ℹ️ Skipped - page is already crawled
| Filter | Status | Condition | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| HTTP status | PASS | download_http_code = 200 | HTTP 200 |
| Age cutoff | PASS | download_stamp > now() - 6 MONTH | 0 months ago |
| History drop | PASS | isNull(history_drop_reason) | No drop reason |
| Spam/ban | PASS | fh_dont_index != 1 AND ml_spam_score = 0 | ml_spam_score=0 |
| Canonical | PASS | meta_canonical IS NULL OR = '' OR = src_unparsed | Not set |
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-create-an-app/ |
| Last Crawled | 2026-04-08 08:55:10 (1 day ago) |
| First Indexed | 2022-06-10 17:29:11 (3 years ago) |
| HTTP Status Code | 200 |
| Meta Title | How to Create an App From an Idea to App Release |
| Meta Description | Have an idea of an app, but what’s next? Explaining how to make an application—from a concept to app release. |
| Meta Canonical | null |
| Boilerpipe Text | Share this article
How to make your own app if you only have an idea? Not hard these days, even with no coding skills or time to code.
In this step-by-step guide, I’m explaining how to make an application from an idea to an app published on App Store and Google Play. And why research and planning are as important as actual development.
Here’s what we’ll talk about:
Note!
I’m only reviewing the option of hiring a development team, not using app builders or templates. The best way to create an app is to find a qualified team that takes responsibility for the result, unlike app builders.
'I want to create an app'—sounds great! Now, try taking a hard look at your idea and answering these questions:
Who are you making apps for? What’s your target audience?
How will it stand out from similar apps?
Who are your competitors? What do they offer to their users?
How you’re going to earn money with your app (if you do)?
What features (authorization via Facebook, payments, shopping cart, or anything else) you want to implement?
Whether you
create a church app
, a messenger, or a banking app, these are basic questions any qualified development team would ask
before doing anything. And no one can explain this better than the app owner.
So if you already know the answers, just skip to the next step. If not, let’s see where to start.
Most likely, there’s a couple of apps that take care of exactly the same problem you want to solve—be it Uber for babysitting or a trading app for Arabic users.
Still, you can build an app that works better than existing solutions.
Whether you want to build an app from scratch, or, for example,
make iOS app from website
, you should start by looking through similar apps on the App Store and Google Play, and pay attention to:
Features
Monetization scheme (or app’s cost)
Publisher—is it an individual or a company?
Last updated—how well is the app maintained?
Number of downloads (App Store won’t show the number so use software like
SensorTower
)
Ratings and reviews
Ratings and reviews are very important—they’ll show you what current apps are missing and tell you the pain point of app’s users.
Users' comments on Google Play. Feedback is worth taking into account while making an app
Same for features—write down the features of each app you consider competitive, and divide them into three categories—core, unique, and missing.
Here I’m using a video-on-demand app as an example:
Must-have features
: registration, profile, video player, search
Unique features
: cards for renting movies
Missing features
: comments, parental control
The same approach works when analyzing marketplace products as well. For a practical example of feature comparison and prioritization, see our guide on
how to build an app like Airbnb
.
In case you want to build your own app and make money with it, consider one of the monetization strategies:
In-app advertising
—you partner with brands that pay for advertising space in your app (like Kayak or Airbnb)
Freemium mobile app
—free to download but pay to unlock more features or content, remove ads, or make purchases (MX Player Pro, Lastpass Premium)
Premium mobile app
—users pay before downloading an app (Facetune, Skyview)
Subscription-based mobile app
—free but with an option to add a subscription (Deezer, Netflix, Spotify, NY Times app)
By the end of this stage, you should clearly understand your audience, the value you deliver to customers, channels you’ll use to reach out to them, and revenue streams.
Try filling in Alex Osterwalder's
Business Model Canvas
to write down all the details. Here’s an example of a filled canvas to plan
how to start a Uber like business
:
Business model canvas of an Uber-like app
Though many companies will pick you up from 'I want to develop an app like Instagram/Uber/TikTok' stage, research takes time. Thus, costs money. The money you could spend on
creating
your own app—developing unique features, custom UI design, or even marketing.
The best approach starts with research and planning. Plan your app first, then get in touch with developers.
After you’ve studied competitors and defined target audience, think through your app’s features.
I’d break up the list of features in two parts:
Core features (or MVP)
Additional features
For example, if you're looking forward to building a mobile app like Deezer or Spotify app, these would be your
must-have features
:
User sign up & making a profile
A homepage with the most popular tracks and albums
List of favorite tracks/albums
A search system
Music player
Additional features:
Download button
Share tracks via social networks
Mix for you
Similar artists
Recognizing tracks (like Shazam or DeezerCatcher)
It's very important to provide your software developers with the list of app's features. Without it, the app dev company cannot estimate how many hours app-building is going to take, thus, how much their work is going to cost.
Of course, you can check the idea with your development team. At Cleveroad, we help app owners define features for an MVP according to project requirements and budget.
Here’s an example of a rough app estimation with features and number of hours it takes to develop each.
Tip on how do you make an app: define the list of features
Sooner or later, you'll have to decide on platforms—choose between iOS or Android, web, or desktop. Or even cover smart TV or wearables (Wear OS, watchOS).
Which platform to choose? Let’s evaluate a few factors.
It’s simple: go for the OS that's most popular among your target audience.
Making a video streaming service? You’ll have to cover smart TV—Apple TV, Android TV, WebOS. Making a fitness & health app? Adapt it for wearables—Wear OS, watchOS.
And if you’re building an app for smartphones and tablets, you’ll have to choose between
iOS
and
Android
.
If your users live in the
United States, Canada, Australia, or Western Europe
, pick iOS.
While Android is number one in countries like
Central and South America, India, Africa, China, the Middle East, Russia, Eastern Europe
, and some others.
Tip on how to build app: choose the platform your target audience is on
It takes 15-20% less time to create apps for iOS than for Android. That’s because of a smaller number of screens and OS versions.
89%
of iOS users
update
to the latest OS version (iOS 13.5).
9%
use iOS 12 and
2%
stay on an older version.
OS versions share on iOS: 89% use the latest OS version--13
It’s a bit more tricky with Android. Almost half of all users (
41%
) have the latest OS version (Android Pie).
19%
are using the previous version (Oreo), and the rest—older versions.
Android OS versions share: 41% use the latest version, 19% -- previous
Same for app’s layout: there are hundreds of Android-powered devices from different vendors with different resolutions and screen sizes.
Though the gap in development time isn’t that big (~15-20%), creating a mobile app for Android is more complex:
Manufacturers may alter Android to fit their devices, which forces developers to tweak apps to make them work on particular smartphones and tablets;
Some Android-powered devices have cheaper components (CPUs and cameras), which leads to bugs or poor performance
That makes developing an app for Android more expensive compared to iOS, which can't be good if you're just testing an idea.
Lots of companies choose to test their ideas on iOS-powered devices, then make an app for Android:
Here’s a couple of examples:
Airbnb
. It took 14 months for the company to
convert their iOS app to Android
.
Instagram
. Appeared on Android only 4 years after the launch on iOS.
You may go for cross-platform development if you need to cover two platforms but are on a limited budget and/or time. Our developers recommend Flutter—it's an open-source tool that helps make apps that look and work like native.
Flutter is excellent when you’re:
Develop a shopping app
Food delivery
Social media app
Fitness app
Dating app
Marketplaces
In fact, you can create an app of any type on Flutter as you can always write the platform code.
How much time does Flutter development save?
Our business analysts compared the time to
build an educational app
for iOS+Android vs. Flutter.
