developer seeking to build the next big thing, creating a web app is an exciting and rewarding experience.

But where do you start? How do you transform your app idea into a fully functional web app that users will love? 

This comprehensive guide will take you through the step-by-step process of creating a web app from scratch. From planning and designing to developing and testing, we’ll cover everything you need to know to create a successful web app that stands out in today’s crowded digital landscape.

We’ll also compare web apps to mobile apps and explain the pros and cons of each, so you can choose the best option for your project. 

What is a Web App?

A web app is an application that runs in a web browser and uses web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to provide a user interface and interact with server-side components. Unlike native mobile apps, which require installation and run directly on a mobile device, web apps can be accessed from any device with a web browser—making them accessible and convenient for users.

There are several types of web apps, including static web apps, dynamic web apps, single-page apps (SPAs), and progressive web apps (PWAs). 

Static web apps are simple and static, consisting of static web pages that display the same content for all users. Conversely, dynamic web apps are more complex and interactive. They consist of server-side components that generate dynamic content based on user input and data.

SPAs load a single HTML page and dynamically update the content based on user interaction—without requiring a full page refresh. PWAs are advanced web apps that use modern web APIs to provide a native-like experience, including offline support, push notifications, and home screen installation.

Web apps offer several advantages over native apps, including cross-platform compatibility, easy maintenance and updates, and lower development costs. Some popular examples of web apps that you might be using in your day-to-day life include Google Docs, Trello, and Asana.

How to Create a Web App in 10 Steps

Now that we have a clear understanding of what web apps are and their different types, let’s dive into the step-by-step guide for creating a web app from scratch. 

1. Identify the problem and target audience
2. Define the features and requirements
3. Sketch out the user interface and user experience
4. Choose the right programming language and framework
5. Set up the development environment and tools
6. Develop the front-end interface and design
7. Develop the back-end logic and server-side components
8. Test the web app for functionality, performance, and security
9. Deploy the web app to a hosting service and configure the server and database
10. Launch the web app and monitor user feedback and engagement

We’ll walk you through each stage of the process, from identifying the problem to launching and monitoring the web app. Get ready to bring your ideas to life and create a successful web app that users will love.

Step 1 – Identify the problem and target audience

The first step in creating a successful web app is to identify the problem that your app will solve and the target audience who will benefit from it. Start by asking yourself these questions:

• What problem does my app solve?
• Who is my target audience?
• What are their pain points and needs?
• How will my app provide a solution?

Answering these questions will help you define the scope and requirements of your web app, as well as the features and functionalities that you need to include. 

For example, if you’re creating a web app for a food delivery service, your target audience would likely be people who don’t have time to cook or prefer the convenience of home delivery. Your app should solve the problem of food delivery by providing a seamless and easy-to-use platform for ordering and tracking deliveries.

Make sure to conduct thorough research and gather feedback from potential users to validate your idea and ensure that there is a demand for your app.

Step 2 – Define the features and requirements

Defining the features and requirements is a critical step in creating a successful web app, as it ensures that your app meets the needs of your target audience and provides a compelling user experience. This includes both the core features that are essential for solving the problem and the additional features that enhance the user experience and differentiate your app from competitors.

Start by creating a list of features that you want your web app to have, and prioritize them based on their importance and impact on the user experience. Consider including features such as user authentication, account management, search and filtering, notifications, and payment processing.

In addition to the features, you also need to define the requirements for your web app. I’m referring to its performance, security, scalability, and compatibility with different devices and browsers. Make sure to document these requirements and use them as a guideline throughout the development process.

Step 3 – Sketch out the user interface and user experience

Now it’s time to sketch out the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design. This involves creating wireframes and mockups of the app’s layout, navigation, and visual elements. You’ll also need to test these visual elements with potential users to gather feedback and improve the design.

The first thing you need to do is identify the key screens and workflows of your app. Then sketch out their layout and navigation. 

Consider the user flow and how users will interact with the app to achieve their goals. Use tools like Sketch, Figma, or Adobe XD to create high-fidelity mockups of the screens and add visual elements such as icons, images, and typography to enhance the design.

Once you’ve created the wireframes and mockups, test them with potential users and gather feedback on the design, usability, and functionality. Use this feedback to iterate and improve the design to ensure that it aligns with the needs and expectations of your target audience.

Sketching out the user interface and user experience helps set the foundation for the app’s design and usability. So don’t rush through this step.

Step 4 – Choose the right programming language and framework

This decision depends on several factors. You must consider the app’s complexity, scalability requirements, and availability of developers with the required skills.

Some popular programming languages for web development include JavaScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, and Java. JavaScript is a versatile language that runs on both the client and server side, and is used for building modern web applications such as SPAs and PWAs. Python is usually a good choice for web development due to its simplicity, readability, and its vast library of frameworks and tools. 

PHP’s server-side language powers popular platforms such as WordPress and Facebook. Ruby is known for its elegant syntax and the popular web development framework Ruby on Rails. Java is another robust language that’s commonly used for building large-scale web applications.

In addition to the programming language, you also need to choose a web development framework that provides a set of tools and libraries for building web applications. Some popular frameworks include React, Angular, Vue, Django, Laravel, and Ruby on Rails.

Step 5 – Set up the development environment and tools

To build a successful web app, you need to set up the development environment and tools correctly. This means installing the necessary software and tools to build, test, and deploy your web app.

Start by selecting a code editor that suits your needs. Examples include Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, or Atom. These editors offer features like syntax highlighting, code completion, and debugging, which help to speed up the development process.

Next, you’ll need to choose a version control system like Git, which will enable you to track changes to your code and collaborate with other developers effectively. You’ll also need to install the necessary dependencies for your chosen programming language and framework using a package manager such as npm, pip, or bundler.

By setting up the development environment and tools properly, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and effort in the long run. With these tools in place, you can start building your front-end interface and design, which we’ll cover in the next step.

Step 6 – Develop the front-end interface and design

This step involves creating the visual elements, layout, and interactivity of your app’s user interface (UI) using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Start by using the wireframes and mockups that you created in Step 3 as a reference for the app’s design. Use HTML to create the structure of the web pages, CSS to style the elements and layout, and JavaScript to add interactivity and dynamic behavior.

Consider using a front-end framework such as React, Angular, or Vue, which provides a set of pre-built UI components and tools that speed up the development process. These frameworks also offer features like state management, routing, and testing, which help to improve the app’s performance and user experience.

Make sure to test the front-end interface and design thoroughly. Then gather feedback from potential users to identify areas for improvement. 

Step 7 – Develop the back-end logic and server-side components

Now that you’ve created the front-end interface and design, it’s time to focus on the back-end logic and server-side components. 

This part of the development process involves creating the code and infrastructure that handles the app’s business logic, data storage, and communication with the front end.

To begin, you’ll first need to choose a server-side language and framework that suits your app’s requirements and features. Popular options include Node.js with Express, Ruby on Rails, Django, and Flask. Using the chosen language and framework, you can create the back-end code and implement the app’s business logic, database connections, and API endpoints.

Additionally, you may want to consider using a database management system (DBMS) to store and manage the app’s data. Some common DBMS options include MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and Firebase. The choice of DBMS will depend on factors such as scalability, performance, and data consistency.

Step 8 – Test the web app for functionality, performance, and security

Before you deploy and host your web app, you need to test it to make sure it’s working correctly and securely. This involves checking the functionality of the app’s features, testing its performance, and ensuring that it’s protected against security threats.

Start by testing the app’s functionality by checking that all its features work as intended. Test all of your buttons, links, and other interactive elements to make sure they perform the expected action. Make sure to test the app on different devices and browsers to ensure that it works consistently across different platforms.

Next, test the app’s performance by measuring its speed and responsiveness. Use tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to identify areas for improvement. You may need to optimize images, reduce file sizes, or minify code. This helps to ensure that the app loads quickly and provides a smooth user experience.

Finally, test the app’s security by identifying potential vulnerabilities and threats. Tools like OWASP ZAP or Nmap to scan the app for vulnerabilities such as cross-site scripting, SQL injection, or insecure authentication. Make sure to fix any issues that are identified to ensure that your app is secure and protected against potential attacks.

By testing your web app for functionality, performance, and security, you can identify and address any issues before deploying and hosting it.

Step 9 – Deploy the web app to a hosting service and configure the server and database

Now that your web app is built, you need to put it on the internet so that people can use it. This is the deployment and hosting phase of the process.

To deploy and host your web app, you need to choose a company that provides servers – computers that store your web app and make it available on the internet. Some popular options are AWS, Google Cloud, and Heroku.

Once you’ve chosen a server provider, you’ll need to upload your web app’s files to their servers. This can be done using tools like Docker and Ansible that help simplify the process.

After uploading your web app, you’ll need to make it available on the internet by registering a domain name (like www.yourapp.com) and configuring your server settings so that your app is accessible to anyone who visits your domain. This can be done through a process called DNS configuration.

Once your web app is deployed and hosted, you can make improvements to the app’s performance by monitoring how it performs and making necessary adjustments.

Step 10 – Monitor user feedback and engagement for improvements

Now that your web app is live, it’s important to gather feedback from users and monitor their engagement with the app. This helps you identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions that enhance the app’s user experience.

Start by setting up analytics tools such as Google Analytics. These provide data on user behavior and demographics, including the number of visitors, page views, and session duration. Use this data to identify areas where users are dropping off or spending less time. Then make changes to improve those areas.

Additionally, encourage users to provide feedback through surveys, user testing, or social media. This feedback can help you identify issues that you may not have been aware of, as well as new features that users would like to see.

Make sure to prioritize user feedback and engagement in your development process, and continuously make improvements to the app based on the data and feedback you receive. This ensures that your app stays relevant and valuable to your users.

Web Apps vs. Mobile Apps: What’s the Difference?

While web apps and mobile apps share similarities in terms of functionality, there are some key differences between the two that are worth noting. Understanding these differences can help you determine which type of app is best suited for your business needs.

Web apps are designed to run on web browsers—like Google Chrome or Safari, and they’re accessible on any device with an internet connection. Web applications are typically developed using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. 

Arguably the most significant standout of web applications compared to mobile apps is that web apps do not require installation on the user’s device. This makes web apps easy to access and maintain. It also eliminates the need for users to update the app manually.

On the other hand, mobile apps are designed to run natively on a mobile device—such as an iOS or Android smartphone. They are installed directly on the user’s device from an app store. 

Mobile apps are developed using specific programming languages and frameworks, and they have the ability to access the device’s hardware and features. This includes things like the device’s camera, microphone, and GPS.

While both web apps and mobile apps have their advantages and disadvantages, the choice of which to use largely depends on the app’s purpose, functionality, and target audience. 

For example, if your app requires access to the device’s hardware or needs to work offline, a mobile app may be the best choice. However, if your app is primarily content-based or requires frequent updates, a web app may be a better fit.

At BuildFire, we offer mobile app development solutions that help businesses build mobile apps that engage their audience and drive results. Our platform allows businesses to create and deploy mobile apps quickly and easily—without the need for extensive development experience. With BuildFire, businesses can leverage the power of mobile apps to enhance their brand and reach their goals.

Final Thoughts

Building a web app requires careful planning, design, development, and deployment. By following the steps outlined in this guide and continuously monitoring and improving your app, you can create a successful and engaging web app that provides value to your users.

While web apps and mobile apps have their differences, both are valuable tools for businesses to engage with their audiences. At BuildFire, we offer mobile app development solutions that allow businesses to create mobile apps that reach and exceed their business goals.

Whether you’re building a web app or a mobile app, one constant key to success is focusing on your users. Your app must provide a valuable and engaging experience that keeps them coming back. By prioritizing user feedback and engagement and continuously making improvements to your app, you can create a successful and thriving app that helps you achieve your business objectives.

No-code development is one of the hottest buzzwords in tech right now. No-code platforms are rising in popularity, and the use cases for no-code development are continuously mounting. 

With that said, there’s still a lot of confusion about no-code development—especially for beginners who are new to the concept. 

Some of you might be evaluating a particular no-code platform. Others might be comparing no-code development to other software development options. Whatever the case might be, you’ve come to the right place. 

This in-depth guide will explain everything you need to know about no-code development, answering all of your questions once and for all. You’ll find out what it is, how it works, the advantages of no-code platforms, and use cases for no-code application development. 

What is No Code Development?

As the name implies, no-code development is a software development method that doesn’t require any coding. No-code development is made possible with the help of no-code solutions for rapid application development.

By eliminating code from development, it drastically changes the entire development process. You don’t need to hire developers or outsource your project to an agency. Anyone can use a no-code platform to create an app without any technical skills, programming languages, or technical knowledge. 

No code development is commonly used for mobile app development, web app development, website builders, business process management, backend automation, and more. 

How Does No Code Development Work?

While every no-code platform has slight variations, the basic concept remains constant across this space. 

The entire development process is made possible through visual building blocks and graphical user interfaces. Rather than writing code for functionality, you’re simply telling the platform what you want to accomplish through a drag-and-drop interface or WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor.

All of the elements have already been pre-coded by the platform, and the technical components are handled behind the scenes. Then it’s just a matter of saying, “I want an image here” or “let’s change the color on this screen.”

For mobile app development, you can easily add functionality to your app by installing or enabling plugins or extensions. For example, let’s say you want to add videos to your app. You can simply install a YouTube or Vimeo plugin. Or maybe you want the app to give users directions to your business. This can be accomplished by adding a maps plugin. 

No-code platforms focus on getting critical inputs from the user through visual builders. 

As you make changes through your no-code platform, you’ll be able to see those changes in real time through an emulator. So you know exactly what you’re building and how your software will look from an end-user perspective. 

Benefits of No Code Development Platforms

No-code platforms have significant advantages compared to traditional development. We’ll take a closer look at the top benefits below.

No Code Tools Simplify App Development

No code dev eliminates the complexities associated with creating mobile and web applications. 

Traditional app development requires coding skills to build apps. But there are so many redundant tasks that developers need to follow for every app. 

When you think about it, the vast majority of mobile apps share so many of the same core functionality on the backend. There are just slight variations and functionality differences that make the app unique. For example, refer to all of the ecommerce apps you’ve used in your life. They’re virtually identical, except for different products and branding. 

No-code tools have all of those similar components pre-built on the backend. You just have to enable which functions and advanced features you want in your app. Then you can customize everything else based on how you want the app to look or feel. 

Anyone Can Use a No Code Development Platform

Since you don’t need to write code, anyone can use no-code software to create an app.

This empowers citizen development in the business world, and it offers DIY entrepreneurs a simpler path to launch. No code software bridges the gap between non-technical users and software development. 

You don’t need any coding skills, technical knowledge, or specialized training to get started. Everything is very straightforward, and you can figure it out within an hour or two of basic trial and error. The only learning curve is getting used to the interface of the platform you’re using. 

Hiring developers and designers to build your app is no longer necessary. You can start with a pre-built template and just move things around to your liking. All of the heavy lifting is done for you. 

Additional Reading: How to Make an App — The Ultimate Guide

No Code Development Platforms Are Affordable

No-code app development is a cheap alternative to traditional development. 

If you’re going to hire developers or an agency to create your software, you can expect to pay upwards of $10,000 to $20,000 per month in labor costs alone. These high price points historically made app development only accessible to larger businesses with big budgets. 

But no code development platforms are affordable for any budget. For just a few hundred dollars per month, you can build a high-quality app for your business—and nobody will know the difference. 

The final product is still a fully functional app. Only you’re getting it for a fraction of the cost. Here’s an example of some app builder pricing so you can see what I mean:

You’re just paying for a software subscription—and that’s it!

It’s also much easier to budget for your app development project if you’re paying in quarterly or annual installments. So you won’t have to come up with $20,000 or $50,000 upfront like you might if you’re going the traditional dev route. 

Check out our guide on the hidden costs of software development. You’ll be able to avoid these fees if you use a no-code app builder instead of hiring developers. 

No Code Platforms Speed Up the App Development Process

With a no-code development platform, you can launch your app in days or weeks instead of months or years. 

That’s because all of the core components are built for you. You’re just deciding what you want to include and customizing the app with your own content and branding. 

For example, let’s say you’re a gym owner that wants to create a mobile app for personal training subscriptions. Your development timeline is solely based on your content creation. It’s not like you’re creating backend functionality components for home screens, user registration, and design. All of this is already done for you.

You’re simply uploading the videos and training programs to the app, and deciding who can see them based on their subscription level. 

Getting paid through your app is as easy as enabling a payment feature. You don’t have to manually write code for a custom gateway or anything like that. 

If you want to launch an app fast, no-code development is your best bet. 

Who is No Code Development For?

There are so many different use cases for no-code application development. No code tools are used for mobile apps, web apps, websites, business process automation, internal communication apps, integration apps, and more. 

To see if this software development method is right for you, we’ll take a closer look at the types of people who can benefit the most from no-code platforms. 

Small Businesses

Small business users can use no-code platforms to modernize their businesses. We’re living in a world where everything is trending mobile, and consumers expect all businesses—even small businesses—to have a mobile app. 

But most smaller companies don’t have an extra $50,000 or $100,000+ laying around for app development. 

No-code platforms offer a simple and cost-effective alternative to anyone who falls into this category. For just a few hundred dollars per month, small businesses can have apps that compete with Fortune 500s—for a fraction of the cost. 

Citizen Developers

Citizen development is at an all-time high, with no signs of slowing down. These are internal apps used for business processes and similar functions.

Historically, internal business apps required an IT department with specialized skill sets. But now, any mid-size business can empower its employees to create an app without having to code from the ground up. 

This is a cost-effective solution for businesses, and it’s an easier development method for citizen developers. 

Enterprise Grade Applications

No-code and low-code development platforms can also be used by larger organizations that want to create enterprise-grade applications. 

You may not be signing up for the same subscription as a small business user. But you can still get advanced features from a no-code tool without having to code everything from scratch.

For example, enterprise users may want domain-restricted login access, custom terms and conditions, and SSO (single sign-on) capabilities. They might also want advanced analytics related to app performance and users. Some may even require industry-specific compliance features or advanced integrations.

All of this can be accomplished through a no-code app builder. 

Entrepreneurs

Anyone with an app idea can use a no-code platform to bring their idea to life. 

You can do this without having to hire developers or raise capital from investors. All you need is a no-code platform that fits your needs, and you can create the entire app on your own without any help.

This is also a great opportunity for people who already have a brand identity or online presence. For example, if you’re an influencer, YouTuber, or have a podcast, you can easily expand your presence by creating your own channel for content distribution. 

Your mobile app can be a way to share exclusive content with your audience by charging a subscription fee for access. 

Professional Developers

Even professional developers who have the coding skills and programming knowledge to create apps from scratch can use no-code platforms to simplify the development process. 

Rather than coding all of the redundant lines for each project, you can get a huge head start by leveraging the power of an app builder. 

If you find a no-code platform that’s also developer friendly—like BuildFire—then you can also create custom functionality that can’t be found through the plugin marketplace. 

80% of the app will already be built for you. Then you just need to code that extra 20% to make it unique for your clients. 

You can also rely on BuildFire’s backend infrastructure and servers to maintain the app. So you won’t have to go out and configure all of this on your own. Custom features can be added on top of our existing platform and ecosystem. 

Agencies and Resellers

No code development is the best way to make money selling apps—even if you have zero coding skills. 

There are two main ways to go about this process.

First, you can offer app development services to your clients. This is great for existing agencies that want to expand their service offerings or anyone that wants to start a new app development business from scratch. 

Then you can create the apps for your clients using no-code software and maintain them post-launch. 

Alternatively, you can simply white-label an existing no-code tool and pass it off as your own. All of your branding will be on the platform, and your customers will never know the difference. You’re basically giving them the power of an existing app builder and charging a subscription to use the service. 

You can learn more about BuildFire’s reseller program here. 

What’s the Difference Between No Code and Low Code Platforms?

Low-code development platforms are intended for professional developers. They require coding experience and technical knowledge to create apps, but they drastically speed up the development process. 

Many low-code platforms come with a pre-built architecture and backend development infrastructure. So repetitive features that you’ll find across most apps are already built for you. All you need to do is enable or disable those functions before building the custom features.

No-code platforms are made for non-technical users and don’t require any technical expertise or specialized training. They bridge the gap between software development and the average user. 

Most no-code platforms operate on closed systems, meaning you’re relying strictly on pre-built plugs or extensions. Low-code platforms are open source, meaning you can reuse code from other systems or projects. 

