Our experts will describe all stages of app design from idea to programming and launch - everything you need to know to bring your iPad or iPhone app to life and start making money.
How Mobile Development is Different?
There is a lot to learn about mobile app development, and you had better start right now. iPhone and iPad app development is different from website creation mainly because you have all the features of the devices at your disposal, and with the release of iOS 10 even more functionality has been opened up to developers by Apple. The good thing is that you can earn money with the app. Create something unique and engaging, and rake in heaps of money.
Getting Started As an iOS App Developer
To start with, you will have to go to the Apple Developer Program and click Enroll to get access to support materials and register your iOS devices to be authorised to test apps on them. If you are going to develop all by your own, you can sign in with your individual Apple ID to Apple Developer Program, while if you are going to build the app as a team, create a new Apple ID unique for your group. You can register as a developer for free. It is also free to sign up and get access to Apple Developer tools supported by the latest version of the iOS operating system.
This will be enough for you to program and test the app, but if you develop an app with an aim of selling it, you are required to sign in for the Apple’s membership at the annual fee of £69. Becoming a member of the Apple Developer Program will also give you such benefits as access to beta versions of the latest software like iOS and Xcode. Before you dive into the development process head first, you should carefully plan every step. Of course, there is no uniform plan to base your project on, but here are some useful tips recommended by our professional developers.
- App purpose
- App functionality
- Branding and promotion
- Creative design
- Prepared assets
What goal is your app intended to achieve? Try to keep it basic and simple, for example, a To-do list app creates lists, allows to edit them and share. Cooking app offers recipes from the database, enables you to add them to favourites and upload the recipes of your own. Write down the purpose of the app in one simple sentence.
Thinks of the features your app will incorporate. Make the list as simple as possible - include only the features that you need for the app to achieve the purpose. Then add one or two creative and engaging features that will make the app stand out from the crowd.
What will be your app’s stile and how will you promote it? Is it a cheerful and friendly entertainment app or a high-end efficient business productivity tool? Create an outline of the marketing strategy and ensure that the app’s style fits into it.
Draw sketches of every screen and design the interactions of navigation bars and buttons.
Although Apple provides many stock icons, buttons and other elements, you still need to design logos, images, sounds, etc. You should also think of the technologies the app will require. Will Xcode and App Store be enough? Or maybe the app will need a server, e-commerce integration or other technologies? It is essential to figure it out in advance.
Learn Basics of iPhone App Creation
Developing games and apps for Apple’s devices such as iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch has never been so easy. There is a great variety of tools to help you get through the app design process: Apple’s integrated development environment Xcode 8, Swift programming language and other helpful tools such as Metal. At first, developing an iOS app might seem like a big challenge, but in fat it is not as hard as it sounds. Fortunately, there are plenty of manuals, tutorials and guides to help you learn the craft of app programming and design and navigate you through the development process.
How to Code Your iPhone App
If you want to fully emerge into app development, then you will probably b interested in coding the app by yourself. If you have any coding experience, it will not be a hard task, especially now that Apple lowered the barriers back in 2014 with the introduction of iOS 8 and the Swift programming language. iPhone and iPad applications can be created in a development environment called Xcode. It is Apple’s official software that is available only for Macs, so make sure you have the Apple’s laptop.
Useful Links for iOS Programmers
Here are a number of links that will help you learn the basics of iOS programming:
You may also search for online tutorials from major universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard and Stanford. You can find the Stanford’s course on Developing iOS 9 App with Swift in iTunes. Watching these tutorials is a great practice because it allows you to see the development process as it is and learn from the best.
Outsource iPhone Application Development
If you feel that you will hardly succeed as an iPhone developer, you have two options - to hire a developer to build an app from scratch or help you throughout the development. Building a native app for iOS with a team of IT experts can be expensive - the prices typically start from £20,000. But if you feel confident about your idea, then it is certainly worth hiring a reputable developer and investing into the project. If you want to get some real-life coding lessons, then scan through sites like Meetup and look for tech events in your area. If you already have a certain budget allocated to app development, you can look for experts on a platform like LinkedIn. There is a comprehensive guide on how to find the right app developer on Mashable , check it out for more info on the topic.