In today’s world, most of the businesses have realized the importance of mobile apps. Two major platforms to build and launch mobile apps are Android and iOS. When businesses look to Hire App Developers they have to make a choice whether they want to go for Android or iOS or cross-platform app development.
The number of apps available in leading app stores as of 2019-second quarter: –
When people are making this decision then they have to check about their target audience that this app would be targeting. Although Android dominates the global smartphone market still there are many regions and countries in the world where iPhone is the leader including the important markets of most of the developed nations like US, UK, Australia, Canada and more.
Other than its popularity in the key markets, actually iOS app development brings many benefits for the iOS app developers. That’s why the demand to Hire iOS Developer is increasing day by day.
Before I start telling Perfect iOS Application Developers about the best tips and practices to create iOS mobile apps let’s first talk about why you should develop an iOS app for your business i.e. what are the benefits of developing iOS apps: –
- It is easy to monetize iOS apps than Android apps as iPhone users are more affluent and ready to shell out money for good services.
As of Jan 2019, this is the Apple App Store earnings of mobile app developers in billion U.S. dollars.
- Performance-wise iOS apps are much faster than Android apps.
- iOS app developers have to follow strict Apple Guidelines hence iOS apps run more smoother than Android apps with almost no glitches.
- Testing iOS apps is much easier as there are limited numbers of iOS devices with Apple being the only manufacturer whereas testing Android apps is difficult and takes more time due to high fragmentation as Android devices are scattered and there are so many manufacturers of Android devices.
- Developing iOS apps takes lesser time as compared to developing Android apps.
- All iOS apps can be used in any MacOS whereas there is no such platform for Android apps.
- Using an iOS device, iOS apps can be shared with family and friends easily which is not possible in case of Android apps.
Let’s now discuss the important tips or the iOS app development methodology which iOS app developers should follow while doing iOS app development.
Important Tips for iOS App Developers to Create Amazing iOS Apps: –
Make a Complete App Development Plan and Write Down the Requirements
When we talk about the beginner’s guide to iOS development then proper and thorough Planning is the first major step which the iOS app developers have to take before starting any iOS app development project. They also have to decide whether they want to develop an iOS app for iPhone or iPad.
Here the promoter and developers of the app should be clear about the goal of the app. In this step, all the requirements of the iOS app are discussed and documented well and the app developers are selected. Apple’s iPhones are known for high performance hence it is important that the chosen app developer has the ability to develop high performing iPhone mobile app.
Here the detailed SRS or Software requirements and specification document for developing iOS app is created.
Keep it As Much Simple As Possible
Whether you enroll in an iOS app development course or you learn it yourself, you have to acknowledge that Smartphone and app users of today like the simplicity in processes. Hence, you have to keep the app design also simple so that there won’t be any complications in the future.
If the app design is simple and you manage to keep the user interface and navigation of the app also simple, then there will be more chances of your app being liked by users and they will reuse it as it will be simple to use and learn. Hence keep all of the processes during iOS app development as simple as possible.
Decide About the Minimum iOS Version You Want to Support
Almost each year Apple releases a newer version of iOS. Hence, you have to decide about the minimum iOS version which your iOS app is going to support. Most developers go on supporting the latest versions of iOS to reach to the most iPhone users but you should also remember that there are many users who are still using the older versions of iOS or iPhone. Hence you should try to make your app compatible on all of those iPhones whether they are using an older or newer version of iOS.
IDE and iOS Programming Languages
To create native iOS apps, developers use Xcode which is Apple’s integrated development environment (IDE). Using this they can also import any graphics created by the designers. This tool provides so many features to create a native iOS app, like editing source code, designing the user interface (UI), debugging and even for submitting the app to the App Store.
Earlier iOS Mobile App Developers used to code in Objective C programming language but in 2014 Apple launched a new programming language namely Swift to replace Objective C. Swift is easier to learn, simpler than Objective C and as per Apple it runs almost 2.6 times faster. Swift works amazingly with the new and latest hardware of iPhones and is faster to code, takes less space, is more secure and is easier to maintain and edit.