Getting Started With No Code Development For Mobile Apps

The first thing you need to do is find the right no-code solution for your specific development needs. Check out our list of the best app building software as a starting point. 

BuildFire is the ultimate no-code solution for iOS and Android mobile app development. 

It’s the most powerful app builder on the market today due to its limitless customization and scalability. The platform is easy enough for anyone to use but powerful enough for developers to create custom features and plugins. 

You can use BuildFire to create an app quickly and for a fraction of the cost compared to traditional development. Best of all, you’ll have the full support of BuildFire’s team at your disposal if you need any help or assistance throughout the project. 

We’ll even help get your app live on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store once it’s done, and manage updates for you post-launch. 

Use this guide on how to build an app without coding for step-by-step instructions on getting started and launching your app. 

You can also sign up for a 14-day free trial of BuildFire to try it out and get your feet wet with no-code development. 

Final Thoughts

No-code development is the future. 

It’s a simple way for anyone to create apps on a tight budget. No code solutions make it easy to get your app to market quickly and don’t require any technical skills or coding knowledge. 

The vast majority of apps can be built using a no-code tool—so there’s a good chance it’s right for you.

If you have any more questions about how this works or specific questions related to your app idea, reach out to our team here at BuildFire for more information. We’re happy to help!

You want to make an app. That’s great! But now what?

If you’re not comfortable building mobile apps on your own, hiring a mobile app development company is the obvious choice. 

But with hundreds, if not thousands, of app development companies to choose from, this can feel like an overwhelming task for anyone going through the process. 

Fortunately, narrowing down the best app development company for your app is much easier when you have a blueprint to follow, which is exactly why we created this guide.

You can use our evaluation criteria below to eliminate options and find an app development company that fits your specific needs. Ready? Let’s dive in!

11 Tips to Find the Best App Development Companies

Use these tips and best practices as a buying guide for mobile app development companies. As you go through each step, your list of qualified candidates will get shorter and shorter, until you’re left with one or two options that can accommodate app ideas.

1. Compare Mobile App Development Companies

Starting from scratch is arguably the hardest part of this entire process. You might start with a Google search for “best mobile app development companies” or “top app developers”—something along those lines. 

The initial search will yield a lot of hits for web apps, mobile apps, hybrid mobile app development, cross-platform app development, and more. But this isn’t enough information to start hiring mobile app developers just yet. 

You need to start with a clear picture of what type of mobile app you want. 

Are you creating a gaming app? A business app for employee communication? An app for your restaurant? The list goes on and on.

Do you need mobile and web apps built by the same custom software development company? Do you need project management assistance? Do you need Android app development, iOS app development, or both?

As you start to answer these questions, you’ll immediately be able to eliminate options from your list. 

You’ll find that some mobile app development companies specialize in niche-specific builds, such as internal apps for business processes. Some are great for AR/VR and gaming apps. Others offer a wider range of custom app development solutions. 

If you need a starting point to work with, check out our complete guide of the top ten best custom software development companies. You can reference this list as you continue through the steps below and eliminate options as you’re qualifying candidates. 

2. Look at Their App Development Portfolio

Now that you have a shorter list of contenders, go through each one to see what types of apps they’ve built for their clients.

You’ll likely see different options like:

• Ecommerce apps
• Gym and fitness apps
• Educational apps
• Apps for events
• Restaurant apps
• Podcast apps
• Religious apps
• Employee communication apps
• Business workflow apps
• Gaming apps

The best app development companies should be able to build anything. But it’s definitely in your best interest to find a company that has experience with the type of app you need. 

You won’t want your project to be an experiment for the company. So this is definitely an important consideration. 

3. Evaluate the App Design Process

App design and development go hand-in-hand. 

The best app development companies work with you through each stage of the design process. This includes wireframing, design concepts, storyboards, prototyping, and more. 

You should be looking for a development company that understands the importance of UX (user experience) design and UI (user interface design). 

Even a highly functional app is useless if the design stinks. That’s the first thing your users will notice when they download and open your app. 

So if the app development company you hire falls short with design, your final product will suffer. 

4. Consider the Experience of Mobile App Developers

App development companies come in all different shapes and sizes. 

You might find smaller boutique firms with one or two developers on staff. There are also large agencies that employ dozens of developers. But most fall somewhere in between. 

Ask questions about who will be working on your app. How long have they been building apps? What types of apps have they built?

An app developer with a history in web development doesn’t always translate to success in mobile app development. The longer they’ve been building apps, the better it is for you. 

For example, BuildFire has built more than 10,000+ apps. That’s a long history of experience that comes with knowledge that can’t be replicated by taking a development course online. Working with a company like this ensures that your developers have seen it all, and they won’t be surprised if something unexpected or tricky comes up along the way. 

FREE Ebook Download: The Definitive Guide to Building an Expert App Development Team

5. Find a Software Development Company That Can Bring Your Mobile App Idea to Life

You need to find a mobile app developer that believes in your vision. 

Some mobile application development services just put out what you tell them to. They listen to your instructions and do their best to create features based on what you want.

But features and vision aren’t the same things. 

It’s really important for your mobile app development company to truly understand your idea. Where do you want your app to be in the short term? What will your app look like in five or ten years? How does your app solve problems for your customers?

If they understand the problem that you’re trying to solve, they can use that information to enhance the app and its features. 

Otherwise, your app will just be a series of different functions that don’t make any sense towards your greater goal or mission. 

For example, look at an app like Uber.

Let’s pretend you came up with this concept and brought the idea to a mobile app development company. You tell them that you need an app for users to book car transportation. The output likely wouldn’t be the Uber we know today.

Instead, you’d have to explain your vision. You want an on-demand ridesharing service that’s a quick and convenient way for anyone to book a ride from their phone. The app connects drivers with riders in real time and offers a safe experience for both parties. In five years, you want the app to expand, giving people the option to order food and groceries from those same drivers.

If the mobile app development company doesn’t have a firm understanding of your vision, then you’re likely going to be unhappy with the final result. 

6. Look for a Consultative Approach

Understanding your idea is just one part of the equation. But you need to look beyond the basic mobile app development services and find an app development company that offers consultancy as well. 

A consultative approach might challenge your ideas. They could make suggestions or improvements to shape the app based on their experience. 

You can even find a mobile app development company that assists with app market research to validate your idea before the build.

Here’s a somewhat extreme example to showcase my point. Let’s pretend you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade and approach an app development company with an idea for a social media platform. But your idea is basically describing exactly what Facebook does.

A good app development company will tell you it’s probably not the best idea to move forward, as there’s no market demand for this idea. 

Instead, you need a way to differentiate yourself—such as an unfiltered social media platform where users don’t have a chance to edit photos before posting or have public comments. This idea describes the Daylyy mobile app, created by BuildFire. 

Your app consultants should also be able to tell you which features to add and which ideas can be eliminated—at least for the initial release. You can always expand and grow your app down the road, and the best app developers understand this. 

7. Assess Your Budget

How much are you willing to spend on app development?

Some agencies might charge upwards of $250,000 and others might charge $25,000 for the exact same app. 

Cheaper isn’t always better. But with that said, paying the highest price doesn’t automatically mean you’re working with a top mobile app development company. 

Instead of looking at the bottom line price, think about the value you’re getting with the service. 

Sure, you could save $50,000 or $100,000 by outsourcing your project to a developer in Eastern Europe. But then you’ll have to deal with time zone changes, language barriers, and other challenges. The final product likely won’t be on par with an app built by a US-based development company. 

But before you hire mobile app developers, you should have a rough idea of your budget. This will give you a chance to automatically qualify or disqualify options based on the total cost. 

We have a complete guide on how much it costs to make an app that can help you with your budget. You can also use our app cost calculator to get a quick estimate based on what you’re looking for. 

If you’re on a really tight budget, an app development company may not be your best option. Instead, you can use a mobile app development platform to create an app on your own without writing code. 

8. Look For Limitless Customization

Custom software development needs to be a priority. Unless, of course, you’re just looking for something basic—like turning your website into an app. 

What limitations are restrictions you have? Is there anything that the company can’t build?

The best mobile app developers should be honest and transparent about this. 

In some cases, this won’t be a dealbreaker. For example, let’s say you come across a quality app development company that doesn’t create games or virtual reality apps. 

If you’re just building an ecommerce app or an app for your barbershop, those limitations won’t make a difference in your development project. 

So while it’s ok to vet app developers with some scrutiny, you don’t automatically need to disqualify candidates if they can’t do one or two things that are unrelated to your idea. 

9. Find Out if They Offer Post-Launch Maintenance and Support

The interaction with your app developer shouldn’t end once your app is built. If the company is simply going to hand you an app, then disappear into the horizon, you’re going to be stuck with a big problem.

You should only be considering mobile app development services that offer post-launch maintenance and support. Here’s why.

Mobile apps are a never-ending project. 

What happens when Apple comes out with a new iPhone in six months, and your app no longer meets the compatibility requirements of a new device or iOS version? Do you have the ability to make those changes?

What will you do if your users discover a bug in the app? Can you fix this on your own?

Apps also require tons of backend infrastructure components to operate smoothly. They need push notification servers, web servers, databases, and security patching—the list is never-ending. 

Unless you have the capacity and internal resources to handle this stuff on your own, it’s much easier to just lean on your app development company.

When you’re ready to expand, add new features, and scale your app in the future, they’ll just be a phone call away and can implement those changes with ease. 

10. Read Customer Reviews and Consider the Company’s Reputation

App development services are like anything else. If you’re going to read online reviews before you buy a $20 razor or a backpack, then you should definitely be reading reviews before you spend tens of thousands of dollars on app development.

Take your time to see what real clients are saying about the company you’re considering. 

Don’t let one or two bad reviews throw you off. There will always be some unhappy customers out there, and if you’re a business owner, this is something you’re already familiar with.

Instead, look for consistency. Are the majority of customers happy?

If you’re looking through reviews and you see dozens of people complaining about the same shortcomings in the service, then it’s obviously going to be a red flag. This is a situation where you should proceed with caution and maybe eliminate that option from your list. 

11. Request a Consultation to Get a Feel for How it Works

Once you have a shortlist of two or three companies that fit what you’re looking for, it’s time to move forward and reach out for more information. 

Don’t rush through the buying process. 

Hopping on a call to talk about your idea and see what types of services can be provided for you will make your decision much easier. You should have a pretty good gut feeling by the end of the call if the app development company is a good fit for your project.

If you don’t know what to ask them, you can use this guide as a reference. 

You can schedule your free consultation with BuildFire here. Our team will provide you with a detailed roadmap of how we’ll bring your idea to life. You’ll also get a price estimate that shows how BuildFire can save you thousands of dollars compared to other agencies on the market. 

Final Thoughts

Comparing the top mobile app development companies can be tough if you don’t know what to look for. My hope is that this guide helped steer you in the right direction, so you can narrow down quality options based on your specific needs. 

Depending on your project, some of these tips will hold more weight than others. But they’re all important to consider as you’re shopping around and exploring your options. 

If you’re ready to move forward, check out BuildFire Plus—our all-inclusive app development service. From strategy sessions through design, development, and post-launch support, we’ve got you covered. 

BuildFire is more than just an app development company. We’re a partner in your success. 

iOS and Android are the two most popular smartphone operating systems worldwide. So if you’re making mobile apps, you need to decide if you’re going to build for iOS, Android, or both.

Most people understand this concept at a basic level—iOS and Android are different. But exactly how are they different?

That’s why we created this guide. 

Whether you’re a prospective developer, entrepreneur, or just a tech-savvy business user that wants to further your knowledge, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll cover everything you need to know about iOS and Android, including a clear explanation of each platform and the key differences between them.

What is iOS Mobile App Development?

iOS app development refers to mobile apps for Apple’s mobile operating system. iOS apps run on iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch devices. 

Apple has various operating systems for its devices. For example, applications built for Mac computers run on macOS. There is even an iOS variant, iPodOS, that’s specifically for iPads.

iOS development caters specifically to the unique device specifications and security requirements of Apple’s mobile operating system. 

What is Android App Development?

Android app development is the process of making mobile applications that run on the Android operating system. 

Android (developed by Google), has a wide range of devices that run using this OS. The list of brands includes Samsung, Google, Motorola, OnePlus, Sony, and thousands more.

In fact, there are more than 24,000 different types of devices that use the Android operating system, distributed by roughly 1,300 companies. 

11 Key Differences Between iOS and Android Apps

Android and iOS are different in many ways. Below we’ll cover the top 11 key differences between the two mobile operating systems dominating the global market share.

1. Programming Languages

iOS and Android are powered by different backend tech stacks. 

Swift and Objective-C are the two main programming languages used to code iOS apps. Swift is designed specifically for Apple products and is typically not used for anything beyond iOS development. 

Android apps generally rely on Java and Kotlin programming languages. But Java also has use cases that work beyond Android devices. So if you’re a developer that’s familiar with Java, there’s an easier bridge to coding for Android. 

Check out our guide on the best programming languages for mobile app development to learn more about all of these languages and more. 

2. Design Strategy

When comparing iOS vs. Android, you’ll also notice some crucial differences between the way apps are designed. 

Apple favors app content over design. So you’ll see more white space used to highlight app-specific features and clarity. iOS developers should refer to Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines for best practices.

When designing for Android devices, you’ll have a bit more flexibility with color changes, motion, and light. The design guidelines aren’t quite as strict. 
Android developers can refer to the Material Design for Android to learn more about the interaction design and motion between Android devices.

3. Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

Android and Apple both have different IDEs—integrated development environments. 

Android developers can create an Android app using Android Studio, which was initially developed by Google back in 2013.  

This is the official IDE for Android app development. It’s built on IntelliJ IDEA software from JetBrains and available to download on Linux, Windows, Chrome and macOS operating systems. 

iOS developers rely on Xcode.

Xcode is Apple’s official IDE for all Apple software, including iOS. You can use Xcode to build apps for iOS, macOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

Unlike Android Studio, Xcode is only compatible with macOS. So you can’t download it on your Linux or Windows machine. 

We have a complete Xcode tutorial that explains how it works and how to get started with iOS app development. 

So which IDE is better—Android Studio or Xcode?

Each software has its pros and cons. Android Studio is a bit more versatile for developers who already have experience creating apps for other operating systems. But Xcode is easier to set up for beginners.

Both platforms have excellent debugging features, although Xcode might have the edge in this category. Android studio’s advanced code editor and layout design features might be more popular, although some users complain that it takes up too much memory on their devices. 

4. Devices

When it comes to iOS devices, you’re basically just talking about different versions of the iPhone. You can put iPads and iPod Touch devices into this category as well. 

But the list of Android devices is significantly larger.

As mentioned earlier, there are more than 24,000 different Android devices. Since the first iPhone launched back in 2007, there have been less than 40 different versions of this device for iOS.  

5. App Distribution

Each platform has its own app store for distribution.

iOS apps can be downloaded from the Apple App Store, and Android Apps can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. 

For more information, check out our step-by-step guide on publishing your app to the app store. 

Android apps are better if you want to distribute your app to the widest possible audience. But iOS has some cool developer programs for app testing and distributing private apps. 

Additional Reading: How to Distribute an iOS App Without Using App Stores

6. User Base

Android users and iOS users are different.

In the United States, there’s about an even split between the two operating systems. As of January 2022, iOS has a slight edge—controlling 51.2% of the US mobile OS market share. 

But with a whopping 87% market share, Android dominates globally. 

So if you’re on the fence about developing for iOS or Android, one of the first things you need to do is assess your target market. If you’re developing it for people in the US, you’ll likely need to build for both platforms. But if you’re developing for an international audience, excluding the US, you can stick with Android. 

7. Monetization Strategy

Studies suggest that iPhone users earn more money than Android users. In fact, the median household income of an iPhone user is $85,000, compared to $61,000 for Android.

This is important information to consider when you’re looking for ways to monetize your app. 

Since iPhone users may have more buying power, you can factor in things like in-app purchases with iOS development. 

But Android developers may need to focus more on other ways to make money, such as in-app advertising. 

8. App Store Rules and Submission Guidelines

Apple and Android have different processes for vetting apps.

Generally speaking, the Apple App Store is much stricter than the Google Play Store. 

Poor quality apps and apps that aren’t very creative can still be published on Google Play. But Apple prioritizes quality and security. 

For example, you can’t just take the mobile version of your website and turn it into an app for the Apple App Store. Apple requires the app to have distinct features and differences from your website. 

Make sure you check out the App Store Review Guidelines before you submit your app to Apple. It’s a long document, but it clearly outlines all of the rules you need to follow. 

Aside from the rules, your app will appear differently in both stores. This means you may need to have a different app name, description, visuals, and other marketing promos for each store.

We have a guide on app store optimization that explains this in greater detail. 

It’s also worth noting that the Apple App Store approval process typically takes a few days, while Google Play only takes a few hours. 

9. App Security

The Apple App Store is generally safer than the Google Play Store. This is directly tied to Apple’s strict standards for submission and scrutiny of apps that don’t meet the standards. 

There are significantly more apps with malware on the Play Store vs. the App Store. 

That’s why it’s so important to have a secure app development method. This will not only protect your business, but also your users. If you create your app with BuildFire, you can rest easy knowing that everything is secure on the backend—regardless of the app store it’s on.

10. App Development Timeline

Generally speaking, Android development is more complex than iOS development. This has a direct correlation with the total development timeline.

Android developers need to account for a wider range of devices and screen sizes. Whereas Apple is much more limited.

Aside from having to adjust the graphics for more devices, Android developers also have to run tests and catch bugs on more devices. This is a time-consuming process.

While it obviously varies based on the type of app you’re building and the features you want, most Android apps take about 30% to 40% longer to launch than iOS apps.

Additional Reading: How to Launch an App Fast

11. Total Cost of Development

Longer timelines generally translate to higher costs. 

That’s why it usually costs more money to create an Android app vs. iOS app.

But again, there are lots of factors at play when you’re thinking about your app budget and total cost of development. 

As you can see from the graph above, the average cost of a complex app using developers in Eastern Europe would be cheaper than creating a basic app using developers in North America.

The average cost of iOS developers in North America is about $150 compared to $168 for Android. Both of those numbers drop to about $35 per hour when outsourced overseas. 

Using BuildFire for iOS and Android App Development

BuildFire is the ultimate solution for cross-platform apps. Rather than developing two separate apps for iOS and Android, you can use BuildFire to create both with a single build.

As a no-code app builder, BuildFire makes it possible for anyone to create an app without any technical skills or programming knowledge.

This helps you get your app to market as quickly as possible and for a fraction of the cost compared to traditional development. 

Unlike other app builders on the market, BuildFire is developer-friendly. This means you can create custom functionality and scale limitlessly, so you’ll never outgrow the platform.

BuildFire also offers in-house development services. So if you want to outsource the project completely or just outsource a few custom features, we can handle whatever you need.

Final Thoughts on iOS Apps and Android Mobile Apps

Android and iOS development are very different. 

But most of you need to have an app available on both platforms. Rather than learning how to write code in multiple languages and navigate the difficult waters of platform-specific IDEs, you can just use a no-code app maker like BuildFire to simplify your project.

Sign up for a 14-day free trial to get started today, or reach out to our team for more information. 

The terms low-code and no-code are often confused with each other. While both low-code and no-code have some similarities, they’re actually two completely different solutions for app development.

With that said, some low-code development platforms also offer no-code capabilities. Other platforms that are branded as no-code tools have some low-code options built in. (It’s no wonder that even savvy business users confuse these terms).

If you need help distinguishing the difference between low-code and no-code platforms, you’ve come to the right place. 

This guide covers everything you need to know about low-code vs. no-code, including a clear definition of each, the differences between them, the pros and cons of no-code/low-code, and the best no-code/low-code platforms for development. Let’s dive right in. 

What is Low Code?

Low-code makes it possible for professional developers of varying skill levels to quickly build applications with minimal hard-coding efforts. 

Using no code to create software can best be compared to traditional development. The only difference is that no-code platforms offer different shortcuts that streamline the process. Rather than spending time coding repetitive tasks from scratch, low-code platforms have basic software elements and infrastructure already built. 

Low-code platforms follow a rapid app development (RAD) approach that includes things like automated code generation through drag-and-drop interfaces, pull-down interfaces, and other visual building blocks. 

Developers can focus the majority of their efforts on writing code for the smaller parts of the application that make it unique compared to other apps on the market. But all the boilerplate and repetitive code is handled by the platform. 

As a developer, you can still write custom code over the automated code provided by a low-code tool. 

What is No Code?

