Mobile app development is something that many companies will encounter. Whether they develop an app for their organization, develop apps for profit, or develop internal apps to streamline communication and workflows, they'll likely find themselves in need of a mobile app. Whether you work with an external developer or attempt to tackle it on your own with the support of app-building solutions, there are a few important steps you won't want to overlook. Here are four important steps in the mobile app development process to prioritize prior to starting mobile app development.

1. Market Research and Planning

Your mobile app's success is dependent on the work that goes on prior to actually developing and launching the app. If you're designing an app that will be consumer-facing, for example, market research will be a key element of the mobile app development process. This will help you understand your target audience, any competing apps currently on the market, and what you will need to do in order to stand out. This is a small part of the broader planning process, which will include fleshing out your concept, outlining features, and more.

2. Designing Your Mobile App

Design is everything in mobile app development. If you don't have an appealing design, you'll be hard-pressed to find users for your app. UI and UX design should focus on both the small details and the much more impactful ones. For example, you might want to start out with the colors that your app is going to use or the logo that's going to be associated with your app. Once you've established these smaller details, you'll then want to move on to design elements like interactivity. You can then start working on a basic prototype that shows the concept so you can build off of that.

3. Testing

Mobile apps need to be exhaustively tested once you have a working app. Testing for bugs and other issues will allow you to catch issues early on that might otherwise drive away users and result in poor reviews that impact the success of your mobile app. User testing will give you feedback from real people who would be using your app so that you can refine it before release. The more you test, the more stable and usable the final product will be once it comes time for launch.

4. Planning Ahead for Deployment

There are several ways to deploy your mobile app. Are you planning on developing an iPhone mobile app? Do you want to release it on the Google Play store? Are you hoping to release your app on both? Knowing what steps you have to take to upload an app will eliminate potential delays before you encounter them when you attempt to release your new mobile app.

Mobile app development is an extensive process that should be well-researched before beginning. Missing any major step can set your project behind or not allow it to reach its full level of success. Keep everything on track and make sure you're focusing on the most crucial elements of mobile app development by prioritizing the four steps listed in this guide.