How to make app on a limited budget? Try Flutter
Feature
Back-end development
iOS development
Android development
Flutter development
Singup/login
47 hours
42 hours
42 hours
44 hours
Search
22 hours
21 hours
21 hours
21 hours
Profile
59 hours
39 hours
39 hours
47 hours
Course
19 hours
17 hours
17 hours
17 hours
Payments
45 hours
35 hours
35 hours
42 hours
Menu
88 hours
95 hours
95 hours
100 hours
Push notifications
14 hours
14 hours
14 hours
14 hours
Flutter takes 15-20% more time to build than
one
native app. But you’re getting
two
apps as a result, not one.
And the less time the development takes, the less it’s going to cost you.
Up to this point, I’ve talked about things to do before the development starts. Now, let’s see how the process goes inside a software dev company.
We're going to start with UI/UX design: take a peek at some differences between iOS and Android design.
When designing an application, UI/UX team refers to guidelines — Google's
Material Design Guidelines
(Android) and Apple’s
Human Interface Guidelines
(iOS).
How they’re different:
App navigation
On iOS, Tabs are placed at the bottom.
On Android, Tabs are at the top, usually represented as either text or icons (rather than text and icons).
Size greeds
Here’s the size greed for iOS:
iOS grid for media assets
Android:
Android grid for media assets
Icons
Slightly different on iOS and Android.
Icons on iOS vs. Android
Fonts
Even default fonts are different:
San Francisco
for iOS and
Roboto
for Android.
Typefaces on Android (Roboto) and iOS (San Francisco)
And here’s how it looks like on a final product:
iOS vs. Android design for one of the apps we've worked on--Foodito
Once everything—platforms, features, target audience—is planned, specification is ready, it’s time to develop app UI/UX design.
The first step is making wireframes following the
approved part
of the specification.
A wireframe is a schematic placement of elements on app screens. It's monochrome, and designers use it to craft prototypes faster and make fewer changes after the planning stage.
Wireframing is a crucial step when it comes to creating apps
Wireframes are not final product design, they’re just a blueprint of the future app. Again, you
have to approve wireframes
before the team could move any further.
A development team needs your approval quite often, as you can guess. That's done to eliminate misunderstandings and not spend time on creating apps design owner knows nothing about.
By approving all important steps with clients, a software development vendor saves the owner's budget and cuts misunderstandings.
Now, back to the design.
Cleveroad designers often make a clickable prototype at the wireframing stage to simulate a working application. After the development starts, they start working on app design screens to let the app owners test functionality we implemented on a real device.
Want to learn more about our
UI/UX design process
? We’ve created a guide that explains it step by step.
The Design team prepares all the screens in all possible conditions, reflecting each possible case on screens. For example, showing how an empty user's feed looks right after sign up or what error message appears when users enter incorrect details.
Ready UI/UX design for each screen of an app
Finally, it’s time to code.
Let’s see what types of app you can make, what tool you need, and how the
custom apps development
process goes.
You can either create your own app just for iOS or Android or make a hybrid or cross-platform app. What’s the difference?
Native apps
(iOS, Android)—one app for each platform, different programming languages, and an individual codebase for each app.
Examples
: Instagram, Uber, Pinterest, iOS calculator
Hybrid apps
are usually web-based and run in your browser—Safari, Chrome, Opera, etc.
Examples
: Instagram, Evernote, Twitter (web version)
Cross-platform apps
(like Flutter-based) mobile apps that have a single codebase but run on multiple platforms (Android, iOS, Windows, Linux)
Examples
: Xianyu, Reflectly, Google AdWords
For native apps, we use programming languages like
Java
or
Kotlin
(Android) and
Swift
or
Objective-C
(iOS).
For hybrid apps, front end tools like
HTML5, CSS
, and
JavaScript
.
For cross-platform apps,
Dart
programming language and
Flutter
framework.
How to develop an app: tools for development
91%
of developers follow
Agile methodology
and work in sprints. Sprint is a period (two weeks, usually) during which a team has to complete a set amount of work.
During the sprint, the team:
Writes code (devs)
Works on app’s design (UI/UX designers)
Checks if the app works as required (QA)
Conducts meetings with the team, prepares reports for app owners (PM)
How to make a app at Cleveroad: development process we follow
At the end of each sprint of
mobile development process
, a team prepares a demo for the clients to test.
Project demo
is an application with features implemented during the sprint, the one owners could install on their device and click through.
As soon as the team finishes making an app, it’s time to release it App Store and Google Play. Or move to an actual server to make it accessible for users.
Our developers agree that it takes more time and effort to release an app on App Store than Google Play.
Google Play uses automated testing, which simplifies and speeds up the process but may leave some minor issues in the cold. Plus, it may be hard to reach the Google Play team to ask why your app was declined.
App Store, on the other hand, delegates app checking to real people. They’ll notice even minor issues—and tell you what to fix.
Here's how the release process goes in general:
You make sure the app follows
App Store
or
Google Play
guidelines (and fix it, if it doesn't).
Fill in meta data: title, description, keywords, screenshots, and preview videos you want to add.
Submit the app to review.
Wait for the reply. App Store/Google Play team will check the app against the guidelines, make sure the app doesn't crash and work as expected.
Within 2-3 days, your app will either be approved or rejected.
Software development companies, including Cleveroad, often publish apps on behalf of their clients. Developers know exactly what to expect from each marketplace, and how to build an app that’ll be accepted on the first try.
At Cleveroad, we start working on an app at any stage—from an idea of your future app re-engineering already existing one.
We help to make apps, even if all you have is just its concept. Our business analysts help with research and planning—define your target audience, advise on platforms. We also make a competitive analysis and help with preparing a
tech business plan
as an additional service.
If you want to create an MVP to test your idea, we'll suggest features to develop first to reduce time to market. As well as more complex ones for winning more users in the future.
For example, one of our latest projects,
Ayoo dance
(a social network for dancers), was an MVP at first. But as app owners got a lot of positive feedback, soon it grew from an MVP to a full-featured social network,
available on iOS
.
Ayoo dance, a social network for dancers
Have plans on making your own app?
We’ll take care of the development—from an idea to publishing it on marketplaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to conduct market research for an app?
Here are the steps to take:
Define your target audience.
Analyze your competitors:
features they have
monetization scheme (or app’s cost)
publisher
last updated
number of downloads
ratings and reviews from real users
Think through monetization approach
--in-app advertising, freemium, premium, or subscription-based.
Android vs. iOS: which platform to build your app for first?
It depends on the platform your target audience is on, though it's
cheaper
to build an app for iOS than for Android (fewer screens and OS versions).
If your users live in the
United States, Canada, Australia, or Western Europe
, choose
iOS
.
If you're aiming at countries like
Central and South America, India, Africa, China, the Middle East, Russia, Eastern Europe,
choose
Android
.
Why is UI/UX design important?
Because it's the first thing users see. An attractive and user-friendly design means a lot for app success: the UI should be eye-catching to capture users' attention and UX should help users solve their problems fast.
Or they may close the app and never come back.
What is the difference between a native app and a hybrid app?
Native apps
are built using different programming languages for specific platforms like Java/Kotlin for Android, Swift/Objective-C for iOS. You can download them on the App Store or Google Play.
Hybrid apps
are usually web-based and run in a browser—Safari, Chrome, Opera, or any other. To create them, developers use tools like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
How to release an app?
Here's how the release process goes:
Check the app against the App Store or Google Play guidelines.
Fill in metadata: title, description, keywords, screenshots, and preview videos.
Upload the app.
Submit the app for review.
Wait for the reply from App Store/Google Play team.
Within 2-3 days, your app will either be approved or rejected.
If you're working with a software development company, you may ask them to publish the app on your behalf.
What types of features can you include in a mobile app?
