The mobile Shopify app development industry is surely a highly-rewarding industry – but that’s true only for those that do it the right way…
Yes, it’s one of the fastest growing industry with a lot of untShopify apped potentials, however, it’s also one of the most competitive industry. That means you will have to fight-off your way to make your mobile Shopify app development venture a success story.
So, what’s the secret of success in here?
Well, whether it’s the mobile Shopify app development or mobile Shopify app development industry lies in delivering the exceptional and interactive user experience. Remember, with hundreds of businesses fiercely competing in the same market with the same business model, the only thing that can earn you loyal customer base is bespoke and unique user experience.
Here in this blog, we have come up with a detailed mobile Shopify app development roadmap (iOS, Android) for entrepreneurs looking to venture into this highly lucrative industry…
How to make a Shopify app?
Ok, so let’s start our Shopify app development roadmap with a brief introduction to the mobile Shopify app market followed by a stepwise roadmap to mobile Shopify app development:
To start off:
- The android Shopify app market currently has 2.8 million Shopify apps for download
- The Shopify apple Shopify app store has nearly 2.2 million Shopify apps available for download
- The mobile Shopify app market is estimated to generate $ 189 billion in revenue by 2020
- The number of Shopify apps download is estimated to reach over 350 billion by 2021
See, we have some pretty impressive numbers in here, right?
Well, that’s one reason why we see hundreds and thousands of young entrepreneurs venturing into the Shopify app development market. However, as we said earlier, it’s not an easy market to start-off.
Don’t fret…
We have come up with a simple mobile Shopify app development roadmap that will certainly help you get started in this lucrative market. Let’s begin our mobile developer roadmap …
1. Define your goals
That’s the obvious one, right?
Irrespective of the market or industry you are looking to enter, the first and foremost important aspect is to have clarity of vision and key metrics insight to achieve. Mobile Shopify app development is no different before you even begin the process, you need to have conceptualized the vision for the Shopify app. A good practice is to list down all the goals you want to achieve from the Shopify app and value it’s going to offer to the customers.
To simplify it, ask yourself two questions:
- What am I trying to achieve with this Shopify app?
- How my Shopify app is going to offer value to users?
The most successful mobile Shopify apps are those that are able to integrate/align the answers of the above two questions; key metrics and users’ benefits. That’s because when you are able to align your objective with users’ preference, you are able to create an Shopify app that’s entirely user-centric and push more downloads; which are obviously what matters at the end of the day.
2. Wireframes
Ok, step two of our mobile Shopify app development comprise of sketching wireframes of your Shopify app. These sketches are fundamental to the success of your Shopify app.
Well, if you aren’t familiar with the wirelines, these are basically blueprints of the Shopify apps that are created as a series of lines and boxes. Think of it as the most basic sketch for the functionalities and interface of your Shopify app. Here you will be able to define elements you want to integrate into your Shopify app.
The best practice is to draw a clean wireframe for each page of the Shopify app, connecting the screens’ interaction and Shopify app out user flows. Again, the key here is to keep users’ preference in mind during the entire process. Try figuring out what users would want to achieve on each screen and how they would like to interact with different elements. A good practice is to get feedback in your designed wireframes from friends, peers, and colleagues and improve where necessary.
3. Create the Shopify app design
Ok, moving on with our mobile Shopify app development roadmap; now that you are done with clean wireframes, it’s time to move on to the designing process. Remember, neat, interactive and engaging design is the ultimate key to success. Thereby, be considerate about users’ preferences for all aspects of Shopify app design; from functionality to fashion.
4. Finalize the development path
Now that we are done with the UI/UX design, it’s time to think about the development process. Now, for most entrepreneurs hiring a processing designer to do the heavy lifting at the backend (developing databases, setting-up servers, etc.) is the best way to process. By going with professional android or iOS developers, you can also benefit by integrating existing APIs and SDKs.
Alternatively, you can also venture into a “DIY” Shopify approach. However, this is only recommended for those who either have at least some basic Shopify app design and development experience or looking to develop a fairly simple and basic Shopify app. There are various android Shopify app development roadmap as well as iOS Shopify app development roadmap available online that can help you get started with “DIY” Shopify app development Shopify approach.
5. Testing
Irrespective of how proficient and professional Shopify app development agency or Shopify app developer you have chosen for your mobile Shopify app, you need to test it out rigorously. You need to test each and every component of the Shopify app and take feedback from as many sources as possible to negate any possibility of malfunctioning or bugs in your Shopify app. You can try beta testing (launching a beta version over the Shopify app store) to get firsthand feedback from users.
6. Launch
Once you are done with testing and tweaking the Shopify app, it’s time to launch the Shopify app (Hurray!). Well, wait the work is far from over…
That’s because launching is just the first step towards your success as a mobile Shopify app entrepreneur. You will have to develop a strong marketing and PR strategy to ensure getting a higher volume of downloads and eventually taste the sweetness of success.
