Mobile marketing undoably unlocks the powerful opportunities for you and help you scale new heights in the market. It is one of the most powerful weapons that turn the table without taking so much time. Nowadays, it becomes more important than ever before, then, it's your responsibility to be ready with your strategy that not only hit your goals but gives you value for money too. If you have not switched to a mobile-friendly website yet, so, it's high-time to do and here are some of the common reasons for that. Scroll down to know them.

• Google Said So: Online marketing is all about following Google algorithm to reach the high position on it. And as per the new update, it is compulsory for companies to create a mobile-friendly website because it satisfies more users than before. If you do not go to a responsive website, it may slap your ranking and drop it down drastically.
• Everyone Use Mobile: Another reason to switch to a mobile marketing strategy is that nowdays, almost everyone uses mobile than the desktop, so it is important for a company to make themselves available on a platform, where their customers are. Additionally, it'll help you get benefits or results like never before.
• Your Website On Their Hands: With a mobile-friendly website, they'll get the access to it from anywhere and anytime, which doubles the chances of customer revisits. They can keep it in their pocket and easily access it without even log in to their desks straight from their mobiles.
• For Higher Ranking: A mobile-friendly website will help you get a higher rank than the desktop; then, you should prepare yourself for the same. It'll not only boost up the ranking of your website, but also take your business to new heights, so, you can grab all the opportunities without facing much trouble.
• More Traffic Means Higher Conversion Rate: A mobile-friendly website will help you drive more and more people to your website, which undoly increases the chances of conversion. It'll overtake desktop and make it convenient for the visitors to reach you.

Nowadays, if you want to be in the competition, it's more than just compulsive to have a mobile marketing strategy. Do not delay it for long, else your competitors will get the cream of the crop and you left with nothing in your hands. Also, if you do not have much knowledge regarding the same, you should not hesitate to hire a team of professional because your little investment turns out to be a big profit in the future.

Mobile homes have an unfair reputation for being low quality or trashy. That just isn’t true. A mobile home is a great way to get your own property, place it anywhere you choose and for less than many more stationary houses tend to cost. It is becoming an increasingly popular option, with variations such as tiny homes and mini cottages becoming a darling of the real estate world.

If you are reading this you are probably considering making a purchase yourself. Before you go shopping for the perfect little place of your own, here are some things you should know.

There Are Many Kinds of Mobile Homes

Mobile homes are not all the same single level family affair that you may be used to. There are multiple styles and types, as the couple mentioned above prove. Tiny houses are miniature homes that attempt to utilize every inch of space, all in a very small package. Mini cottages are similar, though usually one room wood houses with lofts.

There are also multi-level mobile homes. These are less portable, which makes them a mixed bag. But if you are looking to get a manufactured home and you aren’t concerned with being able to move it quite as easily it is definitely a good option.

If portability is your goal there are models that come on wheels, which can be either kept on at all times or slipped under with some tools.

The Cost of Mobile Homes Can Vary Wildly

With so many mobile home styles it probably won’t surprise you that these dwellings don’t come in a standard price range. According to Forbes, the average cost of a tiny house is around $23,000. But the average cost of a single story mobile home is around $64,000. Multi-level manufactured homes can vary, but you can assume between $50 and $100 per square foot.

The varying prices is one reason that it is important to know what it is you are looking for in a home. You should also consider other costs that are associated with your house. The land that you are building it on, for example, or the hook up costs for electricity, plumbing, gas, etc. These may not be built into the price and so require additional installation and fees.

Quality Is a Factor

Not all mobile homes are created equal. In fact, going to the wrong provider can end in some serious headaches. A major storm can topple it over or damage can be done to the exterior, pieces can fall off, etc. It is critical that you find a reputable dealer or construction crew to help you find the right mobile home.

You are looking for quality materials, designs and reputable reviews for who you work with. If you find all three you will wind up with a beautiful, sturdy home.

