Mistakes to Avoid in Low-Code App Development: 4 Gotchas

Citizen developers and development teams using low-code software development are on the rise. But here are 4 mobile app development gotchas you'll want to avoid at all costs. Avoid these as part of your development practice and make sure they don't appear in your software applications. 

No matter how well you think you and your company are doing developing mobile apps, you’re probably doing something wrong — and possibly many things wrong. And likely, the things you’re doing wrong are not hidden or esoteric. They’re probably in plain sight. But you’re so close to the development design and development process, you’re missing it.

We’ve got help. Following are four mobile development “gotchas” you should avoid, as pointed out in the Customer Think blog post, “Top 10 Mobile Application Development Mistakes to Avoid.”

Underestimating Your Required Resources and Budget

This is one of the most common mistakes you can make. How hard can it be to create and develop an app — it won’t take that much time or money, right?

Wrong. A good rule of thumb is that it usually takes longer and costs more than you estimate. So put together a comprehensive scoping document before you begin, including not just development hours, but also related costs, including for the operations team, marketing and more. That way, there will be no surprises along the way.

Don't forget to speak to stakeholders and users so you clearly understand the business requirements of the app.  Ensure that you understand the needs of any user interfaces and what would make the user experience intuitive and easy to use. Does the app need to be available through app stores?

Not Testing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

What are the absolute minimum requirements for your app? You need to determine that before adding other bells and whistles. Don’t leave it up to chance. Decide what you think the minimum requirements are, and then test with users, so you can get real-world feedback to find out if anything is missing.

The blog post notes, “At the MVP stage, your mobile app will comprise of essential features only. So, coming up with an MVP before going to the advanced development level can save a lot of time and money.”

Building a Bad Interface

Your app may be the most useful and feature-rich app possible, but if it’s marred by a poor interface, it can be almost worthless. So make sure the interface works well. And that means more than just looking pretty. It needs to have the proper workflow and be built to be fast and responsive.

Make sure to create an app flowchart before designing the interface, avoid fancy fonts and be wary of using animations that increase load time.

Packing in Too Many Features

No mobile app can be all things to all people. Think back to the MVP “gotcha” and carefully consider any feature you put into it beyond the MVP. The low-code application should be highly targeted and as simple to use as possible.

The blog post puts it this way: “Too many features…doesn’t make the app feature-rich, but rather makes it bulky and cumbersome. Further, it even makes the app slow with increased load time. So, avoid wasting your efforts and money on unnecessary features.”

What’s the Best Platform for Building the Best Mobile Apps?

To build the best mobile apps, you need the best low-code product. Alpha TransForm no-code tool and Alpha Anywhere low-code platform are ideal for the task. Alpha TransForm and Alpha Anywhere can work independently or together as a single platform and are well-suited for building all kinds of mobile apps.

Alpha TransForm helps business users craft online or offline mobile apps in minutes that utilize the latest mobile features (camera, GPS, etc.) for fast, accurate data capture. Alpha Anywhere has the unique ability to rapidly create mobile-optimized forms and field apps that can easily access and integrate with any database or web service and can exploit built-in role-based security or robust offline functionality. Learn more about Alpha TransForm and try it free for 30 days

More Common Development Mistakes to Avoid:

• Mistakes to Avoid When Establishing a Mobile Center of Excellence
• Avoid Unnecessary Pain: The Right Way to Build Offline Mobile Applications
• Tips for Developing Field Service Apps - Avoid These 3 Mobile Development Gotchas

Further Reading: 

• Read about the Pros and Cons of Low-code Development