So you’ve got a great idea for a new app? Have you any idea of how to bring it to the market?
Chances are if you’re tech savvy you’ll know how to deal with the nuts and bolts of coding to get it up and running. But what do you know about how to make it the go-to app so that it hits the public consciousness and, if you’re lucky, goes viral?
And where’s a really good place to set up and work with like-minded folk who have app design at the heart of what they do? You may think that Silicon Valley is the place to head for, but one of the main drivers in the mobile app business is, as residents would argue, the greatest city in the US, the Big Apple.
New York is the type of city where if you want to go-get you’ll have all the opportunity you need. No point in being a shrinking violet in the city that never, or rarely sleeps. This is a place of big ideas and a huge tech base where boutique specialists in front end design work with innovators of new apps to build interfaces that will attract customers and make them want to download and use.
Got the idea? Where’s the beef?
You’re back to the idea. How are you going to make it work? You need to think through a range of issues before you start. Like, what’s the app going to do? How relevant is it to end users? Does it have a core appeal? Will it make a part of life better and/or solve a specific problem?
You really need to do the research on this. Are there other apps that do the same or similar to yours? There are around one million and counting apps out there for iOS and Android, but that’s no reason to back off. Find out what similar type apps do, what their problems are, and look to innovate to make something better that will stand out.
Design Design
Echo New York, New York and get your front end design right. It’s the draw in for your potential customers, and though you might be fine with the back end work of databases and all the associated aspects such as posting and feedback forums, it’s the design that will hook browsers.
You know the maxim “Judge a book by its cover?” Apply it to what you put out online so that at first sight anyone accessing your initial info will want to go further. How do you do it?
In New York you’ll find creative and imaginative businesses like Worry Free Labs that understand the importance of the visual impact for the first time website visitor. Your app needs to be perfectly produced for a range of platforms, but with mobile platforms becoming ever more prevalent in terms of the way people access and use information, a front end designer needs to be able to work across these.
User-friendly experience is the key here. If people find it difficult or clunky to find the information they need, or if text against background is hard to read, or if navigation is badly signed then they’re going to click elsewhere and not come back However good you may be, or your development team may be at coding your back office functions, it’s likely to be wasted without that design imperative taking the stage.
Evolution of apps
Apps have been around since the 1990s with word processors, databases, spreadsheets and diaries available on hand held computers. As apps developed there were incompatibility issues across platforms, so today developers need to address the different platforms to ensure maximum reach for their products.
It’s not just the leisure industry that has a hold on the development of apps. Business too has areas that you can look to exploit to help them with their local, regional national and global markets. By making it easier for employees to access the real time information they need to contribute to an effective and efficient operation, apps can help to free up time that would otherwise be spent on the phone or having to access information on a desktop or laptop.
Design right
If your idea is good then you need to get advice for things you’re not comfortable about tacking yourself. It’s why New York is a good place to go for that design expertise, to turn your dream into reality and plug in to those high quality services that could make that dream a real success story.