Manufactured or Prefabricated Homes Are Awesome

These style of houses are fantastic. Not only are they lower cost than from scratch models, but they are easier and faster to put up. A crew as small as two people can construct a manufactured or prefabricated mobile home, using pretty basic tools. Sometimes it can be done in as little as an afternoon.

That is because the pieces are already put together and ready to combine. They have been shipped from the factory with everything needed, to the location you specify. So the people putting it up just have to go through and hook all the parts, from the walls and foundation to the different compartmentalized rooms and features.

Getting a Loan Can Be Tricky

When you are getting a mortgage you go to a bank, right? Most mobile homes won’t qualify under mortgage programs. Instead you have to either go through an official mobile home company that specializes in financing, or you have to go through a credit union that has a loan specifically for this style of house.

The idea is that mobile homes are portable and many people mistake that to mean temporary. They are also lower cost, so there is less profit gained through interest rates. Many banks don’t see the point of funding them.

Thankfully, it isn’t hard to get a loan from one of these specified places. If you have an account with a credit union it is all the better, as that improves your odds of approval and they often have competitive rates.

Location Is Everything

You could have a gorgeous, well crafted, amazing mobile home. But if it is sitting on an ugly lot in the middle of a crowded area, what good it is? You want a location that is central to what you need, but still pretty, functional and offers you whatever you are looking for. Some people choose mobile parks in order to have a neighborhood feel. Others choose more isolated locations where they can enjoy a plot of land.

Whatever works for you, location is a pretty important part of buying your mobile home. It is also a good chunk of what you will be paying for. Renting land is possible, such as in mobile parks. But buying your own ensures you have greater equity in your property. It is a sound investment, even if you plan on uprooting and moving somewhere else. Land is also cheaper than you might expect, depending on the area.

Retail Cost Versus Invoice Cost

Once you know what you are looking for and where you are going, it is time to go to a reputable dealer. When dealing with closing costs make sure you ask to see the invoice cost of the property. If they resist, insist on it or possible go to someone else. This is a better representation of cost without inflation that can come from retail markups.

Don’t let them corner you into telling your budget or what you can pay monthly. Just have them give you flat invoice prices for a described model and then negotiate based off of that price.

As the name indicates, jQuery Mobile is a touch-optimized framework developed based on jQuery library. It enables programmers to create mobile web applications for major mobile platforms like Android, iOS, Windows Phone and Blackberry. The developers can further use the framework to create mobile apps using commonly used standards like HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and AJAX. At the same time, jQuery Mobile is designed with features to help developers to create mobile web apps without writing longer lines of code. However, each programmer still needs to evaluate the pros and cons of jQuery Mobile, along with knowing its alternatives.

Pros

JQuery Mobile supports many mobile platforms and devices. At noted earlier, it supports several popular mobile platforms including Android, iOS, Windows Phone and Blackberry. Likewise, it also supports several mobile devices with varying screen sizes and resolutions. So the framework makes it easier for programmers to create cross-platform mobile app without writing code for specific devices and operating systems. They are also not required to make changes to code according to the screen size and resolution of individual devices.

While creating native mobile app, programmers have to use a specific programming language. For instance, they have to use Swift or Objective-C for developing apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. JQuery enables developers to create mobile web applications using open and commonly-used standards like HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and AJAX. The widely used web technologies make it easier for developers to create a wide variety of apps without putting extra time and effort.

Nowadays developers have to create custom themes to make the mobile app look different and attractive. JQuery Mobile makes it easier for developers to create custom themes using the ThemeRoller. In addition to allowing user to download custom themes, ThemeRoller further allows them to change their look simply by dragging and dropping colours. They can further deliver polished visuals by availing the box-shadow and text-shadow properties of CSS3.

JQuery Mobile further helps programmers to customize form controls, page layouts, page panels, headers and footers. So they can manipulate various elements of a page according to the requirements of the client. Likewise, they can also apply the CSS-based transition effects included in the framework to customize form submission and page links through AJAX.

