6 Tips for making a successful Android Application

Apple Event took place yesterday and in the presentation they mentioned that they have hit 700,000 Apps on their App store, Google revealed a day before that they have surpassed 600,000 mark and considering that Google play recently picked up the pace – it is amazing what they have achieved. Sadly though – the quality of apps on Google Play store is not up to the mark as to what Apple offers. Developers are allowed to publish their apps once they purchase a $25 developer account – no quality control is made on the published apps. But now, things are changing on the Google market as well, they want quality applications that meet the standard of their OS.

1. Analyze The Audience

Developers who are starting out fresh have a tough task at their hands, they need to know what will make their applications shine among the 600,000 others. If you are starting out fresh then you must follow some guidelines and should know Google policies, not to mention some extra tricks and tips. There are several websites which will assist you in making Android applications, play shop apps for instance has a section dedicated to Google play, that can guide you through several details and and give you tips on how to utilize Google market’s features.

2. Generate the ideas

Now we should move on to the most important part which essentially is your idea for an app. This part takes a lot of time, reading online and gathering statistics on which type of Applications helps you decide on what you have to make. There are thousands of websites/blogs offering many reviews of application, we do that too; and you need to follow that. Follow the statistics, see what users want and would like to have – this is requirement gathering 101. Most important, see what type pf applications people like the most.

3. Gather requirements

Requirement gathering needs a lot of homework, read app reviews – study their demographics, their download history, study the price and read user comments. There are several sources that you can use to further analyze applications, android news at Androidpit offers news and user feedback for many applications, gdgt has a section dedicated to application statistics and then there is Google Play itself  which you can use to manually search for download history and see what is the trend, and finally you can read several app reviews here at hardwareinsight as well to find out what people look for and like to review.

4. Follow Guidelines

Another crucial part of making an Application is the UI, you must follow certain aesthetic rules – Heavy application with over flowing graphics don’t work anymore, you need to keep the design as simple and as user friendly as possible. Thankfully, there are many tutorials out there for designing a good interface, you can jump over to Google Interface Guidelines page to see what sort of applications Google expect from a developer. There is also a nice presentation that can guide you through general rules of making a solid application.

5. Set the pricing Strategy

If you want to earn from your applications then you must figure out the right price for your applications. On Google play, the Applications usually start from $.99 and go onto $50 per application. Value of your application/game depends on one major factor – that is; how many other applications offer the same functionality. If there are several applications that offer the same or better functionality then you would be better of setting the application for free. On the other hand if you are proving a unique feature than you can take the chance and place a $.99 to $2.99 price tag. Furthermore, you can include in app purchases or include advertisements for in app purchasing. There are several guidelines for setting a price, follow this link to get a detailed description.

6. Advertise

Once you have your application made – it is time to advertise. Companies like Rovio, challingo, EA and Atari have an edge, they are well known companies and users actually look forward to their new applications. But if you are a startup company then you need to advertise your application properly. Promote it using online ads or pay per install applications like Google AWords. You can also offer promotion offers such as – first 100 users get the application free or if the application has in App purchases then offer a discount; this will pace up your application up the pipeline.

These are just basic things you need to watch out for, and if you follow the process and end up with a solid application then you have hit the goldmine. Discipline is the key here and it will take you a long way.