In many ways, building an application for a mobile device is exactly the same as building an application for a traditional computer. Understanding the requirements for the application, designing the interface, working with users – all of these steps still need to be carried out.
So what’s different about building an application for a mobile device? In some ways, mobile applications are more limited. An application running on a mobile device must be designed to be functional on a smaller screen. Mobile applications should be designed to use fingers as the primary pointing device. Mobile devices generally have less available memory, storage space, and processing power.
Mobile applications also have many advantages over applications built for traditional computers. Mobile applications have access to the functionality of the mobile device, which usually includes features such as geolocation data, messaging, the camera, and even a gyroscope.
One of the most important questions regarding development for mobile devices is this: Do we want to develop an app at all? A mobile app is an expensive proposition, and it will only run on one type of mobile device at a time. For example, if you create an iPhone app, users with Android phones are out of luck. Each app takes several thousand dollars to create, so this may not be the best use of your funds.
Many organizations are moving away from developing a specific app for a mobile device and are instead making their websites more functional on mobile devices. Using a web-design framework called responsive design, a website can be made highly functional no matter what type of device is browsing it. With a responsive website, images resize themselves based on the size of the device’s screen, and text flows and sizes itself properly for optimal viewing. You can find out more about responsive design here.
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