Experienced app development companies ensure they update their mobile apps regularly but new app development companies may not really know why. If you are also aspiring to become an app developer or you’re a new employee of an app development company, you may also not know why. This is why this article lists out some of the reasons why app development companies must update their app regularly. So, here are the reasons.
1. For security reasons
As app creation companies, it is your responsibility to keep the information of the users of your app secure and safe. Unfortunately, cybercriminals and hackers continuously search for loopholes in apps, websites, and other online systems.
It is bad that no security facility works for long. It is only a matter of time before hackers find a loophole within your system. So, the best bet is to stay several steps ahead of those idiots. By the time they discover a semblance of a loophole to your 7th security facility, you’ll be implementing your 10th one. The most important reason why
app development companies should always update their app is to plug every security loophole and to upgrade the security features on their app.
2. To keep up with technology
Technology advances regularly and app development industry has been enjoying its fair share of advancement too. So, it is necessary to follow the trend within your category of apps. For instance, many retail apps have integrated one or more mobile pay technologies into their app.
You may have observed the recent increase in the use of
Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay and Android Pay. It’s because they are fast, they are more convenient and their level of security is high. So, many retail apps already offer it. If you also run a retail app and you’re yet to integrate any of them into your system, you may already be losing some of your customers. However, that is not the issue here. It’s just an example of why apps must be updated to be at par with technology.
3. To fix bugs
No matter how many times you test your mobile app before launching it, there will always be bugs left. Only regular users will be able to detect all the bugs. Apart from that, every new feature you add to your app will likely come with its bug. Actually, some bugs are not the big problem but leaving them to linger for a long time is the real problem. The longer bugs remain in your mobile app, the more you lose users of the app.
So, it is important to fix all the bugs as they are detected. Fortunately, the solution tweaks to some of the bugs may not even be noticed by users.
4. To satisfy users
When people enjoy your mobile app, they’re likely to give you important feedback on what they like about your app, what they don’t like, and what you may improve upon. It is smart to seek their feedback and it is even smarter to implement what they want.
The more you follow users’ feedback, the more they’ll be eager to give you more feedback, and the longer they’ll use your mobile app. This also means you need to seek users’ feedback regularly.
5. To stay relevant
Smartphone users have several apps on their phone that they don’t use. Downloading your app does not mean they’ll use it regularly. With time, they’ll forget about your app for a long time. And when they eventually remember it, they’re likely to delete it.
Each time you announce an update to your app, they’ll be reminded of your mobile app. In addition, they may also want to try the new features that’ll come with your new update.
6. For the purpose of rebranding
You may have seen different organizations change the look of their existing products or change their
brand identity. It is called rebranding and it attracts more attention and demand. This is done in the app development industry too. You can give your app a complete makeover. This usually excites existing users and also attracts new ones. So, another reason to update your app is to give it a new look.
Now that you have an idea of the reasons to update your app regularly, you’ll probably want to know how frequently you should do it. Well, there is no straight answer to that. The frequency of update actually depends on several factors.
Factors that determine how frequently to update your app
The cost of an update is about 10 to 30 percent of the cost of developing an app so it does not make much business sense to update your app without any good reason. Users’ feedback is the first factor to consider. But this does not mean that you should just go ahead with an update just because a couple of users suggest it. You have to wait until a sizable number of users begin to agitate for something.
Cost is another factor to consider. What if you can’t muster the cost of the required update just yet? The only thing you can do is to wait until you’re able to raise the fund. In that situation, it will be necessary to inform users that you’re already working on their feedback.
The size of your team is another factor that will determine how often you’ll update your app. The bigger your team is, the more frequent you’ll be able to release an update. The most important factor is the problem at hand. If there’s a serious issue on your app that could make you lose the users of your app, you have no choice but to find a way to fix the problem as quickly as possible.