Break up the list of features in two parts:
core features
(or MVP) that app can't exist without (registration, profile management, search system)
and additional/unique features
(Facebook or Twitter login, sharing content via social networks, and so on) |
| Markdown | - [Cleveroad](https://www.cleveroad.com/)
- [AI](https://www.cleveroad.com/ai-development-services/)
AI consulting
- [Executive AI Workshop](https://www.cleveroad.com/executive-ai-workshop/)
- [AI Solution Design Workshop](https://www.cleveroad.com/ai-solution-design-workshop/)
- [AI-Powered Engineering Workshop](https://www.cleveroad.com/ai-assisted-development-workshop/)
- [Custom AI Solution Audit](https://www.cleveroad.com/ai-audit-services/)
AI Services
- [AI Development Services](https://www.cleveroad.com/ai-development-services/)
- [ML Development Services](https://www.cleveroad.com/machine-learning-development-services/)
- [GenAI Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/generative-ai-development-services/)
- [Data Science](https://www.cleveroad.com/data-science-services/)
Agentic AI
- [Custom AI Agent](https://www.cleveroad.com/agentic-ai-development-services/)
- [AWS AgentCore](https://www.cleveroad.com/amazon-bedrock-agentcore-builder-services/)
- [GCP Vertex Agent Builder](https://www.cleveroad.com/vertex-ai-agent-builder-services/)
- [OpenAI Agent Builder](https://www.cleveroad.com/openai-agentkit-builder-services/)
Generative AI
- [AI Chatbots & Assistants](https://www.cleveroad.com/ai-chatbot-development-services/)
- [ChatGPT Integration](https://www.cleveroad.com/chatgpt-integration-services/)
- [Knowledge base (RAG)](https://www.cleveroad.com/rag-development-services/)
- [Media Generation](https://www.cleveroad.com/generative-ai-media-services/)
;
- [AI-ASSISTED DEVELOPMENT](https://www.cleveroad.com/ai-assisted-development-services/)
- [RAPID PoC DEVELOPMENT](https://www.cleveroad.com/ai-proof-of-concept/)
- [CLEAN PROTOTYPING WITH AI](https://www.cleveroad.com/ai-prototyping-services/)
[Services](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/)
[Mobile Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/mobile-development/)
- [iOS app development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/mobile-development/ios/)
Native Swift apps for all Apple devices
- [Android app development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/mobile-development/android/)
Build native apps for Android with Kotlin
- [Flutter app development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/flutter-app-development/)
Dart-based cross-platform development
- [React-native app development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/react-native-app-development-services/)
Building apps using JavaScript framework
[Web Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/web-development/)
- [Front-end development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/web-development/front-end-development/)
User-centric software with smooth UI
- [Back-end development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/web-development/back-end-development/)
Robust and secure server-side solutions
- [Web app development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/web-application-development-services/)
Secure and performant web applications
- [DevOps services](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/devops/)
Security, automation, cloud consulting
Extra Services
- [UI/UX design](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/design/)
Material and HIG design for all platforms
- [Software testing](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/qa-testing/)
Manual testing & automation testing
- [Dedicated team](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/dedicated-development-team-services/)
Experienced tech staff to extend a team
- [IT consulting](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/it-consulting-services/)
AWS-certified advisers for your project
- [IT Staff Augmentation](https://www.cleveroad.com/it-staff-augmentation-services/)
Experts for a tech projects on any request
- [Product Discovery](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/discovery-phase-process/)
Business analysis and solution architecture
- [Custom Software Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/)
Bespoke solutions for web and mobile
[Industries](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/)
[HealthTech and MedTech](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/healthcare/)
- [EHR, EMR, patient portal](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/healthcare/ehr-emr-patient-portal/)
Solutions for proceeding patient data
- [Telemedicine](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/healthcare/telemedicine/)
Online medicine, telecare, and remote care
- [Patient monitoring](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/healthcare/patient-monitoring/)
IoT-based and real-time RPM systems
- [Mental health tech](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/healthcare/mental-health/)
Online sessions, self monitoring, wellbeing
[Supply Chain and Logistics](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/logistics/)
- [Warehouse management](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/logistics/warehouse-tech/)
WMS, IoT, automated picking, mobile
- [Last mile delivery](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/logistics/last-mile-delivery/)
ETA, robotic delivery, route planning
- [Freight tech](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/logistics/freight-tech/)
Software for truck, sea, and other freight
- [Blockchain in logistics](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/logistics/blockchain/)
Smart contracts, payments, invoicing
FinTech and Blockchain
- [FinTech](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/fintech/)
Investment, trading, wallets, P2P, loans
- [Banking](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/fintech/banking/)
ERP, CRM, mobile banking, integrations
- [Insurance](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/fintech/insurance/)
Management systems, fraud analysis, CRM
- [Blockchain in finance](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/fintech/blockchain/)
Cryptocurrency, DeFi, DEX, cybersecurity
- [Marketplaces](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/marketplace/)
Building B2B, C2C, and C2B solutions
- [Media content streaming](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/media-and-entertainment/)
VoD, OTT, live streams with AWS, Wowza
- [Retail](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/retail/)
RMS, POS, CRM systems
- [Social networks](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/social/)
Developing messengers, dating apps
- [Travel](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/travel/)
Building booking engines, HMS, and more
- [Education](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/education/)
Digital platforms, LMS, and SMS
[Expertise](https://www.cleveroad.com/expertise/)
Business Digitalization
- [CRM, HRM, ERP systems](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/crm-development-services/)
Streamline your business processes
- [Legacy soft modernization](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/legacy-software-modernization-services/)
Reengineering, redesign, and migration
- [Infrastructure services](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/it-infrastructure/)
Server, cloud, and other IT optimisation
- [Managed IT services](https://www.cleveroad.com/managed-it-services/)
On-demand services and full IT coverage
[Startups Launching](https://www.cleveroad.com/software-development-services-for-startups/)
- [Discovery phase](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/discovery-phase-process/)
SRS, UX prototype, SWOT analysis
- [PoC/MVP development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/mvp-development-services/)
Reducing time-to-market with MVP
- [Product design](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/design/)
Distinctive UI/UX for mobile and web
- [CTO as a Service](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/cto-as-a-service/)
CaaS consulting services for startups
Technology Experts
- [Hire React JS engineers](https://www.cleveroad.com/hire-reactjs-developers/)
Stable and scalable frontend solutions
- [Hire .NET engineers](https://www.cleveroad.com/hire-net-developers/)
Mobile, web, and desktop applications
- [Hire Flutter engineers](https://www.cleveroad.com/hire-flutter-developers/)
Cost-effective cross-platform approach
- [Hire Node.js engineers](https://www.cleveroad.com/hire-nodejs-developers/)
Profound backend for web and mobile
[Company](https://www.cleveroad.com/company/)
- [About Cleveroad](https://www.cleveroad.com/company/)
- [Media Coverage](https://www.cleveroad.com/our-publications/)
- [Testimonials](https://www.cleveroad.com/testimonials/)
- [Awards](https://www.cleveroad.com/company-awards/)
- [FAQ](https://www.cleveroad.com/faq/)
- [Career](https://www.cleveroad.com/company/#open-vacancies)
Latest Press releases
- [ISO 9001 certified](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/iso-9001-2015-certificate-renewed/)
Quality control standard
- [AWS Partner achieved](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/aws-select-tier-partner-status/)
Cloud technical expertise
- [ISO 27001 certified](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/iso-27001-2013-certificate-renewed/)
Data security standard
- [Clutch Top 1000 in 2024](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/cleveroad-among-top-it-companies-2024/)
7th place in Global rating
[Portfolio](https://www.cleveroad.com/portfolio/)
[Blog](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/)
- [Client Guides](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/client-guides/)
Expert guidance on business digital transformation
- [Healthcare](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/healthcare/)
Guides to building innovative HealthTech solutions
- [How-To](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/client-guides/how-to/)
Step-by-step processes for business digitalization
- [Logistics](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/supply-chain-and-logistics/)
IT Insights on tech advancement in digitally connected logistics
- [Cleveroad](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/cleveroad/)
Company news, award press releases, and achievements
- [FinTech](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/fintech/)
Explore digital solutions for transforming financial services
- [Contact us](https://www.cleveroad.com/contact/)
[Cleveroad](https://www.cleveroad.com/)
[Blog](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/)
[Client Guides](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/client-guides/)
[Build an app](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-create-an-app/)
# How to Make an App: From an Idea to a Product Launch \[Full Guide\]
Updated 18 Aug 2023
15 Min
3004 Views
[Evgeniy Altynpara](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/authors/21-evgeniy-a/)
CTO
Share this article
How to make your own app if you only have an idea? Not hard these days, even with no coding skills or time to code.
