Sometimes thinking about something that has the propaganda of being complicated or hard takes a toll on you. It makes you feel overwhelmed and not so much at ease. However, behind the propaganda of complexity lies a process that you can simplify and understand. Our guide responds to a straightforward query that a lot of people with app visions have asked. “Is it hard to develop an app?” Well, together, we will unravel the mystery behind why this question was asked in the first place and determine if this is a process that is not that hard. Let me answer you and give you some insights on how easy it is to develop an app from scratch in order to fully empower your business and help it thrive!

Is It Hard To Develop an App?

The answer is no, but it used to be. I know you didn’t expect it to be this straight-forward from the beginning of the article. However, I feel like I have the urge to simply cut it short for you. In the past, we didn’t have the technological advancements that would allow us to simply build an app. We had to get help from app developers who are knowledgeable enough with coding and programming languages to help them build an app or develop one. With that being said, nothing in the beginning of the 2000s said anything relevant to the movement of citizen developers.

This is one movement that came along with certain advancements and helped us become empowered with technology and capable of creating or building apps from scratch without having any developers need. What is that movement, though? And how did it revolutionize the whole process and concept of app development? This is what we will uncover in the next paragraph. Dive in more in order to make sure you have full knowledge of it all.

The Citizen Development Movement: A Quick Overview

The citizen development movement of no-code app development is one that actually dates back to 2012. In 2012, the no-code evolution started. That was through companies that started businesses that only aimed to create app builders that people could use to develop applications with a simple drag-and-drop interface that requires no coding or programming skills. It actually only requires an eye for detail and organizational skills. Additionally, there is a vision from the owner of the app, who wishes to develop an app that supports a certain industry. This vision is one that they focus on and they make sure that they try to walk upon it.

These companies took it into their own hands to help turn ideas into real-life applications that could compete in the vast and most complicated market of apps nowadays. In this year, 2024, we will have a huge number of no-code app builders competing with their services and tools on the market. That is why citizen developers, the ones with an app idea, have a bit of a difficult task to do. Which is to do their extensive research and choose the right no-code app builder platform or business that will suit their needs and bring their app ideas to life.

What About The Cost? Does It Differ From No-code App Builders Other than Traditional App Builders?

There is a reason why everyone is opting for no-code app development. That reason is because no-code app development has many benefits that help people have an efficient app development process or journey in general. Here are some of the benefits that you get from no-code app development:

The Many Benefits of No-Code App Builders

• High accessibility: No-code app builders have a high range of user-friendly interfaces that will help people with no backgrounds in coding or programming start their app development journey in a hassle-free manner.
• Cost-effectiveness: With no-code, developers are guaranteed to spend half or even less of what they would spend using a traditional developer that would have to code everything that is back-end-related from scratch. Take nandbox for example; our highest annual plan requires you to pay $299 per month. That means that you will pay around $3588 per year. With a traditional developer, you can pay them up to $20,000 per app as a minimum price.
• Time-efficiency: With no-code platforms, you can build your own app in no time. Worried about subscribing annually yet finishing before the year ends, which is more than probable if you’re a person who has a detailed and very planned app vision and strategy? No worries, you can pay per month for whatever plan you wish for and finish your app in a duration that could be less than 6 months!
• A larger scope of flexibility: With no-code app builders, citizen developers are offered a variety of tailored and customizable tools that will help them create a seamless app in no time and in a hassle-free manner. This allows developers to simply tailor their app based on their vision without any coding or programming complexities, providing them with the flexibility that they need to fulfill their app vision.

Extra Two Benefits from Me to You: A Cadeaux!

For me, three benefits could never be enough. No-code app development is a process with so many benefits that I would love to do nothing but cover them all in detail. Let us just hope that my word count will allow me, shall we? Two more important benefits are: your no-code development process and how easy it is; and the way no-code app builders provide you with great integrations. 

• An easy trial-and-error process: We all make mistakes. Sometimes when you’re developing an app, you can make a certain mistake and don’t have enough capabilities to undo it. That teeny tiny little problem is more than eliminated with no-code. You can create an app and undo any mistake before or even after building your Android or iOS versions, or even both sometimes. You can simply fix the error, rebuild your app and then publish it easily.
• Easy integration processes: Mostly all no-code app builders have the capability to help you integrate your app with a variety of tools. Something that will make it easy for you to connect your app with databases, APIs, or third-party services without complex coding.

Steps on How to Start Your App Development Journey Easily and Without Any Obstacles

Enough with the explanations; now let us delve into some knowledge of how to develop an app without having a hard time deciding on things. Like I said above, in order for you to create an app that won’t take forever, you have to be prepared and ready for each and every step ahead. Let me walk you through some important steps that you have to take in order to be on the right path.