No-code is exactly what it sounds like. It enables anyone, regardless of technical knowledge or programming experience, to create applications without writing a single line of code. 

The possibilities of no-code development stretch far and wide. They’re trusted by citizen developers to create apps for business processes, entrepreneurs launching new websites, and business owners building mobile apps to expand.

Similar to low-code, no-code development also uses a RAD approach. But it’s completely hands-off when it comes to coding and programming.

No-code platforms are 100% dependent on using visual tools, plugins, modules, and drag-and-drop builders to create an app. 

In simple terms, anyone can use no-code platforms without any specialized skills or training. If you know how to browse the web, you can create an application using a no-code app builder. 

Some of you might have experience building websites with platforms like Wix or Squarespace. Both of those tools fall into the no-code category. 

What’s the Difference Between Low Code and No Code?

There are definitely some similarities between low-code development platforms and no-code app makers. But at a granular level, you’ll see that there are major differences between low-code and no-code when you look at the details.

Let’s take a closer look at these differences below:

End-User

Low-code solutions are made for professional developers. These users need to have a background of programming and development to use a no-code tool. But they’re just looking for a shortcut that doesn’t require 100% custom code from scratch.

Anyone can use a no-code platform, including average business users who don’t have any development experience. While professional developers could technically use a no-code tool, most would prefer a low-code system—as it allows them to use their unique skills.

Open vs. Closed System

Low-code leverages open systems that allow users to add functionality to an application by writing code. For example, developers can create a custom plugin or feature on an open system and then re-use that code later for another project. 

Traditional no-code platforms are closed. This means that you’d need to rely on pre-built plugins and templates for functionality. There’s no manual code written that can customize anything beyond the platform’s capability.

With that said, there are some no-code platforms that do offer custom extensibility through an open system. 

For example, BuildFire is a no-code app development tool that’s also developer friendly. So if you want to create a custom feature for an app that isn’t available through a plugin, you can have a developer make it for you with the BuildFire SDK. 

Other no-code platforms don’t offer this type of flexibility and customization, which is why BuildFire is the best app building software on the market today. 

Speed

Low-code requires more time, training, and onboarding to get a project through development and deployment. It’s still significantly faster than traditional development, but the specialized skill requirements won’t get the application to market as fast as no-code.

No-code tools are all about plug-and-play. 90% of the work is already done—it’s just a matter of customizing a few details to make the app your own. 

You won’t have to worry about too much time testing your app either since there are fewer chances of errors that would traditionally be introduced into an app through manual coding. 

If speed is your top priority, check out this guide on how to launch an app fast. 

Use Cases

Both low-code and no-code development can be used to create a wide range of different software and applications. 

With that in mind, low-code is often the preferred choice for apps related to business process management, business workflows, internal business apps, and software for custom integrations. It’s a reliable choice for professional developers working on creating custom solutions for their employers.

No-code development can be used to create almost anything. It’s great for education apps, health and fitness apps, internal communication apps, event apps, ecommerce apps—the list goes on and on.

The main idea with no-code is that you’re taking advantage of as much pre-built functionality as possible. For example, every ecommerce app is going to offer the same basic features. The app will have products, a shopping cart, a payment portal, and some type of user profile. Making the app your own is just about adding your specific products and customizing the content and design to match your branding. 

It’s also worth noting that neither low-code nor no-code tools are ideal for graphics-intensive apps, AR/VR apps, or games. If you’re looking to create the next Facebook or YouTube, low-code and no-code probably won’t get the job done either. These situations are better suited for traditional development. 

What is a Low Code Development Platform?

A low-code development platform relies on visual tools and process modeling techniques to define different parts of the software, including rules, workflows, and user interfaces. 

All of these visuals are converted to code on the backend thanks to the low-code system. 

Developers seek out a low-code platform when they want to automate the basic and generic elements of coding, so they spend the bulk of their time on customization. 

Low-code platforms provide the architecture and infrastructure required for development. Certain databases and repetitive features that are common across all apps are included already—it’s just a matter of enabling or disabling them to your liking. 

90% of the code can be generated automatically using the tool. Then low-level code can be written from scratch to customize the remaining 10%.

How Do No Code Development Platforms Work?

Unlike low-code platforms, the no-code development process does not require any coding skills. A no-code platform relies solely on visual building on the front end. 

You’ll start with a template, and then you can add content in plain text, change the colors, add videos, and control your design from a visual editor. 

Adding functionality is simple. You just need to install a plugin or enable a function. 

For example, let’s say you’re a personal trainer and using a no-code app builder to provide mobile training to your clients. 

There’s a good chance you’ll want to add videos to the app that demonstrate how to properly do various workouts. You can add these with ease by installing a YouTube or Vimeo plugin to your app. Then it’s just a matter of selecting which videos you want to include and where you want them.

Maybe you want the app to have a booking feature for clients to schedule appointments. There’s a plugin for that too. 

Or maybe you want an interactive map that shows clients how to get to a nearby gym where you work. That’s just a click away.

The functionality for all of these scenarios is already pre-built. While those functions aren’t included in the app when you’re first getting started, they’re already available on the no-code platform. You just need to add the ones you want to make your app unique. 

Follow our step-by-step guide on how to build an app without coding for more information on how this works. 

Pros and Cons of Low Cow Code Development Platforms

Let’s take a closer look at the advantages and drawbacks of using low-code tools for app development:

Low-Code Pros

• No-code solutions make it possible to build apps simultaneously for multiple platforms.
• For large projects, you won’t have to wait for other developers to finish building parts of the app since most of the basics are already coded for you.
• There’s less risk involved with low-code development because they don’t require as many resources.
• Fewer risks mean less money, which both translate to a higher ROI.

Low-Code Cons

• You need to have development knowledge to use a low-code platform.
• Scalability for enterprise apps isn’t always possible.
• Making major changes within the platform itself may not be easy.

Pros and Cons of No Code Platforms

No-code software development is growing in popularity for varying use cases. But keep the following considerations in mind before you get started:

No-Code Pros

• Low barrier to entry into the world of app development.
• Anyone can use a no-code platform, and no coding skills are required.
• No-code is the fastest and easiest way to create an app.
• No-code development is the most cost-effective way to make an app.
• You don’t have to hire a development team.
• No-code apps can be built for both iOS and Android.
• You can deploy your app to both App Stores with a single click.

No-Code Cons

• Depending on the platform you’re using, some no-code tools restrict your growth.
• Complete customization isn’t always possible with low-grade app builders.
• Not ideal for games, AR, VR, or unicorn apps (like Facebook, Tinder, or Uber).

Best Low-Code/No-Code Development Platform For Mobile Apps

BuildFire is the best low-code/no-code development platform for iOS and Android. It’s the most powerful no-code development tool on the market today, but it also provides developers with the tools they need to code custom functionality from scratch.

Where traditional no-code app builders fall short, BuildFire fills the gaps with its truly unlimited scale and customization options. 

With BuildFire, all of your app infrastructure and backend services are handled for you. You won’t have to worry about securing servers or managing databases on the backend to manage your app.

Just use the no-code visual editor to customize your app and see the changes in real-time through our app emulator. 

The platform is completely web-based. So you don’t have to install anything to your computer to make an app with BuildFire. Adding features is simple. Just choose from one of the 150+ pre-built plugins from the BuildFire marketplace.

Need something that you don’t see in the form of a plugin? No problem.

BuildFire’s SDK empowers your developers to create custom plugins and features using low-code technology. If you don’t have developers and don’t want to hire any, that’s not a problem either. You can just reach out to BuildFire, and our in-house development team will create it for you.

When it comes to no-code/low-code app development, there’s truly nothing else like BuildFire on the market today. 

Final Thoughts

Gone are the days when you needed to rely on hard coding from scratch to create software.

Low-code/no-code app development solutions make it easier for professional developers, citizen developers, and the average person to create an app with ease. There’s no need to spend a fortune, and it won’t take a year to deploy your app either.

These tools allow you to launch an app in weeks or months and for a fraction of the cost compared to traditional development. 

With all of this in mind, it’s worth noting that low-code and no-code development aren’t the same. The technology does have some similarities, but they’re both very different at the end of the day.

If you’re unsure whether no-code or low-code is right for you, try BuildFire. BuildFire is the best of both worlds, and it’s trusted by business users with no coding experience and professional developers alike.

Sign up today to start your 14-day free trial. 

iOS app development can be a lucrative venture. It allows you to reach the one billion people who use iPhones globally. 

Existing businesses and new entrepreneurs alike recognize the opportunities associated with iOS mobile app development. But getting started is often the biggest hurdle, and that’s why we created this guide. 

Continue below to find out everything you need to get started with iOS app development. We’ll even show you a shortcut to success. 

What is iOS App Development?

iOS app development is the process of making software to run on Apple iPhone, iPad, and iTouch hardware. Like any software project, the iOS app development process has unique requirements to ensure the application is compatible and meets the specifications for Apple devices.

iOS applications can be deployed on the Apple App Store for users to download. 

Apple has specific developer guidelines for iOS apps. These guidelines contain the rules and best practices for iOS app development, including what it takes to get your app published to the Apple App Store. 

Prerequisites to Develop iOS Apps

There are certain requirements you need to have in place before you start developing iOS apps. 

Most of these are technical requirements that provide you with the tools and resources for development. We’ll take a closer look at each one below and link out to some other helpful resources that you can use to learn more about the topics. 

Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

The first thing you need for any mobile app development project is an integrated development environment—better known as an IDE. 

An IDE is essentially software that enables developers to build applications. IDEs combine a range of developer tools into one GUI (graphical user interface). 

Xcode is Apple’s official IDE, and it requires a Mac computer to operate. 

There are some workarounds out there to use Xcode on a Windows-based PC. But generally speaking, it’s not in your best interest to go this route. If you’re serious about being an iOS developer, you should have the right hardware. 

With Xcode, you can do more than just create apps for iPhones and iPads. You can also use this tool to create, test, and distribute apps for all Apple devices across every Apple platform. 

This includes applications for Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. You’ll have a compiler, text editor, and name system all in one place. 

The software offers a wide range of debugging tools, project management resources, and asset management features. Overall, it’s a great way to keep all of your coding files organized when you’re developing and deploying apps on the Apple App Store and Mac App Store. 

We have a full tutorial on Xcode that you can use as a reference to get started. The tutorial covers all of Xcode’s requirements, how Xcode works, Xcode features, and how to use it for your iOS development project. 

iOS Programming Language

You also need to decide what programming language you’re going to use to create an iOS app. 

The Swift programming language has become the new go-to option for iOS development. It’s commonly used and encouraged if you’re using Xcode. Objective-C is another popular option to consider. 

With that said, you can also use a general-purpose programming language or object-oriented programming language to develop an iOS app. It all depends on your current programming skills and the type of app you want to create. 

In addition to Swift and Objective-C, Xcode is also compatible with Objective-C++, C, C++, Java, Python, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, and Python. Check out our guide on the best programming languages for iOS apps to learn more about your options. 

Swift has become so popular due to its flexibility and simplicity. The concise syntax makes it easy to learn, even for beginner iOS app developers. 

The language is clean, easy to read, and easy to maintain. This is great for making changes and updates down the road. Having clean code also makes it easier to spot mistakes while you’re building an app. 

Designed for safety, Swift also eliminates certain classes of historically unsafe code. These built-in safety features make it an easy choice for many developers. 

iOS Software Development Kit

An iOS SDK (software development kit) is different from an IDE. By definition, an IDE only provides an interface for development. But an SDK offers all of the tools required for programming. 

SDKs provide the software programs you need to create applications using specific programming languages. 

One cool part about using Xcode is that it comes with different SDKs. These come in the form of libraries that you can use to develop iOS apps. 

We have a complete list of iOS development tools that you can use as a reference as you’re trying to find the best iOS SDK for your application. 

Active Apple Developer Account

You need an active Apple developer account to get your app in the hands of real users via the App Store. Without a developer account, you cannot submit and distribute your application. 

To get started, simply join the Apple Developer Program. Aside from being a requirement, the membership comes with lots of different perks that you can use to your advantage. 

One cool part of the program is access to the latest betas. This allows you to leverage Apple’s latest technologies and integrate them into your applications for iOS apps, iPadOS apps, macOS apps, watchOS apps, and tvOS applications. 

The program also gives you access to TestFlight, which is a great way to test your apps before a release. You can invite up to 10,000 external users to try your new builds before deployment. All you need to do is send it to their email address or share a public link.  

You can enroll in the developer program as an individual or as an organization. Both options require an Apple ID with two-factor authentication enabled. 

Organizations must be registered as a legal entity and have a D-U-N-S number to verify the entity status. Apple does not accept trade names, DBAs, or fictitious business names. You also need to have a publicly available website with a domain that’s associated with the organization.

Keep in mind, there is a small fee to join. A developer program membership costs $99 per year. Some organizations may be eligible for nonprofit, education, or government discounts. 

iOS Developer

If you’re not going to build the app on your own, you need iOS app developers to do the work for you. 

But you don’t always need a developer in the traditional sense of the term. As you’ll see later on, we’ll show you a trick to creating iOS apps without writing a single line of code. So if you’re not very technical and you don’t want to hire a development team, you can still create an app on your own.

We have lots of different resources that you can use as a reference as you’re making this decision. First, check out our guide on how to hire an app developer. You can also review our guide on how much it costs to hire a developer. 

It’s also worth noting that there are different types of developers. Most fall into either one of two categories—freelancers and development agencies. We have an in-depth guide that compares the pros and cons of hiring an app development company vs. freelance developers. 

You can also download our free ebook on building an expert mobile app development team. This goes beyond app developers and includes tips for hiring designers, contractors, project managers, QAs, and other key players in a successful iOS app project team. 

Other Requirements For iOS Mobile Apps

Beyond the technical requirements specific to iOS apps, there are other things you need to have in place before you can create an app. These requirements apply to any type of mobile application, including iOS apps. 

Clearly Defined Goals

Your iOS app needs a purpose. You can’t just build an app because it sounds cool or because everyone else has one. 

Every successful app must have a goal. This goal will become your north star throughout the development process.

Ask yourself some basic questions to steer the ship in the right direction:

• Why are you building an iOS app?
• How will the app meet the needs of your target audience?
• What problems or pain points will your app solve for users?
• Does your app have any unique features to stand out from similar apps on the market?

If you can’t answer these questions, you’re probably not ready to start building just yet. 

Defining your goals early and sticking to the plan helps keep your development timeline on track and your project within budget. Otherwise, you can easily get distracted throughout the process and become tempted to add extra features along the way. But this is often expensive and detracts from the app’s main goals. 

Market Research

Market research might be the most commonly overlooked step in pre-app development. But it’s also the key to success when you’re creating iOS apps.

Mobile app market research forces you to understand market trends, industry trends, your target audience, and your competition. This research will ultimately help validate your idea—ensuring the iOS application you want to build will actually address a current market need. 

It’s much better to conduct your research early on. Failing to do so could prove to be a costly mistake. 

You don’t want to spend six months of your life and thousands of dollars on a project only to discover that nobody wants it. But your market research can also help you tweak your idea or adjust your target audience based on your findings. 

The process involves lots of data collection and data analysis. You can use existing resources to learn more about general market trends. You can also conduct your own research through polls, surveys, and focus groups. 

But the best market research uses both methods. It’s thorough and gives you the confidence you need to move forward with your iOS development project—knowing you’re creating the app for the right reasons. 

iOS Version Compatibility

You need to make sure that your app is compatible with the latest version of iOS. 

As Apple releases new iOS versions and updates for each version, some apps might experience bugs or problems with features. This is also common as new devices are released. 

Apps that were built using iOS 6.0 that shipped with the iPhone 5 back in 2012 wouldn’t be compatible with the latest iOS 15.6 version that’s being used a decade later. 

So first, you need to make sure the tools you’re using are updated, and the libraries support new versions. But you also need to have a plan for updates in the future. Otherwise, your app can become obsolete if it’s not constantly being updated to keep up with new iOS releases. 

Using BuildFire For iOS App Development

BuildFire is the fastest, easiest, and most cost-effective method for iOS development. 

It’s a no-code app builder for both iOS and Android. So you can use it to create the Apple and Android versions of a mobile application—all from a single build. 

BuildFire provides non-technical users with the tools required to create an app without having to hire a developer or learn how to code. The entire process can be managed from an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. It’s 100% web-based, which means you won’t have to download any software to get started.

Start by selecting a professionally-designed template. From there, it’s just a matter of customizing the content to match your app’s goal.

You have complete control over the colors, branding, and the look and feel of your app. 

Adding features is simple. With just a few clicks, you can add functionality in the form of a plugin from the BuildFire marketplace.

Unlike other app builders on the market, BuildFire is developer-friendly. This means that if you don’t see a feature that does exactly what you want it to, a custom feature can be built using the BuildFire SDK. 

You can either have your own developers create the function or reach out to BuildFire’s custom development team to build it for you.

Best of all, you won’t have to worry about maintaining your infrastructure or ensuring compatibility with iOS updates. BuildFire takes care of everything, and we’ll even get your app published to the App Store. 

Final Thoughts

Having a blueprint to follow when you’re getting started with iOS development is crucial. 

You can use this guide as a resource to ensure you have everything in place before you start building. Once you have everything organized, building the app will be much easier.

iOS app development shouldn’t be intimidating. Even if you don’t have any coding knowledge or technical experience, you can still create an app using an app maker like BuildFire. 

Sign up now and try it for free with a 14-day trial.

One of the most challenging parts of making an app is creating a final product that truly represents the initial vision. This is especially true for complex project requirements, where you need to translate ideas into tangible functionality. 

User stories simplify this process.

Whether you’re a developer, entrepreneur, business owner, or app development agency, understanding the power of user stories will ultimately help you deliver better software. 

This in-depth guide will explain everything you need to know about user stories, including how they work, why they’re important, user story examples, and how to write user stories for mobile apps. 

What is a User Story?

A user story describes what an app user wants to do within a software system to achieve something valuable. User stories are short, plain language descriptions of a goal from the end-user perspective. 

User stories do not describe a specific software feature or business objective.

A good user story is short, and clearly articulates who the user is, what they want to do, and why they want to accomplish something. 

User stories don’t need to be very descriptive. You can write a user story using informal language in a single sentence. Just include the following pattern:

• Role — “As a [user persona]”
• Feature — “I want to [complete an action]”
• Benefit — “So that I can [get some value]”

When you put this user story template together, you might get something like this:

As a project manager, I want to stay organized, so I can keep my entire team on track.

This could easily be an example of a user story for project management software.

There are lots of different ways to showcase user stories—and they don’t have to be packaged as some type of formal final project. You can even write user stories on post-it notes, index cards, or share them digitally with your project team. 

Why Are User Stories So Important For a Software Development Team?

User stories have become crucial for agile software development. 

Before agile user stories were implemented, teams would spend weeks writing highly detailed requirements and specifications for a given software project. But there’s a disconnect here in the language used by programmers and developers compared to the language used by the general public. So there would often be confusion among stakeholders involved with the project.

Without an agile user story, the specifications would look something like this:

• The app should do [this]
• The app will do [that]
• The feature will complete [something else]

But this type of direction is not helpful. You end up with long paragraphs of style details that many people working on the project won’t read or understand. Even the developers would skip over these, as they would instead look to start writing code as soon as possible.

User stories changed everything.

Today, user stories are known as the smallest unit for an agile framework. They can easily be added into different parts of one sprint to another within agile development.

Some of the top benefits of user stories include:

• Focusing on the user — Using a checklist or to-do list will keep a project team task-oriented. But by following user stories, it keeps everyone concentrated on solving problems for the app users.

• Promoting collaboration — User stories help define your end goals. This makes it much easier for teams to collaboratively decide the best route to take, ensuring that the end user’s needs will be best served.

• Driving creativity — Instead of using uninspiring tasks or objectives to define the project, user stories encourage everyone to let their creative juices flow. This inspires critical thinking and problem solving based on user needs.

• Building momentum — Each time a new user story gets achieved, the team feels a sense of accomplishment. These small wins help build momentum throughout the entire project, so the final product doesn’t feel like an insurmountable mountain to climb.

While user stories can be used for any type of product or project management initiative, they work great for application development. 

Key Elements of a Great User Story

The key components of a great user story can best be described by the acronym INVEST. This acronym was first coined by Bill Wake, an expert in the field of extreme programming and agile project development. 

INVEST has become the gold standard for defining success with user stories ever since. Let’s take a closer look at each part below:

Independent

Every user story must be treated as a single component within the whole project. 

