The idea of building your own mobile applications is fairly new, and while we have been living it day in and day out for years, we realize that to the uninitiated, it sounds like a daunting undertaking. But the fact of the matter is, given the right plan and tools, anyone can build their own app.
Here are few hints to get you started. If you can follow some of these simple guidelines, you will be well on your way to creating great mobile apps!
Have a Plan
A major key to building your own mobile application is to have a basic plan. Adjustments can always be made during the development process, but you should have an idea of the basic goals of the application. The key elements to the plan are the who, what, where, why, and how of the application.
- Who: Will this be an application for your own business? Maybe for your own private use? Will other groups find it useful and would you want to share it with them? Do you plan on charging others for use?
- What: What functionality will the application have? Will you have to enter data? If so, what data? Will it pull data from across the web? If so, from where? Will the app be temporary, for a specific purpose or event, or will it have on-going everyday use?
- Where: Will you publish it publicly on an application store, or will you just make it available to a select few? Which operating system will you use? Will it be a native application (operating directly with the end device camera or GPS) or a web-based application?
- Why: Perhaps most importantly, what value will the app have for improving your business? Will it help you better engage your best customers for more sales? Will it build your brand? Will it help your travelling employees be more productive?
- How: How will the application get the information it needs to complete the tasks? Will you need geo-location information? Will you need to access a centralized database? Will you need specific date from an Internet source? Will you need to use the device camera?
Once you have a basic profile of your new app, what next?
The Right Tool for the Right Job
Your success in building your new mobile application depends heavily on the tools with which you work. We truly believe in the MobiFlex platform and feel we have developed the essential tool for self-service mobile application building. However, in the interest of objectivity, let’s look at the qualities we thought were crucial to application building as we built the MobiFlex platform.
- Visual, graphics-based interface: Software coding is hard and wrought with possible pitfalls for non-engineers. A graphical, drag and drop interface is a much easier way to initiate, organize and activate functionality. As computer users, most of us are familiar with dragging and dropping icons, while few of us know how to build those icons (or the related functionality) using code.
- Flexibility: If you plan on developing one specific application in one specific environment, you may be able to get away with a platform that only lets you work one way. But take it from us, this stuff can be addictive. Once you make one application, we are pretty sure you will want to do another, with more functionality, of course. With that in mind, look for a development platform that will allow for flexibility in functions, flexibility in operating environments and flexibility in distribution options. The more possibilities, the more your apps will be able to do.
- Testing: an often overlooked function but you should be able to test your new apps for free. Let’s face it, the first version is rarely perfect, and it shouldn’t cost money to go back and add features your users identify or to fix bugs.
We will be discussing many of these topics in greater detail in the weeks and months ahead, as well as including feedback and lessons learned from folks who have built their own apps. So stay tuned, and keep rethinking your mobile apps.
Like most folks, we here at MobiFlex believe mobile devices, in all their different forms and languages, hold a certain power that, when effectively tapped, can help businesses work and communicate more efficiently and provide a far more effective forum for engagement with end customers.
We do not believe, however, that the mobile device’s power should rest solely in the hands of specialized application developers knowledgeable in various elements of source code.
Everyone – and every business – should be able to build their own mobile apps, and we are here to help.
If you have ever stared down at that device in your hand and said, “This is pretty good, but I really wish my phone could do THIS,” than this is the place for you. The fact is, with a little work and a little help, your phone probably can do that, and you don’t need a degree in computer science to get it done. We have developed an interface-based platform that can help almost anyone build their own mobile apps without coding and at a minimal cost. Check it out and we think you will be surprised by what’s possible.
If you’d like a second opinion, read John Brandon’s recent column in Inc. Magazine titled “Can You Make Your Own App?”
But the power to create your own business and personal apps also comes with a lot of questions, and that is the true reason behind this blog. How do you make the most from your new apps? How and where to publish? Native or web-based? How does one market and make money with your new app? These are the kinds of questions we will be addressing over the coming months, not to mention the more detailed technical questions that will inevitably come up. Бонусы от казино х зеркало официальный сайт представлены на сайте 16-casino-x.com
If you’ve decided to build your own mobile apps, you’re not alone. You are part of a growing community. To that, we say “Welcome” and hope you will bookmark the Rethink Mobile Apps blog to enjoy our ongoing commentary and education on mobile app creation.
In case you missed the announcement, MobiFlex’s ViziApps recently added an exciting new capability to its already potent arsenal: the “back” button.
“Big deal,” you may be thinking. But in truth, it is a big deal. And we’re not the only ones who think so. In fact, in his recent white paper “Integrating Native Mobile Apps and ‘Help’ with MadCap Flare“, Neil Perlin of Hyper/Word Services used ViziApps to demonstrate how native apps can connect to online help documentation.
For a little background and perspective, we’re seeing the emergence of applying native mobile capabilities to a whole range of ways that people have traditionally used computer systems. And a ubiquitous element of software products and IT solutions — whether desktop, mobile, or cloud-based — is that they all have some form of help documentation or online services to assist users. A key player in the online electronic help industry is MadCap Corporation. Neil Perlin has had 20 years experience in that industry, and he saw a need that could be met by integrating help documentation into mobile device platforms for people to conveniently use. In his white paper, he offers some examples of how that can be done, and he helps people think about ways they can apply MobiFlex’s ViziApps for this purpose within their mobile apps, in conjunction with their other software or business solutions.
So where does the ViziApps back button come into play? During app development, people often want to leverage existing desktop or online solutions to the new mobile platforms. In doing so, they have a range of existing help documentation and files that they’d like to repurpose, rather than rebuilding it from scratch. With ViziApps, they can link from their app to help documentation with a simple tap of the new back button.
According to the results of a recent survey by Symantec, 71 percent of companies are “at least discussing mobile applications.” And one-third are deploying them.
What is stopping your business from getting past the talking stage and taking advantage of the flexibility mobile apps offer your customers, employees and partners?
The process of developing mobile business apps can be much more straightforward than you might expect. Without requiring any coding at all, ViziApps enables the creation of both native and web business apps for Apple iOS and Android devices. Its drag-and-drop approach eliminates the need for coding, resulting in significant savings in time and project costs.
If you’re looking to publish a mobile app quickly, using either with a URL link or QR code, consider creating web apps with ViziApps. If you want to take advantage of on-device resources, such as a GPS, calendar, contacts, or camera, you can use ViziApps to build native apps. Regardless of which type of mobile app your business requires, you can create one quickly and cost effectively, without coding. (For more on the differences between web and native apps and how to decide which type would meet your needs, see an earlier post in this blog.)
Symantec’s survey revealed that nearly half of companies find mobility “somewhat to extremely challenging.” With ViziApps, the app creation phase, a critical step in enterprise mobility, does not have to be the least bit daunting.
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