While planning mobile apps, enterprises have to consider the process of getting approval from various app stores. Many businesses find it challenging to get their apps included in Apple App Store. But jQuery includes the virtues of individual environments. As the framework contains the virtue of Apple App Store, the developers can easily obtain approval from Apple. Thus, jQuery Mobile makes it easier for businesses to launch and promote their apps. At the same time, it enables developers to focus on the application’s functionality and performance without worrying about the approval process.

Cons

The performance of mobile web applications developed using jQuery differs across web browsers and devices. Many programmers have highlighted the apps perform slower on Android operating system and Chrome. But the same apps run faster on iOS devices. Also, the jQuery applications cannot outperform native mobile applications in the category of speed.

Many users feel that the applications developed using jQuery look almost identical. Some users even feel that the design of the jQuery applications is not optimized for tablets and other devices with larger screen. So many businesses have to deploy seasoned UI designers to make the mobile web applications different and appealing.

Despite supporting several mobile platforms and devices, jQuery is basically a JavaScript library. So it cannot access all features of the mobile device like other cross-platform mobile app development tools. The inability to access a device’s native features makes native apps perform better than jQuery applications.

Nowadays HTML5 is used widely for developing both mobile web apps and games. So developers look for frameworks that come with specialized features to speed up mobile game development. JQuery Mobile does not provide any specific features for developing game apps. So it can be used only for creating simple data-driven mobile web apps.

Alternatives

The cross-browser compatibility and too many features make JQuery Mobile bulky. So many developers prefer developing mobile web applications using lightweight frameworks like Snack.js, Zepto.js, xui.js, 140medley, $dom, PhoneJS, Junior, Jo and Davinci SDK. However, a specific framework may to complement the specific needs of each project. So the programmers need to keep in mind the nature and needs of the mobile app development project while comparing jQuery and its alternatives.

In the era of mobile technology, most churches are now realizing the importance of mobile and online giving to collect funds. How can ministries use technology to get Americans to give more?

Why should your church consider having the church app?

It helps nonprofits to keep and reach millennials to support their cause. Younger generations are different and have more willing to give. Millennials are the largest generation of the country and the future of your church. If you want to attract more millennials to raise money for your social cause, you must focus on offering mobile giving app or text to them. It enables them to give securely from anywhere at any time within less than 3 sec. or just one tap.

Find out how you can better connect with the millennials in your church or faith-based organization.

Make your website and donation pages mobile responsive

According to Salesforce and CMO Council, 87% of millennials keep their smartphones nearby at all times.

53% of emails are read on smartphones and 65% of social media users access sites on their mobiles and tablets. Younger generations differ from older generations, as they rely more on the modern technology for just about anything. They spend more of their time on their smartphones. To cater the needs of mobile audience, nonprofits must focus on making their presence in the mobile world. You will have more opportunities to spread your words and promote your charity for cause.

Offer digital giving solutions

Digital donations are a preferred method to give. How will your church get the millennials to give for your cause? When it comes to the next generations and their money, it is important to offer more digital giving options to them such as mobile giving app, giving via text, or website giving. If your nonprofit doesn’t create digital opportunities, millennials will not give.

The Church App

Add a giving app to your digital giving options. Your nonprofit may already have a responsive website. But, do you have a mobile web presence? Having a mobile-friendly website is not enough for the organizations, especially when they are attempting to attract next generation. You need to focus more on the church app to stay connected to the mobile world.

Make your digital strategy in a way that can move your visitors to your mobile app. By offering the quick and easy giving using the church app, you will be able to transform your audience into potential donors.

Enhance your Social Media presence

It doesn’t matter how big your church. You must be active on social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, or any other platform. These Social media platforms help your faith-based organizations to enhance their online presence and reach millennials or even younger.