This means that teams should be able to work on each story in any order, without any type of co-dependency from one user story to another. There should not be any overlap between stories, as this adds redundancy and confusion.

If any user stories are dependent on each other, it usually means that one can be omitted—whichever is less valuable.

Negotiable

Creating a user story relies on collaboration between clients, designers, programmers, and stakeholders. It starts with a conversation.

In a perfect world, everyone will be on the same page with the story—although that’s rarely the case. Stories should be written in a way so that the priority, project requirements, and scope can easily be changed. This aligns with other principles of agile project management. 

Valuable

Value is arguably the most important element of a user story.

If the story isn’t adding value to the end-user, eliminate it. Mobile apps must be designed to add value, and every story must be written keeping this concept top of mind. 

Estimable

Priority is another important aspect of user stories. 

Each story should be sized appropriately in a way that defines its priority level. High-value features with a long development process might not always get the highest level of priority in the development timeline. In some cases, it’s better to knock out quick wins and complete other stories first. 

Small

Every user story should be looked at as a small block of work within the larger project.

The exact size of the task or story depends on the project management method you’re using. Sometimes a story can be completed in a single sprint. Other times they could take longer. 

For agile methodologies, stories shouldn’t take more than three or four days of work.

Additional Reading: Project Management Methodologies For Mobile App Development

Testable

When a story is complete, it should be tested for the product. This ensures that every user story fulfills its acceptance criteria, which varies by the project. 

How to Write User Stories For Your Mobile App

Now that you understand what’s required of a good user story, it’s time to start creating user stories for your app. Follow the simple steps below to get started.

Identify Different User Personas

The first step of writing user stories is defining the types of users who will use your mobile application. This is different from identifying the target audience. 

A user persona describes what the person does when they’re connected to the app. It’s even possible that a single user could have multiple associations when using the product. 

For example, let’s look at an app that everyone is familiar with—YouTube.

Someone might use YouTube for educational purposes and learning new skills. But that same exact person could also use the app for entertainment. The user story for each of these scenarios would have different personas. 

Establish Goals For Different User Types

Now you should have a list of different user personas. For each persona, you need to define the goals for the end-user in your user stories. Think about why they’re using the mobile application. 

What goal will they gain by interacting with the app? 

Let’s stick with the YouTube user story example. 

The educational user’s goal might be finding the most informative video on a particular subject. Where an entertainment user’s goal might be discovering a closely related video recommendation upon completion of another. 

This will lay the groundwork for your software features. 

Define the “What” and “Why”

You’ve already answered the “who” of your user stories. Now it’s time to answer the “what” and “why” with user story mapping. 

User stories typically follow these guidelines:

• What value is a feature going to provide the end-user?
• Why does this specific type of user want to use the feature?

If you can’t answer the what and why, then you probably need to reevaluate the user story and its purpose within your mobile app. 

Define the Acceptance Criteria

We briefly talked about the acceptance criteria earlier in the “testable” part of the INVEST acronym for user story key elements. 

What exactly is the acceptance criteria?

Think of your user stories like any other story—it must be logical to make sense. Look back at the what and why, and answer it with “how.”

The acceptance criteria explains exactly how you’re going to deliver value to the other. You’ll answer this without getting into the intricacies of application development (this comes later in the process). But you’re going to use your imagination to play out how the story unfolds.

For example, you might say that a user could press a button to automatically share a location with their friends. Or maybe they need to perform a specific gesture to confirm their order before finalizing the checkout process. 

User Story Examples

Let’s take a closer look at some examples of user stories that you can use as a template or inspiration:

• As a mobile commerce customer, I want a shopping cart button, so I can easily store items that I’m interested in purchasing.

• As a dry cleaning customer, I want to receive a push notification when my order is done, so I can pick it up right away.

• As a student, I want to invite my classmates to download the app, so we can work together on a project.

• As a manager, I want an option for anonymous feedback, so my employees feel comfortable sharing information with me.

• As an HR rep, I want to generate a report on employee feedback, so I can understand which departments need better training materials.

• As a basketball player, I want a court reservation feature, so I can book a private time to practice at the gym.

By using a natural language description, like the examples above, a user story helps everyone understand the goal of a particular initiative within the app. 

Pro Tips and Best Practices for Writing User Stories

Before we finish up, I want to leave you with some proven tips for success when you’re writing user stories. Keep these in mind as you’re going through the steps described earlier in this guide:

• Always write the user story from the user’s perspective. 
• Keep the description simple. You can always add smaller user stories later for context.
• Stay organized with a user story map so you can see the big picture of your backlog.
• Create user stories before you start worrying about product features.
• Use the stories as inspiration for your mobile app features. 
• Encourage creativity and collaborative brainstorming from your development teams. 
• Confirm the need for a feature before development begins. 
• Use the user stories to estimate tasks to ensure your development team members can handle the workload.
• If you’re stuck, you can start with “epics.” These are larger user stories that can eventually be broken down into smaller stories. 
• Keep everything simple, concise, and in terms that everyone can understand. 
• Continue to refine the stories until they’re ready.
• Keep your stories in a place where they’re easily accessible and visible to every team member. 
• Don’t rely on user stories alone to create an app. 

Final Thoughts

User stories describe the value given to a user when they want to perform an action within your app. 

Start by identifying the user personas. Then establish goals for each persona. User stories written down should answer the “what” and “why” related to each persona. Then you can use those questions to define the acceptance criteria.

Keep the INVEST acronym in mind as you’re writing user stories. 

You can follow the steps in this guide along with the user story examples as inspiration for getting started. 

Custom software development is the design, creation, deployment, and maintenance process of a system or application. Unlike off-the-shelf software, custom development is unique and fully customized based on the requirements of specific users.

Software development services are commonly used for mobile app development, web development, business process automation, and similar use cases. 

But not all software development companies are created equally. Some specialize in certain areas of software development services, and others are undoubtedly better than the competition based on their reputation and the quality of software development offered.

If you’re seeking a custom solution for mobile app development, web app development, or another type of software development, you’ve come to the right place. This guide will help you find the best software development company for your unique situation. 

Top 10 Best Software Development Companies

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of custom software development options on the market today. But after extensive research, testing, and combing through real user reviews, we narrowed down the ten best software development companies for most businesses.

1. BuildFire

When it comes to custom software development for mobile apps, BuildFire is at the top of its class. This industry leader in the mobile app development space has been trusted to create more than 10,000+ mobile apps for clients across every industry imaginable. 

What makes BuildFire stand out from the crowd is its white-glove service. They’re more than just a custom software development company—BuildFire is a partner in your success.

BuildFire specializes in getting custom mobile apps to market fast and at an affordable price compared to other custom dev solutions. 

The team at BuildFire works with you through each stage of the development process, including the pre-development planning through the post-launch maintenance and updates. 

While other developers out there simply build your app and pass off the final product, BuildFire continues working with you to ensure the app can scale as your needs change over time.

Your journey with BuildFire starts with a free consultation to ensure the project is a mutual fit for both parties. Then the team takes your ideas and runs a competitive analysis to see how your app will stand up against industry leaders in your particular category. 

BuildFire also handles all of your designs, prototyping, wireframing, system architecture, and everything you need for custom software development. 

These custom software development services are trusted by mid-size organizations and enterprises in categories like ecommerce, education, fitness, events, internal communications, and so much more. 

Whether you need an internal app for your business or a public app for Android and iOS users on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, BuildFire has you covered. 

Schedule a free consultation to learn more.

2. Social Connection Marketing

Social Connection Marketing is a local digital marketing agency located in West Virginia. The firm is relatively new to the world of custom software development, but they’re already making a huge impact on its clients.

This agency got its start by offering traditional digital marketing services, specializing in videography for small businesses. With many of its clients requesting mobile apps, Social Connection Marketing eventually expanded its services, becoming a custom software development company in 2021.

Social Connection Marketing created a custom mobile app for a local county in West Virginia. The app showcases local businesses, schools, libraries, and other highlights of the area. 

Since creating this app, they’ve been contacted by other counties in the area about developing a similar project. 

They’ve also created mobile apps for local wedding planning companies to promote local vendors in this industry. 

You can read more about the Social Connection Marketing story and how they expanded from a digital marketing agency to a custom software development company. 

3. Altar.io

Altar.io is a European-based custom software development company. 

With offices in Lisbon, London, and Milan, this company specializes in software solutions like UX/UI design, UX wireframes, UI mockups, clickable prototypes, and more. 

They offer a seven-day project scope to help get your ideas organized and align your vision with your business goals. 

Altar.io also offers a unique service to quickly build an MVP (minimum viable product), helping you get your bare-bones idea to market as fast as possible. 

They’ve worked with organizations in financial technology, smart home technology, and other industry-specific niches. 

4. Experion Technologies

Experion Technologies has been in the custom software development space for nearly 15 years. 

They typically offer custom software development services to organizations across industries like healthcare, financial services, retail, and transportation. 

Experion Technologies is a bit smaller compared to other players in this space. They only have about 300 clients, but those customers are located in 30+ countries.

One unique standout of this firm is its focus on product engineering services. This goes beyond traditional development and includes blockchain, AI, machine learning, cloud services, cognitive computing, and more. 

The idea here is to focus on building forwarded-thinking software products to achieve business goals and provide innovation throughout the product life cycle. 

In addition to product development, Experion Technologies provides UX/UI services, product testing services, technology modernization consulting, and more. 

5. Brainhub

Brainhub is another custom software development company located in Europe. 

This software engineering company specializes in custom software development, web development, and application development using .NET, Node.js, React Native, ReactJS, and TypeScript.

Brainhub’s core services include web development, mobile development, desktop development, UI/UX design, product development, staff augmentation, and more.

They also offer tech and agile consulting to help streamline your technology, strategic planning, and overall product delivery. You can even lean on Brainhub for MVP development and product scaling. 

For organizations that have internal developers but don’t have the resources to create custom software, Brainhub can help. Your team can work with them to help create a custom tech stack for your software needs. 

6. Netguru

Netguru is a custom software development company based in Poland.

This firm was founded back in 2008 and has over 630 software developers on the team.

In addition to providing custom software solutions, Netguru specializes in agile project management. They market themselves as an on-demand agile product team. 

Their process includes a product design sprint, scoping session, UX review, and research before diving into custom software development. 

Within these larger service offerings, they offer additional agency services like UI design, illustrations, branding, and more. So if you’re interested in getting software services paired with web development, design, and project management, check out Netguru to learn more. 

7. Vates

Vates is a custom software development company based in South America.

They offer a wide range of software solutions, including application testing, big data, IoT, IT consulting, and more.

Vates also has custom software development services for Atlassian products, offering strategic consulting, installation, and training for these tools. 

This organization has more than 30 years of experience developing custom software. 

They offer functional testing, user acceptance testing, usability testing, compatibility testing, and other development tests. You can even use Vates for automated testing for desktop software, web software, and mobile software. 

8. OTAKOYI

OTAKOYI is a custom software development company based in eastern Europe. 

The company brands itself as having perfectionists and open-minded individuals on the team. They value radical honesty and use these qualities to offer consultancy with custom software development. 

Some of their core services include:

• Web development
• Mobile development
• UI/UX design
• Chatbots
• Engagement platforms
• Research and development (R&D)
• DevOps
• Software product development

OTAKOYI prides itself on only using world-class technologies that have stood the test of time, ensuring they can support your business goals for the long run. 

9. The NineHertz

The NineHertz is a US-based organization that launched back in 2008. 

In addition to custom software development, they also offer IT consulting services and boast an impressive 92% client retention rate.

The NineHertz made our list because of its very unique service offerings. 

This is a custom software development company that specializes in game development, which isn’t something that everyone offers. They create iOS games, Android games, 3D games, NFT games, AR games, video games, casino games, and more. 

The NineHertz also creates custom software for blockchain, crypto exchange, NFT marketplaces, NFT development, IoT, and more. 

If you’re seeking a solution in one of these niche categories, you can visit their website to learn more. 

10. Develtio

Develtio is a full-service software and custom software development company located in Warszawa, Poland. 

Founded in 2017, this firm is a relatively new player in the custom software development space. But they’re still delivering quality results to clients, earning them a spot on our list.

Develtio specializes in unique dev services like:

• Website maintenance (SLA)
• Web development
• Mobile development
• Software development
• WordPress development
• Chatbots

Their web services and online stores really make this company stand out from the crowd.

Develtio has a team of 50+ experts, including project managers, UX designers, UI designers, copywriters, and programmers.

Check them out if you need help with a custom web development project.

How to Find the Best Custom Software Development Company

Now that you’ve seen the top development companies on our list, it’s time to narrow down your options to find the best custom software development solution for your specific needs. 

You can use the criteria below as a buying guide to help steer you in the right direction:

Mobile App Development

If you want to create a mobile app, you need to find a custom software development firm that specializes in these services. For mobile app development, it’s best to stick with development companies that offer app development as its core service. 

You’ll see mobile app development listed as a service on many websites, but that doesn’t mean the company is a specialist in that field. Instead, go with a solution that lives and breathes mobile apps.

Web Development Services and Web Apps

Web and mobile developers are two different breeds. So if you have custom web development needs, you can’t always get that from a mobile app developer. 

Try to find a web development company that offers a wide range of web development services under one roof. This goes beyond custom software development and includes web design, custom tech stacks, and more.

If you have a specific web application need, like a customer portal or internal solution, look for a company that has experience with those types of projects. 

Small Business vs. Enterprise Software Development Company

Development companies come in all different shapes and sizes. Not all of them are equipped to handle the needs of just any business that contacts them.

Make sure the agency you’re considering has experience working with companies similar to yours. For example, if you’re a small business or a startup, some enterprise software development companies may not even consider working with you.

Conversely, if you’re in the mid-market or SME space, you probably shouldn’t be working with a small-town firm.

Location of Software Developers

Working with a global software development company can be attractive for many organizations, especially if you’re trying to save some money by outsourcing a project overseas. 

While this may work fine for simple projects, this isn’t always the best route for custom software development. 

You want to make sure that your custom software developer is easily accessible. If you’re in the US, working with a company in Europe or Asia can pose some challenges with time differences and language barriers. So just keep that in mind when you’re creating a shortlist of contenders. 

Software Maintenance

Application creation is actually just one component of custom software development. You also need to consider how you’ll be assisted with software maintenance.

If the company you’re using is just going to hand off the project and run away, then it will be your responsibility to maintain everything. Most businesses don’t want that burden.

Look for a solution that offers post-launch maintenance and support. This includes things like content updates, tech updates, server maintenance, and everything you need to make sure your software continues running smoothly for its entire life cycle. 

Experience of Software Developers

Custom software development takes a lot of practice. The success of your project is directly tied to the developers you’re working with. 

In fairness, every custom software developer needs to start somewhere—but you shouldn’t volunteer to be their guinea pig or experiment.

Working with a reputable agency with an entire team of developers is your best bet. They’ll work collectively to ensure you’re getting exactly what you ask without cutting any corners.

That’s why it’s better to work with an app development company compared to freelancers. 

Price of Custom Software Development

The cost of your project obviously needs to be taken into consideration. But it shouldn’t be the sole factor in your decision. 

Cheaper isn’t always better, and the most expensive option doesn’t always translate to the highest quality. 

Check out our guide on mobile app development costs to learn more about what to expect as you’re pricing out different options and getting quotes.

Final Thoughts on the Top Custom Software Development Services

Custom software development is the best way to get what you want without buying a cookie-cutter solution. 

There are tons of great development companies out there offering services for mobile app development, web development, desktop app development, design, project management, game development, and so much more.

The top software development companies on our list each specialize in something unique, making it easier to find the best option for your specific needs. 

For more information, refer to our complete learning hub for outsourcing app development. This page has tons of relevant guides that will help steer you in the right direction as you’re making such an important decision. 

Testing iPhone apps is a crucial step in the software development process. This is relatively easy if you’re using Xcode or Apple’s DevKit for iOS. But app testing can be challenging if you don’t have access to an iPhone, iPad, or macOS. 

Fortunately, using a simulator to run iOS apps makes it possible to test your app developments on a Windows operating system. 

This in-depth guide breaks down the best iOS app simulators on the market today. We’ll cover the top features, benefits, pricing, and other considerations so you can find the best tool for your unique situation. 

Before we get started, I just want to quickly clarify the difference between simulators and emulators. These terms are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. 

Simulators create an environment that imitates the configurations and behavior of an actual iOS device. Emulators duplicate the software features and hardware of the device in question. 

The reviews in this guide will mainly focus on iOS simulators. But some of the tools listed below double as iOS emulators and Android emulators as well. So if you’re looking for a solution that checks multiple boxes, this guide has you covered.

Best iOS Simulators for Windows

1. Appetize
2. iPadian
3. Smartface
4. AIR iPhone
5. Remoted iOS Simulator for Windows PC

Criteria: How We Chose the Best iOS Simulators

There are dozens of different iOS simulators available on the market today. With that said, not all of them are actually viable options for testing iOS applications. 

The five iOS simulators below have been graded based on pricing, features, and functionality. 

As previously mentioned, some of them double as emulators for Android devices—making them ideal for those of you who need simulations beyond iOS development. 

Unless you’re on a really tight budget, you shouldn’t let pricing alone be the sole factor in your decision. Sometimes paying a little extra will deliver a better experience, which can ultimately translate into a higher quality app. You’ll also want to consider which operating systems the simulators support (Windows 10, Windows 11, etc.).

Let’s dive into the reviews. 

1. Appetize

Appetize.io is a web-based iOS simulator and Android emulator that was founded in 2015. For the past seven years, it’s been trusted by hundreds of brands, including Shopify, Intuit, DoorDash, The Washington Post, Ulta Beauty, and more. 

What makes Appetize great is its simplicity and versatility. You can use it for training purposes, development, testing, support, and more. 

As a web-based tool, you don’t need to download anything to test your iOS app. Just upload the app directly through the website or use the Appetize API for an enhanced workflow with your IDE. Many developers consider it the best emulator and simulator.

Features and Benefits

• User-friendly tool
• Works well for each phase of iOS app development
• Automated testing features
• Stream your app instantly
• Run your app in any browser using HTML with an iFrame
• Supports both iOS and Android
• View remote devices to diagnose problems
• Supports enterprise deployments with SSO, customizations, enterprise-level SLAs

Pricing

There are three different packages to choose from:

Basic — $40 per month

• 20 concurrent sessions
• Standard capacity
• $0.05 per minute rate
• 500 minutes included

Premium — $400 per month

• Unlimited concurrent sessions
• Reserved devices
• $0.05 per minute rate
• 2,000 minutes included
• White label capabilities

Enterprise — $2,000 per month

• Dedicated devices
• Unlimited usage
• White label capabilities
• SSO
• Custom legal agreements
• 24/7 enterprise-grade support

Appetize also offers a free trial package that supports one concurrent session and up to 100 minutes per month. 

2. iPadian

Unlike other tools on this list, iPadian is strictly an iOS simulator—not an emulator. So if you’re seeking a tool that does both, you can skip over the section and move on. 

That said, iPadian is one of the most popular iOS simulators on the market today. It’s been downloaded more than ten million times and has over one million daily active users. 

As a simulator, iPadian mimics the mobile app experience of a real device. This allows you to feel the difference between your iOS app and Android app from a PC or Windows device. 

Since iPadian is made strictly for simulations, it does have some limitations. The tool doesn’t create a local version of iOS on your device, and it cannot access the Apple App Store. iPadian doesn’t support iMessaging either. 

Features and Benefits

• Ability to run apps including Facebook, Tiktok, Whatsapp, Instagram, and more
• Imitates the appearance, design, and basic features of iOS devices
• Simple and easy to use
• Beginner-friendly
• Affordable

Pricing

iPadian offers one of the best deals for iOS simulation. Just pay a one-time fee of $25 for lifetime access to the tool. 

This is a really good price for Windows users who want to have an iOS experience without having to pay for an actual iPad or iPhone. There’s also a free version that works for iOS 10 if you want to try it out before spending the $25.

3. Smartface

Smartface is an emulator and simulator that works for both iOS and Android apps. You can run these apps in your browser without downloading any software or purchasing any additional hardware. 

Unlike other iOS simulators and emulators, Smartface supports a wide range of operating systems, devices, and OS versions. Beyond Windows machines, you can run Smartface on Linux, ChromeOS, and macOS as well. 

There is a slight catch. Even though this is a browser-based iOS simulator, you can’t just sign up and start using it right away. Smartface requires you to request a demo first, which can be a bit of a pain if you’re trying to do something quickly. 

