It’s important to remember that there are two parts of building an app, he adds.
There’s the front end, which people can see and touch, and the back end, which should spit out the data you’re after on your users, he says.
“A lot of people go wrong by thinking they need one person to help them build an app, and if that’s the case, you need to be sure that person has a good handle on building both the front and back end of the app.
Taylor likened this to a restaurant, where someone is taking the orders, and a second person is cooking out the back in the kitchen.
Business advisor Steve Bowman launched an app at the start of this year, and agrees that a successful app all comes down to customer usability.
Called Strategic Board Essentials, the app is aimed at directors of corporates and non-profit organisations.
Bowman, who built the app using platform iBuildapp.com, says the process took a lot of time.
“It can be easy to get bogged down with lots of different functions, but we never lost sight of the fact that the app had to be useful to the end user.
“You’ve got to understand why you’re building this app, and what it will be used for. After all, it’s going to be deleted if it’s not useful.”
Bowman recommends incorporating some sort of data on the app that’s constantly updated, such as a new blog post or Twitter feed, to encourage return visitors.
Some static information that doesn’t require an internet connection to be accessed also works well. For example, if your app is for a restaurant, this might include a great apple pie recipe, he says.
The founder and chief executive of online shopping app Stashd, Jessica Wilson, agrees that user engagement is critical.
“Consumer engagement is heavily moving onto mobile and tablet device. It’s important to get your message, product or service across, but also keep in mind an interface that isn’t an overload of information for the user.”
Wilson reckons if she was to do anything different a second time round, it would be to fail faster.
“The more you fail, the more you can pivot and change for the better. The main interface for Stashd has stayed consistent thus far, but there have been a lot of aspects in the back end that have changed. Innovation is key.”
