The application market has exploded recently, with millions of people creating their own applications using the Apple App Store and Google Play. These apps can range from your everyday calculator app to games that are available on almost any device. But how do these programmers create an app and make money?
A programmer’s income comes from the sale of their application (or other digital content) on the store. An example of this would be the Angry Birds game, where you purchase the game for 99 cents and then use it on any Android or iOS mobile phone. By doing this, the developer earns revenue from each sale.
But how does this work? What goes into developing an app? Let’s take a look at some of the steps to create an application.
Create a basic idea for your app
It may sound like a simple task, but this is actually the hardest step. You need to have a clear understanding of what your app needs to accomplish before you begin programming it. This includes researching similar apps and determining what features and functions you want to include. Think about who you’re targeting with your app and what they’ll benefit from. If you don’t know exactly what you want to do, here are a few tips:
How to make an App
1. Use a database (sqlite) – Store your data in a database that can be easily manipulated using sql queries. A lot of popular databases are available like MySQL, MongoDB, Postgresql etc. These databases are usually used for web applications but they work fine for mobile apps too.
2. Create a RESTful API – As mentioned above, this is a resource oriented architecture approach where each entity has its own URI path. In addition to the URL paths, you also need to define how you would access these resources. You do this by defining HTTP methods like GET /users, POST /users, PUT /users etc.
3. Use JSON as the format of choice – JSON stands for JavaScript Object Notation, which is a lightweight data-interchange mechanism. It is easy to read and write plain text without any formatting. It is therefore ideal to use in APIs. Most languages implement their own JSON libraries and hence you don’t need to worry much about how to parse the JSON responses from the server.
4. Implement some form validation – Validation ensures that only valid input is being passed through to your application. An example of validating username inputs might look something like this var username document.getElementById(“username”).value; if(!containsStringInUsername(username)) { alert(‘Please enter a valid username’); return false; }
5. Use caching – Caching helps reduce load times by storing the result of your request locally instead of making a network call. There are many different types of caches available in javascript and I recommend reading about them here. One type of cache that may interest you is LocalStorage which is perfect for small amounts of information that needs to be kept between sessions.
6. Design your UI appropriately – Users expect certain behaviors out of their apps and they are not always happy if things go wrong either intentionally or unintentionally. For example, if your app asks for permission to access location services and the user says ‘yes’ but later finds that the app has been accessing his location even though he had denied permissions, he will probably get upset. So it’s good practice to design your interfaces carefully.
how to create an app and make money
1. Make a free version of your product
– Start off by creating a free version of your app that users can download and use without any limitations. This way, they are able to test out what features work well and what don’t. You can then develop this into a paid app later on.
2. Add extra features for free users
– Once you have released a stable version of your app, add features to it for free users. For example, if you’re making a calculator, add basic arithmetic functions like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
3. Get people using your app
– Create a promotion where you give away free copies of your app. In exchange for downloading your app, users get something else of value – usually physical goods, but other times it’s simply a coupon code.
What are we going to build?
Think about what your app can do and how people might use it. There should be at least three features – Home, About, and Contact. You need to decide if you want to make this a free or paid project. Choose wisely!
You don’t have to implement them right away, but get an initial idea of what they’ll look like. Don’t forget to include screenshots!
Include links to any websites where you got ideas or inspiration from, like Instagram, Facebook, blogs etc.
We are not looking for specific design patterns. We just ask that you show us your understanding of them. If you’re stuck or confused about anything feel free to contact me.
The best projects are usually created by teams and we encourage you to work together. Everyone brings different talents to the table.
Start small – Don’t try to create a full-blown application right away! Start with something simple, like a calculator app. Once you’ve got the basics down, expand it to become a fuller version of the original. It is not that difficult to create an app and make money.