Features and Benefits

• Run iOS apps and Android apps in your browser
• Supports native iOS code in Windows
• Interactive user experience
• Good debugging features
• Supports app testing and development

Pricing

Smartface starts at $99 per month. Again, you’ll need to request a demo before you can access the simulator and emulator tool. 

4. AIR iPhone

AIR iPhone is a free iOS simulator for Windows. It runs using the Adobe Air Framework, which means you must install Adobe Air on your machine to run this tool. 

The purpose of AIR iPhone is to reproduce an iPhone’s GUI (graphical user interface) without an iOS device. 

But compared to other solutions on the market, this tool is outdated and extremely limited. The interface looks more like iOS 3 compared to more recent versions, like iOS 14. While you can see the GUI of an iPhone and iOS application, AIR iPhone won’t actually run the apps as if they were installed on a native iOS device, so it’s not ideal for debugging.

Features and Benefits

• Great if you’re already using Adobe Air Framework
• Free
• Simple installation process

Pricing

AIR iPhone is free to download and use. If you’re on a tight budget and don’t mind sacrificing the quality of your simulator, this tool is fine for basic use.

5. Remoted iOS Simulator for Windows PC

Remoted iOS Simulator for Windows makes it possible to test apps using an iOS simulator with Visual Studio 2019 and Visual Studio 2017. The tool is installed automatically with Xamarin with both versions of Visual Studio.

While you don’t need an iPhone or iOS device to run this simulator from Microsoft, you do need a Mac. The tool requires you to pair Visual Studio with a Mac Build host. From there, you can use the simulator for debugging iOS and tvOS projects on a Windows device.

The tool is pretty technical compared to some of the other options on the market, but it works as promised.

Features and Benefits

• Toolbar is user-friendly with lots of options
• Supports iOS functions like Home, Lock, Settings, and Screenshot
• Functionality that mimics Apple’s Touch ID
• Ability to simulate static and moving conditions

Pricing

There are free and paid versions of the Remoted iOS Simulator for Windows. But as previously mentioned, it’s installed automatically when you use Xamarin with Visual Studio.

Conclusion

There are plenty of potential use cases for using an iOS simulator on Windows. The main idea here is to run and test an app without having to buy an iPhone, Mac, or iPad. 

If you’re creating an iOS app but don’t own any Apple devices, this is an easy shortcut to testing.

BuildFire has an app emulator built into its software. So you can update your app and see the changes in real-time directly on the screen. Our software also makes it easy for you to check your app directly from your own smartphone. Here are some helpful guides and tutorials on this subject:

• How to Preview Your App On Your Phone
• How to Test Your App With Apple Testflight Before it Goes Live
• How to Publish Your App

But if you’re set on using a third-party tool, that’s fine too. Appetize.io is a great simulator for testing apps. Alternatively, you can use iPadian if you just want to mimic the iOS experience from your Windows computer. 

Developers aren’t perfect. Even the best developers in the world commit mistakes when they’re developing iOS applications—it happens. 

These coding mistakes can lead to all kinds of problems that can ultimately affect the user experience and sometimes impact the core functionality of your app. 

That’s why debugging is such a crucial part of the software development lifecycle as various tests are being run. Eliminating bugs is crucial for all applications—not just mobile apps running on an iOS device. App debugging is equally as important for Android apps, web apps, macOS, and any other type of software.

But this guide is going to specifically focus on Apple. You’ll learn exactly how to use a debugger to test and debug your code. Let’s dive in.

What’s Involved With the iOS App Debugging Process

iOS debugging all starts with finding the right tools to help you out. Manually trying to go through your code to look for errors isn’t realistic, efficient, or scalable. You just need to configure your debugging tools for different iOS versions and devices.

Xcode is one of the best ways to develop, test, and debug apps. Apple created this IDE (integrated development environment) specifically for developing and troubleshooting iOS apps, so it comes with plenty of built-in solutions to assist with the process. 

You can debug your app on a live device, like an iPhone or iPad, or use a simulator on your Mac to test the codebase. 

Here’s a brief overview of what you can expect during a typical debugging process:

• Setting up your project to test
• Configuring your debugging tools
• Setting a breakpoint for testing
• Use a running application with a breakpoint
• Find the bugs and fix the issues

We’ll expand on these concepts in greater detail below.

Debugging an iOS App With Xcode

As previously mentioned, Xcode is Apple’s official IDE. To learn more about Xcode and how it works, check out our beginner’s tutorial on how to code Xcode for more information.

If you’re using Xcode to create an app for the App Store, it only makes sense to handle your app debugging directly in this platform. Once the platform has been set to run within the app while testing, the navigator lets you look through everything to check the current state of the app for testing and debugging. 

Here’s a glimpse of Xcode’s debug navigator, source code editor, and debug area in action.

This will ultimately give you insights into more than just code errors. You can use the navigator to see information on resource consumption, app performance, and other things that might impact the iOS device.

Setting the Breakpoint

Setting the breakpoint is a critical step in the iOS debugging process. This is another instance where using the right developer tools will make your life easier. 

Every iOS developer needs to understand how this works, which we’ll discuss in greater detail below.

What Are Breakpoints in Xcode?

Breakpoints in Xcode make it possible to pause your app when you’re running the debugger. This allows you to inspect different variables as you’re trying to isolate and locate bugs, crashes, and other errors. 

Adding a breakpoint in Xcode is easy. Just navigate to the line within your code where you want the execution to pause. Then click the line number to set the breakpoint.

You can drag it up, down, or away from the gutter to remove it completely. Selecting the breakpoint icon in your toolbar debugger will activate or deactivate all of the breakpoints in your source editor. 

If you have several breakpoints across multiple source code files, you can use the breakpoint navigator to manage all of them in one place.

From here, you can:

• Navigate to a breakpoint in the source editor
• Remove a breakpoint from the code
• Enable breakpoints
• Disable breakpoints
• Find frequently used breakpoints
• Specify conditions for pausing the app

How Do Breakpoints Work in Xcode?

Breakpoints work by patching the code you’re executing with specific instructions to trigger an event. When you run an exception breakpoint in Xcode, the default will break on C++ and Objective C—pausing the app during the debugging process and taking you to where the problem lies in your code. 

Once you accept the defaults, you can re-run the app and force the error. The debugger should highlight the code that’s causing the problem, so you can isolate and fix any issues.

Can You Debug iOS Apps On An iPhone?

You can debug iOS apps directly on an iPhone. You just need to connect the iPhone to your Mac with Xcode installed, and configure all of the permissions to run the app on a real device instead of on a simulator. 

Here’s a quick summary of iOS debugging on an iPhone:

• Connect your iPhone to your Mac.
• Open Xcode and navigate to the Run Destination Menu on the toolbar.
• Select the connected iPhone when prompted to choose a device.
• Xcode will automatically install the app and attach the debugger.

If there are any problems with your code, you’ll see error messages and warnings in your Xcode issue navigator. 

What Are the Benefits of Debugging an App?

Using Xcode to debug your iOS app is a critical part of the testing stage. It has a direct impact on the success of your app and its usability. Some of the key benefits include:

• Saves time and money during the development process.
• Developers use troubleshooting opportunities to learn from mistakes in their code.
• When apps are tested at different stages of development, you can identify errors before the release.
• Using a debugger improves the quality of your app for users to enjoy.
• Apps with a smooth UX have a chance to generate more revenue.

Don’t take shortcuts during the debugging stage. It’s important for you to take this seriously to truly get the benefits listed above. 

Conclusion

I hope this tutorial on how to debug an app provided some clarity for you as you’re going through this process. Whether you’re creating an app for Apple or Android, debugging is an essential stage in the app development lifecycle. 

If you’re still a bit intimidated by native app development and debugging on your own, BuildFire might be the perfect solution for you.

You can use BuildFire’s no-code app builder to make an app without writing a single line of code—meaning no debugging is necessary. Alternatively, you can go with the full-service app development route and let us build the app for you. We’ll handle everything, so you can be free to work on other aspects of your business.

Every mobile application needs to be tested. This is a key step in the app development lifecycle.

So before you push release an iPhone app, iPad app, or Mac application to the Apple App Store, you must ensure that it actually runs and functions the way it’s intended. If you don’t have an iOS device, then you can use an iOS simulator or emulator as an alternative option. 

This in-depth guide will explain everything you need to know about iOS simulators and how they work. More specifically, we’ll focus on using simulators for testing and debugging during app development.

What is an iOS App Simulator?

iOS app simulators mimic applications that run on an iOS device. These tools allow you to start and run iOS apps without an iPhone or iPad—accessing the app from your web browser, Mac, or Windows computer instead. 

The terms “simulator” and “emulator” are often used in the same context. But these tools are not interchangeable.

Simulators create an environment that replicates the configurations and behavior of a real device. Emulators duplicate the software and hardware features of the real device. While simulators mimic the basic behavior of a virtual environment, they don’t actually follow all the rules of that particular environment. 

Some iOS app simulators double as emulators, or vice versa. But this is not always the case. 

There are two main use cases for iOS simulators—testing apps without an iOS device or accessing iOS apps without an iOS device. The first scenario is primarily used by developers, and the latter is leveraged by end-users. 

Let’s say a developer is creating an iOS application but doesn’t have a real iPhone to test it on. They can use an app simulator as an alternative option. Or maybe a general user wants to access an iOS app like Facebook or Whatsapp from a Windows device—some simulators make this possible.  

Popular iOS App Simulators

There are lots of different options on the market for running iOS simulators. Here are some of the most popular tools to consider for iOS app simulators and emulators. Depending on your desired use case and available device, some of these tools will likely be better than others for your specific needs.

Appetize.io

Appetize is one of the simplest iOS app simulators on the market. It’s trusted by big-name companies like Shopify, Intuit, The Washington Post, DoorDash, and more. 

What makes Appetize stand out from the crowd is its versatility. It doubles as a simulator and emulator for both iOS and Android. Appetize supports app testing, customer support, previews, and other use cases. 

As a web-based tool, Appetize is really user-friendly. No downloads or installations are required. Simply upload the application to the Appetize.io website, or leverage their API to use the simulator directly within your preferred IDE. 

Whether you’re a solo developer or a large organization, Appetize has a plan for everyone. Packages start at $40 per month for the entry-level plan and go all the way up to $2,000 per month for the enterprise version. 

iPadian

iPadian is just an iOS simulator. It does not function as an emulator like some of the other tools in this category. 

You can use iPadian to mimic the in-app experience of an iPhone or iPad from a Windows device or PC. Starting at just $25, it’s one of the most affordable solutions on the market for iOS simulations. This likely explains its popularity. iPadian has been downloaded more than ten million times and has one million daily active users. 

Most people that use iPadian aren’t developers or testers. They’re simply looking for a way to access iOS apps without a real device, and iPadian gets the job done. 

With that said, this tool does have some restrictions. It does not connect to the Apple App Store and does not support iMessaging functionality. 

BuildFire is a no-code app builder for iOS and Android. Trusted to create more than 10,000+ mobile apps, BuildFire is the most powerful and versatile app maker on the market today. 

What makes BuildFire so unique is its versatility. As a no-code solution, anyone can use this web-based platform to create an app without any coding knowledge or technical skills. But BuildFire is also developer-friendly, meaning those with coding skills can use the BuildFire SDK to create custom functionality for an app. There’s truly nothing else like this on the market today.

Within BuildFire’s DIY app builder, there’s a built-in emulator that you can access while you’re building the app. This allows you to see what certain features and functions will look like as you’re building directly from your web browser. 

The emulator is fully interactive, so you can click and run app functions the same way you would from a real device. When you’re finished creating your app, the team at BuildFire will even get your app published on the App Store for you. 

Start for free with a 14-day trial. 

Smartface

Smartface offers an in-browser app simulator and emulator for iOS and Android. The cool part about this tool is that you can run iOS apps without macOS. It works on Macs, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, and any operating system. 

You can use Smartface to run and test a wide range of different iOS versions and devices, including new and older versions of iPhones, iPads, and Android smartphones. All of these are available directly from your web browser without any downloads or installations.

Smartface also has diverse compatibility with different frameworks, including Cordova, Java, React Native, Ionic, Swift, Objective-C, Kotlin, and more. 

Unlike other web-based iOS simulators, you can’t just start using Smartface immediately. They require you to request a demo for access, so it’s not on-demand. 

How Does Xcode Work With Testing an iOS App?

Xcode is Apple’s official IDE (integrated development environment) for building, testing, and debugging iOS applications. As an iOS developer using native development, you can use the iOS simulator in Xcode to test your app without using a third-party tool. 

This simulator is easily accessible from your Xcode project. 

We have a more in-depth guide on how to test your iPhone app using Xcode. But here’s a quick summary of those steps:

• Open your Xcode project.
• Navigate to the run destination menu in the toolbar.
• Select how you’re going to test the app (iOS simulator or real device).
• If you want to test using a real iOS device, that device must be plugged into a computer that’s running Xcode.
• If you’re testing using the built-in simulator, simply select the simulators of a device family (iPhone X, iPhone SE, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, etc.).
• Xcode will automatically flag any errors and bugs during the simulation.

Xcode is great for running simulations if you’re already developing an app within that IDE. Otherwise, it doesn’t really make sense to use it for this purpose. 

What Are The Advantages of Using an iOS App Simulator?

There are several benefits to using iOS app simulators. Here are key advantages:

• You can use iOS app simulators for debugging and testing.
• Simulators run fast since they only mirror the software, as opposed to running the full software.
• Simulators make it easy to spot errors and issues within your code.
• You run apps built for iPhones and iPads without an actual iOS device.
• Many iOS simulators are free and open source.
• Simulators can be connected to an IDE during the early development stages.
• Most developers and testers don’t have access to every single iOS device with different screen sizes, resolutions, and older iOS versions.
• Some simulators work for iOS and Android apps without needing to plug in any hardware.

What Are The Disadvantages of Using an iOS App Simulator?

While using a simulated device to test and run a mobile app can be useful, it’s not always perfect. Here are some potential drawbacks to consider as you’re going through this process. 

• You can’t replicate the actual conditions of a real device, like battery consumption, restricted memory, etc. 
• Simulators don’t take into consideration the full experience of using a physical iOS device, including the visual experience and app speed.
• Results from different simulators might vary, and the speed is typically unrealistic due to low graphic load times that don’t function the same as a working app.
• You can’t accurately replicate certain functions like push notifications or SMS messaging from the app using a simulator. 
• App simulations may run differently than how it would normally run in a natural environment on a real device.
• You can’t access native features like an iPhone camera or natural gestures (scroll, zoom, tap, pinch and zoom, etc.).

Conclusion

iOS simulators are really versatile. They’re mostly used for testing iOS apps, tvOS apps, and watchOS apps without actually running the app on a real device. 

If you’re using Xcode to create your app, you can take advantage of the built-in simulator within that IDE. Just understand that an iPhone simulator will always have some limitations and restrictions and is not a replacement for app testing on a real device. 

For those of you still in the pre-development stages, you can bypass running simulations altogether. BuildFire’s interactive emulator is an easy way to see the look and feel of your app while you’re creating it and adding new features directly from your browser.

Alternatively, you take advantage of BuildFire Plus and let our team create an app for you. This is a no-hassle solution, and you won’t have to worry about any testing, debugging, or updates—we’ll handle everything on your behalf.  

In the past, mobile app development required coding skills and programming knowledge. Learning to code is far from easy, and it’s a time-consuming process. Plus, the first time you build native mobile apps with code probably won’t be the highest quality final product. 

Fortunately, modern technology has made it possible for anyone to take an app idea and turn it into reality—without writing a single line of code. 

If you know how to navigate the internet, you can use an app maker as an alternative option to traditional development. 

This is the ultimate guide to create a mobile application without writing code. It covers everything you need to know about this process, including step-by-step instructions for creating and launching an app. Let’s dive in!

Everything You Need to Know About Making an App Without Coding

Here’s a quick summary of what this extensive guide will cover:

• What to Expect Building Your Own App
• Who Can Create Mobile Apps With a Mobile App Builder?
• Cost to Build Mobile Apps Without Code
• Benefits of Building Mobile Apps With a No-Code App Builder vs. Traditional Mobile App Development
• How to Create an App Without Code in 6 Simple Steps

What to Expect Building Your Own App

Before we proceed, I just want to quickly set some expectations, so you know exactly what you’re getting into here. 

Creating a mobile app without code is easy. If you have experience using website builders like Wix or Squarespace, the app development process using app builders will be very similar. 

You’ll be using a web-based app maker to design and develop your app from scratch. Usually, these platforms let you begin with some type of template or starting point. This makes it much less intimidating than starting from a blank screen.

From there, it’s just a matter of customizing the app with your color scheme, branding materials, and unique content. You’ll use a drag-and-drop interface or plug-and-play marketplaces to add different types of functionality to your app. For example, let’s say you wanted to incorporate videos into the app. You might look for a YouTube or Vimeo plugin. Then the platform can just pull those videos directly from your YouTube account.

It’s worth noting that not every app creator offers the same features and functions. Some are undoubtedly better than others. 

So you might run into some limitations or restrictions, depending on the no-code platform you’re using. 

I strongly recommend reading our Buyer’s Guide to Mobile App Development Platforms. This free ebook explains exactly what you should be looking for when you’re evaluating different options and comparing them side-by-side. It has a solution for every app type, budget, and development goal. 

Who Can Create Mobile Apps With a Mobile App Builder?

Anyone can use an app maker to turn their app ideas into reality. You don’t need any experience or prior coding knowledge to make this happen.

The great part about using an app maker is that these platforms aren’t just for beginners. Even experienced app makers and business users take advantage of no-code solutions. That’s because it’s cheaper and faster to build an app without code compared to traditional development. 

I know plenty of developers who used to write code from scratch, but now they use an app maker just because it’s so much easier.

The potential use cases of app development platforms are seemingly endless. But here are some common examples:

• Small business owners who want an app for their business
• DIY entrepreneurs who want to create a new business with an app
• Ecommerce stores that want to improve mobile commerce sales
• Restaurants that need mobile menus, mobile ordering, delivery, and customer loyalty
• Businesses that want a mobile solution for HR and employee communication
• Schools and universities that need a mobile solution for faculty and students
• Gyms, personal trainers, fitness instructors, and health professionals
• Churches and religious organizations that want to engage with their congratulations
• Musicians, bands, and entertainers that want to improve events
• Content creators and podcast hosts that want to expand their reach
• Agencies and white label resellers that want to create apps for their clients

The list goes on and on. Here at BuildFire, over 10,000+ apps have been built on our platform. Check out our customer stories and case studies to see some real-life examples of the possibilities of our no-code solution.

These case studies really showcase the platform’s versatility. You’ll quickly learn that anyone can use it regardless of age, background, or technical expertise. 

Cost to Build Mobile Apps Without Code

Price is obviously an important factor when you’re evaluating different options. Compared to hiring a developer or app development agency, app builders will always be less expensive.

That’s because an app builder just charges you a fixed monthly, quarterly, or annual plan.

The exact cost of the plan will vary based on the platform you choose and your needs. For example, plans that come with advanced features will obviously cost more than a bare-bones package. Some solutions charge you extra for things like push notifications.

Traditional development requires an iOS developer, Android developer, web developer, project manager, app designers, quality assurance agent, testers, and other members of a team. For example, you may need an extra developer who is familiar with both iOS and Android code to step in if one of your other developers quits, gets sick, or takes a vacation. 

But you won’t have to worry about any of this with an app builder.

Additionally, the best app makers come with everything you need to manage your app on the backend. This includes user authentication servers, push notification servers, backend maintenance, and more. 

No-code platforms can start as low as $150 per month. Compare this to the average cost to make an app, and you’ll quickly see there’s no comparison.

BuildFire’s entry-level app builder starts at just $159 per month. That’s less than $2,000 for the entire year. You wouldn’t be able to hire a single developer to create a fraction of your app for that price if you went with traditional development. 

Benefits of Building Mobile Apps With a No-Code App Builder vs. Traditional Mobile App Development

Using an app builder to create an app is usually the best option for most people. 

But there are definitely some use-case-specific scenarios where custom mobile app development with coding from scratch will be better. For example, let’s say you wanted to create a mobile gaming app, a virtual reality app, or an augmented reality application. In these highly specific categories where the graphics and responsiveness are extremely sensitive, a no-code app builder may not be able to get the job done. It’s still possible to build native apps in these categories using an app creator, but that’s generally not what these platforms are made for.

