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What is custom application development? Apps that are “custom” are created to specifically address the needs of your organization’s business. Custom apps are created and developed by either you or a third-party developer. With the help of apple business essential, custom apps are safely and securely supplied to your organization’s members. Developers use the app store connect to submit custom apps. They are further assigned to you through the apple business essential account. After the approval of your apps, only your organization can access them, which allows you to use and view them in the app’s sidebar. Now, you can create and develop your custom apps more easily.  Custom apps permit you to utilize the scope and useability of the app store while also offering: Why it’s important to create a custom business application? Custom application development has the authority to meet your organization’s exact requirements. And it has the functionality to fulfill the needs of your application. Business developers select such features that meet their requirements. Thus, enhancing the agility and customer-centricity of their organizations. Also, custom apps benefit you in several ways,  6 catchy steps for creating custom apps for your business Are you going to develop your custom app? Then, wait a little bit. Before you create and develop your custom apps for your business. Understanding the requirements of the users for whom you’re creating the app is necessary. Here’re some steps you need to know before creating your custom app,  1- Know your ideal app user  Knowing about your ideal app user is very challenging. To know exactly who your ideal app users are, do the following activity. Create the individual personas list, which helps you decide who your target users are, their needs, and how much time they will use the app. By adopting this strategy, you will better know your app users and what functionality or functions they need.  2- Interactive Prototype After knowing who is your custom app users and what kind of functionality they need, then you’ll be able to test the interactive prototype. The rapid application development strategy is an excellent way to let customers provide frequent, concise input instead of waiting for long-term planning while simultaneously allowing you to make changes as you go. It helps you a lot; additionally, before starting the new phase of your application, test those features and confirm the user experience.  3- Create a minimal viable product (MVP) Once you have created your successful prototype, you can create a minimal viable product (MVP) and make your custom app available worldwide. From here, you can get feedback from real-life experienced application users, not just your team members. You may maintain compliance and maintain your personal privacy by providing your user with the most important updates through continuous delivery, the newest compatible technology, and encryption that protects their data. By doing so, you’ll be on top.  4- Up-to-date Features – An App that stands out If you want to stay on the higher priority, you need to build an up-to-date custom app that follows all the current features. You can’t stay on top if you don’t stay connected with the latest features. To minimize errors and hasten the quality assurance process, ensure that you interact with third-party apps, have all the new features updated on all operating systems, and stay up-to-date on login functionality.  5- Identify the ideal app for you: mobile or web The widespread notion is that web and mobile apps may be used interchangeably. Knowing the type of app, you’re creating will have a big impact on everything from design to user experience (UX), deployment, and the app creation software to utilize. Mobile applications are limited to your phone and are platform-specific, but they are speedier, can work offline, and have access to internal resources like GPS, images, and contacts. On the other hand, web applications function similarly to any internet browser: You don’t need to download or install them on your computer to function, and they almost exactly match the functionality of mobile devices. 6- Developing custom apps – App Cost In this last phase of the custom app, test all your phases identically and the new features you added so that you have complete how to know about the app’s cost. Each phase contains a price point, so make sure you’re not putting your extra effort while creating the app because you can’t charge with extra pay, create the app according to user requirements so that your efforts are fair enough.  Flutter: Create your First custom App To create your first attractive flutter-based custom app, you must follow the steps listed below. But before that, you need to install and run android studio version 3.0+.  1- Get Android Studio Installed To run smoothly, the flutter developers use an Android Studio, which provides an integrated IDE. But IDEs give you tools like syntax highlighting, code completion, and debuggers, which are useful while developing software. Furthermore, you can use any text editor to take the experience with flutter SDK. As we are developing applications for mobile, experts suggest using Android studio for better performance.  2- Plugins: Flutter and Dart Install the plugins of Flutter and Dart for creating and running the new project. You can create an app on your own or get help from an expert web developer.  Now you’re ready to create your first custom app on Flutter. You can type this command to start your new project File>new> new flutter project.  3- Create a Flutter Project  To create a new flutter project, follow the steps below,  4- Beginning the Flutter App’s coding Just open the terminal and run the flutter doctor command to ensure that your app’s environment is properly working. You must have at least usable Flutter, one functional IDE, and a connected device for it to operate successfully. You can test it’s working either on android or iOS.  If you are using the device, make sure it is connected to a USB and enable USB debugging. If you

