The growing popularity of apps for productivity, entertainment, gaming, social media, and more has created many opportunities for budding and established app developers.
If you’re an app developer and you’re looking for a way to start your own mobile app business, there are plenty of free tools that can help you get started.
In this post, we’ll explore the different ways you can build an app for free, as well as provide a list of helpful low-cost tools and resources.
Anatomy Of A Mobile App
The incredible revolution of the mobile phone over the past decade has changed the way the world works. Mobile applications have become such an integral part of our day to day lives, from helping us to check the weather in the morning to providing us with endless entertainment possibilities.
However, the creation of an app is not quite as easy as it sounds. There are many factors that combine together to create its anatomy.
User experience
If you want to create a successful app, having a great user experience is key. Without this, people who download it will be tempted to delete it straight away as it could be complex and confusing to navigate.
A good app that has an excellent user experience will be extremely easy to navigate. The goal of your app should be to make it easier for a user to accomplish the intended goal, not complicate things even more.
Data integration
Some of the best mobile apps out there integrate customer data within the app experience to provide an experience that feels personal, complete and highly differentiated.
People usually respond well to apps that combine data integration in real-time as they can keep up the pace with what they are looking for at that moment.
Offline access
Due to the sheer number of applications that are available to download from app stores in the present day, expectations are high. If you want your app to be successful you need to consider what features a user will be looking for in order to keep it installed on their phone and be useful to them every day. One of these features is offline availability.
Having an app that becomes unresponsive when there is no signal of internet connection effectively renders it useless. You need to be able to use the fact the most modern mobile devices have file storage available to the app to your advantage. This means utilising this storage to cache items the user is working with and then synchronise them as soon as they reconnect.
Upgrades and scalability
Technology is always advancing and so you will need to regularly update your app to keep up with any changes. If your app cannot be upgraded or scaled up as the number of users increases, it puts a big risk on its success.
Updating your apps could be more for a variety of reasons such as to install the latest features, improve app security and stability, or fix a critical security vulnerability or bug problem.
How To Build A Mobile App
If you want to build a mobile app but have no idea where to start, you’ve come to the right place.
Usually, to be able to build an app you would need to know how to code. Code can be quite difficult and time-consuming to learn, not to mention getting to grips with the different code languages and which ones are suitable for the various types of operating systems.
Luckily, there are tools that can help you to create an app without any need for code. This is a great way to make your visions come to life and create rich, engaging apps that consistently deliver a great user experience for anyone who installs them.
Appy Pie
Appy Pie is one of the most popular tools available (with over 3 million users worldwide) to anyone who wants to create a free mobile app within a matter of minutes.
It is available with a wide variety of great features that you can add to your app including instant messaging, in-app purchases and advertising. To get started with your app there are three main steps:
- You will need to select a category for your app i.e lifestyle, business, social media
- Build your app using the extensive rolls provided. You can use pre-built pages for a quick build, or design your own pages and create your own navigation system for a more unique app.
- Publish your app and make it available for users to install from the app store.
Appy Pie has a very strong emphasis on customer service and provides users with many tutorials and how-tos to make the process of building an app as smooth as possible. They even have a live chat option where you can get in touch with a professional in case you run into any issues whilst creating your app.
Price: Offers both free and paid plans that start at $9.99 a month.
AppMakr
AppMakr is another great and free tool that is used worldwide to easily create apps. It offers many great features to allow users to create and launch an HTML and iOS or Android app including:
- Built-in notifications
- High-quality photo galleries
- Live updates
- Design and navigation customisation
The process of making an app on AppMakr is in fact very simple. The tool allows you to integrate text, audio, video and HTML elements to create an app within a matter of minutes. After this, you can publish your app onto the relevant app store and update it as you need.
Price: Offers both free and paid plans that start at just $1 a month.
GoodBarber
A flexible and intuitive app maker, GoodBarber offers a wide variety of designs and seamless processes to make building an app as easy as possible. It offers a great range of features that you can incorporate into your apps such as push notifications, geo notifications and social media messaging all with a friendly user interface.
GoodBarber breaks down the process of making an app into seven sections which include:
- Articles
- Video
- Photos
- Sound
- Map
- Form
- Calendar
One of the best aspects of this tool is that they offer two different types of app making: either shopping or classic. When you choose one of these options you can tailor the app specifically to what you are looking for. For example, the shopping option provides a one-click checkout functionality as well as a whole other set of functions that have been geared toward driving sales.
Price: Offers both free and paid plans which start at $25 a month.
Tips For Mobile App Development
With the jump in technology and the fact that most people today own and use a smartphone, it is no surprise to find out that the average person has around 80 apps installed.
The world of application making is very competitive, so if you want to make a great app that becomes successful you will need to follow a few key tips.
- Identify your target audience – knowing who you are targeting your app for and designing it with their needs in mind will make your app much more likely to succeed.
- Offer good value – most apps are free to download with the option of purchasing further in-app experiences. This allows users to get a feel of your app and decide whether it is what they are looking for.
- Define the features – Having a lot of features may seem like a good idea, but it’s usually not. Try focusing on a set of core features that will satisfy your user’s needs.
- Maintain high performance – The process of making an app does not stop after it is published on an app store. You will need to constantly monitor and update the app when necessary to keep up with advancements and maintain a high-quality application for your users.
Sam Collier is the founder of Fifium, a web and mobile application development blog dedicated to sharing expert knowledge and insights in the tech industry. With over 15 years of combined experience among its developers, Fifium started as a small group of like-minded professionals passionate about mobile development and has grown into a respected source of information and guides.