The social networks are the most powerful communication tools, needed to engage, keep, and reach people. The more you engage with your audience online, the more connected they’ll feel to your organization.

Make the changes in your church’s digital giving strategy and take your church to the next level.

Smartphones are no more a luxury, and the traditional means of shopping are not the only means. Research reveals that in the US, sales that occurred via smartphones increased by 101 percent in 2016's first quarter. The purpose of any mobile app development company is to reconstruct the traditional shopping practices sequentially improving the model of mobile marketing.

A mobile app, for now, is not just the future of e-commerce but also for retail. For clients to instantly get what they want, smartphone apps serve as a personal browsing and comparison tool in their hands. Mobile shopping is approaching wider popularity, for the convenience it provides. As an exit, mobile app development companies offer high-quality and cost-effective technology solutions.

It's more of m-commerce, not e-commerce.

As per a recently conducted survey, e-commerce accounts more than 30 percent of the entire e-commerce and will grow exponentially. Mobile usage is increasing at a lightning-speed rate than any of Google's internal forecasts.

The most significant benefit of m-commerce to users is that it demands less time in transacting. Also, users can do transactions from anywhere and at any time of the day. Users enjoy more in swiping the relevant curved images as retailers make several kinds of offers for the business promotion. This is all because mobile app developers recognize the end-user needs and create customized apps that fulfill user expectations.

Customers spend more time on Mobiles Apps Than PCs.

The m-commerce is flourishing at an escape velocity that provides a platform for this kind of technology shift. As per stats, 90 percent of all buyers spend most of their time on mobile apps. Retail apps are remarkably convenient to use and user-friendly. Buyers get access to ample information about the business products or services quickly. 63% of Americans today prefer a mobile app for the smooth convenience that it offers.

More engaging user experience

UI-UX are essential aspects of retail app development. Users appreciate using apps as each of them has their unique features, which often follow industry standards. Research reveals that most of the buyers give an app a chance once or twice.

Creating a feature-rich retail app by the developers is growing exponentially successful as it delivers an instant impact on the first-time users. Plenty of apps are available in the store, but only a few of them make a difference.

Mobile App growth is flaming.

There is a regular shift from mobile web to mobile app-based buying, which means that apps are more accessible and acceptable. The growth is increasing day by day, inspired by a massive expansion in the number of mobile devices. Buyers use their smartphones to see what is around them, and retailers today needs to be smarter on efficient application of mobile app and satisfying the needs of mobile-empowered buyers. For a long time, success and prosperity, it is incredibly essential for the retail app developers to create applications that have a clear-cut visibility factor.

Conclusion

Building successful and high-traffic mobile apps is the end-purpose of the development companies. Numerous buyers still relish the in-store experience as they consider touch, see, and try products that they can not do online – but that's a pretty less number of users. Retail app development benefits Buyers with up-to-date market trends. Shortly, mobile retail will absolutely replace the traditional retail as the favored shopping means.

Keeping your mobile safe and secure has become one of the key priorities and challenges today. Smartphone owners would rather lose their wallets than their mobile devices. The amount of sensitive information-private text messages, photos, contacts, passwords-we carry in our mobile devices makes it a far more important thing to feel secure about than your regular wallet. Furthermore, a savvy attacker doesn’t even need physical access to your device to leech information, thanks to the immense development of hacking technology.

The best mobile antivirus apps offer not only top-notch malware detection and prevention, but also a range of privacy and anti-theft features. These include the ability to backup your contacts and other data, track your phone or tablet via GPS, and even snap a picture of a phone thief with the device’s camera. Also, it should be able to bail your useful information out in case of a physical damage to your mobile phone.

Here is a list of 5 mobile security and anti-virus software which you can use to protect your smartphone and keep its sensitive information secure.

BITDEFENDER MOBILE SECURITY

Bitdefender’s Android security app offers flawless malware protection, minimal performance impact and robust privacy protection tools while incorporating Android Wear watches into the app’s anti-theft features.