In this step-by-step guide, I’m explaining how to make an application from an idea to an app published on App Store and Google Play. And why research and planning are as important as actual development.
Here’s what we’ll talk about:
**Note\!** I’m only reviewing the option of hiring a development team, not using app builders or templates. The best way to create an app is to find a qualified team that takes responsibility for the result, unlike app builders.
## How to Create a Mobile App: \#1. Start With Market Research
'I want to create an app'—sounds great! Now, try taking a hard look at your idea and answering these questions:
- Who are you making apps for? What’s your target audience?
- How will it stand out from similar apps?
- Who are your competitors? What do they offer to their users?
- How you’re going to earn money with your app (if you do)?
- What features (authorization via Facebook, payments, shopping cart, or anything else) you want to implement?
Whether you [create a church app](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-build-a-church-app/), a messenger, or a banking app, these are basic questions any qualified development team would ask before doing anything. And no one can explain this better than the app owner.
So if you already know the answers, just skip to the next step. If not, let’s see where to start.
### Analyze Your Competitors
Most likely, there’s a couple of apps that take care of exactly the same problem you want to solve—be it Uber for babysitting or a trading app for Arabic users.
Still, you can build an app that works better than existing solutions.
Whether you want to build an app from scratch, or, for example, [make iOS app from website](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/convert-website-to-ios-app/), you should start by looking through similar apps on the App Store and Google Play, and pay attention to:
- Features
- Monetization scheme (or app’s cost)
- Publisher—is it an individual or a company?
- Last updated—how well is the app maintained?
- Number of downloads (App Store won’t show the number so use software like SensorTower)
- Ratings and reviews
Ratings and reviews are very important—they’ll show you what current apps are missing and tell you the pain point of app’s users.
Users' comments on Google Play. Feedback is worth taking into account while making an app
Same for features—write down the features of each app you consider competitive, and divide them into three categories—core, unique, and missing.
Here I’m using a video-on-demand app as an example:
- **Must-have features**: registration, profile, video player, search
- **Unique features**: cards for renting movies
- **Missing features**: comments, parental control
The same approach works when analyzing marketplace products as well. For a practical example of feature comparison and prioritization, see our guide on [how to build an app like Airbnb](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-create-an-app-like-airbnb/).
### Think Through Monetization Ways
In case you want to build your own app and make money with it, consider one of the monetization strategies:
- **In-app advertising**—you partner with brands that pay for advertising space in your app (like Kayak or Airbnb)
- **Freemium mobile app**—free to download but pay to unlock more features or content, remove ads, or make purchases (MX Player Pro, Lastpass Premium)
- **Premium mobile app**—users pay before downloading an app (Facetune, Skyview)
- **Subscription-based mobile app**—free but with an option to add a subscription (Deezer, Netflix, Spotify, NY Times app)
By the end of this stage, you should clearly understand your audience, the value you deliver to customers, channels you’ll use to reach out to them, and revenue streams.
Try filling in Alex Osterwalder's [Business Model Canvas](https://www.cleveroad.com/documents/business-model-canvas.pdf) to write down all the details. Here’s an example of a filled canvas to plan [how to start a Uber like business](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-start-a-business-like-uber/):
[](https://www.cleveroad.com/documents/lean-canvas-example.pdf)
Business model canvas of an Uber-like app
Though many companies will pick you up from 'I want to develop an app like Instagram/Uber/TikTok' stage, research takes time. Thus, costs money. The money you could spend on *creating* your own app—developing unique features, custom UI design, or even marketing.
The best approach starts with research and planning. Plan your app first, then get in touch with developers.
## How to Make Mobile Apps: \#2. Decide on the Features
After you’ve studied competitors and defined target audience, think through your app’s features.
I’d break up the list of features in two parts:
- Core features (or MVP)
- Additional features
For example, if you're looking forward to building a mobile app like Deezer or Spotify app, these would be your **must-have features**:
- User sign up & making a profile
- A homepage with the most popular tracks and albums
- List of favorite tracks/albums
- A search system
- Music player
**Additional features:**
- Download button
- Share tracks via social networks
- Mix for you
- Similar artists
- Recognizing tracks (like Shazam or DeezerCatcher)
It's very important to provide your software developers with the list of app's features. Without it, the app dev company cannot estimate how many hours app-building is going to take, thus, how much their work is going to cost.
Of course, you can check the idea with your development team. At Cleveroad, we help app owners define features for an MVP according to project requirements and budget.
[How the planning stage goes in Cleveroad](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/revealed-the-approach-to-planning-phase-at-cleveroad/), and what additional services we provide.
Here’s an example of a rough app estimation with features and number of hours it takes to develop each.
[](https://www.cleveroad.com/documents/rough-estimate-example.pdf)
Tip on how do you make an app: define the list of features
## How to Build a Mobile App: \#3. Choose Platforms
Sooner or later, you'll have to decide on platforms—choose between iOS or Android, web, or desktop. Or even cover smart TV or wearables (Wear OS, watchOS).
Which platform to choose? Let’s evaluate a few factors.
### Target Audience
It’s simple: go for the OS that's most popular among your target audience.
Making a video streaming service? You’ll have to cover smart TV—Apple TV, Android TV, WebOS. Making a fitness & health app? Adapt it for wearables—Wear OS, watchOS.
And if you’re building an app for smartphones and tablets, you’ll have to choose between **iOS** and **Android**.
If your users live in the **United States, Canada, Australia, or Western Europe**, pick iOS.
While Android is number one in countries like **Central and South America, India, Africa, China, the Middle East, Russia, Eastern Europe**, and some others.
Tip on how to build app: choose the platform your target audience is on
### Development Time
It takes 15-20% less time to create apps for iOS than for Android. That’s because of a smaller number of screens and OS versions.
**89%** of iOS users update to the latest OS version (iOS 13.5). **9%** use iOS 12 and **2%** stay on an older version.
OS versions share on iOS: 89% use the latest OS version--13
It’s a bit more tricky with Android. Almost half of all users (41%) have the latest OS version (Android Pie). **19%** are using the previous version (Oreo), and the rest—older versions.
Android OS versions share: 41% use the latest version, 19% -- previous
Same for app’s layout: there are hundreds of Android-powered devices from different vendors with different resolutions and screen sizes.
Though the gap in development time isn’t that big (~15-20%), creating a mobile app for Android is more complex:
- Manufacturers may alter Android to fit their devices, which forces developers to tweak apps to make them work on particular smartphones and tablets;
- Some Android-powered devices have cheaper components (CPUs and cameras), which leads to bugs or poor performance
That makes developing an app for Android more expensive compared to iOS, which can't be good if you're just testing an idea.
### Best Platform for an MVP
Lots of companies choose to test their ideas on iOS-powered devices, then make an app for Android:
Here’s a couple of examples:
- **Airbnb**. It took 14 months for the company to [convert their iOS app to Android](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-convert-android-app-to-ios/).
- **Instagram**. Appeared on Android only 4 years after the launch on iOS.
You may go for cross-platform development if you need to cover two platforms but are on a limited budget and/or time. Our developers recommend Flutter—it's an open-source tool that helps make apps that look and work like native.
