The right development tools and strategy will help you create a successful app on Apple’s app store for the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Be thorough as you lay the groundwork for creating, developing, marketing, pricing – and learn how to develop and build the perfect app for iPhone and iPad.
As a 17-year-old high school junior in 2010, T.J. Pluhacek already has one application on Apple’s app stores for both the Mac and the mobile devices. Released when he was still a sophomore, the app is called Notelook, and it came about because Pluhacek wanted to take better notes in class.
The note-taking app for school, meetings or anyone on the go debuted the same day that the Mac app store for desktop apps did – on Jan. 6, 2010. He soon heard rumors about an Apple tablet under construction, and he wanted to create an app for that, too.
But because he didn’t know how to make even an iPhone app, first he had to teach himself how to program and to get the tools from the Apple store available for developers, which are the same for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
Pluhacek wasn’t always interested in apps. His first passion was music – guitar, harmonic and vocal music. Then the band he was in fell apart, so he bought a computer when he was a freshman in high school.
After learning the hardware side of things by rebuilding recycled computers, he wanted to learn software, especially after he bought a Mac.
“I didn’t really know where to start,” Pluhacek said.
But he did, teaching himself along the way with app tutorials from various places. To learn about iOS development for the unseen iPad, he read books, bought a software development kit – SDK – from Apple and began learning the coding language for iPad apps, known as objective C.
Put all of these together, and you have Apple’s operating system for its mobile devices, known as iOS. Today’s SDK 4, available from Apple after signing up for a developer account at http://developer.apple.com/devcenter/ios, covers all developing for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch applications.
And today, Pluhacek’s Notelook apps – 99 cents for the iPad, and $1.99 for Mac – are selling well on both of Apple’s stores for apps.
Pluhacek said it’s more difficult to develop for these tablets than the desktop, in part because of the small size, and also because the touchscreen adds an entirely new dimension to programming.
“Let’s just say it takes a lot of work,” he said.
Learn How to Build Apps For iPhone or iPad With No Programming Skills Here!
Create Apps That You Are Passionate About
Pluhacek didn’t start out trying to make money with his app – he had a good idea for one that solved a problem that he wanted to solve. Then he set out to learn how to get it done.
That’s an approach that author and app development expert Dave Wooldridge recommends in learning how to make an iPhone app.
“Don’t create an app just because you think it might make money. Create apps that you’re passionate about,” he said. “The best apps are ones that reflect a true commitment and attention to detail from the developer.”
Dave Wooldridge is the author of “The Business of iPhone and iPad App Development: Making and Marketing Apps that Succeed
Getting The Best Ideas For Your App
It’s not easy to come up with ideas for your app because the best apps are the ones that do things that others don’t.
“It becomes very hard to find something that’s unique,” Pluhacek said, noting that there are dozens of note-taking apps on the iTunes now, whether for they’re iPad apps or apps for your iPhone or iPod touch.
So look for something that makes an existing task more efficient, he advised.
“Find out what you want to develop, take a category that’s already been defined, but then find an area that’s missing and add that functionality,” he said.
Or, look for an idea that doesn’t exist yet that would be beneficial or useful.
For Pluhacek’s first app, he was so busy teaching himself about iOS development that he didn’t have time to come up with other ideas.
Finding Out What Types of Apps Work Best
Pluhacek knew he wanted to create an app that was proficient in notetaking. Since he’s in high school, he takes notes for class all the time, and he didn’t like the notetaking apps on the market. He wanted to be able to organize them like people do the notebooks that they carry between classes.
First, look at the apps that are similar to the product you want to develop, Pluhacek advised. Pluhacek started researching other note-taking software and comparing the features.
Then add your own twist to an app or try to solve a problem differently than related apps already on the market.
What you should know to make iPhone apps: Do you hire a developer or do it yourself, and if you do it yourself, how do you develop the tools and skills?
There’s a misguided perception that it’s easy to create an app on your own by reading a few chapters in a book and gettings started. But that’s not the case.
“You have to be one who is extremely passionate about computers and technology,” Pluhacek said. “If you don’t know about software, and you want to have a product develped, in most cases it would be in one’s best interests to reach out to a firm that does development of applications for third parties.”