The anti-malware tool works brilliantly with super fast scanning speeds, the privacy advisor tool lets you see how your apps may be leaking your personal information. The theft protection tool of Bitdefender is also very useful and easy to use. You can remotely lock, locate, or wipe the device, or trigger an alarm. You access these tools primarily through the excellent Bitdefender website, is clean, well designed, and easy to use.

The other features of this app include- app lock tool and Bitdefender Alarm to help locate your phone and launch the app from your wrist if you have an android wear watch.

The only downside is the lack of call-blocking feature, which although is not a real miss as there are other apps to take care of that, but in terms of mobile security and anti-theft features, Bitdefender does an excellent job.

NORTON MOBILE SECURITY

Norton mobile security is one of the trusted and best reviewed mobile security apps available today.

Norton comes with a power packed security app that includes an App advisor that will give you warning about the apps that are installed on your device. It can also integrate with Google Play store where before installation it scans and gets data from the Norton community that gives information about the security issues and risks the app may carry while installation.

Its malware protection tool works superbly in very quick time and with very light resources. It also allows you to backup your contacts online and block spam calls onto the device setting up a filter list.

Overall, Norton mobile security is a well rounded security app providing a lot of features and delivers excellent results.

LOOKOUT (FOR ANDROID)

Lookout is another great choice if you are looking for an action-packed mobile security app for your android mobile. It comes with anti-malware protection, contacts backup and a Privacy advisor for apps that are installed on your device.

The scans are quite flawless and the user interface is also very good and user-friendly.

One of its notable features is 2 GB of cloud storage that it provides for backing up photos and call history. It also has a Premium Remote Swipe feature which helps you track your device in case of theft. Its Signal Flare Feature automatically records your phone’s location until the battery dies out.

Lookout thus is quite an attractive mobile security app to have on your android device if you are looking for performance and feature rich product.

KASPERSKY INTERNET SECURITY

Kaspersky internet security is again one of the most useful anti-malware and anti-theft mobile security apps in the market today. Kaspersky Internet Security for Android feature to concentrate on antispam, authentication, antimalware and anti-theft. To control spam, you can build lists of message senders and callers to block. To prevent unwanted people from accessing your phone, you can lock your screen and force a password. Kaspersky also provides safe browsing option which protects your device so you don’t fall victim to malicious websites and websites compromising your personal identity.

Apart from cell phone virus protection, it is also important to have protection from a security threat through theft or burglary and this is where Kaspersky provides a host of useful features- you can make the phone sound an alarm so you can retrieve it whenever you lose it. In cases where your device is not within close proximity, you can wipe the data from your phone and lock it. You could also configure the anti-theft features so the phone locks when the SIM card changes. It is even possible to receive the thief’s new phone number when a new SIM appears. If anyone tries to uninstall the app without knowing the password, the attempt will fail.

So whether it comes to mobile virus protection or anti-theft features, Kaspersky internet security provides a brilliant solution and that makes it one of the best mobile security apps available. The only downside could be the lack of parental controls and backup utilities which are available separately from Kaspersky.

ESET MOBILE SECURITY & ANTIVIRUS

Hailing from a well-respected software security brand, ESET mobile security and antivirus app delivers highly in terms of malware detection and anti-theft features. It is remarkably well designed, which makes it easy to understand exactly how each feature works and does not slow down cell phones or drain batteries. The feature set is useful and extensive. However, there are no parental controls or backup utilities.

ESET effectively provides you malware protection and protection against security threats both while installing applications and for installed applications.

With mobile phones, one of the biggest security risks stems from losing physical control of the device. ESET provides anti-theft features so you can track its location on a map, receive snapshots from the front and rear cameras, and lock or wipe the device. It also boasts a well oiled software that neither drains the battery nor slow down the device while using it extensively.