Here are some of the top benefits of using a no-code app maker:

• Simultaneously create an iOS app and Android app with a single build
• Create custom apps with no technical experience
• Build and maintain the app on your own without hiring an agency or development team
• Significantly lower cost compared to traditional development
• It’s faster to create an app using an app builder, so you can decrease your time to market and get the app on real Android and iOS devices ASAP
• Easier to maintain the app post-launch
• No surprise fees or unexpected costs during the development process
• Easy to update and make changes

No-code app development is the future. So it’s definitely in your best interest to leverage this technology now. It’s only going to become more and more accessible to the masses in the coming years. So getting your app built now will give you a first-mover advantage over other people who will be competing with you for the same users. 

How to Create an App Without Code in 6 Simple Steps

Ready to create apps without writing even a single line of code? Just follow the step-by-step process explained below. This is ideal for beginners and non-technical users alike—no coding required. 

Step #1: Select a No-Code App Builder

The first thing you need to do is choose an app maker. Don’t rush through this process. Not all no-code platforms are created equally, so you can’t just pick one randomly and expect it to work out. 

Here are some tips to help you with the evaluation process:

• Budget — An easy way to narrow down your options is by price. If you see that an app builder is way out of your price range, you can quickly eliminate it from your list. You should have a clear budget in mind before you begin this process.

• Interface — Take advantage of any free trials offered by the app creator. This is one of the best ways to see if you’re comfortable using the interface before you commit to a subscription. Like any piece of software, there will always be a slight learning curve. But some platforms are definitely easier to use than others.

• Reputation — Lookup customer reviews and see if the platform has case studies you can see. Take a look at the other apps created using the platform. Do those apps fall into the same category as yours? If yes, that’s always a good sign. In some cases, you can even download other apps that have been built using the platform as a way to test the app performance. If those apps are constantly crashing or having issues, it could be a red flag.

• Customization — No-code app development shouldn’t mean you’re limited with what you can build. Some cookie-cutter app builders have limited functions. But the best options offer limitless customization. 

For example, let’s say you’re using BuildFire to create your app. But you have a highly specific function in mind that doesn’t currently exist within the BuildFire app marketplace. 

You reach out to BuildFire and have their team create that custom function for you. Alternatively, you can hire your own programmer, and they can take advantage of the BuildFire developer SDK build option.

Not every app builder offers this type of functionality. 

This won’t be a concern if you’re creating a really simple app. But for those of you who don’t want to be locked in and limited, it’s important to evaluate how flexible the solution is.

Step #2: Choose a Plan That Best Fits Your Needs

Once you select a platform, you’ll likely have different plan options to consider as well. Again, take your time here and look at exactly what features come at each price point. 

For example, if you want to create multiple apps, you’d likely need a more expensive plan than if you were to just build a single app. 

Do you want the app to be available on every mobile device, including tablets? Or do you just want it to be compatible with smartphones? These are the types of questions you need to ask yourself when you’re evaluating plans.

Let’s take a closer look at BuildFire’s packages so you can see what I’m talking about here.

As you can see, the entry-level Growth plan supports Android app, iOS app, and PWA. But it doesn’t offer iPad or Android tablet compatibility. You’d need to sign up for the business plan for this feature. 

Now let’s continue looking at the different features at each plan tier:

Narrowing down your options here all depends on your short-term and long-term goals for the app.

As you can see, the entry-level plan supports user management and user tagging. But if you want to tag users based on behavior, offer in-app purchases, app access codes, and private app sections, you’d need a Business or Enterprise package.

Integrations are another important consideration here as well. Zapier is one of the most versatile solutions in existence, as it’s essentially the middleman of the internet. 

So if you want to set up custom workflows using Zapier and other integrations, a Growth plan won’t be enough for you. 

BuildFire is just one example here. But every other app maker will have similar pricing pages that you’ll need to evaluate. If you’re unsure, I’d recommend reaching out to a sales rep and discussing your specific needs with that agent. They can steer you in the right direction and let you know which plan makes the most sense for your needs.

The cool part about using BuildFire is there’s no extensive onboarding process. Once you’ve chosen a plan and signed up, you can start to create your app in just a few clicks. 

Step #3: Pick a Template

Building apps is easier when you can start with a template. That’s another significant benefit of using an app maker as opposed to coding from scratch. An app builder should give you a starting point with a template that matches the type of app you want to create.

Here’s a quick look at some of the templates that we have here at BuildFire:

All of the templates are fully interactive. So you can click around and see different types of features, screens, and functions that are already built into the template.

For example, here’s a look at our Zen Yoga Template:

If you click “Instructors” on the home screen, it will bring you to this page with a photo, name, and brief description of each instructor.

Now if you click on an instructor’s name or picture here, you’ll be brought to another screen that shows their contact information.

So if you were in the fitness space and you liked this template, all you’d need to do is change the names, descriptions, and contact information to match the instructors in your gym.

Additional template categories offered by BuildFire include:

• Ecommerce
• Employee
• Content and News
• Small Business
• Church and Nonprofit
• Public Figures
• Education
• Real Estate
• Music and Media
• Restaurant
• Sports and Fitness
• Social

So no matter what type of app you want to create, BuildFire’s app maker has a template for you.

Step #4: Design Your App With Custom Branding

As mentioned above, the template is just the first step towards your design. While all of the major design components are already done for you, now you just need to change the colors and logos to match your brand.

BuildFire has a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor. So everything that you see and change on your editor will automatically be adjusted in real-time to the interactive app on the screen.

Here’s what I mean.

Navigate to the left side of your admin dashboard and select “Branding” from the “Design” menu.

Anything you change on the left side of your dashboard you can preview in the app on the right side of the page.

In the design section of the app creator, you’ll have the ability to customize and change things like:

• App icon
• App display name
• Loading screens
• Font
• Color scheme
• Preset themes
• Title bar and text icons
• Header text

The preset themes can really make your life easier. Rather than customizing each component of the app design, these themes come with colors that complement each other really well. But you’re still in total control of everything if you want to make custom design changes. 

Step #5: Add All the Features

One of the reasons why BuildFire is considered the best app maker on the market is because of our extensive feature marketplace. 

To add functionality to your app, just head over to our feature marketplace. From your admin dashboard, click on “Marketplace” within the “App Components” menu.

This will bring you directly to the app marketplace, where you can browse for features or search for specific functionality.

To install a new feature, simply click on the “+” icon in the bottom right corner of the description. 

When you’re ready to customize the features, you can manage everything from the “My Features” page, which can also be located within the “App Components” menu.

Step #6: Publish Your App (Apple App Store and Google Play Store)

After you’ve customized your app with branding and features, it’s time to get it live on the app stores. 

With BuildFire, our team can push your app into the Apple App Store and Google Play store with just a single click on your end. You just need to create a developer account on each platform.

Just click the “Publish” button at the top of the screen, and our team will take care of the rest. 

For a more in-depth explanation of our publishing process, check out this knowledge base tutorial on how to publish an app with BuildFire. 

Final Thoughts

Learning to code isn’t necessary for app development. Anyone can build an app without coding.

All you need to do is find the right app builder to accommodate your needs. Then it’s just a matter of learning to use that platform, adding your features, and customizing the look and feel of the app with your own branding.

One of the coolest parts of BuildFire compared to other no-code platforms is our limitless functionality. If there’s a feature you need that isn’t currently available, you’re not restricted to the app marketplace alone. 

No-code app builders are affordable, easy to use, and offer the fastest path to development. 
So what are you waiting for? Sign up for your free trial, and you can start building your app today.

Taking an app idea and turning it into a reality is a dream for entrepreneurs and business owners across the globe. But app development can be an intimidating venture for people who have never been through this process.

I see this all of the time. Someone has an amazing app idea but just doesn’t know where to start. 

Should they hire a developer? Should they hire an app development company? When is it too early to start with market research or app marketing? How much money will it take to build your own apps?

The list of questions and uncertainties goes on and on. 

If you’re new to app development, I want to help you get started. Before you start to overwhelm yourself with the app interface, user feedback, new features, and things of that nature, there are some actionable steps that you can take right now. The steps in this guide will help you get started and build momentum with app development. 

Mobile App Development Preparation

Whether you want to create an app development business from scratch or you’re launching an app as an extension of your existing business, there are several things you must do to prepare yourself. Don’t overlook the preparation phase of the app project, as this is crucial for everyone—regardless of the app’s complexity. 

First, you need to define your role. Are you going to own and operate the app? Or are you leading the project management team? 

Next, formalize your reason for starting this endeavor. Maybe you have an existing company and want to leverage a mobile app to improve the customer experience. Or maybe you’ve identified a market need that you’re filling with a completely new concept or idea. It’s also possible that you’re running an agency and want to learn how to start an app business as a way to extend your services to clients. 

In all three of these potential scenarios, the path to creating a successful app will look a bit different. 

Arguably the most important part of the preparation phase is narrowing your focus to a single feature. So many app developers out there want to create an app that does everything. But they lose sight of the app’s core purpose.

Ask yourself this question—what’s the most important feature of your app? 

Here’s a great analogy that showcases this point. Take an app like Uber or Lyft. What’s the most important feature here? Is it the ability for riders to choose the quality and size of the vehicles? Or is it a way to help them get from one location to another? Obviously, the latter is the most important feature. 

The final part of preparation is equipping yourself with tools for success. You’ll need some form of project management software and communication software to do this the right way. This graphic from Kissflow highlights some of the top benefits of using project management software. 

Whether you’re building an app on your own or hiring a team of ten developers, project management software is a must-have. It’s the only way to stay organized, track progress, and keep everyone on the same page.

Your development method will ultimately impact the type of software you should be using here. For example, if you’re using a no-code app builder, you can use a solution like Trello or Asana. But if you’re coding the app from scratch with a development team, you’d be better off with a solution like Jira Software.

In addition to the team collaboration features within a project management solution, you may decide to use a tool like Slack for communication as well. 

Once you have these preliminary things in order, you can move forward with actionable steps. 

How to Build an App — Getting Started in 5 Days

Everyone has different app ideas. Whether you’re launching free apps on the Apple App Store, paid apps on the Google Play Store, or planning to build the next killer app that’s downloaded by tens of millions of app users worldwide, everyone starts from the same place. 

Below you’ll find a five-day sequence of steps to follow. This will help you build momentum, and you can use it as a preliminary app development checklist. 

Most apps fail in the early stages because the project owner doesn’t have a concrete plan of action. But with this sequence below, your first week is completely outlined for you: 

Day One Steps

Anytime you create an app (or any type of software development for that matter), it means you’re starting a business. So you need to treat your app business the same way you would any other type of new startup. 

With that in mind, these are the actionable steps you need to take on day one:

• Define the target audience and potential customers for your mobile app business.
• Create a value proposition or unique selling point to show how your app will benefit the target users.
• Decide what platforms your app will be available on (iOS platform, Android, web app, etc.).
• Come up with a monetization strategy. How will your app make money? (will you offer in-app purchases, have a paid app and a free version, generate app sales through a product or service, etc.)
• Identify the key resources you need for your app to work properly after it launches. For example, do you need push notification servers or authentication servers?
• Identify necessary integrations that your app needs (third-party GPS apps, databases, etc.).
• Assess the costs involved with your mobile app business.

Everyone will have different answers to these questions. But it’s important for you to take the time and understand the best course of action for your specific app. 

Using an app maker like BuildFire will really make your life easier when it comes to the steps above. That’s because our platform has everything you need to create, launch, and maintain your app are built-in on the backend. 

You won’t have to worry about servers running on the backend or struggling to write custom code for third-party integrations. BuildFire has all of those capabilities out-of-the-box. 

Plus, our cost structure is much more affordable compared to traditional development. 

Additional Resources:

• The Ultimate Guide to Mobile App Monetization
• The Costs of Developing an App

Day Two Steps

Next, you can start to focus a bit more on the development process itself. Here are the actionable steps you need to take for your new app on day two:

• Look at similar apps on the market and compare your app idea to these other apps. 
• Research prototyping tools that you’ll need to map out your app design and architecture.
• Look back at the core features you defined during the preparation stage and use that to think about your minimum viable product. 
• Outline your fastest past to launch, with the fewest barriers to entry. Focus on what’s important, and all the features that aren’t in this category can be added in later.
• If you’re coding a native app from scratch, decide what programming languages you’re going to use.

The most important part of this day is getting a rough outline of what your MVP will look like. Focus on your core features here, and think about how your core features should look in the user interfaces.

For example, let’s stick with the Uber and Lyft analogy we discussed earlier. Rather than forcing the user to select the car type each time they create a ride, you can have a default option that’s automatically selected for them. This reduces friction within the app and enhances the user experience. 

A secondary feature could be the ability for users to select a premium vehicle (like a newer car with extra legroom in the example above). But this isn’t important to the mobile app’s core function, which is getting users from point A to point B.

Day Three Steps

By now, you should have a clear understanding of the primary screens vs. secondary screens within your app. Then about how users interact with these screens from their mobile phones. Then you can use this to improve your initial app sketches with the following screens:

• Decide what your app login screen will look like. Will users log in just by a username and password? Or will you incorporate biometrics like touch ID or facial recognition? 
• Create a password screen and password reset screen.
• Set up your user registration screen. Do your users need to create a profile from scratch, or can they register using a Google account or their social media accounts?
• Design a screen where users have the ability to control notification settings. You must give them the option to opt-out or control what types of messages are being sent to them.
• Outline your mobile app’s terms and conditions and privacy policy statements. You may need to consult with an attorney for this one, but most of the text will be fairly boilerplate. 
• Create a “Contact Us” screen and map out what that will look like. What contact information will you include here?
• Design user profile pages and what they will look like when the user logs in and adjust their settings.
• Create “empty state screens.” This is an often overlooked step, but it’s important for pages within your app where something isn’t showing. For example, let’s say your app relies on GPS technology, but the user has their GPS settings disabled. Will the screen just say “nothing here, try again later,” or will it prompt them to enable GPS through a CTA popup?

If you’re using a tool like BuildFire, this step will be really easy. You can start planning your app screens directly within our platform by taking advantage of our existing templates. 

Every aspect of your app design and its screens can be fully customized with BuildFire. 

The best part, you won’t need to write a single line of code to do this, and you don’t need any development experience. You won’t have to hire an app developer either.

Day Four Steps

Now that you have the main aspects of your app outlined, there are a few other things you need to consider about the business side.

• Do you need to raise money from outside investors?
• What type of formal business structure are you going to set up (LLC, corporation, etc.). This will help shield your personal assets from the business. 
• Formalize everyone’s role in the app business so that all of the partners and stakeholders are on the same page.

I won’t spend a ton of time diving into the formal details here. But as I said before, mobile applications are still a business. So you need to go through similar steps to legally form the business, just like you would for any startup.

If you’re launching an app as an extension of your existing business, then you probably won’t need to go through this. The only reason will be if you want to treat the app as its own company.

For example, maybe you own a restaurant and want to create an app to improve your delivery process. But you ultimately want to white label the app and license it to other restaurants. In this type of scenario, it would probably make sense to treat the app business as a separate company.

Day 5 Steps

On the fifth day of the week, you should spend some time getting other things in order for your app. Even though you won’t be launching quite yet, it’s still in your best interest to get ready as early as possible.

• Create developer accounts on both app stores. You’ll need these to get your app live and available for download.
• Secure a domain and create a landing page for your app.
• Brainstorm your marketing materials for YouTube videos, social media content, and other ways to connect with the app market before your app officially launches.

The great part about using BuildFire is that we’ll get your app to market for you. All you need to do is create your developer accounts, and we’ll take it from there.

So once your app is ready to launch, just let us know and our team will take care of all the heavy lifting required to get it published on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. This is just one less thing you’ll need to worry about.

Additional Resources:

• How to Make an App
• The 5 Ways to Build a Mobile App

Final Thoughts on Getting Started With Mobile Apps

App businesses are exciting. But they can be intimidating when you’re starting from nothing. 

I hope the steps in this guide will provide you with the blueprint you need to get started and build momentum with your development project. 

Rather than starting from zero, you should consider using an app builder as an alternative to traditional development. Platforms like BuildFire have everything you need to design, develop, and launch your app. 

This drastically reduces your development timeline, lowers your development costs, and eliminates your need to hire a developer. The vast majority of the steps explained in this guide can be handled directly within the BuildFire platform.
For those of you who are seeking a bit more assistance and want custom development done for you, BuildFire Plus might be a better option for you to consider. This is our all-inclusive development service that includes planning, design, wireframing, competitive analysis, strategy sessions, and so much more. Request a free consultation to get started.

The world is changing. Recent global events have changed the way businesses operate—some short-term, and some forever.  

As an entrepreneur or a business owner, you need to recognize these trends and adapt accordingly. 

Some of you might own a business in an app category that didn’t require an app in the past. But based on circumstances out of your control, consumers now expect to see apps in that category. 

Other entrepreneurs might be looking for an edge in a new industry or business venture, and certain types of apps are better than others. 

We created this guide to show you the types of apps that make money based on recent and future trends. You can use this guide to brainstorm app ideas and take your business to the next level by creating a new app in a popular category. Let’s dive in

1. Medical Apps

There’s a significant demand for mobile apps with a wide range of use cases in this category. 

Doctors and physicians can use apps for scheduling appointments, check-ins, appointment reminders, and more. Apps great for post-appointment surveys as well. 

One popular feature that we’re seeing in this category is health education. There’s so much misinformation on the web regarding different illnesses, vaccines, etc. So medical professionals are using mobile applications to provide patients with accurate and relative information.

For example, you could create a symptom checklist for various illnesses. You can also provide useful resources on what patients should do if they’re experiencing certain symptoms. Apps can also serve as a resource for doctor information, addresses, phone numbers, and even doctor bios. 

According to a recent study, 90% of US adults use at least one digital health tool. Statista estimates the mobile health market to reach $189 billion by 2025. That’s not all. A whopping 93% of doctors believe that mobile health apps can actually improve patient health. 

Statistics and trends like this truly speak for themselves. If you’re a doctor, dentist, OB/GYN, pediatrician, podiatrist, dermatologist—basically any professional in the medical field, your practice can benefit from a medical app. 

2. Health and Wellness Apps

Let’s stick with a similar trend but with a different point of emphasis. Beyond medical apps for doctors, several other types of businesses can dominate the health and wellness space. 

Anyone running a fitness business should be looking to go mobile.

The possibilities here in the health & fitness space are seemingly endless. Use cases and examples in this app category include:

• Gym apps
• Personal training apps
• Cooking apps
• Apps for dietitians and nutritionists
• Weight loss apps
• Meditation apps
• Yoga apps

The list goes on and on. There are countless ways to expand your fitness business and make money in this app category. I’ll quickly cover a few specific scenarios that we’ve seen explode over the last year or so.

Virtual personal training is on the rise. Trainers are using apps to create 30-day workout challenges with custom videos and lessons. App users find this extremely useful, as they have access to these training sessions on-demand. 

Gym owners are using apps to manage memberships, share class schedules, set up training sessions, and facilitate mobile check-ins. 

According to Statista, there are 86.3 million people in the US using health and fitness apps. That’s up from 68.7 million users back in 2019. As you can see from the trajectory of this trend, health and fitness apps can be huge money-maker moving forward.

For more information, check out our blog post on how mobile apps are transforming the gym world.

3. Grocery Apps

Years ago, ordering groceries online was a pretty niche category. But that’s no longer the case.

As big players like Amazon, Walmart, and Target have started offering grocery delivery and grocery pick-up services, consumers have quickly adapted. 

Today, anyone with a grocery store should be developing a mobile app. From large chains to small mom and pop shops, specialty stores, and everything in between. Just take a look at how online grocery shopping has penetrated the US market, based on a recent study from Business Insider. 

Mobile apps give businesses a significant advantage in this space. 

First of all, forcing people to open a laptop or desktop for grocery pick-ups or deliveries is a pain—everyone wants to use their phones. Mobile sites alone won’t get it done. They’re not as user-friendly as an app, and they can add frustrations to shoppers. 

But arguably the biggest win for grocery stores is the ability for users to save information in the app. This simplifies the checkout process and allows for higher conversion rates.

The user’s name, address, phone number, email address, and payment information can all be safely stored within the user’s profile. So when it’s time to place an order for pickup and delivery, it’s just a matter of clicking the buy button—no need to re-enter this information for every order.  

There’s a growing demand for mobile applications in the grocery space. Businesses that adapt quickly can make a lot of money in this app category. 

