Quote:
Originally Posted by Global Friend
I have two ideas for new apps but don't know where to start. I would think I need a patent on the idea? Info...from people who have done this or know for sure would be great.
I found this site, is anyone familiar with it and know if its better to just use something like this? How To Create An App: Make Your Own App, Android Maker Builder Develop
I also wasn't sure if this post would be better suited for the business section so if majority thinks so, I can ask to have it moved or move it myself. Thanks. |
Hello Global Friend,
I have personally developed an Android app and have 40,000 installs as of a few days ago. I have a bit of experience in this beyond just app development (business and programming).
Your question is extremely broad (I can't blame you if you haven't been a part of this world before
). I'll do my best to answer though.
1. Write your ideas out all the way. Sketch it all out. Describe functionality in depth and sketch how each screen would be laid out.
The goal of this is to decide if your idea is functional or not; and if it is, you want the idea in a format that can act as a blueprint for design.
A large part of this is figuring out how you're gonna make money. I assume this isn't going to be free.
There are several different methods of monetization out there:
Ad-based: You use ads to make money through views and clicks.
Freemium: Free, but with paid content that enriches the game.
Premium: An upfront cost with no additional charges.
2. Market analysis! I don't know what your idea is, but figure out if your idea is going to appeal to very many people. Do your research.
3. I can't tell you if you need a patent. I'm not the right person to either.
4. This is the part where I sober you up and you decide whether you want to commit to this idea and follow through or not.
To my knowledge, there's 3 paths you can take to actually develop your app.
a. You program it yourself. This means you're not using any app maker tools to help you. The downside is that if you don't know how to program you will have to learn. You can expect this to take a long time (read as years or multiple months of dedicated work and learning). There's a lot of new words and scary looking software you'll need to learn.
The positive side of using this method is that in terms of the cost to you (not including time), it is far and away the cheapest. It costs the price of your computer you will be developing on and the phone(s) you will be developing for.
b. You use an app maker to design your program. The obvious upside to this is that there's a much easier to grasp learning curve. Not nearly as much scary looking words and programs involved. The hidden downside is licensing. Nothing is free, and from my experience the companies behind app makers can be kind of tricky with this. They're not dishonest, but it's very easy to overlook this information.
Various app makers will do things such as:
$X/year if you make more than $X or X% of all profits.
c. Contract work. If you do this, then I strongly encourage you to make sure the first two things I mentioned, market analysis and planning, are done PERFECTLY first. This can be quite expensive. Figure you're going to be paying a programmer at least $40/hr (likely more for quality work) for as many hours as it takes to make your app. (They should give you a quote ahead of time) This is good if you have money to burn right now and an app that you are absolutely sure you can sell. It's bad if you don't have the money to blow or you don't know for sure that it will sell.
5. Marketing: The largely overlooked part of app development is marketing. Market, market, market, market. Simply throwing it on the app store most likely will not work. You need to get out there through social media, videos, app reviews, etc.
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