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Common App Development Pitfalls
Taylor Tunnison • December 10, 2020

Research suggests the average individual uses about 30 different applications each month, and around nine every day. Given that the average user spends at least two hours on them daily, mobile apps are undoubtedly a major part of modern digital life. Many of us will likely rely on at least one or two to help seize the day– whether it’s a messenger to connect with our teams, a project manager to track workloads, or a simple banking app to pay bills.



While there are currently over 2 million apps available for iOS and Android, far fewer are growing or popular. Some will stagnate, and more are doomed to fail. Don’t allow yours to be forgotten, or worse, uninstalled. Acknowledging and avoiding the following pitfalls will give your mobile application a better shot at a successful launch. 


Unclear Purpose

When developing a mobile app for your business, it is important to determine its purpose. Just like any other service or product, mobile apps should solve a problem or fulfill a particular need. This may seem like a no-brainer, but an app without a clear direction will struggle to survive. 


Identify your goals as early as possible in the development process by placing yourself in a potential user’s shoes. Why should they bother downloading your app in the first place? The more clearly you define your mobile app’s purpose, the more likely it is to genuinely resonate with your audience. After all, who wants another worthless program bogging down their device? 


Failure to Scale 

Some business owners simply don’t dream big enough when they begin designing their application. An honest mistake is to target a small domestic market which they already understand well. 


Mobile device ownership and use is growing exponentially around the world, even in places one wouldn’t typically expect, providing mobile applications the benefit of a much more global audience. 


Being too nearsighted or targeting only known demographics will limit your app’s potential to cultivate continuous brand exposure. Think broadly, cater globally, and always consider providing alternative language support. Be bold, and be rewarded. 


Insufficient Marketing 

One crucial error is underestimating the amount of marketing needed to gain traction and awareness when launching an application. Unfortunately, it’s a common misconception that a well-developed and high-functioning application will generate hype and downloads for itself. This couldn’t be further from the truth- it doesn’t matter how great your product is, it won’t sell itself. 


Mobile apps, like any other product, require marketing to promote them, especially in the current climate of fierce competition. Prepare to put significant time and resources behind marketing your app at launch. This is where a clear purpose makes all the difference. Show people the need for your platform, and the solution it offers, and you’ll know within the first few months whether changes need to be made. 


Too Many Features 

If you think users want applications with every feature imaginable, think again. Feature overload will render any mobile app cumbersome, to say the least. Furthermore, each additional function will likely increase cost and development time, and slow down overall performance. The end result may be a useless, confusing jumble that simply frustrates users and takes up space. 


That’s why the focus should be on implementing unique features and functionality tailored specifically to users’ expectations. Pursue quality, not quantity. Over time, you can introduce more features, update current ones, or optimize others based on user feedback. It’s much easier to add than subtract, in this regard. Build a strong foundation of essential use cases before deciding to add all the bells and whistles. With some luck, you won’t have to add anything extra at all. 

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