Know Your Idea Clearly

Defining your idea and understanding it are of the essence. That is, because if you understand your idea, then you will know what to do next when tools are laid in front of you. If not, your app could be lost between your interpretations and others’ visions. If you don’t know where to start, doing research for your target audience will be the perfect first step to take. Knowing your audience will help you know what’s missing in the market. Which will naturally help you know if your app will make it to the top or not. Having too many competitors in the same market is something that I warn you of. Let me walk you through an example here.

If your target audience is people who use social media platforms on a daily basis for communication, I advise you to steer away from creating a messenger app like Facebook’s Messenger. That is because it already made it’s mark on the market and became one of the top-used messenger apps all over the world. Identify yourself with an app idea that is unique enough for the market. One that people are missing and would just do anything to get your solution for them. Next, market research would do wonders for your app’s vision and knowledge. Through your market research, you will be able to identify gaps, user needs, and how your app can offer something better or different.

Outline Your App’s Must-Have Features

Developing an app will require you to know what features you would like to include in your app. There are major ones that you ought to decide on and other features that could be categorized below the category of add-ons. In order to be able to prioritize your app’s features, you must lay down your idea, do your written market research and start outlining your features from top to bottom. Furthermore, knowing your features will help you create a budget for premium ones or decide which plan will be of great efficiency for you in a certain app builder.

That is because you will be able to know what features it has and if they suit your vision for your application or not. This step will also help you focus on your app’s core functionality, which will define your app’s MVP. An MVP is your app’s minimum viable product. This is important as it will enable you to create an initial version with core functionalities, facilitating quicker deployment and better and enhanced user testing.

This step is also crucial, as it provides you with better resource management and risk mitigation. It simply allows for efficient allocation of time, budget, and resources to develop key features, avoiding unnecessary work on less critical aspects. Moreover, it helps you reduce the risk of investing extensively in features that might not align with user needs or the app’s primary purpose.

Choose The Right App Development Approach That You Would Like To Follow

This is the part where I tell you that you should opt for a no-code app builder to save you the hassle of dealing with traditional development complexities. Ones that could overshadow your app’s vision and overwhelm you in a negative way that would make you leave your app halfway. Of course, you can choose traditional app development through developers if you’re knowledgeable and up for the task.

Seriously, who am I to order here? I am just and only merely giving you some simple advice tech-wise. So here goes nothing: if you, my dear reader, are new to coding, consider using no-code or low-code platforms to start building without having to write extensive code. You can get started by researching some app builders; don’t just settle for anything. Know your options and study what suits your app idea best. See what all app builders offer and compare pricing, development difficulty, and the ease of the app builder’s navigation process.

Start Building Your App

  

You’ve now reached a point where I will tell you enough about the planning. Let’s now start building the app. You have now chosen your player and know how to navigate your app builder. With the chosen one, excuse my Harry Potter pun; I kind of felt the need to say it. Anyhow, you can now add your features, ones that will start to simply shape your app and help you see your app’s initial prototype. This step is very important because it gives you a glimpse of what will become of your app.

Testing Out Your App

In order to ensure that your app’s functionality is on fleek, you now have to test it and see if it has any bugs, errors, issues, or anything wrong with it. Testing helps you improve your application in it’s early stages, which eliminates any troubles or problems later with any user feedback. It also gives you room to not only fix your bugs but also to listen to users’ feedback and get on with their desired improvements. Speaking of feedback, let us see how it could be a huge part of the ending stages of your app’s development journey.

User Feedback and Why It Matters

Having an app means that you will have users from all over the world if you decide to make it global. Which means that some people would like some features that your app will have, while others may see that it has room for improvement or that it lacks a certain feature that they wish to have. That is why listening to what people will say regarding their app experience with your production is something that you should always and forever prioritize.

This step helps you identify any bugs or issues that you or your team didn’t see or notice. Additionally, it could broaden your capabilities’ horizons and allow you to see that there is more to your app than you’re creating. That is why I am sitting today behind my desk imploring you to not ignore or neglect this little step, as it makes all the difference in the world and matters a lot in the end stages of your app’s development journey.

Last But Not Least, Keep Enhancing Yourself and Evolving!

The whole app development process will require a lot of work from you, which is why I am telling you not to forget to keep updating and evolving your app in the process. Updating your app will ensure that your users are always up-to-date with all that’s new in your app, from features, capabilities, and more! You have to make sure that your app is always updated to suit all Android and iOS system updates in order to work effectively on all phones and devices.

Final Thoughts!

Yes! You’ve finally made it, dear reader. We’re finally at the end of our answer guide to the question, “Is it hard to develop an app?”. I promise that I meant to make this shorter for you. However, I want you to know how easy it is to build an app and what benefits a no-code app builder like nandbox’s would bring to your app development journey. Now that you’re here, you can check out nandbox’s native no-code app builder and benefit from the free 14-day trial period. One that will help you familiarize yourself more with nandbox and get to know how to navigate our app builder efficiently. Sign up now and take your business to new levels of success.