App Development Melbourne

App development professionals that understand the entire process of developing an app from idea to publishing and subsequent media outreach and marketing, are surprisingly hard to come by. We pride ourselves on being a full-service offering when it comes to app development.

Full service app development

Our clients come to us with their app idea. We then help them design it, we write the code that makes it run, we build the databases, we hook up the analytics for user statistics, we create the branding and go-to-market strategy, we help our clients get the app through the review phase with Apple/Google, then we help bring it to the masses via relevant blogger/influencer outreach, press releases and paid online marketing through platforms like Facebook Ads and Google Adwords.

Consider yourself a non-techie? No problem…

Many of our app clients came to us with little-to-no knowledge of how apps work or how to launch and monetise them. We realise that your time is often best spent working on what you know, rather than trying to learn the ins-and-outs of app development. It’s for that reason that we provide a full-service, end-to-end solution as well as ongoing app support services, that allow our clients to focus on what really matters: growing and monetising their user base!

What are the stages of app development?

  1. Ideation: You’ve likely come up with this, and that’s why you’re contacting us!
  2. Brief: We develop a detailed brief of all the features and functionality you’re hoping to implement into the app, including the screens that will be required (such as user login, edit profile and search screens).
  3. Design: Once you’ve signed off on the brief, we’ll begin to design each screen of the app. App coding does not begin until the screen designs have been locked down and signed off by you.
  4. Development: Our developers code up the screens and any supporting web-based databases required to make your app work.
  5. Testing: Once the app is largely built, it’s time to start testing the user experience and make sure the brief has been fulfilled.
  6. Branding: This stage is usually initiated in the design phase, however, it doesn’t take shape until the app development is close to completion. App icons, app name and an associated basic app website is built.
  7. App Store submission: Once your app is ready to launch, we help you set up your app’s App Store listing and then submit your app to Apple for review. The review process usually takes 2 weeks, barring any change requests from Apple.
  8. Marketing and outreach: So the App Store is an interesting beast. Just because you’ve created an app, doesn’t mean people will find it. However, there are plenty of things we can do to make sure people do.
    The first is to make your app free! Hold on, you’re thinking, this app idea is meant to allow me to retire to QLD and live off passive app income, how am I going to do that if I’m giving it away for free? Great question, the answer is in-app purchases. We’ll make your app so that basic functionality is free and anything more advanced is only available to those that pay a small fee. In every single case we’ve studied, this “freemium” model has outperformed up-front payment apps. There are a few main reasons:

    • People are more likely to download a free app, and therefore you get your app in the hands of potentially 100x more people.
    • Apple seems to prioritise free apps with in-app purchases in the “free apps” category of the app store. Probably because they know it works, and that they’ll end up receiving a cut of that revenue (FYI – Apple keeps 30% of the revenue your app generates. That’s a lot, but then again, some people manage to build an app, do some initial marketing, then leave the app to grow on its own via its solid app store ranking and word-of-mouth from happy users – all while pulling in cash).
    • Once people download your app, and realise that it’s useful/fun/educational, they’re prepared to pay to make it more useful/fun/educational.

iPhone, Android of both?

At this point in time, we are only taking on iPhone/iPad/Apple watch app development. There are two reasons for this, the first being that we are still building our Android capability and refuse to offer a less than perfect product. Second, statistically, Apple users spend a more money, on apps, than Android customers. Put simply, it’s easier for a first time app owner make money from an Apple app, than an Android app. We’re planning to begin accepting Android app development work in the coming months, so don’t hesitate to contact us if you’re desperate to make an Android app.

Also, opting to build both iPhone and Android apps is a great idea, as once your app starts to get downloads via word-of-mouth, you really need to be able to cater for both Apple and Android users. We do have one word of advice though, the first version of your app will likely be VERY different to the second and third versions, as you’ll likely find out that the feature you thought would attract people, is not actually the feature people love. We’ve found this time and again, and you probably can’t predict it, you just have to measure the response from users (by utilising clever analytics tracking and data) and then adjust the focus of your app accordingly (we can help with this). It’s for this reason that we suggest people only build on one platform (i.e. Apple) for their first version. Then we’ll help you reach other platforms once your app is well targeted and creating value for users.

Conclusion

Hopefully the above gives you a brief primer into the key stages of app development, and some of the pros and cons of app ownership. If you’d like to learn more, give Matt (our lead app developer) a call on 0409 911 922 or use our contact form below.

Contact us about creating your app

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