After creating an application, your next step must be to launch your application on PlayStore. Google Play Store, with almost 1 billion Android users, has a significantly larger audience and ensures many downloads. So it is a great platform to strengthen your revenue. The following brief guide is to help you upload an app on PlayStore. Before Uploading The release version of your application is ready. Now it’s time to upload it to Google Play Store. Before uploading, make sure that: Upload an App on PlayStore – A Step-by-Step Guide Step 1 – Create a Developer Account The first thing you need to upload an app on Play Store is to create a developer account on Google Play Console. Google Play Console is sort of like a controlling center where an application gets published and its performance gets monitored. To create a developer account, you need to pay $25 – a one-time fee to open up your account. Fill out the respective credentials like your name, country name, and so on. After submission, your account will be approved within 48 hours. Step 2 – Connect your Account to Google Wallet Merchant The purpose of a merchant account is to receive payments from application downloads or in-app purchases. It enables quick and safe access to all payments. You also get to examine and manage your application sales easily. To set up your merchant account: Your developer account is now linked to the merchant account. Step 3 – Create Application – Finalize your App’s Information With your merchant account set up and linked, the next part is to Create an Application. Proceed with the following steps: Add a short description of your app which will appear in the Play Store listing. The goal here is to convince your audience to download the app. Within three lines, you have to sum up all the exciting features of your application. A complete description will highlight the details of your application which will be shown once the user clicks on your app store listings. Add screenshots that feature your app in action. The minimum requirement for screenshots is two. However, for the best results, aim for almost 7/8 screenshots. Hi-res Icon – this is the icon that will be displayed on Play Store and your user’s device after downloading. A feature graphic with minimal writing that best reflects your brand and can be a great source of promotion. Video Link – a YouTube video of your app in action. Category – Specify your application’s type and category. Add Contact Details in addition to the mandatory contact details. Step 4 – Upload the APK (Android App Kit) After successfully following the above steps, it’s time to upload the APK files. Here’s how we can do this: Production release is the final release of your application to Google Play Store. But if you want another opportunity to test your app and make changes according to the feedback, you can opt for any of the other three options accordingly. Before you finally upload an app on PlayStore, it needs to go through a few more steps. Step 5 – Content Rating where you Rate your App Step 6 – Define your Pricing and Distribution Plan If you plan to launch a paid app, set up the pricing of your app. Also, make a distribution plan for your app – in which countries do you want to publish your app? Will there be ads on your app? Select Yes or No accordingly. Step 7 – Finally, It’s Time to Publish the App Review all the information once again. Well, now your app is ready for the big launch. From the left menu, go back to App Releases, and click on Manage Production. Your app will be shipped and published to the selected countries’ Play Store within two hours. Congratulations on the successful launch of your application! What Now? – Application Promotion and Maintenance Lastly, you need to create an active marketing strategy for your app. Social media is a perfect platform to promote your application. By using paid ads on Instagram and Facebook, you will reach your targeted audience quickly and gain numerous downloads. But your job does not just end here. A popular application provides its users with frequent updates and fixes users’ issues. Sum Up  Hopefully, the above instructions were clear enough to help you upload an app on PlayStore. After launching an application, you have to put continuous efforts into its maintenance. Only then will you be able to rise above your competitors. Do you want different versions of your app? Our flutter app development team at Flutterdesk is here to empower your business and create top-notch cross-platform mobile applications for you.  

User Verification By implementing the feature of user verification, you will be able to create a trusted and secure travel experience for both the hosts and the guests. When a user signs up and registers for your application, immediately verify their online and physical presence. Ask them to provide you with images of their national ID, driver’s license, passport, and a scanned headshot. You can later match the physical and online documents.