Plucaheck and others have found that it’s not easy to learn the iOS and objective C coding that they need to build an app.
It’s “more difficult than developing desktop software,” he said.
App development expert Wooldridge agrees. He said it’s possible to teach yourself iOS programming language if you’re willing to invest the time and effort in the process or if you’re already an experienced programmer.
But “if you’ve never programmed before or maybe you’ve only dabbled a bit with JavaScript or PHP for a web site, then learning a new programming language may be a somehwat steeper learning curve.”
There are predeveloped kits for making games that people have used to assist them: Even the popular Angry Birds game for both Android and iOS used an open-source physics kit developed by Box2D in its creation.
Box2D is now credited in the Angry Birds game credits. And Pluhacek knows of other games “developed” by teens that have gained attention because the teens were able to use kits for the basic codes.
Wooldridge noted other third-party solutions available like Titanium and PhoneGap enable you to use JavaScript, CSS and HTML to produce mobile apps.
“But for the most flexibility and access to all of the latest features and frameworks, learning the native programming language for that mobile platform is always your best bet, in my opinion,” he said.
Pluhacek said that he has found the only way to develop an app on your own is to commit to teaching yourself how to make an iPhone or iPad app.
“You can do it on your own if you want to make computers your life,” Pluhacek said.
Sketching Out An Idea And Story For Your App
Once you have your app idea, then it’s important to sketch it out so you know each step that you have to program along the way.
Wooldridge has always liked doing this on paper because that’s where he finds he is the most creative, free and productive, he said. So, he created a series of books, called “Developer Sketchbooks,” for both the iPad and iPhone devices, to help him.
“Like many developers, I like to first sketch app interface concepts on paper. This gives me a way to quickly visualize and work through any navigation and usability issues without wasting precious development time,” Wooldridge said. “Once I have my user interface screens designed on paper, I then start transforming those ideas into an actual Xcode project.”
Pricing Your App
Many people who have apps for sale say it’s hard to figure out the right price to charge. Developers have to find the right balance between paying for their costs and enticing buyers to download their apps.
Pluhacek has charged as much as $4.99 for Notelook, then dropped to $1.99, and now it’s 99 cents.
Customers respond when the price is cheaper.
“The business side to doing all of this is extremely crucial to making this a successful product,” Pluhacek said. “You can be as smart as you can and make a great product, but if you don’t have the business sense behind it, … you can’t really go far with it.”
Also, the latest option for developers these days is “in-app purchasing,” which allows users to make purchases inside the app once they’ve downloaded this.
Marketing And Promotion
By developing an app for the iTunes store, Pluhacek said, you’ve got a built-in marketing machine.
“Apple is basically doing all of your marketing, and they’re doing all the hosting for you,” Pluhacek said.
For him, it would be a hassle to distribute his app for sale. He’s in high school, and a one-man operation, without a company behind him to handle marketing, sales, distribution and more.
That’s why he likes the Apple store – it is a built-in marketing machine.
The iTunes store also protecs you against piracy. All downloaded apps are connected to an iTunes account.
“Developing an entire serial code and a serial code verification – that’s way too over the top for me just being a 17-year-old,” he said.
Keep in mind that once you develop the app, you’ll have to find the time to update it and respond to customers’ concerns, questions or complaints in order to keep reviews positive and the app selling.
Pluhacek recalls one school day where he got 40 customer e-mails, and those customers don’t know that he’s just a high schooler.
“I don’t think most of my teachers know that I do this … I don’t know any other teen-ager who does this,” he said. “I think my parents are now beginning to understand that this is something that’s serious.”
App expert Wooldridge advises not to wait until your app is in the app store before marketing it.
“Marketing should never be an afterthought. Developers should start thinking about marketing before they’ve written a single line of code,” he said. “There are so many marketing and business opportunities throughout the various app research, design, development and release stages that when properly orchestrated, all of those factors play essential roles in helping your app succed in the App Store.”
Most importantly, Wooldridge said, take your time in designing your app well, whether it’s an application for your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad.
“No amount of marketing can help sell a bad app,” he said. “Envision the app you want, and then figure out how to build it.”
