Mobile Applications

Why Mobile Apps

Mobile apps can provide a feature-rich functionality because apps can work seamlessly with a device’s native applications in more complex ways, and apps don’t necessarily require a connection to the internet to function.

Here are some things to consider before building your App

Which platform?
The obvious choice is the iPhone! But before you dive straight into to developing for the iPhone just because your CEO has one, consider the other smartphone platforms and if they might make more sense for you:

Blackberry
Palm Pre
Windows Mobile
Symbian
Android

Apple and Android are certainly dominant, holding the biggest share of the smartphone market and with app store/market that eclipse the competition both in terms of catalog size and number of downloads.

One step at a time
Don’t run before you can walk. Build for one platform first, release it and measure its success. Get the first platform right before you think about building more. Just because Amazon has apps for iPhone, Android and Blackberry doesn’t mean you need do.

Make the experience consistent with your website
The users of your shiny new mobile app have been users of your website for years. Make sure that their mobile experience is consistent with their web experience.

Measure
Your executive sponsors will want to see results, so make sure you’re in a position to report back to them. Like your website, you need full analytics on your mobile app. Make sure you’re at a minimum tracking the following analytics:

Number of app downloads and installations
Number of app removals
Number of app starts
Average usage time
Order analytics by the mobile app (number of orders, avg order value, conversion rate etc)
Where the app is being used (GPS data)