Flutter is excellent when you’re:
- [Develop a shopping app](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/create-a-shopping-app/)
- Food delivery
- Social media app
- Fitness app
- Dating app
- Marketplaces
In fact, you can create an app of any type on Flutter as you can always write the platform code.
**How much time does Flutter development save?**
Our business analysts compared the time to [build an educational app](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/educational-app-development-cost-and-how-to-create/) for iOS+Android vs. Flutter.
| | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Feature** | **Back-end development** | **iOS development** | **Android development** | **Flutter development** |
| Singup/login | 47 hours | 42 hours | 42 hours | 44 hours |
| Search | 22 hours | 21 hours | 21 hours | 21 hours |
| Profile | 59 hours | 39 hours | 39 hours | 47 hours |
| Course | 19 hours | 17 hours | 17 hours | 17 hours |
| Payments | 45 hours | 35 hours | 35 hours | 42 hours |
| Menu | 88 hours | 95 hours | 95 hours | 100 hours |
| Push notifications | 14 hours | 14 hours | 14 hours | 14 hours |
Flutter takes 15-20% more time to build than *one* native app. But you’re getting *two* apps as a result, not one.
And the less time the development takes, the less it’s going to cost you.
## How to Make Application: Pay Attention to UI/UX Design
Up to this point, I’ve talked about things to do before the development starts. Now, let’s see how the process goes inside a software dev company.
We're going to start with UI/UX design: take a peek at some differences between iOS and Android design.
### Design Guidelines
When designing an application, UI/UX team refers to guidelines — Google's Material Design Guidelines (Android) and Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines (iOS).
How they’re different:
1. **App navigation**
On iOS, Tabs are placed at the bottom.
On Android, Tabs are at the top, usually represented as either text or icons (rather than text and icons).
1. **Size greeds**
Here’s the size greed for iOS:
iOS grid for media assets
Android:
Android grid for media assets
1. **Icons**
Slightly different on iOS and Android.
Icons on iOS vs. Android
1. **Fonts**
Even default fonts are different: **San Francisco** for iOS and **Roboto** for Android.
Typefaces on Android (Roboto) and iOS (San Francisco)
And here’s how it looks like on a final product:
iOS vs. Android design for one of the apps we've worked on--Foodito
### UI/UX Design Process
Once everything—platforms, features, target audience—is planned, specification is ready, it’s time to develop app UI/UX design.
The first step is making wireframes following the **approved part** of the specification.
A wireframe is a schematic placement of elements on app screens. It's monochrome, and designers use it to craft prototypes faster and make fewer changes after the planning stage.
Wireframing is a crucial step when it comes to creating apps
Wireframes are not final product design, they’re just a blueprint of the future app. Again, you **have to approve wireframes** before the team could move any further.
A development team needs your approval quite often, as you can guess. That's done to eliminate misunderstandings and not spend time on creating apps design owner knows nothing about.
By approving all important steps with clients, a software development vendor saves the owner's budget and cuts misunderstandings.
Now, back to the design.
Cleveroad designers often make a clickable prototype at the wireframing stage to simulate a working application. After the development starts, they start working on app design screens to let the app owners test functionality we implemented on a real device.
Want to learn more about our [UI/UX design process](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/ui-ux-design-process/)? We’ve created a guide that explains it step by step.
The Design team prepares all the screens in all possible conditions, reflecting each possible case on screens. For example, showing how an empty user's feed looks right after sign up or what error message appears when users enter incorrect details.
Ready UI/UX design for each screen of an app
## How to Make a Mobile App: Development Process
Finally, it’s time to code.
Let’s see what types of app you can make, what tool you need, and how the [custom apps development](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/custom-mobile-app-development/) process goes.
### Types of Apps
You can either create your own app just for iOS or Android or make a hybrid or cross-platform app. What’s the difference?
- **Native apps** (iOS, Android)—one app for each platform, different programming languages, and an individual codebase for each app. **Examples**: Instagram, Uber, Pinterest, iOS calculator
- **Hybrid apps** are usually web-based and run in your browser—Safari, Chrome, Opera, etc. **Examples**: Instagram, Evernote, Twitter (web version)
- **Cross-platform apps** (like Flutter-based) mobile apps that have a single codebase but run on multiple platforms (Android, iOS, Windows, Linux) **Examples**: Xianyu, Reflectly, Google AdWords
For native apps, we use programming languages like **Java** or **Kotlin** (Android) and **Swift** or **Objective-C** (iOS).
For hybrid apps, front end tools like **HTML5, CSS**, and **JavaScript**.
For cross-platform apps, **Dart** programming language and **Flutter** framework.
How to develop an app: tools for development
### Development Process Flow
91% of developers follow [Agile methodology](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/what-is-agile-methodology--the-easiest-explanation-with-real-life-solutions/) and work in sprints. Sprint is a period (two weeks, usually) during which a team has to complete a set amount of work.
During the sprint, the team:
1. Writes code (devs)
2. Works on app’s design (UI/UX designers)
3. Checks if the app works as required (QA)
4. Conducts meetings with the team, prepares reports for app owners (PM)
How to make a app at Cleveroad: development process we follow
We have an extensive guide explaining the [software development process inside Cleveroad](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/software-development-process/); check it for more details on how we work.
At the end of each sprint of [mobile development process](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/app-development-process/), a team prepares a demo for the clients to test. **Project demo** is an application with features implemented during the sprint, the one owners could install on their device and click through.
As soon as the team finishes making an app, it’s time to release it App Store and Google Play. Or move to an actual server to make it accessible for users.
## The Final Step—App Release
Our developers agree that it takes more time and effort to release an app on App Store than Google Play.
Google Play uses automated testing, which simplifies and speeds up the process but may leave some minor issues in the cold. Plus, it may be hard to reach the Google Play team to ask why your app was declined.
App Store, on the other hand, delegates app checking to real people. They’ll notice even minor issues—and tell you what to fix.
Here's how the release process goes in general:
1. You make sure the app follows App Store or Google Play guidelines (and fix it, if it doesn't).
2. Fill in meta data: title, description, keywords, screenshots, and preview videos you want to add.
3. Submit the app to review.
4. Wait for the reply. App Store/Google Play team will check the app against the guidelines, make sure the app doesn't crash and work as expected.
5. Within 2-3 days, your app will either be approved or rejected.
Software development companies, including Cleveroad, often publish apps on behalf of their clients. Developers know exactly what to expect from each marketplace, and how to build an app that’ll be accepted on the first try.
## How We Can Help
At Cleveroad, we start working on an app at any stage—from an idea of your future app re-engineering already existing one.
We help to make apps, even if all you have is just its concept. Our business analysts help with research and planning—define your target audience, advise on platforms. We also make a competitive analysis and help with preparing a [tech business plan](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/tech-startup-business-plan/) as an additional service.
If you want to create an MVP to test your idea, we'll suggest features to develop first to reduce time to market. As well as more complex ones for winning more users in the future.
For example, one of our latest projects, **Ayoo dance** (a social network for dancers), was an MVP at first. But as app owners got a lot of positive feedback, soon it grew from an MVP to a full-featured social network, available on iOS.
[](https://www.cleveroad.com/portfolio/ayoo/)
Ayoo dance, a social network for dancers
Have plans on making your own app?
We’ll take care of the development—from an idea to publishing it on marketplaces.
[Contact us](https://www.cleveroad.com/contact/)
Frequently Asked Questions
How to conduct market research for an app?
Here are the steps to take:
1. **Define your target audience.**
2. **Analyze your competitors:**
- features they have
- monetization scheme (or app’s cost)
- publisher
- last updated
- number of downloads
- ratings and reviews from real users
1. **Think through monetization approach**\--in-app advertising, freemium, premium, or subscription-based.
Android vs. iOS: which platform to build your app for first?
