Design and Marketing Insights for iOS Developers

Apple’s App Store is a prime outlet for anyone who creates mobile apps and games—and the only one if you’re developing for iOS.

But getting users doesn’t begin or end with your app. You need to find ways to target your user base. It helps to have the latest information to help understand how and why they make decisions that might bring them your way.

Whether you’re aiming to launch an App Store enterprise or carve a niche making apps for clients, these tips from the Hiring Headquarters—Upwork’s resource for businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs—will help you make the smart design and marketing decisions to boost your apps.

Stay up-to-date with the latest OS

As a developer, operating system (OS) updates can have an impact on the functionality of your existing apps and affect choices for projects that are currently in progress. OS updates often add features you can take advantage of, but they can also introduce tricky challenges you’ll need to troubleshoot and apply patches for.

In either case, it’s useful to be in-the-know. “What’s New with iOS 10: A Look at the Latest Apple Operating System” explores the latest Apple iOS version 10.0.2, focusing on new features and core elements of the update that developers can use to improve their designs and ensure compatibility across the newest range of mobile Apple phones and tablets.

Among many new features, here are three improvements worth looking into:

1. New APIs — iOS 10’s software development kit (SDK) is loaded with new APIs and frameworks to implement in your apps, from speech recognition and custom responses in Siri to ApplePay integration and testing.
2. True Tone Display — Easy code integration with the new True Tone Display lets you fine-tune your app’s look to account for a user’s physical environment, such as room lighting.
3. Expanded App Search — New features, such as Proactive Suggestions, let you define your app’s functionality so it can be cross-referenced in different features, allowing users to find your app more easily.

Design for success

Having a firm grasp of best practices for iOS design can make your life as a developer a lot easier while giving your apps the extra polish they need to flourish in the marketplace. Learning from other top mobile developers is one way to sharpen your skills and streamline your creative process.

“5 Tips for Successful iOS App Development” offers useful insights on ways that can help make your process more effective and impactful. It covers tips for troubleshooting and avoiding challenges, looks at smart ways to organize directories, and touches on a few other valuable suggestions to enhance your mobile development workflow. For example:

1. Consider 3D touch when designing your user interface (UI). Getting a feel for how a UI looks and reacts on an actual phone is critical for new mobile developers who are used to designing for desktop apps.
2. Error handling can prevent crashes. To account for unexpected user input errors, using Apple’s Error protocol lets you customize error messages and keep your app from crashing when something goes awry.
3. Keep your project directory structure tidy. Staying organized with an intuitive project directory structure is vital when working with clients and teams where multiple developers will be handling the same code. This helps prevents headaches across the board.

Master app promotion

With so many apps and games on the Apple App Store, a cool idea matched with a good-looking design isn’t always enough to make your project stand out. Launching your app without a solid marketing plan or budget in place is likely to yield disappointing results in all but the rarest of cases.

Fortunately, there are some tried and true ways to help boost your chances of landing a hit.

“3 Ways to Promote Your App in the App Store” looks at three top tips to gain traction and visibility for your app. The article offers an in-depth discussion about getting a coveted feature slot from Apple, how you can use new search ads to enhance your discoverability on the storefront, and the importance of optimizing your app’s name and keywords to rank high in related searches.

Want to learn more tips and tricks for your apps? Check out these mobile development articles and expert insights from the Hiring Headquarters.

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