4. Education and E-Learning Apps

Remote learning trends are on the rise. This has increased the demand for education and e-learning apps. 

Beyond traditional schools and universities, there are lots of use cases for educational apps.

Tons of people are using e-learning apps to attain new skills or credentials. For example, Udemy saw a 425% increase in online course enrollments last year. Duolingo, a mobile app for learning new languages, experienced a 148% increase in new user signups during a single month in 2020.

There are even lots of new educational and e-learning apps on the market targeted towards children. Kids Learning Tube is a great example of this. 

Kids Learning Tube is an online learning resource for children. Kids learn about subjects like geography, nutrition, the solar system, and more through animated videos and music. These videos have more than 615+ million views on YouTube alone. The videos were so successful that the online learning company decided to launch its own dedicated e-learning mobile app.

The app was built using BuildFire, and you can read the full Kids Learning Tube case study here. 

With so many possibilities in the online learning space, we’ve just barely scratched the surface in terms of potential for educational apps. Expect a significant spike in the release and user adoption for these apps in the coming years. 

5. Restaurant and Food Delivery Apps

The food & drink industry has been faced with significant challenges over the last year or so. Most of this has been driven by lockdowns, government regulations, and consumer behavior. But the restaurants that have adapted will continue to survive and thrive moving forward. 

Just take a look at the US food delivery app revenue from the past six years. 

Revenue reached $26.5 billion in 2020, up from a modest $8.7 billion back in 2015. As you can see from the graph, these numbers were trending upward long before a global pandemic rocked the world. 

But consumer usage and preferences for food delivery go beyond the big names like GrubHub and UberEats. According to Statista, a whopping 67% of people in the US prefer to order food directly from a restaurant’s website or mobile app. 

This is great news for restaurant owners nationwide. It gives you full control over your margins, as you won’t have to pay the fees associated with third-party services. 

A dedicated restaurant app also allows you to manage reservations, send targeted promos, set up a customer loyalty program, and more. Customers can keep their payment information and address on file for quick checkouts and as well. 

6. Dating Apps

30% of US adults have used an online dating app. This percentage increases to 49% for people between the ages of 18 to 29 and 38% for adults between 30 and 49. 

The stigma associated with dating apps has changed over the last several years as well. Many people are using these platforms to find a committed partner, and it’s working out. 

Take a look at this graph based on research from Stanford. The data shows how couples in the US met over the last 60 years.

As you can see, just one of these trend lines has a significant upward trajectory, and its growth is exponential—online dating. 

According to Statista, there are 44.2 million online dating users in the United States. This app category generates $602 million per year.  

There’s lots of money to be made in this lifestyle app category. Even beyond the big players like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, and OkCupid, and more, there’s plenty of room for smaller niche dating apps as well. 

7. Finance Apps

The demand for finance apps is skyrocketing. Over the last several years, the overall fintech market has been trending up. 

Mobile banking apps, mobile payment apps, asset management apps, personal finance apps—all of these are seeing a rise in user adoption and usage. 

According to Google, 73% of smartphone users have used a mobile app to manage their finances within the last month. Investment and stock trading mobile app searches are growing 115% year-over-year.

In 2020, finance apps saw a 90% increase in install market share worldwide. 

People like the idea of using an app to track expenses, pay bills, save for big purchases, trade stocks, and more. These apps allow the average person to feel more in control over their finances, and it’s going to continue trending upward for the foreseeable future. 

From Android apps on the Google Play store and iOS apps on the Apple App Store—finance apps and subcategories in this space are popular on every operating system. 

8. Pet Apps

If you look beyond social networking apps, productivity apps, and entertainment apps, you’ll find a niche target audience that’s primed for spending money. Americans are obsessed with their pets. This obsession is causing them to spend more and more money on animals. 

There’s more awareness around pet health and quality foods. The days of dogs and cats eating bulk, cheap foods stored in the closet are slowly moving behind us. 

Pets are even getting gifts. In fact, 92% of Millennials buy their pets gifts—and 51% buy their pets gifts at least once per month. Pet apparel is one of the fastest-growing ecommerce app categories as well. For example, pet hoodie sales grew by 622% in just a one-year period. 

Between pet grooming, pet food delivery, dog walking, pet insurance, and more, there are countless ways to make money with a pet app. 

Believe it or not, 45% of pet owners in the US spend the same or more on pet healthcare than their own healthcare in a given year. 

It’s safe to say that people are willing to spend money on their pets, and there’s lots of room for apps in this space. 

9. Ecommerce Apps

It should come as no surprise to see ecommerce apps on our list. This is a category that has been growing exponentially for years now, with no signs of slowing down. 

Compared to online shopping from a mobile site or desktop browser, an app offers significantly more advantages for users and businesses alike. Just look at the conversion rate comparison between mobile browsers and mobile apps in the ecommerce space. 

In terms of personalization, speed, convenience, customer support, offline access, user experience, engagement, and checkout optimization—apps have an edge in every category. 

For those of you with an ecommerce presence, a mobile app has become a must-have feature. 

Even if you’re a small retailer interested in increasing your online presence, ecommerce platforms like Shopify allow anyone to create an ecommerce site with ease.

From there, BuildFire has a simple Shopify integration. App development has never been easier—with a few clicks you can turn your Shopify store into an ecommerce app. No coding, technical experience, or formal app developers required. 

Check out our guide on how to increase Shopify sales with a mobile app to learn more about this concept.  

10. Internal Communication and Employee Apps

Beyond apps for general consumers, we’re seeing a huge spike in demand for internal business apps and workforce apps. 

HR apps and employee communication apps have become the new normal for the modern workforce. With so many remote employees and field service workers out there, apps make it easy for businesses to stay in constant communication with their employees from anywhere.

Workers love the employee self-service functionality of the apps, like quick access to crucial information, company news, and more. Lots of businesses even add a social media style function to the app, where employees can informally communicate and share stories.

You can use these apps to facilitate schedule changes, training lessons, employee safety, compliance, employee onboarding—the list goes on and on. 

Here at BuildFire, we’ve seen a significant increase in requests from businesses of all shapes and sizes that need a mobile app with these types of features. From small businesses to enterprise organizations and everything in between, employee apps will continue to grow in popularity in the long run.  

Conclusion

There are tons of ways to make money with apps. But targeting app categories that are trending up is the best place to start. 

As you can see, these categories weren’t just pulled out of thin air. They’re all based on recent trends and statistics. What separates the best business owners and most successful entrepreneurs from average is identifying these opportunities and adapting accordingly.

For those of you that want to take full advantage of creating an app in one of these categories, book an app strategy session with BuildFire.

Mobile app development has lots of moving parts. Each team member has unique responsibilities, but all work towards a common goal. 

It’s easy for this process to get derailed if you don’t have the right plan—and proper planning all starts with project management. 

But there are several different project management methodologies and frameworks to choose from. Some work well for mobile apps and software product development, while others aren’t so useful. 

If you’re building an app and you’re not sure what project management method is the best, then you’ve come to the right place. I put this guide together based on years of first-hand experience managing project teams—specifically in the mobile app and software space. 

Best Project Management Methodologies For Software and Apps

A quick Google search will yield dozens of project management methods. Exactly how many project management methodologies are there? It depends on who you ask. 

You’ll see terms like agile, scrum, waterfall, kanban, lean—the list goes on and on. There are even hybrid management methods, like scrumban, agilefall, and more. Between the different methodologies and specific frameworks within those methods, it’s easy to get confused. 

Rather than wasting time explaining every project management methodology under the sun, we’re going to focus specifically on the methods for app development. 

The following sections will teach you more about each method, how it’s used, and why it works so well for software teams.

Agile Project Management

The agile project management methodology prioritizes maximum value against the business goals within an allowable time and budget. This method empowers team members and supports the constant delivery of value to the project.

As an iterative approach to completing a project, agile management promotes velocity and adaptability. 

In short, the agile methodology is flexible. Rather than following a linear path from start to finish, different incremental steps and iterations are delivered in shorter bursts. This allows for maximum flexibility, as things can change throughout the project life cycle. 

Agile project management is comprised of multiple stages—requirements, design, development, testing, deployment, and review.  

These stages help reduce and mitigate potential risks, which is crucial for app development.

Instead of looking at an app from start to finish, the project is broken down into shorter cycles, usually about two or three weeks each. Your project team will follow these stages for each cycle, which has constant testing and review throughout. 

Agile works well for client and stakeholder collaboration, as the results of each iteration will be reported back to the stakeholders. This allows them to have more control over the development process.

For example, let’s say you’re building an enterprise app with an in-house software team. Rather than just telling them what you want and waiting for the finished project, agile project management empowers you to be involved throughout the process. 

Some of the top advantages of agile project management for app development include:

• Ability to fix bugs after each stage
• Easy to make quick changes throughout the development project
• Constant collaboration with clients and stakeholders
• Breaks the project up into multiple stages
• Prioritizes budgets and timelines

The biggest drawback of agile PM is working with a difficult stakeholder. If they’re unable to review things after each sprint, it can push back your initial timeline and drag things out longer than they need to be. 

Agile project management requires a bit more planning from the start as well. The project manager needs to identify the top priorities of the software that should be handled first. 

Scrum Project Management

Scrum is a project management methodology that follows the same core values and principles as agile. So you’ll want to keep those agile concepts in mind if you’re using this method.

All work gets completed in short cycles, called sprints. Scrum teams meet on a daily basis to quickly discuss the current tasks they’re working on and any obstacles they’re facing. 

Daily scrums are also known as stand-up meetings. The idea here is that the meeting is so short that nobody has to sit down. Even if your software team is working remotely, it’s important that you stick to the daily scrum. 

Another crucial component of scrum is the product backlog. This is essentially a list of prioritized tasks that must be completed. These product goals are broken down into sprint backlogs, and ultimately turned into increments when they can be marked as “done.”

Kanban boards are useful for managing these backlogs. It allows everyone on your team to clearly see what’s being worked on, what’s been completed, and what needs to get done—all in real-time. 

In addition to the daily scrum, there are several other meetings that help make scrum project management so effective for software teams. 

• Sprint Planning —  The tasks of highest priority are defined before each sprint. Product owners or stakeholders explain the backlog to the software team, removing all ambiguities. The team communicates how much work they can get done within the allowed timeframe. Sprint goals and sprint backlogs are created by the end of the meeting.

• Daily Scrum — Held every day, usually for 15 minutes max. Each team member will quickly explain what they accomplished yesterday, what they’re working on today, and define any roadblocks or bottlenecks they’re faced with. 

• Sprint Review — This meeting is held after each sprint to determine what’s been achieved in the past few weeks. The product performance is also measured against the goals that were initially defined during the sprint planning stage. 

• Spring Retrospective — What went right and what went wrong during the sprint? This meeting allows teams to reflect on what they’ve accomplished and prepare for future sprints. 

Overall, this methodology works great for mobile app development due to its flexibility. The constant meetings and communication keep everyone on the same page.

By breaking the work down into tasks for completion during sprints, it allows your team to work quickly and complete the app in stages. 

Other advantages of scrum project management for software development include:

• Ambiguities are removed during meetings
• All tasks and completion of tasks are clearly organized
• Responsibilities are clearly divided
• Any roadblocks or obstacles are identified immediately 
• Quick releases keep teams motivated and satisfy stakeholders

Scrum project management doesn’t work well if the team isn’t committed. It’s easy for things to get off track, especially if the backlogs pile up and teams are expected to complete work in an unrealistic amount of time. 

This methodology works best with small teams. Some members might be annoyed by the daily meetings, but it’s important to hold them regularly and ensure everyone stays on task. The scrum master needs to be a problem-solver to complete successful projects.

Extreme Programming (XP) Project Management

As the name implies, extreme programming is another ideal solution for app development. It’s agile framework designed specifically for producing high-quality software.

Of all of the agile frameworks, XP has the most specific use case with principles for software development. The stages of XP typically include:

1. Planning
2. Managing
3. Designing
4. Coding
5. Testing

Here’s a visual overview of the extreme programming lifecycle:

There are five core values of extreme programming, which each contribute to the framework’s success for app development:

• Communication — Team members must transfer knowledge to each other. Visual tools like whiteboards or other drawing mechanisms can be extremely helpful as teams explain ideas and concepts to each other. 

• Simplicity — Avoid waste at all costs. Keeping the system and design as clean as possible makes it much easier to maintain the software, provide support, and fix bugs down the road. Focus only on what you know right now, without trying to predict the future. 

• Feedback — Teams must get constant and immediate feedback about their effort. This helps everyone identify areas where they can improve, and continue doing what works well. Feedback loops also allow you to adjust the final product product going forward.

• Courage — Software teams must have the courage to accept feedback, even if it’s difficult to swallow. They also need the courage to stop doing something that isn’t working, and move forward trying something else. If there’s an issue or problem, team members must have the courage to speak up. All of this helps improve the team’s efficiency, even if these decisions can be uncomfortable. 

• Respect — Respect ties all of these values together. It’s impossible for software teams to provide feedback and speak up in certain scenarios without respecting each other. XP relies so heavily on constant communication that respect needs to be a priority. 

Again, XP is specific to software development. It can be challenging to implement with inexperienced developers. The methodology doesn’t always work if teams are working together for the first time, as they may not be comfortable communicating with full transparency. 

Waterfall Project Management

The waterfall methodology is the simplest way to plan any project. It’s not necessarily the most common methodology for app development, but it can work well for basic apps. 

It’s also worth noting that the waterfall project management methodology is arguably the easiest to implement. So if you’re a new project manager and just getting your feet wet managing teams, this could system can help you build confidence.

Following a sequential order of steps is the primary concept of the waterfall method. Tasks flow in order, and one step must be completed before the next one starts.

Just like a waterfall, everything flows down—you can’t turn around and go back upstream. 

It’s easy for teams to understand the waterfall process because everything is straightforward. But it doesn’t work well with larger teams.

Waterfall project management doesn’t typically work for complex projects because the framework isn’t very adaptive. It doesn’t allow for changes throughout the development project, and many developers find it pretty limiting.

With that said, there are definitely scenarios where the waterfall project management methodology is perfect for app development.

Let’s say you’re building an app on a no-code development platform, like BuildFire. If you’re doing this on your own without a dedicated software team, the waterfall method will work fine. It’s not like you can work on two things simultaneously anyways—you’re just one person. So the waterfall method will keep you on track and give you a clear list of sequential steps to follow as you’re creating an app from scratch. 

Kanban Project Management

Kanban project management is another simple concept to grasp, and the methodology can be used for a wide range of projects—including software. 

This methodology gives you and your team a visual overview of the tasks associated with completing the app. Deliverables are typically categorized into three basic categories—to-do, in progress, and done.

It’s common for kanban boards to be used in other types of project management methodologies. For example, we briefly touched on this earlier when discussing scrum. Lots of scrum teams use kanban boards to manage sprints. 

While kanban isn’t quite as technical as some of the other project management methodologies, it’s still trusted by software teams.

Even Jira Software, one of the best project management tools for software development, has kanban project functionality. 

The project manager here is responsible for assigning tasks to different team members on the board. Then each person will move the tasks to the “done” column upon completion. 

Kanban also works well for managing bugs post-launch. As new bugs are reported, a new task or card can be generated in your to-do backlog. Then developers can clearly see what needs to be fixed, and move those cards from in-progress to done. 

The downside of using kanban alone is that there isn’t a great way to prioritize deliverables. You can assign due dates or use a color-coding system for priority. But the methodology itself doesn’t have those types of principles built in. Kanban also doesn’t support dependencies between tasks. 

Conclusion — What’s the Right Project Management Methodology For You?

So, what’s the best project management methodology for app development? It depends. 

Most software teams tend to use an agile framework, as these are more flexible than some of the traditional project management and rigid PM methods. Some of you might decide to use a combination of these options. For example, scrum project management using kanban boards to track sprints is a popular option. 
In addition to finding the best project management method for your app, you also need to have the right team in place to execute development. So download our free ebook on building an expert mobile app development team.

Mitigating software vulnerabilities is crucial for your business continuity. Breaches and attacks by malicious agents can cost companies thousands or even millions of dollars on average, which could greatly impact business operations, as well as its finances. 

Software vulnerabilities must be nipped at the bud before it causes damning damages. To effectively do this, you must first understand what these vulnerabilities are, how they come to be, and how to successfully address and prevent them.

What is a Software Vulnerability?

In a nutshell, software vulnerabilities are flaws that exist in a code and are often used by malicious agents to get unauthorized access to networks, steal valuable and sensitive data, and compromise company systems.

How Vulnerabilities Get into Software

The truth of the matter is, application vulnerabilities are a top concern for security professionals, but it’s not getting prioritized by businesses and developers. It’s often just an afterthought once a breach or attack has already taken place and the network has already been compromised. 

Insufficient attention to identifying and preventing software vulnerabilities is a result of numerous things, including inadequate comprehension of application security. Hence, companies need to have a clear understanding of the main sources of vulnerabilities to make sure they’re better prepared to create an effective mitigation strategy.

Insecure Coding Executions

Especially now because of the pandemic, countless companies rely on software for day-to-day internal operations as well as their main source of innovation for external products and solutions. Oftentimes, businesses put an immeasurable amount of responsibility and pressure to developers to build functional software in the shortest possible time. 

Security is usually jeopardized because the focus is primarily on speed and functionality during the development process. This fact is supported by a study published by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)2, 30 percent of companies never scan for vulnerabilities during code development.

Since they’re in charge of creating the code, developers usually take the majority of the blame when security vulnerabilities cause issues in an organization. Of course, developers must ensure that the code they create is safe and doesn’t have flaws, but being obligated to quickly create usable and unique code can cause them to be more negligent on secure coding best practices. They also tend to overlook the importance of security assessments altogether to meet their deadlines.

Ever-Changing Threat Landscape

Numerous software is developed without thinking about how the threat landscape constantly changes. During the early phases of the development process, despite following best practices and using strong cryptographic algorithms, developers will realize that once the software is complete, the algorithm is already broken. 

Malicious agents are highly motivated to find weaknesses in a company’s network. This causes them to become more innovative in uncovering ways to find even the smallest flaws to infiltrate applications quicker than developers are producing methods to keep them safe.

Reuse of Vulnerable Components and Code

Most third-party and open source components do not undergo the same strict security assessment as custom-developed software. This is an issue that industry organizations like OWASP, PCI, and FS-ISAC are attempting to fix by recommending clear policies and control. 

Enterprises that utilize many code repositories will find it troublesome to specifically define every software wherein a jeopardized component is applied. This puts countless web and mobile applications at risk, especially when new vulnerabilities are publicized. 

It’s a common occurrence for developers to take code from open source libraries rather than to build specific codes from scratch. So even if there are weaknesses found in the code, they are not as burdened by it.

Top Software Vulnerabilities

Injection Flaws

Injection flaws allow an attacker to compromise systems by transmitting harmful code from one application. It’s one of the most common types of software vulnerabilities out there. These threats consist of different factors such as the use of third-party programs via shell commands, calls to the operating system, and SQL injection.

Unprotected input fields due to missing input filters during development are compromised by these attacks. 

Broken Authentication

By pretending to be an authorized user, broken authentication allows malicious agents to access systems, creating critical security weaknesses. Authentication flaws jeopardize a company’s sensitive data, network files, and operational systems.

Sensitive Data Exposure

When a company’s database is poorly secured, businesses endanger their sensitive data. Attackers who have a hold of an unencrypted database can easily exploit the exposed information. Taking advantage of this flaw is easy for hackers, especially since the system lacks a layer of protection.

Broken Access Control

Access control is a policy put in place to define and limit user functions. Therefore when it’s broken, it can bring about data tampering, information leaks, system interference, and more.

Security Misconfiguration

In a nutshell, security misconfiguration is the inefficient implementation of security controls for software. These flaws are regarded as an easy target for attackers since they’re quick to detect and exploit, which can cause a great deal of damage, such as data leakage for businesses.

Cross-Site Scripting

Cross-site scripting flaws are exploited by hackers to administer malicious scripts in a targeted application. For an app that holds sensitive data, the consequences are more critical. Attackers utilize XSS to steal a user’s login information, perform unauthorized activities, or even gain control of software.

Insecure Direct Object References

Insecure direct object references take place when an app shows a reference to an internal implementation object. This weakness allows a user to get the information of other users and serves as a vital issue in application security, especially since a lot of industries are using apps to collect user’s data, such as medical and banking apps.