It depends on the platform your target audience is on, though it's **cheaper** to build an app for iOS than for Android (fewer screens and OS versions).
If your users live in the **United States, Canada, Australia, or Western Europe**, choose **iOS**.
If you're aiming at countries like **Central and South America, India, Africa, China, the Middle East, Russia, Eastern Europe,** choose **Android**.
Why is UI/UX design important?
Because it's the first thing users see. An attractive and user-friendly design means a lot for app success: the UI should be eye-catching to capture users' attention and UX should help users solve their problems fast.
Or they may close the app and never come back.
What is the difference between a native app and a hybrid app?
**Native apps** are built using different programming languages for specific platforms like Java/Kotlin for Android, Swift/Objective-C for iOS. You can download them on the App Store or Google Play.
**Hybrid apps** are usually web-based and run in a browser—Safari, Chrome, Opera, or any other. To create them, developers use tools like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
How to release an app?
Here's how the release process goes:
1. Check the app against the App Store or Google Play guidelines.
2. Fill in metadata: title, description, keywords, screenshots, and preview videos.
3. Upload the app.
4. Submit the app for review.
5. Wait for the reply from App Store/Google Play team.
6. Within 2-3 days, your app will either be approved or rejected.
If you're working with a software development company, you may ask them to publish the app on your behalf.
What types of features can you include in a mobile app?
Break up the list of features in two parts:
- **core features** (or MVP) that app can't exist without (registration, profile management, search system)
- **and additional/unique features** (Facebook or Twitter login, sharing content via social networks, and so on)
About author
Evgeniy Altynpara is a **CTO and member of the Forbes Councils’ community** of tech professionals. He is an expert in software development and technological entrepreneurship and has 10+years of experience in digital transformation consulting in Healthcare, FinTech, Supply Chain and Logistics
[Author details](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/authors/21-evgeniy-a/)
Rate this article\!
2405 ratings, average: 4.90 out of 5
Give us your impressions about this article
Leave comment
Give us your impressions about this article
Comments
2 comments
D
Dominic
06\.08.2022 at 23:23
Reply
Thank you for sharing this information to us.
Reply
K
kudzie
23\.06.2020 at 18:41
Reply
i love this article great use
Reply
Maria D.
09\.07.2020 at 12:20
This website uses cookies for personalization, analytics, and advertising. If you continue to use our website, you consent to our [Cookies Policy](https://www.cleveroad.com/cookies-policy/).
Accept
Decline
Back to top
Latest articles
Read more
Blog
How To
[How to Develop a Mobile Concierge App](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-develop-a-concierge-app/)
Mar 26, 2026
Blog
How To
[How to Convert an Android App to iOS or Vice Versa: Full Guide for 2026](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-convert-android-app-to-ios/)
Mar 18, 2026
Blog
How To
[Real Estate Website Development in 2026: Purpose, Cost, and Functionality](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/real-estate-website-development/)
Feb 26, 2026
Read more
Start growing your business with us
[Custom Software Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/)
[Code Audit](https://www.cleveroad.com/code-audit-services/)[IT Consulting](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/it-consulting-services/)[Managed IT Services](https://www.cleveroad.com/managed-it-services/)[Quality Assurance](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/qa-testing/)[Dedicated Development Team](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/dedicated-development-team-services/)[UI/UX Design](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/design/)[Bespoke Software Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/bespoke-software-development-services/)
[AI Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/ai-development-services/)
[AI Consulting](https://www.cleveroad.com/ai-consulting-services/)[Executive AI Workshop](https://www.cleveroad.com/executive-ai-workshop/)[AI Proof of Concept](https://www.cleveroad.com/ai-proof-of-concept/) [Generative AI Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/generative-ai-development-services/)[Agentic AI Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/agentic-ai-development-services/)[AI Chatbot Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/ai-chatbot-development-services/)
[Web Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/web-development/)
[Front-End Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/web-development/front-end-development/)[Backend Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/web-development/back-end-development/)[API Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/api-development-services/)[Web App Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/web-application-development-services/)
[Mobile App Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/mobile-development/)
[Android Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/mobile-development/android/)[iOS App Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/mobile-development/ios/)
[Cross Platform App Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/cross-platform-app-development-services/)
[React Native App Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/react-native-app-development-services/)[Flutter App Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/flutter-app-development/)
[Cloud App Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/cloud-application-development-services/)
[AWS Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/aws-development-services/)[Cost-Saving DevOps](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/devops/)[IT Infrastructure](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/it-infrastructure/)
Business Digitalization
[CRM Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/crm-development-services/)[ERP Software Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/erp-software-development-services/)[Business Intelligence Consulting](https://www.cleveroad.com/business-intelligence-consulting-services/)[Legacy Software Modernization](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/legacy-software-modernization-services/)[Application Modernization](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/application-modernization-services/)
[Software development for startups](https://www.cleveroad.com/software-development-services-for-startups/)
[Product Discovery Phase](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/discovery-phase-process/)[MVP Development](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/mvp-development-services/)[CTO as a Service](https://www.cleveroad.com/services/cto-as-a-service/)
[IT Staff Augmentation](https://www.cleveroad.com/it-staff-augmentation-services/)
[Hire Flutter App Developers](https://www.cleveroad.com/hire-flutter-developers/)[Hire Java Developers](https://www.cleveroad.com/hire-java-developers/)[Hire .Net Developers](https://www.cleveroad.com/hire-net-developers/)[Hire Node.js Developers](https://www.cleveroad.com/hire-nodejs-developers/)[Hire ReactJS Developers](https://www.cleveroad.com/hire-reactjs-developers/)[Employer of Record Services](https://www.cleveroad.com/eor-services-for-software-developers/)
***
Insights
[Cost to develop an app](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-develop-an-app/)[How to build ridesharing](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-make-a-rideshare-app/)[How to build a fitness app](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-create-a-fitness-app/)[Build a streaming app](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-build-a-live-streaming-app/)[CRM for Agriculture](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/agricultural-crm-learn-how-it-can-improve-the-farmers-job/)[How to build a CRM](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-build-your-own-custom-crm-system/)[Web design process](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/web-design-process/)
[Industries](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/)
[Healthcare](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/healthcare/)[Logistics](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/logistics/)[FinTech](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/fintech/)[Marketplace](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/marketplace/)[Retail](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/retail/)[Travel](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/travel/)[Education](https://www.cleveroad.com/industries/education/)
Offices
[\+380 73 575 67 51](<tel:+380 73 575 67 51>)
Estonia, Tallinn
[\+1 415 231 3721](<tel:+1 415 231 3721>)
USA, Claymont, DE
[\+47 80 02 50 37](<tel:+47 80 02 50 37>)
Norway, Oslo
Emails
Build your team:
[sales@cleveroad.com](mailto:sales@cleveroad.com)
We are hiring:
[hr@cleveroad.com](mailto:hr@cleveroad.com)
[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/cleveroad "LinkedIn")[Clutch](https://clutch.co/profile/cleveroad "Clutch")[Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/cleveroadinc/ "Instagram")[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/cleveroadinc "Facebook")[Twitter](https://twitter.com/cleveroad "Twitter")[Dribbble](https://dribbble.com/cleveroad "Dribbble")
© Cleveroad 2011-2026. All rights reserved
[Privacy Policy](https://www.cleveroad.com/privacy-policy/)[Cookies Policy](https://www.cleveroad.com/cookies-policy/)[Terms & Conditions](https://www.cleveroad.com/terms-and-conditions/)
[   ](https://www.dmca.com/Protection/Status.aspx?ID=945a13ae-bb29-4144-bae3-22468a1ed8ba "DMCA.com Protection Status")
 |
| Readable Markdown | Share this article
How to make your own app if you only have an idea? Not hard these days, even with no coding skills or time to code.
In this step-by-step guide, I’m explaining how to make an application from an idea to an app published on App Store and Google Play. And why research and planning are as important as actual development.