Coding of Front-End and Back-End and Their Integration
This phase is the most complex and required diverse skill-set, expertise, and experience. It requires many iterations, with a constant feedback loop between designer and iOS developer during its execution. In this stage, both the front-end and the back-end architecture of your iOS app are built keeping their coordination in mind. When your iOS app’s functionality is created, its system architecture is also built side by side. The front-end interface and the back-end server support software are dependent on each other and their development process involves many feedback and iterations.
Other than the Swift programming language and Xcode, a framework is also required to develop iOS apps. Generally, iOS apps are built with the Cocoa Touch Framework. Hybrid apps are built with front-end frameworks like Bootstrap, jQuery mobile, and AngularJS on third-party platforms like PhoneGap, Xamarin or Appcelerator. At this same time, back-end development and server-side components your app needs, like a database, APIs and middleware – are coded and integrated and linked to the front-end.
Follow the Naming Convention of Apple While Coding
While writing high quality and clear codes for iOS app, many developers tend to ignore the naming principles and basic conventions of Apple for naming. If you really want your app to stand out and give the best performance and takes less time for development and debugging then make sure that you follow the basic conventions given by Apple for giving names to classes, functions, methods, constants and other elements in the iOS app code.
You should make sure that the names are clear and not ambiguous. Avoid using abbreviations and keep the names crisp and clear. Also, it is important that naming principles you use in the code are consistent across the whole iOS app development project for best results.
Thorough Testing of the iOS App
We all know that Apple’s iOS app submission and approval process is more difficult than that of Google’s. Hence, after you finish developing your iOS app, make sure that you do thorough quality assurance testing on it. In the testing phase, the iOS developer should test the app on different devices or in the Simulator of Xcode, screen by screen, to make sure that there is no bug in the app and everything is working smoothly and perfectly. A developer can do the debugging in the Xcode itself.
To make your iOS app compatible on all Apple devices, you have to test it on all available devices like iPhone, iPad, iWatch on parameters like screen resolution, battery life, memory, and processors when the app runs on them. Developer should test its UI/UX, functionality, load time and traffic handling across all devices and should also review the crash reports if any to fix the bugs.
Take Care of Safety & Privacy in your iOS App
Most of the iOS apps require storing of sensitive data including personal details, credit/debit card information, passwords or any authentication tokens of users. You as a responsible developer should make sure that you store all of this sensitive information in one location only so that they cannot be accessed from outside of the app.
You have to make sure that you are not using Core Data or plist files or password log files on the disk as they are not encrypted and they can easily become a vulnerable target of hackers. Use of iOS keychain can help you in these situations and if you don’t want to work with C APIs then you can use a wrapper library. Just make sure that all the personal information and passwords of users are safely stored and are not reachable by hackers.
Make Good Use of Analytics
Nowadays most of the people have realized the benefits of using analytics be it whichever field. So is the case of iOS app development in which developers can incorporate some analytics framework within your iOS app, analytics will give you data, clear insights and an indication of how people are using your app.
Using proper analytics, you can easily find answer to so many questions like which elements are difficult to find in your app, which buttons are getting most clicks, which features are most searched by people and many other such valuable information and insights which you can use to make your iOS app more reliable and more successful.
Conclusion
We have just discussed the important steps an iOS app developer should take to create amazing, high performing and successful iOS apps. Remember, developing an app is a continuous process as new improvements and updates into the app are required from time to time, even if you are not adding new features.
iOS developers may have to carry out regular maintenance, bug fixing and updates on the app which make the iOS app development an alive process. Hence, if you want to develop an iOS app then you should Hire Mobile App Developer who is expert and have lots of experience in developing high rated iOS apps.
Many businesses simply contact a reputed Software Development Company which also has a division for mobile app development to build their iOS app as most of these companies have highly skilled and talented mobile app developers and the businesses can fully rely on their quality services without any need to look for separate iOS developers.
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