App Development Is The New Startup – Resources To Create Your App

Applications (or “App”) development for smart phones, tablets and mobile devices is the new start-up.

“Instagram” is probably the most famous app to generate riches for its creators when Facebook purchased it for $1 Billion. App games like “Angry Birds” and “Words With Friends” have also generated huge numbers of downloads are quite profitable for their developers. But you don’t need to be a number one, most downloaded app to make decent money.

See Related Article – Crowd Funding With Kickstarter For Your Startup Idea

If you have ever had a great idea for an app, but didn’t know how to go about getting it from concept to revenue, here is an overview of resources to create your app.

For a relatively simple app without a lot of custom graphics, there are a number of on-line app building tools. These are template based tools that allow creators to add their text and images to get to a working app. Three of the most popular are:

AppInstitute (formerly Appsme) – Make apps that work on all phones including Android, iPhone and Windows

AppMakr – A do-it-yourself platform to create content-based apps for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone

Flow – Build, manage and deploy real-time apps

If you have some programming or engineering background, and prefer a more hands-on approach to allow you to customize your app, then you may want to consider getting a crash course on app development. The least expensive way is through self-directed study with an assortment of books that walk you through the process. Some titles on Amazon that are recommended:

iPhone App Development: The Missing Manual – $30
iPhone and iPad Apps for Absolute Beginners – $35
Android Apps for Absolute Beginners – $10
Android Application Development Cookbook: 93 Recipes for Building Winning Apps – $5

Another approach is to sign up for a mobile app developer boot camp that lasts from 3 to 5 days. These will take you through the complete process and you’ll have access to the instructors to answer any questions or help when you get stuck. A much quicker learning experience, but these can cost about $2,500 for a 4 day class.

A compromise between self study with a stack of books, and an intensive training session is to take advantage of free on-line courses. These are taught similar to college classes and can have from 20 hours to 200 hours of lectures. The most highly rated classes can be found at:

CodeAcademy – Teaching The World To Code

Stanford Univesity – CS193P iPhone Application Development

W3Schools – Learning To Create

A final method to getting your idea into a product is to hire a developer. Expect to pay a minimum of $5,000 to get the first concept completed. A finished product, ready for release can cost from $15,000 to $50,000 depending on the complexity and number of revisions required. In addition to researching developers on the web, it’s good to meet them locally, in-person, at networking and recruiting events. Check listings in your areas for “Tech Weekends”, “Start-Up Weekends”, “Hackathons” and “App Incubators”. Another excellent resource to find app developers is your local college or university.

With all the resources to create your app available, it’s just a matter of writing down the concept and sketching out what it will look like on the mobile screen.

(Photo Credit – CssChopper)

If you found this article interesting and informative, please be sure to sign up for our newsletter  for the best tech right to your in-box.