From food and finance to entertainment, everything is done with mobile apps, and there is a flood of apps out there. Their users are growing every day and there will be around 7.41 mobile app users by the year 2024. For a better user experience, mobile app testing is crucial and its importance is increasing day by day. We have compiled a complete guide for you, explore it in detail to get the best results. What is Mobile App Testing Process? Mobile app testing is a process of checking any mobile application for its proper functionality, usability, compatibility, and performance. The testing process has a broad range of evaluation techniques to make sure the app meets user requirements and business expectations. To make sure your app performs perfectly, it is tested for: Mobile App Vulnerability Testing – Why is it Important? As the heading indicates, the whole purpose of mobile testing is to work on the vulnerability of applications and avoid poor reviews. App’s lousy functionality and crashes can also be avoided. Additionally, you get the following benefits: Different Types of Mobile Apps There are different types of mobile applications and you need to be clear about which one you are going to test. The three major categories are: Native Applications: developed and built using specified SDKs for a specific platform and its operating system – could be Android, Windows, iOS, etc. They have reliable performance and a faster user experience. Their maintenance, however, can be costly. They have a solo platform affinity but can run offline. Web Applications: a web version of an application that runs on different browsers like Firefox, Chrome, etc. They have a cross-platform affinity and don’t need any installation but a wireless internet connection is a must. Hybrid Applications: a twinning of web apps and native apps with native APIs. They take comparatively less time to develop and have a low budget. In terms of performance, however, their speed isn’t as good as native apps. Stages of Mobile App Testing Process To ensure detailed mobile app testing, there are different stages you have to go through. Stage 1 – Documentation Testing: This is the initial non-functional phase of your mobile app testing, done before the development starts. It helps with the estimation of testing coverage, effort, resource tracking, etc. The testers are handed out navigational charts and screen layouts, and other pictorial or written information to report on the application’s procedures, functions, and results. Whatever inconsistency you find in this documentation will ultimately impact the development. Common documented artifacts include: Stage 2 – Functional Testing: As the name shows, functional testing is to see if your app is performing the tasks to intend for it to perform. It is where the completeness of your defined requirements gets checked. The testing works on the overall accessibility and usability of the app and makes it error-free. Included with this, are a few necessary factors given below: Stage 3 – Usability Testing: Here, you will work to ensure convenience for your user and make it easy to use. Three criteria involved in usability testing are: Here we have provided a useful checklist for quality testing: Stage 4 – User Interface (UI) Testing: First impressions do leave an impact. A user interface is where the user interacts directly with the app so it should be structurally intuitive and visually appealing. Here is a brief checklist to work on: Stage 5 – Compatibility Testing: Compatibility testing checks the application’s optimal performance on different devices. Here you will be working on: Each configuration must be handled in a step-by-step process. Stage 6 – Performance Testing: At this point in mobile app testing, you have to check how your application behaves and performs with different workloads. It involves: Load Testing – application’s response time to different requests to see if it fulfills the normal user load requirements. Stability Testing – application’s operability for long hours of usage. Stress Testing – focused on the application’s working capacity. Volume Testing – application’s behavior to an expanded volume of data. Can the application cope with the planned volume of load? Concurrency Testing – checks how the application performs with multiple users and what the limit is. Stage 7 – Security Testing: Security and privacy of users’ data is our priority. To ensure protection, we analyze different security risks and get rid of any chances of viruses, unauthorized access, hackers, etc. The following are the measures included in this testing: Stage 8 – Recovery Testing: A crashing or freezing application gets the user frustrated, which is why recovery testing is a crucial step. Here you will be testing your app’s ability to recover from any potential hardware or software failures and working on: Stage 9 – Localization Testing: Here you test your application’s adaptability to different locations. Check the following features of your software for the specified locations: Stage 10 – Confirmation and Regression Testing: Now that you have identified any possible bugs from the above-mentioned steps, fix them successfully. Run them again to confirm you pass without any bugs. Verify the changes. Stage 11 – Beta Testing: Before the final release of your product in the market, check the beta version of your application for any problems. Beta testers should be people who have already worked with similar types of apps. You can consider this an additional stage for mobile app testing, but it is important. Stage 12 – Certification Testing: Congratulations! Your program is now ready to be certified by the stores like Google Play or the App store. Your application should comply with the terms of use and licensing requirements. This compliance is achieved through certification testing. What’s different about web testing? Mobile apps and web apps are built differently. Users’ interaction and experience with web apps are also different. Mobile applications are more complex and built for different platforms and OS versions, as a result, their testing is vigorous. Web testing aims to deliver a smooth user experience on different browsers.