Here’s what we’ll talk about:
**Note\!** I’m only reviewing the option of hiring a development team, not using app builders or templates. The best way to create an app is to find a qualified team that takes responsibility for the result, unlike app builders.
'I want to create an app'—sounds great! Now, try taking a hard look at your idea and answering these questions:
- Who are you making apps for? What’s your target audience?
- How will it stand out from similar apps?
- Who are your competitors? What do they offer to their users?
- How you’re going to earn money with your app (if you do)?
- What features (authorization via Facebook, payments, shopping cart, or anything else) you want to implement?
Whether you [create a church app](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-build-a-church-app/), a messenger, or a banking app, these are basic questions any qualified development team would ask before doing anything. And no one can explain this better than the app owner.
So if you already know the answers, just skip to the next step. If not, let’s see where to start.
Most likely, there’s a couple of apps that take care of exactly the same problem you want to solve—be it Uber for babysitting or a trading app for Arabic users.
Still, you can build an app that works better than existing solutions.
Whether you want to build an app from scratch, or, for example, [make iOS app from website](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/convert-website-to-ios-app/), you should start by looking through similar apps on the App Store and Google Play, and pay attention to:
- Features
- Monetization scheme (or app’s cost)
- Publisher—is it an individual or a company?
- Last updated—how well is the app maintained?
- Number of downloads (App Store won’t show the number so use software like SensorTower)
- Ratings and reviews
Ratings and reviews are very important—they’ll show you what current apps are missing and tell you the pain point of app’s users.
Users' comments on Google Play. Feedback is worth taking into account while making an app
Same for features—write down the features of each app you consider competitive, and divide them into three categories—core, unique, and missing.
Here I’m using a video-on-demand app as an example:
- **Must-have features**: registration, profile, video player, search
- **Unique features**: cards for renting movies
- **Missing features**: comments, parental control
The same approach works when analyzing marketplace products as well. For a practical example of feature comparison and prioritization, see our guide on [how to build an app like Airbnb](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-create-an-app-like-airbnb/).
In case you want to build your own app and make money with it, consider one of the monetization strategies:
- **In-app advertising**—you partner with brands that pay for advertising space in your app (like Kayak or Airbnb)
- **Freemium mobile app**—free to download but pay to unlock more features or content, remove ads, or make purchases (MX Player Pro, Lastpass Premium)
- **Premium mobile app**—users pay before downloading an app (Facetune, Skyview)
- **Subscription-based mobile app**—free but with an option to add a subscription (Deezer, Netflix, Spotify, NY Times app)
By the end of this stage, you should clearly understand your audience, the value you deliver to customers, channels you’ll use to reach out to them, and revenue streams.
Try filling in Alex Osterwalder's [Business Model Canvas](https://www.cleveroad.com/documents/business-model-canvas.pdf) to write down all the details. Here’s an example of a filled canvas to plan [how to start a Uber like business](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-start-a-business-like-uber/):
[](https://www.cleveroad.com/documents/lean-canvas-example.pdf)
Business model canvas of an Uber-like app
Though many companies will pick you up from 'I want to develop an app like Instagram/Uber/TikTok' stage, research takes time. Thus, costs money. The money you could spend on *creating* your own app—developing unique features, custom UI design, or even marketing.
The best approach starts with research and planning. Plan your app first, then get in touch with developers.
After you’ve studied competitors and defined target audience, think through your app’s features.
I’d break up the list of features in two parts:
- Core features (or MVP)
- Additional features
For example, if you're looking forward to building a mobile app like Deezer or Spotify app, these would be your **must-have features**:
- User sign up & making a profile
- A homepage with the most popular tracks and albums
- List of favorite tracks/albums
- A search system
- Music player
**Additional features:**
- Download button
- Share tracks via social networks
- Mix for you
- Similar artists
- Recognizing tracks (like Shazam or DeezerCatcher)
It's very important to provide your software developers with the list of app's features. Without it, the app dev company cannot estimate how many hours app-building is going to take, thus, how much their work is going to cost.
Of course, you can check the idea with your development team. At Cleveroad, we help app owners define features for an MVP according to project requirements and budget.
Here’s an example of a rough app estimation with features and number of hours it takes to develop each.
[](https://www.cleveroad.com/documents/rough-estimate-example.pdf)
Tip on how do you make an app: define the list of features
Sooner or later, you'll have to decide on platforms—choose between iOS or Android, web, or desktop. Or even cover smart TV or wearables (Wear OS, watchOS).
Which platform to choose? Let’s evaluate a few factors.
It’s simple: go for the OS that's most popular among your target audience.
Making a video streaming service? You’ll have to cover smart TV—Apple TV, Android TV, WebOS. Making a fitness & health app? Adapt it for wearables—Wear OS, watchOS.
And if you’re building an app for smartphones and tablets, you’ll have to choose between **iOS** and **Android**.
If your users live in the **United States, Canada, Australia, or Western Europe**, pick iOS.
While Android is number one in countries like **Central and South America, India, Africa, China, the Middle East, Russia, Eastern Europe**, and some others.
Tip on how to build app: choose the platform your target audience is on
It takes 15-20% less time to create apps for iOS than for Android. That’s because of a smaller number of screens and OS versions.
**89%** of iOS users update to the latest OS version (iOS 13.5). **9%** use iOS 12 and **2%** stay on an older version.
OS versions share on iOS: 89% use the latest OS version--13
It’s a bit more tricky with Android. Almost half of all users (41%) have the latest OS version (Android Pie). **19%** are using the previous version (Oreo), and the rest—older versions.
Android OS versions share: 41% use the latest version, 19% -- previous
Same for app’s layout: there are hundreds of Android-powered devices from different vendors with different resolutions and screen sizes.
Though the gap in development time isn’t that big (~15-20%), creating a mobile app for Android is more complex:
- Manufacturers may alter Android to fit their devices, which forces developers to tweak apps to make them work on particular smartphones and tablets;
- Some Android-powered devices have cheaper components (CPUs and cameras), which leads to bugs or poor performance
That makes developing an app for Android more expensive compared to iOS, which can't be good if you're just testing an idea.
Lots of companies choose to test their ideas on iOS-powered devices, then make an app for Android:
Here’s a couple of examples:
- **Airbnb**. It took 14 months for the company to [convert their iOS app to Android](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/how-to-convert-android-app-to-ios/).
- **Instagram**. Appeared on Android only 4 years after the launch on iOS.
You may go for cross-platform development if you need to cover two platforms but are on a limited budget and/or time. Our developers recommend Flutter—it's an open-source tool that helps make apps that look and work like native.
Flutter is excellent when you’re:
- [Develop a shopping app](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/create-a-shopping-app/)
- Food delivery
- Social media app
- Fitness app
- Dating app
- Marketplaces
In fact, you can create an app of any type on Flutter as you can always write the platform code.
**How much time does Flutter development save?**
Our business analysts compared the time to [build an educational app](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/educational-app-development-cost-and-how-to-create/) for iOS+Android vs. Flutter.
| | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Feature** | **Back-end development** | **iOS development** | **Android development** | **Flutter development** |
| Singup/login | 47 hours | 42 hours | 42 hours | 44 hours |
| Search | 22 hours | 21 hours | 21 hours | 21 hours |
| Profile | 59 hours | 39 hours | 39 hours | 47 hours |
| Course | 19 hours | 17 hours | 17 hours | 17 hours |
| Payments | 45 hours | 35 hours | 35 hours | 42 hours |
| Menu | 88 hours | 95 hours | 95 hours | 100 hours |
| Push notifications | 14 hours | 14 hours | 14 hours | 14 hours |
Flutter takes 15-20% more time to build than *one* native app. But you’re getting *two* apps as a result, not one.
And the less time the development takes, the less it’s going to cost you.