If you spend a few hours searching online, you can learn a lot about DIY mobile phone repair. You can find a lot of articles and YouTube videos that can help you do different types of repair projects step by step. It’s true that the task is not easy, especially when you are going to work on your own handset that is about to die. However, if you do it the right way, you can save plenty of money on repair.

If you are too nervous to do the repair yourself, we can help. In this article, we have put together a few important tips and tricks that can help you perform the repair successfully. Let’s read the tips.

Take your time

No matter how impatient you may be, don’t rush. What you need to do is take your time, which will ensure the job is done right the first time. Since popular brand handsets are so expensive, making the repairs in rush is not a good idea as a lot of money and your precious data is at stake. Your chances of success will be higher if you make the fewest mistakes possible.

Get organized

If you are not organized, you won’t be able to fix your phone. Make sure all of your tools are organized. Each type of tools should be in its own container. This will prevent misplacement. It’s a good idea to keep different types of tools in separate containers.

Organization is important when it comes to dissembling and assembling of your device. For instance, you can put the first screw you removed all the way to the right. In the same way, the second screw will be put next to the first. This will make it easier for you to assemble your device once the problem is fixed.

Take care of the wires

You should be gentle. If you are not careful, you may end up breaking a cable or wire, which will make the repair work even more difficult. In worst scenario, you may even end damaging a wire that will make it impossible for you to move on.

Don’t force yourself

If you find it too difficult, don’t force yourself. If you can’t fit a component, don’t force it. If you are struggling to fit a fresh part into a socket, know that there is something in the way. Forcing it is not a good idea as it may damage the device for good.

Be careful with the screws

You should be gentle when it comes to tightening the screws. Although it’s important to tighten each screw, make sure you don’t use too much force or the screw or screw hole may get damaged.

As a general rule, once a screw feels tight, stop. This will ensure that everything is all right.

Long story short, you can do common mobile repair jobs yourself if you know how to go about it. But if you have no idea about the basics of the mobile phone repair, we suggest that you don’t follow the DIY route as it may ruin your phone costing you a good deal of money. In this case, you should hire the services of a professional.

An expensive mobile phone is easily damaged, with everything from the smallest of impacts to a small drop to submersion in water. A useful option to protect the phone is a case that not only has the stylish looks, but will also give a high level of protection from unexpected accidents. Here are three of the worthwhile reasons to invest in the mobile phone case:

Great protection

The primary criteria of the mobile phone case is the ability to keep it safe and undamaged. Other things like style, functionality and design should be secondary. The type of protection will vary with the different cases. A key area to give protection is the screen. If a case isn’t able to protect this part of the phone, it isn’t likely to be much more than a fashion piece. Also, a case with the ability to absorb shock on impact is very appealing. Any smartphone dropped from a relatively short height can easily crack, chip or shatter when no suitable protection is in place.

No impact on functionality

Make sure to buy the type of mobile phone case that is intended to be used on the specific make and model of your smartphone. This will make it easier to use the phone and will ensure the camera, ports, and other features aren’t covered or blocked in any way. While there are plenty of generic cases that will fit your phone, they will be a lot of hassle to use if they stop the phone performing its normal actions. In general, invest in a case that doesn’t limit the functionality, isn’t bulky, and is easy to use.

Stylish designs

Beyond the protective qualities of a case, the style and design are also important points in the process of buying a mobile phone case. They can range from the non intrusive cases in light colours or transparent to the ones with vivid colours and images. A few of the most popular materials include plastic (polyurethane, polycarbonate, etc.), carbon fibre, wood, leather, metal and silicone.

Leather is a classic choice that is very stylish and elegant with a rich, quality feel, as well as being waterproof and long-lasting. Metal is certain to appeal to those in search of ultimate protection against big impacts, while wood is unique and customisable. Also, the plastic cases can be useful, especially those made in polycarbonate which is a very tough and durable material. They even have the ability to give protection against heavy drops up to 15 feet.