Social media is developing continuously, and even though the market is packed with huge competitors, technological evolution has created a huge room for new ideas. In recent times, mobile apps, especially social media apps have turned into a bridge connecting people and businesses. You must have thought of building an app like Facebook too so you can stand out in this hugely competitive market. Worry not, we have got you covered. Let’s look at this detailed guide below on how to build an app like Facebook. Why pick Facebook – The game-changing world of Social Media Social media is not just a place for interaction and conversation but also a yielding ground for creativity, promising markets, and several profitable opportunities. However, amongst all these platforms, Facebook stands out the most. Who isn’t around you not a Facebook user? This social media platform has become a modern-day necessity, with its number of active users growing rapidly; 2.93 billion users as of 2022. The app caters to the needs of a multitude of users with no restricted demographics. As a result of this endless targeting opportunity, it has a huge ad revenue. Not only that, the application provides an array of opportunities for personalization and self-expression. Now, if you are willing to build an app like Facebook, you have to spare a few minutes and read the guideline below so you can create better. Let’s build an outline of your idea! You might be jumping directly to coding, but let’s not get ahead so soon. There are a few things you need to get done before you start developing your project. The first is to integrate an outline of your project. This will help you understand the lifecycle of the development of your application, the budget you need, and the technicalities to work on. Ideation is the first step towards creation, so invest as much time as you can in this. Following are the things you can work on when building the strategy for your application: The Must-have Features your App Needs You have studied your competitors, and you have done your case study on different social media applications. By now, you must have some specific features in mind that you would like to add to your app. Before you start designing, make sure that following the features are included in your design. Integrate your app with existing social media apps Face it, your user might already be using several social media applications and they are tired of this hassle of filling up all the login information. What you need to do is get rid of this step and make it easier for them to log in, so they can quickly start interacting. Create a simple user interface and integrate it with different social channels. The feature will allow your audience to register with you in no time and you will also be attracting traffic from different platforms – it’s a win-win. Additionally, allow your user to share media from different platforms on your app. They must be able to exchange content from different apps like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc. Prioritize Privacy A user wants a secure social network, so maintaining the security and privacy of your app is a huge priority. Never falter in securing your user’s media libraries and chats. Let the user express themselves better Customization is a key to social applications. Every user is unique and wants to be able to express themselves completely, and show their creativity to everyone. To help them with self-expression, create opportunities like: Personalized Profiles: Social media profile is something people identify and express themselves with. A catchy bio is not enough, give them leverage to design their profiles as they, please. From personal details to liking and hobbies, it should be up to them which detail they want to share and with who. Storytelling: Give them various opportunities to share what’s their story or what’s on their mind, by not just writing a post but also sharing the thoughts of people they subscribe to. Sharing Media: What’s a ‘social’ app that does not support media sharing? There must be file and media-sharing features along with instant messaging. And hey, don’t forget gifs, stickers, and of course emojis. Build a proper Newsfeed Here comes the crucial step, building a newsfeed. The first thing we do after waking up and before going to sleep is to grab our mobile and scroll through the feed, seeing what we have missed and what’s been going on. A newsfeed is generated by its user, their uploaded data, check-ins, and interests. To design an app like Facebook, you need to spend a good sum of time creating a newsfeed and also have an activity feed.  Keep their feed interesting and inclusive where they get updates from their friends and followers. A user must also be able to interact with the content through liking, commenting, or, sharing. Selective Notifications Notifications keep the user hooked. Keep them updated about the statuses of the people around them and other activities going on. But the notifications must be selective. Or else they will turn into an annoyance. Search Engine Equipped with Suggestions A search bar is where your audience connects with the outside world and expands their network. In addition to the specifications of search criteria like name, location, interests, etc., there must also be a feature of hashtags through which they can get relevant posts based on the topics of their interests. In addition to these major points, the following features will also be helpful: Select an Operating System for your App If you are planning on creating a cross-platform or hybrid application, the developers at the Flutterdesk are here for your assistance. However, the process can cost extensively so we recommend starting with a single platform first. You can hire flutter app developers to get you a better idea about the OS of your app. If you are willing to target a broad user base, go with Android, and