Up to this point, I’ve talked about things to do before the development starts. Now, let’s see how the process goes inside a software dev company.
We're going to start with UI/UX design: take a peek at some differences between iOS and Android design.
When designing an application, UI/UX team refers to guidelines — Google's Material Design Guidelines (Android) and Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines (iOS).
How they’re different:
1. **App navigation**
On iOS, Tabs are placed at the bottom.
On Android, Tabs are at the top, usually represented as either text or icons (rather than text and icons).
1. **Size greeds**
Here’s the size greed for iOS:
iOS grid for media assets
Android:
Android grid for media assets
1. **Icons**
Slightly different on iOS and Android.
Icons on iOS vs. Android
1. **Fonts**
Even default fonts are different: **San Francisco** for iOS and **Roboto** for Android.
Typefaces on Android (Roboto) and iOS (San Francisco)
And here’s how it looks like on a final product:
iOS vs. Android design for one of the apps we've worked on--Foodito
Once everything—platforms, features, target audience—is planned, specification is ready, it’s time to develop app UI/UX design.
The first step is making wireframes following the **approved part** of the specification.
A wireframe is a schematic placement of elements on app screens. It's monochrome, and designers use it to craft prototypes faster and make fewer changes after the planning stage.
Wireframing is a crucial step when it comes to creating apps
Wireframes are not final product design, they’re just a blueprint of the future app. Again, you **have to approve wireframes** before the team could move any further.
A development team needs your approval quite often, as you can guess. That's done to eliminate misunderstandings and not spend time on creating apps design owner knows nothing about.
By approving all important steps with clients, a software development vendor saves the owner's budget and cuts misunderstandings.
Now, back to the design.
Cleveroad designers often make a clickable prototype at the wireframing stage to simulate a working application. After the development starts, they start working on app design screens to let the app owners test functionality we implemented on a real device.
Want to learn more about our [UI/UX design process](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/ui-ux-design-process/)? We’ve created a guide that explains it step by step.
The Design team prepares all the screens in all possible conditions, reflecting each possible case on screens. For example, showing how an empty user's feed looks right after sign up or what error message appears when users enter incorrect details.
Ready UI/UX design for each screen of an app
Finally, it’s time to code.
Let’s see what types of app you can make, what tool you need, and how the [custom apps development](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/custom-mobile-app-development/) process goes.
You can either create your own app just for iOS or Android or make a hybrid or cross-platform app. What’s the difference?
- **Native apps** (iOS, Android)—one app for each platform, different programming languages, and an individual codebase for each app. **Examples**: Instagram, Uber, Pinterest, iOS calculator
- **Hybrid apps** are usually web-based and run in your browser—Safari, Chrome, Opera, etc. **Examples**: Instagram, Evernote, Twitter (web version)
- **Cross-platform apps** (like Flutter-based) mobile apps that have a single codebase but run on multiple platforms (Android, iOS, Windows, Linux) **Examples**: Xianyu, Reflectly, Google AdWords
For native apps, we use programming languages like **Java** or **Kotlin** (Android) and **Swift** or **Objective-C** (iOS).
For hybrid apps, front end tools like **HTML5, CSS**, and **JavaScript**.
For cross-platform apps, **Dart** programming language and **Flutter** framework.
How to develop an app: tools for development
91% of developers follow [Agile methodology](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/what-is-agile-methodology--the-easiest-explanation-with-real-life-solutions/) and work in sprints. Sprint is a period (two weeks, usually) during which a team has to complete a set amount of work.
During the sprint, the team:
1. Writes code (devs)
2. Works on app’s design (UI/UX designers)
3. Checks if the app works as required (QA)
4. Conducts meetings with the team, prepares reports for app owners (PM)
How to make a app at Cleveroad: development process we follow
At the end of each sprint of [mobile development process](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/app-development-process/), a team prepares a demo for the clients to test. **Project demo** is an application with features implemented during the sprint, the one owners could install on their device and click through.
As soon as the team finishes making an app, it’s time to release it App Store and Google Play. Or move to an actual server to make it accessible for users.
Our developers agree that it takes more time and effort to release an app on App Store than Google Play.
Google Play uses automated testing, which simplifies and speeds up the process but may leave some minor issues in the cold. Plus, it may be hard to reach the Google Play team to ask why your app was declined.
App Store, on the other hand, delegates app checking to real people. They’ll notice even minor issues—and tell you what to fix.
Here's how the release process goes in general:
1. You make sure the app follows App Store or Google Play guidelines (and fix it, if it doesn't).
2. Fill in meta data: title, description, keywords, screenshots, and preview videos you want to add.
3. Submit the app to review.
4. Wait for the reply. App Store/Google Play team will check the app against the guidelines, make sure the app doesn't crash and work as expected.
5. Within 2-3 days, your app will either be approved or rejected.
Software development companies, including Cleveroad, often publish apps on behalf of their clients. Developers know exactly what to expect from each marketplace, and how to build an app that’ll be accepted on the first try.
At Cleveroad, we start working on an app at any stage—from an idea of your future app re-engineering already existing one.
We help to make apps, even if all you have is just its concept. Our business analysts help with research and planning—define your target audience, advise on platforms. We also make a competitive analysis and help with preparing a [tech business plan](https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/tech-startup-business-plan/) as an additional service.
If you want to create an MVP to test your idea, we'll suggest features to develop first to reduce time to market. As well as more complex ones for winning more users in the future.
For example, one of our latest projects, **Ayoo dance** (a social network for dancers), was an MVP at first. But as app owners got a lot of positive feedback, soon it grew from an MVP to a full-featured social network, available on iOS.
[](https://www.cleveroad.com/portfolio/ayoo/)
Ayoo dance, a social network for dancers
Have plans on making your own app?
We’ll take care of the development—from an idea to publishing it on marketplaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to conduct market research for an app?
Here are the steps to take:
1. **Define your target audience.**
2. **Analyze your competitors:**
- features they have
- monetization scheme (or app’s cost)
- publisher
- last updated
- number of downloads
- ratings and reviews from real users
1. **Think through monetization approach**\--in-app advertising, freemium, premium, or subscription-based.
Android vs. iOS: which platform to build your app for first?
It depends on the platform your target audience is on, though it's **cheaper** to build an app for iOS than for Android (fewer screens and OS versions).
If your users live in the **United States, Canada, Australia, or Western Europe**, choose **iOS**.
If you're aiming at countries like **Central and South America, India, Africa, China, the Middle East, Russia, Eastern Europe,** choose **Android**.
Why is UI/UX design important?
Because it's the first thing users see. An attractive and user-friendly design means a lot for app success: the UI should be eye-catching to capture users' attention and UX should help users solve their problems fast.
Or they may close the app and never come back.
What is the difference between a native app and a hybrid app?
**Native apps** are built using different programming languages for specific platforms like Java/Kotlin for Android, Swift/Objective-C for iOS. You can download them on the App Store or Google Play.
**Hybrid apps** are usually web-based and run in a browser—Safari, Chrome, Opera, or any other. To create them, developers use tools like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
How to release an app?
Here's how the release process goes:
1. Check the app against the App Store or Google Play guidelines.
2. Fill in metadata: title, description, keywords, screenshots, and preview videos.
3. Upload the app.
4. Submit the app for review.
5. Wait for the reply from App Store/Google Play team.
6. Within 2-3 days, your app will either be approved or rejected.
If you're working with a software development company, you may ask them to publish the app on your behalf.
What types of features can you include in a mobile app?
Break up the list of features in two parts:
- **core features** (or MVP) that app can't exist without (registration, profile management, search system)
- **and additional/unique features** (Facebook or Twitter login, sharing content via social networks, and so on) |
| Shard | 51 (laksa) |
| Root Hash | 7428193620312527651 |
| Unparsed URL | com,cleveroad!www,/blog/how-to-create-an-app/ s443 |