How to Become a Mobile App Developer: The mobile application industry is huge and is expected to grow in the coming years. In fact, research shows that the total value of the mobile app industry will grow to $188.9 billion.
The market will benefit greatly from this growth. You can build a mobile app for your own enterprise or you can start your career in mobile app development.
You don’t need to go back to college and study for a computer science degree. Of course, you can do this, but it will take a lot of time and money. That’s why we decided to create an actionable guide for you to become an app developer.
How to become a mobile app developer
In this article, you will find a five-step guide to becoming a successful mobile app developer. So let’s get started.
Choose one of the major platforms
The first step toward learning how to develop mobile applications is choosing a leading platform. You’ll find plenty of apps like Android, iOS, Windows, Symbian, and Blackberry RIM. However, it is clear that Android and iOS dominate the mobile industry. Windows 10 apps may still be relevant, but it’s still not the most profitable platform. Thus, it would be a wise choice to start your journey by choosing either the iOS app or the Android app.
Totally different from each other. You need to consider what you want to specialize in. Of course, you can try to master everything, but it is not recommended. It is better to cover only one, and then gradually expand your horizons to include other app-developing platforms as well.
Learn Required Background Skills
To become a mobile app developer, one must possess the necessary app development skills and knowledge.
- But before you get into the programming world, it is important that you answer a simple question –
- Where are you actually starting?
- There can be three scenarios for this.
You are a web developer who wants to learn mobile app development. In that case, you will find several useful platforms to help you move to mobile app development such as Appcelerator Titanium.
You may not have done any coding before, but you have a basic idea of how object-oriented programming works. In that case, it will be easier for you to understand and learn how to develop a mobile app.
III. You are a complete beginner. In that case, it’s best to take a short introductory course on computer science. You can easily find android app development course online on sites like Ws Cube Tech, at the best price.
Now that you know where you stand, it will be easier for you to make your decision. The next steps include:
Mastering Coding Skills
Once you have chosen your platform, next you need to learn its basic concepts.
For iOS,
You need to learn Swift or Objective-C. But how do you choose? It totally depends on why you are learning mobile app development.
If you are learning to develop apps to build your own products, Swift would be a wise choice. Swift was introduced in 2014 and since then it has received a mostly positive response.
However, if you are planning to become an iOS developer for a mobile app development company, the best option may be to learn Objective-C first. Mainly because there is a lot of documentation for Objective-C, and there are still thousands of iOS apps that are built with Objective-C. You may need it to maintain or fix the code.
Apple provides the iOS Developer Library, which is very well documented. You will find many tutorials and videos to help you learn to code. It helps you break down the complexity of an iOS development program into smaller basic parts for easier understanding. In fact, there are many great blogs on iOS development.
For Android,
To develop apps on the Android platform, you need to know Java or Kotlin. For those who don’t know how this works, you’ll need an introductory course to the programming language Java. The best place to start is Google’s Android Developer Library. Again, these are very well documented and contain a comprehensive set of training materials.
Before you decide to choose Android, you should be aware of the fact that there are many different types of Android devices on the market. This may cause some trouble in the beginning. But once you cross that, you will have the ability to reach a wider market.
In addition, you can also subscribe to the Android weekly newsletter to stay updated on the latest software.
Using mobile app development software
Another option for developing apps for your own product is to use mobile development software. You don’t even need coding, and it usually has thousands of templates to get you started.
Practice your skills
Knowing how to write code is just the beginning of building an app. The best results come from writing and practising clean code and documentation. You can organize your practice session as follows:
Develop an App Idea
Start by developing an app idea. Find out the problems people are facing in daily life. List them, and shortlist the one that makes the most sense. And once you’ve decided, start mapping out your app.
Create app details
Another important thing when developing a protocol is to make sure your app is easy to understand. The user should be able to understand navigation without reference to other pages. Apart from this, you also have to explore the features of the app. If you want your users to stick around then it is important that you build an excellent user interface.
Collaborate or hire the people you need
When you’re getting started, it might not be possible for you to develop the entire app yourself. For example, you may be good at coding but lack design skills. It is better to take the help of someone who is already an expert in this field.
You can either hire an expert or collaborate with people who agree to help you.
Test Your App
Once you have finished developing the app, you need to move to the testing part. Bugs are inevitable in the first cut of any software.
You can ask your friends to download the app and let them play through it. If they see a glitch, they can tell you about the same. Feedback will help you know what works and what doesn’t in the app.
Convert to other platforms
So once you have mastered one platform, it is time to try your hand at other areas as well. Otherwise, you will miss out on customers if you don’t. Each platform has its own set of features and you will need to modify your app accordingly.
Final Thoughts
that was it. To conclude, we suggest that we do not start learning mobile app development directly. Instead, take your time to think about the project you want to work on while you learn mobile app development.
Also read: Content Writing Tips for Beginner Writers