The global retail industry is progressing fast while undergoing a series of transformations. However, having a mobile app for the retail operations is still pointless for many etailers and store retailers. However, the scenario has become quite different now. Operating a retail business without mobile app will lead entrepreneurs to face many difficulties in exploring the new opportunities in terms of wider customer connect.

Importance of Mobile Apps in Retail Industry

Mobile technology has become an inherent part of human lives. Thus, having a retail mobile app will greatly help businesses to offer easy access to product and store information to the customers. The retail owners must start thinking about connecting customers by deploying the mobile technology. Customers will prefer buying products from your store when they will find:

• Relevant product information which, are easy-to-access from their smartphones.
• Easy and quick product availability status.
• Estimated date of delivery of the product.
• Smartphone compatible payment modes like Apple Pay and PayPal.

Having these facts in mind, a retail mobile app will greatly help customers to stay ahead in the competition and maximize revenue to a huge extent.

Following here are some of the paramount benefits of building a mobile app for retail businesses.

Mobile Coupons for Greater Customer Acquisition

While considering this connected and fast-paced world, we can find almost every product everywhere. So, the quest lies that how to drive customers walk into your retail store? The traditional advertising methods like sign boards or television are expensive indeed. On the contrary, you can easily reach a huge cluster of audience by promoting unique selling points and in-store discounts via a mobile app or website. The customers can redeem these mobile coupons at the point of check-out counter.

Personalized Service with Geo-based Technology

Geo-based Technology helps retailers to track location of the customers and figure what they have been actually looking for. Collecting this significant information will allow them to send push notifications to customers along with custom discount coupons. Implementing geo-based technology will help entrepreneurs to track the existing customers near to their physical stores and drive them to make repeat purchases.

Streamlined checkout process

Mobile technology works as a growth booster and helps retailers to build long-lasting relationship with customers. With the upsurge of eCommerce, the retail industry faced serious losses as because online shopping offers greater convenience to buyers. Visiting a physical retail store and standing in long queues to make payments is certainly quite tiresome. On the contrary, online shopping allows customers to buy by just making a few clicks. Considering this loophole, retailers implemented the mobile technology and introduced the mobile credit card readers and 'Scan & Go' payment apps for dispersing the queues.

Considering the aforesaid advantages of implementing mobile technology into retail business, etailers must build a mobile app for making the entire shopping experience more convenient and more fast.

Many people and companies are coming up with new mobile app ideas to make it big in their field. They either want to reach a new audience or better serve their existing customers.However, people are relatively unaware of the steps or process needed to turn a mobile app idea into reality. Due to lack of ability and information among startups and established companies, most of them don’t know how to go about shaping the app idea.

I have helped several companies build their mobile app. Here are the 10 key steps I have followed in my 6 years of experience. I believe that my list can help anyone from any industry get their mobile app idea turned into reality.

Step 1: Write down your feature list

Conceptualize your idea begins by taking some notes. Before doing anything, you should write whatever comes to your mind. Writing down the feature list on a piece of paper helps you focus on your idea and expand on it. I recommend writing your idea several times and in many ways. This list also will be helpful when you are discussing with your co-founders, designers, investors or developers; they all are going to ask for it. Note that you should have them sign an NDA before you share your feature list. Your feature list should be clean and easy to understand. Also make sure it has popular and unique features, which will play the major role in success of your product.

Step 2: Do the market research

After writing your strong list of features, you want to do market research to find the competition, trends and market needs. Make sure there are no similar apps in the market. If there are, find out their reviews, ratings, feedback, and what is missing in them. Add features in your app that would make it unique and more attractive to the audience. After doing market research, you should update your feature list.

