How your mobile app functions can make or break your business. After all, an excellent app is downloaded millions of times and used often. As a result, you have the opportunity to monetize it.

But the thing is, building a successful mobile app is not easy. Most app developers fall into the trap of making crucial mistakes. So much so that it hurts their business’ bottom line.

That said, we have listed down nine crucial mobile app development mistakes that you should avoid. Otherwise, it can ruin your number of downloads.

1. Not doing enough market research

If you have a buyer persona that is dated years back, then you might want to reconsider.

Because your customers’ needs and demands are constantly changing, it needs updates as well.

After updating your buyer profile, the next thing that you need to do is to reach out to your target audience. Doing so lets you dig deep and understand what their pain points are.

Why do they need the app in the first place? What value or solution does your app provide for them? What are the key features do they expect you to provide in your app?

Your app goes right into the deployment to the barren phase by doing comprehensive market research.

2. Not making a great first impression

If your app does not immediately grab the user’s attention, then what it does is that it will easily be drowned in a sea of apps.

Do not expect your app to stand out.

Ideally, you have to make users fall in love with your app on the first tap. Despite all that competition, what are the chances for your app to be noticed?

That’s where first impressions come in.

Start with offering quick loading times or a couple of animation videos that will engage the users when loading.

3. Developing for multiple platforms

Developing an app for various platforms all at the same time can be challenging and difficult for a lot of developers.

According to data by Statistica, Google Play has approximately 2.8 million apps, with Apple coming next to 2.2 million apps. Now, which ones will you choose?

A lot of developers attempt to develop for both these platforms all at once. That’s understandable, especially if you want it to be available all at the same time. But from a developer’s standpoint, trying to do everything all at once is a huge mistake.

Unless you have unlimited resources, designing your apps for multiple platforms will require a lot of time, effort, and money.

If you have a big budget, then this prospect will usually work. But if you’re just starting out, then you’re probably short of time and money.

Now, the best thing that you can probably do is to pick one powerful platform first. Based on the mobile usage of your target audience. Then, you can expand to other platforms after the few months of your initial release.

By doing so, you’re not only saving a lot of time and money, but you’re also significant issues that you might encounter in your app during the development stage.

4. Too much stuff on screen

Back then, when phones used to be smaller, most designers faced the issue of trying to fit everything on a screen. But as supersized phones and tablets are introduced, bigger fonts, fancier designs, and more buttons have become increasingly common.

But do not easily fall on this freedom trap. More does not necessarily mean that it is better, so try to be as selective as possible.

Attract users by making your app easily navigable. Also, make use of a design that allows the user’s eye to focus on your page’s most significant aspects.

Ideally, you want people to access your content straight away, and in a more intuitive manner.

5. Thinking your app is going to sell on its own

No matter how optimistic you are when launching your app, you will find yourself amidst a sea of competitors when you publish it.

Therefore, if you do not have a comprehensive plan to boost your app’s visibility, you run the risk of just fading into the background.

So, before starting your marketing efforts, you need to ensure that you know who your target users are.

It would be ideal to define specific issues that affect your target audience and create an app that addresses those issues.

For instance, you can use tools like Google Trends to identify current customer trends and demands. Your goal is to build an app that will reach a featured status on the App Store.

While you definitely can make it to the “Staffs Picks” section, you can boost your chances by taking advantage of Apple’s latest releases.

However, even if you do not build your app around the latest hardware technology, this is always an important thing that you need to keep in mind. That way, you can give your app the boost that it needs.

6. Adding unnecessary features

It is true: App features can make your app attractive and useful to users.

But that does not mean that you need to complicate your app even further by adding other unnecessary features.

Having a lot or too many destructive features will end up confusing and annoying users.

Nothing can force you to kill your app quicker than having these unconnected and unnecessary features.

See to it that you include features which not only meet the objectives of your business, but it should be relevant to users at the same time.

7. Rushing testing phase

So, you have an app, and you’re ready to release it to the market.

But chances are, rushing the testing phase and releasing it immediately can backfire.

Ideally, before releasing the app, you should spend some time testing it.

That way, it’s easy for you to discover any problems that may arise in your app, notice random bugs, and even improve your app’s overall design.

Unfortunately, a lot of developers fail to execute this phase properly. Some developers rush through the testing phase in a hurry to release the app out ASAP in the market. Some don’t even spend time testing the app at all. But rushing this phase can lead to multiple problems in the long run.

Remember that bugs are part of the software, but it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do your part in minimizing them. Because of the vast array of smartphones available in the market, your app should be thoroughly tested on as many popular devices as possible.

Also, during the testing phase, you should be able to use every available tool to you.

Let a group or selected users install and use your app. Give them enough time to use the app just like a regular user would, and listen to their feedback, both good and bad.

The more problems you’ll encounter at the launch, the fewer chances people can download your app. So, take your time to test the app.

Don’t try to rush it. Remember that the quality you put out there is essential, even if it means releasing the app later than you’ve expected.

8. Not releasing updates

Even if you are confident that your app will do what it is designed to do, chances are, there will be people who will not be satisfied with your app’s performance.

The thing is, you do not stop in the development process. It also does not end in monitoring the performance of your app.

You also need to improve your app based on your target audience’s preferences and fix whatever bug or issue you can find.

9. Creating an app which uses a lot of space

The thing is, a mobile phone has a limited storage capacity. Hence, you need to consider it when developing your mobile app.

Developing an app takes up a lot of space, which is one of the worst mistakes that can happen. Users would not want to install a bulky app, and users will uninstall it (especially if it is taking up a lot of space on their devices) without a second thought.

To ensure that your app does not consume too much memory and storage, here are some things that you need to do:

• Get rid of any unnecessary codes
• Optimize your web assets
• Compress your PNG and JPEG files
• Breakdown the APK

Parting Thoughts

There is an increasing number of mobile Internet users nowadays. Thus, your mobile app can make a difference to make people know that your brand and services exist.

This explains why many Magento development companies that make mobile apps are wary of the mistakes listed above. Otherwise, it can hurt their brand and their reputation.

Sure, not committing mistakes does not mean you will have a billion-dollar company overnight. Nonetheless, it means you are a few steps closer to success.

It is vital to ensure that your mobile app is working correctly in the first place. If not, do not expect people to download and use your mobile app and get positive user reviews.