iPhone app development is more difficult than android development because of the stringency of the rules guiding iPhone app development. Many apps that will easily get uploaded on Google Play Store get rejected on iOS App Store. Unfortunately, a lot of developers get angry and frustrated when their app is rejected. The truth is, the rules and guidelines for iPhone app development are based on what app users want. So, if your app gets rejected, chances are slim that the very app will be successful.
Without further ado, here are some important guidelines for iPhone app development from an
iPhone app development company that is in line with Apple’s rules and regulations and it will also increase your chances of cutting it big with the app.
Plan and sketch your app design
The first and most important step is to plan your idea and then you can sketch it. Think of the problems that your app will solve or the task it is meant to handle. Remember, every iPhone app is meant to solve a problem. The only exceptions to this rule are game apps.
Do people need the service your app is meant to render? This is another important question you should ask yourself. This stage/step is a must. Remember, failing to plan is almost like planning to fail. Now, after establishing the purpose of your app, you need to sketch what the user interface will look like and how users will go about using it. You may consult an experienced app development project manager on this.
Do your research
Find out if there are apps solving the same problems with yours. If any, you should study each of them to know how they are making money. You also need to find out their drawbacks. You definitely want your app to be an improvement on existing apps within the same category. You need to know how your competitors are promoting their apps.
Come up with wire-frame
The next step is to create user experience roadmaps that demonstrate how users will go about using your app. These roadmaps are nothing but the architecture blueprint of your app.
Wire-frames should be followed by the design
When you are satisfied with the wire-frames of your app, you can then begin to design your app based on the wire-frames. In other words, here is the stage where you will implement your wire-frames. Sometimes, you may find an aspect of your wire-frames difficult to implement. You must find a way to implement it. When some developers run into this kind of challenge, they usually follow the easy way out by editing the wire-frame. When you do that, you will be reducing the quality of your app and compromising user experience.
The idea here is to device the easiest way by which your app will solve problems. Try to design your app to do the tasks it is made for in the fewest possible clicks. You should ensure that the interface of your app is visually appealing and it is quite intuitive so that users will be able to navigate through easily. Use attractive, engaging, and intelligible animations, graphics, and icons in your design stage.
Plan the architecture
Before now, you must have focused on the front-end. Now, you must also plan the back-end and synchronize it with front-end. You definitely want to your app to give users real-time response. Both ends must work together. For some apps, the developers of the back-end are different from front-end developers. Both sets of developers have to collaborate at this stage. This is where you will ensure that your app is scalable and stable.
App development begins
The development of both front-end and back-end of the app should begin after planning. At this point, the codes for your app can be developed. As mentioned earlier, never change your design because it is difficult to implement. Instead, strive to ensure you implement your design to the letter. Usually, app development is a collaborated effort of both the front-end and back-end teams of developers.
The areas to concentrate on, during front-end app development are proper deployment, testing, UI design and development, development of wire-frames, synchronization of database, and caching of database. At the other hand, back-end development includes push notification services, integration of data, customization of user experience, maintenance of server-side functions, management of user authentications and accounts, and setting up of back-end structure.
Test your app
This is another area where some developers fail. This is because a lot of developers are usually impatient. They want to launch their app as quickly as possible. On the other hand, some developers actually test their app but they do shallow tests. If you want to test your app thoroughly, you should test the following functions as these are what Apple also looks out for.
- Test how your app performs on different types of mobile devices
- Test its security and how safe users’ data is on the app
- Test how usable it is
- Check its automated script identification and modification
You need to get some people to test the app for some days or weeks and give you their report. Every page, link, button, and icon should work fine. If your app does excellently well in all the areas, then you are good to go.
Submit your app to the App Store
You can now submit your app by following the steps right below.
1. Create an app Identifier or ID for your app
2. Create an iOS profile for distribution
3. Configure your settings in Xcode
4. Create an App Store Listing for your app
5. Create a Release Build
6. Fill in the Version Information and submit version for review
The app will be uploaded on App Store if it meets Apple’s standards.
Seek feedback and release updates
No matter how good your app is, there will always be rooms for improvement. So you should always
improve user experience on your app through regular updates. The best way to achieve this is to seek feedback from users. You can now work on the feedback in your updates.
The only time you can stop updating an app is when you are ready to retire it.