Step 3: Identify the users/audience

It is very important to find who would use your app and who the audience would be for your product. Your users are from a particular industry, gender, region, age group, existing customers, income group, specific profession, or any other group. Once you identify some demographics about the audience, you can find out what people from these demographics prefer or like. Knowing your audience helps you re-engineer your app and the features in it to cater to them. Your whole project moves around user engagement. You can also conduct focus group studies to find out what your audience may like or dislike. Your audience will decide your product’s success, and this insight from focus study can go a long way in defining product success.

Step 4: Identify the monetization strategy

Making money is the biggest reward and energizes for your idea. You can make money from your app idea in several ways: subscription fee, in-app buy, in-app ads, user data, sponsorship. You want to know which one works for your app, audience and market. Launching a paid app does not work these days, but you can make the app free with in-app purchase option for more functions. In-app ads are also losing their shine these days due to user experience. Having user data is becoming a big monetization technique, as you can use it to make indirect money. You can find sponsorship for the app; this works for an app with a social mission. It is important for you to select 1 or 2 techniques that would give you good return on investment.

Step 5: Create a rough sketch/wire frame

You may not have done it before, or may not know how to do it. However, the rough sketch or wire frame helps you define the concept and refine the requirements of your product. You can draw a rough sketch using paper and pencil, while a wire frame can be created using online tools. When you start doing the sketch/wire frame, you will be able to polish your app idea and features list further. Also, this helps you decide the proper navigation of the application. You don’t need technical skills for this step, but you need to have a common-sense understanding of how navigation works. Your wire frames, along with your feature list, will create very good specifications for you to build the mobile app.

Step 6: Approach local mobile app developers and get estimates

Once you have your first version of the feature list and wire frame, you want to start identifying vendors who can build your mobile app in a high-quality, cost-effective way. You should search for local vendors and some global vendors and reach out to them. Once you shortlist 5 to 6 good vendors, have them sign the NDA and send them the project details. A good vendor should check your details and ask you lots of questions. You should make sure to answer them in detail so that your idea is fully communicated. A good vendor should also be able to give you some suggestions to improve your idea. You should get proposals from multiple vendors, with time and cost for development, and compare them. You should check the vendors on past performance, process, price, time, testimonial and their eagerness to work for you. Finally, you should be able to select one vendor and start working with them.

Step 7: Complete the UI/UX

Once you have selected the company, you should work with them to create the UI/UX of the app. You should have them first create the detailed wire frame of the application so that you can visualize each screen, function and flow of the application. After review, you can decide to add or remove features. Once the wire frame is complete, you want them to create the visual design of the application. It should give the color, theme, fonts and visual appeal for your idea. This step will give you a near-final picture of what your mobile app would look like and how it would flow. After completing it, have your vendor reevaluate the development plan, time and cost. If the first estimate of time/cost has increased, get more funding or cut some of the features. You want to pay the right value to your mobile app developer.

Step 8: Get the app developed and tested

Have your app developer start building the app for you. They should be able to send you the app (in progress) every week and you should be able to test and give them feedback. It is very essential for you to QA the app as they develop it, as this helps you control the quality, cost and timeline, and learn whether the mobile app needs some tweaks. You can involve your friends in the testing as well. If you come up with new sets of features during the development, discuss those with your app developer and get the time and cost estimate. If it fits your budget, get it done right away. If not, wait for the next phase.

Step 9: Launch the app and market it

Once you are satisfied with the app, launch it in the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store. You should also start marketing the app. Get some consulting from experts on app marketing. You can also do self-marketing. Start on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as this is an easy way to spread the word about the app. You should also reach out to reporters and bloggers who may be interested in your app and write about it. A press release on free sites or a paid site can be very handy. If you have more in your budget, you can hire a PR or app marketing company.

Step 10: Gather market response and prepare for the next phase

After the first launch and marketing, you can collect user data, market response and demand. If you receive a good response, you can plan the next phase for the app. Repeat Step 1 through 9 for the next phase. This time, you should be able do them a lot faster and more efficiently. If the app is not received well in the market, find out what is hampering growth and have a plan of action.