Cross-Site Request Forgery

Cross-site request forgery is a threat that compels a user to carry out malicious actions on an application in which they are authorized. For normal-level users, the victim can be prompted to perform state-changing requests like changes in login credentials, funds transfer, and more. However, if admin users are compromised, this puts the entire application in jeopardy.

Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities

When you use unverified code from untrusted sources, you risk being vulnerable to numerous software flaws. Components that have vulnerabilities allow malicious agents to breach and compromise your existing network. 

Instead of taking the risk, it’s a wiser decision to utilize third-party software that has Code Signing  so you can be assured that the component is authentic, trustworthy, and safe.

Insufficient Logging & Monitoring

One of the main reasons businesses have difficulties in efficiently managing security breaches is insufficient logging and monitoring. Your system then becomes open to tampering, extortion, or destruction.

Unfortunately, improper logging and monitoring give attackers more time to compromise your data and system as much as they want since you will have difficulties tracing the breaches. Hence, addressing the malicious activities would take even more time.

Benefits of choosing a trusted software development vendor

Innovative and secure software development is vital for a company’s success. That’s why hiring a trusted and experienced software development vendor is a must.

If you’re still wondering if outsourcing software development is the best choice for you, these reasons might help you conclude.

Efficiency

An expert software development vendor will improve your company’s efficiency by helping you uncover business needs, communicate them to the development team, guarantee functional and secure code, and also train your employees to use and maintain the new program. 

Cost Savings

It’s often assumed that hiring third-party vendors are more costly compared to hiring an in-house development team. However, outsourcing your development project is a more efficient and financially sound choice since you no longer have to hire and train an entire team to create a solution.

Delegating this duty to a seasoned partner will save you valuable resources, which you can allocate for business growth.

Security

Established custom software development vendors are experts in their field, especially with system security. They are knowledgeable about the existing dangers in the industry and how to mitigate them. 

Partnering with the right development firm means you’ll have access to the best talent pool, with pros that would turn your business and security requirements into a viable and reliable product.

Expertise

Once you partner with a trusted software development vendor, they can have a better understanding of your business and steer you in the right direction that would give your company an advantage in the industry.

Your partner can propose important features for your software, how to safely collect and store data, the best platform to build on, and more. Open communication throughout the partnership is also essential to establish trust and confidence.

Support

From new user training to database maintenance and security assessment, your software provider will support you, so your organization can get the most out of your new product. 

Software vulnerabilities are not easy to deal with. However, being well-informed, addressing issues early, and facing attacks head-on, especially with the help of experts, guarantees effective mitigation of weaknesses, ensuring the safety and success of your business.

Have you been thinking about building an app and doing it yourself? This guide is for you.

I’ve been a software engineer for 20+ years. Throughout my career, I’ve built five different startups. When I first started as an app developer, there were only two choices—Java and Objective-C.

Basically, you had two options with these. You could build your own app for Android with one and iOS for the other. That’s it.

But today, there are a lot more options out there that you can explore if you want to learn how to make an app. These ways range from very technical to not that technical at all.

I created this guide to show you the five different ways to build an app from scratch.

But before we dive in, I just want to take a moment to explain how I categorized these five different methods to create your own app.

One of the metrics I used was how technical you need to be in order to create an app. One end of the spectrum is a hardcore developer, and the other end is someone who is just savvy and knows how to use the Internet. The other metric I used was how flexible or rigid the solution would be for how to make an app.

For example, you could have an app development tool that’s extremely flexible; however, you need to be very technical in order to use it. Or you could have a tool that you don’t need to know how to code at all, but there might be some limitations on what you can do with it.

I’ll show you a graph with both of these metrics for each way to make an app. This will give you a visual representation of where the method falls on the spectrum. Let’s dive in!

Mobile App Development Method #1: Low-Level Coding

With low-level coding, the difficulty is pretty high. To make an app using this method, you need to be a specialized developer that understands programming languages.

But the flexibility is very high with low-level coding as well.

So there are definitely pros and cons to this option.

For the majority of the population, the biggest downside is that you have to be a developer to create an app from scratch with low-level coding—and a pretty good developer at that.

But the good side here is that the flexibility is at a maximum.

This is the best option if you’re trying to develop an augmented reality app or a game where the frame rate down to the millisecond is extremely important. Low-level coding is so flexible. Another good reason to use this method is if you’re dealing with specific hardware on a device that’s not mainstream.

Low-level coding will be the most time consuming app development process and the most expensive way to build an app, but you get the most control out of it.

Mobile App Development Method #2: Hybrid Apps

Hybrid app development usually relies on web technology, called Javascript.

This allows you to build once and deploy it on multiple platforms. So if you’re learning how to make a hybrid app, you’ll just code everything one time, and it will work on both iOS, Android, and potentially other platforms as well.

Examples of hybrid app development tools include Titanium from Appcelerator, Cordova on PhoneGap, Ionic, and React Native.

This method is really good when you want one set of developers, and you want to just develop everything once—then go straight to market with iOS and Android.

The difficulty here is low to medium. You don’t have to be as specialized as a developer like you would with low-level coding. Web developers can build hybrid apps because they know Javascript.

The flexibility level here is still very flexible. Here’s where hybrid apps fall on our graph:

Since you’re using Javascript to run the app, there will be a small performance hit that you need to take into consideration.

However, with today’s hardware and Internet speeds, that performance metric is shrinking dramatically. There are very popular hybrid apps out there that are UI intensive. One example is PBS Kids, which was made on Cordova. It performs extremely well.

You’ll just want to make sure that you reassess these metrics every couple of years. The dynamics of phones and network speeds will be different over time.

But as much as everyone used to learn how to make an app with low-level coding in the beginning, they are leaning more towards hybrid apps now. The main reason for doing so is the business side of app development. You can save a lot of time and money going hybrid vs. fully native development.

Mobile App Development Method #3: Rapid App Development (RAD)

The third way to create an app is with rapid app development tools—RAD for short.

There are RAD tools out there like OutSystems, Kinvey, and Kony. These allow you to make a mobile application using an intuitive interface.

Usually, rapid app development platforms claim that you don’t have to be too technical at all to use them.

However, if you want to do anything significant with your project, you sort of have to lean toward technical. You won’t have to be as technical as you would to create a hybrid app. But it’s around the medium level.

Here’s what I mean. You’ll have to know what you’re doing from a technical perspective, but you won’t have to learn how to code everything from scratch to build on these platforms.

So essentially, rapid app development allows you to go to market faster (hence the name) because there is a lot of pre-built functionality.

There are some drawbacks to rapid app development as well. Aside from the need to be somewhat technical in order to do anything significant, you’re also limited by the platform you’re using. You can only use whatever that platform has to offer in terms of functionality.

You’ll just be configuring their tools and options in a way that works for you.

These are great if you’re building apps internally for some type of internal process or maybe an app for your employees. It’s fine to use RAD if you don’t mind maintaining it yourself or paying someone to maintain it for you.

Mobile App Development Method #4: Cookie Cutter Apps

What’s a cookie cutter app? You might be familiar with some of these tools that are on the market today. A couple of popular ones include BiznessApps and GoodBarber.

With cookie cutter app builders, it’s really just one app that you’re configuring to make it look different from one deployment to another. What do I mean by this?

Cookie cutter app builders usually have a beautify app design. They have a highly intuitive user interface. You can turn settings on and off in the app to configure the app on your own. They make it easy for you to swap out images and text with your own content.

But at its core, a cookie cutter app is really just one set of functionality on a template that you’re turning on and off to make the app your own. So you can’t really take an app idea to the next level.

The difficulty level is pretty low here. Unfortunately, the flexibility is pretty low too.

This is a good option if your app is just a hobby. Or maybe you want to learn how to make an app for something that’s just “nice to have” as opposed to something that’s critical to your business. The user experience will ultimately suffer with the limited functionality.

If you just want to get to market quickly with an MVP and keep your budget really low, this is a good solution. You’ll be able to maintain everything yourself too.

However, the downside of using this app development method is that you’re probably going to reach a ceiling at some point when it comes to the functionality of your app.

There are certain things that you’ll eventually want to do, and the platform just won’t allow it. You’ll basically be waiting for the platform to catch up to your needs.

So if you don’t see your mobile app growing to the point where you’ll outgrow the platform, then these cookie cutter apps could be a good solution for your situation.

Mobile App Development Method #5: BuildFire

BuildFire is in a quadrant of its own.

As the CTO and a partner at BuildFire, I’m obviously a little biased here. I know the platform really well. But I still want to be honest and give you the pros and cons.

My partners and I built this app builder because we recognized that this quadrant was completely empty, and nobody was addressing it. We saw the need and built a solution.

BuildFire allows people with no technical skills to build for iOS apps and Android apps using our extensive marketplace that has a plethora of features that can be added in.

It’s also open to the app developer community, so they are constantly adding in more features.

Here’s one of the major differences between BuildFire and other app development platforms on the market today. If you feel that there’s a unique functionality to you and your app or a piece of functionality that hasn’t been developed yet, you can get your own developers to create it using the BuildFire SDK. They can build the functionality in a way that’s similar to hybrid apps without limiting your app ideas.

You can also use BuildFire to access native device APIs like bluetooth, ibeacon, cameras, and more.

Alternatively, you can contact BuildFire and take advantage of its white-glove services. The BuildFire developers can create this custom functionality for you.

As I already mentioned, I’m obviously a little biased here. But in the spirit of being fair, I’ll explain situations when BuildFire would not be the best solution for creating a mobile app.

If you’re trying to make an augmented reality app, BuildFire probably isn’t for you, at least right now. That might change in the coming years.

If you’re trying to create a first-person shooter game or develop the next Angry Birds, this won’t be the most ideal solution for you either.

Could you do it? Absolutely. I’m not saying that the capabilities aren’t there. But professionally speaking, you’re better off going with low-level development and using Swift or Java to build your app in those scenarios.

However, everybody else out there who wants to go to market quickly and wants the platform to scale with their needs, BuildFire is an extremely powerful platform.

BuildFire allows you to utilize the app building portion as well as the backend infrastructure. So you can reduce your ongoing development costs dramatically.

Once complete, you can launch your app on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store simultaneously with the help of BuildFire’s team. These native apps can be downloaded by real users worldwide with Apple iPhones and Android devices. 

BuildFire’s pricing is very affordable too. The platform has been used to create 10,000+ apps, including apps for small businesses.

What’s the Best Way to Make a Mobile App?

Now that we’ve gone through the five different app development methods, it’s time to answer everyone’s burning question—which one is the best for a new app?

Realistically speaking, there is no one right answer here. The method you choose depends on your specific needs. The best way to create an app for me might not be the best way for you or your business.

It all depends on your technical skill level and how much flexibility you need to have. Here’s a quick recap of the five methods we discussed above:

Low Level Coding — Extremely technical but highly flexible. This app development method is costly and time consuming, but you can do just about anything with it.

Hybrid App Development — You develop the app once and deploy it to many platforms using technology like Javascript. It’s still pretty technical, but your flexibility is a bit lower compared to low-level coding.

It’s good for people who really want control of their platform and don’t want to outsource everything. With hybrid apps, you can bring everything in-house and not necessarily utilize a particular service out there.

Rapid App Development (RAD) — Great option for those of you who don’t mind rolling up your sleeves and getting to work. It’s not too technical, but you can’t be afraid to dig in a little bit and do some work to manage it yourself.

RAD is a good solution for internal uses in cases when you’re not worried too much about UI, performance, and things of that nature. It could get pricey, depending on the platform you’re using. But those platforms will likely have an infrastructure that will aid you and a service layer that can build things for you.

Cookie Cutter Apps — These app makers are a really good solution if the app is just a hobby, and you’re trying to keep your budget as low as possible. Not recommended for apps that are mission critical to your business. If you just want to get an app out there quickly and you’re not worried about functionality, cookie cutters are usually beautiful and cheap.

BuildFire — This method allows you to create an app from scratch with no technical skills whatsoever. Even if you have technical skills, you can use BuildFire to do whatever you want with your app with limitless customization. Alternatively, you have BuildFire developers build something for you.

It also has a backend infrastructure that you can utilize. This solution ensures that you won’t have to deal with database servers, security, compliance, and things of that nature. BuildFire takes care of all of that for you.

BuildFire is the best option for people who really want to hit the ground running. The platform will save you time and money. You won’t be boxed into a platform when your needs grow. It’s great because it allows your developers or their internal developers to expand the app to make anything you want.

Conclusion

Want to learn how to make an app? Before you get started, you need to choose the best app development method. There are five main options to consider.

Choose the method that fits your technical skill level and needs of your app. It all depends on how flexible you need the solution to be and how technical you are. An app building platform will be the best option for most of you.

I hope this guide clearly explained all of the app development options. You can use it to choose what’s right for you and your business.

If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out and let me know. Good luck!

The software world is always evolving. In the past five years alone, things have changed dramatically in this space. 

When I first started out, there were very specific ways that apps had to be developed (like Objective-C and Java). There weren’t really many choices available.

But today, you have plenty of options. There are templates, components, frameworks, hybrid apps—lots to consider. How can you decide what’s right for you? 

Before you start any new app development project, there are certain factors that must be taken into consideration. This is especially important for those of you who don’t have any experience with mobile app development, and arguably more important for anyone who has had a bad building experience in the past. 

As someone who has been through this process countless times, I always have this conversation with my clients before we start building anything—I try to drill this into their minds. 

I’ve identified the five most important things to consider before you start mobile app development. I’ll go over all of the different options at your disposal to ensure that you select what’s right for your business and project. 

Consideration #1 — Platforms to Support

This is the first thing you need to figure out from the beginning. 

What platforms will your app be available on? Obviously, you’ll want to put primary emphasis on Android and iOS, since these are the two most dominant. 

Globally, Android reigns supreme. The research displayed in this chart says it all:

But here in the US, it’s much closer to a 50/50 split. In fact, iOS controls 44.8% of the US market share, according to PCMag. Either way, you’re going to want to build an app for both.

However, you’ll also need to consider the devices that your apps will be used on—in addition to the platform itself. 

Each operating system has smartphones and tablets. Android tablets and iPads are not the same. This information will sort of give you a different dynamic of how you build your app since the specs and dynamics of each device is different. For example, devices with larger screens might not have as many limitations as a smaller smartphone. 

You should also be thinking about PWAs—progressive web apps.

More and more people are going to be accessing your mobile app and the web from their smartphones. PWAs offer an easier barrier to entry for whenever someone is exploring your product.

Another advantage of building a PWA is the ability for people to stumble upon your app via Google search. 

If someone is browsing on their phone and searching for something on Google, a PWA will allow them to enter your app directly from the browser. They can engage with it, either fully or partially, depending on how it’s built. 

While they’re trying it out, you can give them a prompt offering a more native experience, which would require a download. This is definitely something that you’ll want to think about and consider.

Consideration #2 — Mobile App Development Team

What team do you want to build your app? Most people don’t realize that they need more team members than they initially anticipated. That’s one of the reasons why software development is expensive.  

As we said before, we need to build an app for both iOS and Android. These apps will be written in two different languages. So you’ll need an iOS developer and an Android developer. 

You might find a developer that can actually do both, but I would advise against that. Why?

If you have one person building two apps, it will just end up taking double the time. Alternatively, you can have two separate developers working on it simultaneously. It will cost you the same amount of money, but you’ll get to market much faster as they work in parallel to each other. 

In addition to the two platform-specific developers, you’ll also need a full stack web developer.

Even if you opt-out of the PWA route, you still need to host your app data somewhere in the cloud. What does this mean?

Unless your app is something super simple, like a calculator that only requires a quick function and nothing else, you’ll need to make sure that your data resides in a secure and scalable location in the cloud.

A calculator or a flashlight app doesn’t have data that needs to be saved anywhere. There’s no communication between users or anything like that. But most apps will be much more complex than that.

For example, when your users register after downloading the app, where do their usernames and passwords go? It doesn’t stay on the devices. Everything is stored on a database somewhere in the cloud. When users communicate with each other, give you ratings, and when you release new updates, all of this is hosted in an infrastructure in the cloud. 

So you’ll need a full stack web developer to create this infrastructure that you need with the API so that your mobile app can access the data. 

You’ll also need a designer on your team to make sure everything looks good. 

Eye candy is the biggest selling point for most apps. It’s not necessarily always about the app functionality. If it looks pretty, it will engage with your user-base, which is extremely important—especially in such a competitive landscape. 

Your app development team needs a QA person as well. Their responsibility is to make sure that the software is properly tested. They run testing on multiple browsers, devices, and operating systems. Whether it’s the backend infrastructure or the app functionality itself, the QA has to cover all of your bases. 

Last, but certainly not least, your team needs a project manager. You can do this yourself or hire someone else. The project manager ensures that the team is hitting their deadlines, oversees the entire project, and holds everyone accountable.

So in the end, your team will be at least six people—three developers (iOS, Android, web), a designer, QA person, and a project manager. 

Consideration #3 — Infrastructure 

You’ll also need to consider where your app is being hosted. 

We’ve already established the fact that a member of your team needs to build this infrastructure. However, they’re probably not going to do it on some servers in your office; unless, of course, you’re still living back in the 1990s (but I do not recommend that). 

What you need to do is partner up with a hosting service that can host your app and its infrastructure. 

• Security
• Scalability
• Reliability

These are the three most important components to look for when searching for the right hosting service to meet the needs of your app. 

Consideration #4 — Existing Services

This piggybacks off of my last point. Why would you build servers in your office if you can just use an existing service to host your app? It makes no sense.

That’s not the only thing you can leverage. There are plenty of other existing services that are currently out there. Use those to your advantage when you’re building an app. 

For example, there are already cloud servers out there that you can integrate with. There are analytical servers, push notification servers, authentication servers, and more—all of which already exist. You can just integrate them with your app.

So before you go out and try to build these services and solutions from scratch, make sure you shop around to see if there is a service that already exists. This will save you money and time; it’s much easier than reinventing the wheel. 

Consideration #5 — Existing Tools

In addition to existing services that you can leverage, there are also existing mobile app development tools. Make sure you consider all of the tools available at your disposal before you start building anything. 

Just like we talked about with the existing services providers—shop around before you begin.

There are lots of tools out there that will help you build an app from scratch. From templates to components and designs, all of this stuff is out there. You can just purchase the tools and use them on your own. 

This will drastically speed up the app development process and give you more time to focus on the business logic that makes your app different from others on the market. 

Hybrid App Development

Another thing to consider within this category is a hybrid mobile app development platform. These services allow you to write code once, and the app will work for iOS, Android, and PWAs.

You won’t have to hire three different developers to develop three different apps. 

So one app won’t be leading while the other two just follow. With traditional app development, it’s common for a new feature to get released on iOS, and then a month later it’s released on Android. Then another month passes before it’s released on the PWA. 

With hybrid app development, you just develop it once, and it’s out there. 

Now, you may ask yourself why everyone isn’t working on a hybrid app. The truth of the matter is this; it’s not the best option for all apps. If you’re developing the next augmented reality app or something that needs a really high frame rate, like a game, hybrid apps won’t be ideal. But it will still work if you choose to do so. 

Rapid App Development (RAD)

The last toolset that you’ll want to consider using is rapid app development. 

These are tools that are a step above hybrid apps and give you the ability to quickly develop an all-in-one single IDE (integrated developer environment).

This allows you to build systems rapidly (as the name implies), host them, and get everything to market as fast as possible. 

There are lots of systems out there that provide this type of mobile app development platform. But to me, BuildFire is going to be your best option. Why?

It has tons of out of the box functionality that you can use, without having to code anything whatsoever. 

Plus, if you want something very specific to your use case and need custom development, you can get your developers to work on it using code that they already know. 

If you compare this to other mobile app development platforms out there, you’ll see that they just don’t stack up. While other solutions might be good, you still need to learn them first before you’re able to actually build anything. Other tools don’t really have out of the box functionality either. Those platforms are more like rapid app development tools that you still need to be a developer to work on.

So make sure that you find the existing tool that’s best for you and your situation. 

Conclusion

Starting a mobile app development project is exciting. While it can be tempting to just dive right in, there are certain things that must be taken into consideration first. 

Before you begin, remember these quick points and pro tips:

• What platform do you want to support?
• What will the team look like that’s going to build your app?
• Are there services that already exist today, so you don’t have to build everything from scratch?
• Make sure you have an infrastructure to back everything up—partner with a hosting company that can scale with you.
• Look for existing toolsets that will help you get your app to market much faster.

From templates to components and rapid app development tools like BuildFire, make sure you take a good look at all of your options to see what’s right for you and your company.