Mobile App Development: Quick Start Guide

Mobile app development has seen extraordinary growth as a subsection of the vast tech industry. Revenue generated from mobile apps is expected to exceed $613 billion in 2025 [1]. Whether a user wants to find love, test a recipe, translate a phrase, balance their chequebook, or engage in other tasks, an app exists to help them do so. Read on to learn more about mobile app development and how to foster beneficial skills in this field.

Demand for mobile app development services

Consumer demand continues rising for more information, services, products, and experiences to be readily available at arm's length. Therefore, a parallel need exists for educated, trained, and tech-savvy professionals ready to lead mobile app development projects. As of 2023, over 50 million UK residents have a smartphone, and it is currently estimated that there will be seventeen billion phones worldwide as of 2024 [2,3]. UK app users spent over £4.4 billion in app stores in 2023 [2].

Demand for mobile app developers

According to data from Market Digits, the app development industry will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25 percent through 2032 [4]. Roles in this industry earn an average salary of £38,120 per year in the United Kingdom [5]. Additionally, this job can be done remotely, meaning it’s possible to live almost anywhere in the world and enjoy the benefits of this growing industry.

Examples of successful mobile apps

Most people have a phone filled with their favourite apps. Some are so universal that you can easily forget that human developers use their creativity to build and maintain them for the benefit of millions of users.  Take a look at some examples of noteworthy apps: 

Facebook

Statista recorded 3 billion active Facebook users worldwide in January 2024 [6]. Judging by the number of people interacting online with their friends via the site, many are scrolling through this extremely popular social media platform. 

Mobile app development as an industry grew along a similar timeline as the company, with Facebook purchasing the equally successful Instagram in 2012. Social media has become more sophisticated over the years. It’s hard to imagine MySpace with an app. However, the fact that app developers created an intuitive and lucrative mobile platform allowed the company to propel forward into its latest incarnation, Meta.

YouTube

Since its creation in 2005, YouTube has skyrocketed in popularity. It capitalised on curiosity and the ability to write code. YouTube is a social platform allowing users to share their videos on everything from home movies to DIY to music and yoga.

Today, YouTube is the second-largest search engine after Google. Users watch five billion videos every day, and 70 percent of those are on mobile smart devices [7]. In the UK, it’s estimated that users spend 44 minutes a day streaming videos on YouTube [8]. YouTube is inspiring for its success and simple concept.  

Angry Birds

Released as an iOS app in 2009, It is now a franchise stretching beyond its humble Finnish beginnings. What may at first seem like a silly game has turned its company, Rovio Entertainment Corporation, into a thriving success with more than five billion downloads [9].

From the addictive, puzzle-style app came a movie, a line of plush toys, cartoons, television shows, films, and even its own cookbook. 

Google Maps

Since drivers first took to the roads and began to journey away from home, they have always needed a map handy to find their destination. The days of unfolding and folding a collection of glove box maps are gone. Today, anyone with a smartphone can have a map in their pocket. Google Maps met this need by launching its mobile app in 2007 for Blackberry and Palm devices. In 2008, it was launched for Android phones, and in 2012, it was launched as an iOS app [10].

Of course, this app is much more than an overview of street grids and motorways. Today, Google Maps provides real-time traffic information and a platform for user reviews and business listings worldwide. Spoken navigation was revolutionary, and it will be interesting to see the next innovation added to the app.

Fortnite: Battle Royale

Fortnite’s fighting game has become one of the most popular mobile gaming apps worldwide. Since becoming available on iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch, it has set records on the app site Akamai in terms of traffic. In 2023 alone, it brought in over USD 5 billion in revenue [11].

Revolut

Financial technology has become as popular as globalisation, and fintech companies are at the helm. One problem that global citizens often face is the ability to move currency—to get paid for work or services—in modern ways. The app Revolut has worked to solve that problem, and as a result, its founder is worth nearly £6 billion [12].

The idea of providing a global financial app for people to manage their funds through a single platform anywhere on the planet was a disruptive concept for the financial industry. Tech pros are skilled at transforming breakthrough ideas into reality and build apps like this.  

Noom

Noom is a weight-loss app that launched in 2017 [13]. It is different from other food-tracker apps in that Noom focuses more on helping users change their behaviours and attitudes surrounding food. As a result, it can encompass many different audiences within the health industry. Since its launch, Noom has grown its revenue by 80 percent and has more than 45 million global users [14]. 

Zoom

If you didn’t use the Zoom app before the coronavirus pandemic, you likely did during and after it. In April 2020, the company counted more than 300 million daily meeting participants. Users downloaded the app over 38 million times in the last quarter of 2023 alone [15].

The explosive growth proved that hard work and creativity could fill a need exactly when people demand it the most. The mobile app brought in over one billion dollars in the last quarter of 2024 [16].  

Five traits of a successful mobile app

Mobile app developers set out to do more than make an app that will be popular and lucrative, although that’s a motivator for some. Instead, successful apps typically stem from creative ideas that find innovative solutions to common problems. Five traits of a successful app include the following:

1. An ability to meet the needs of a targeted audience

2. Doing something that hasn’t been done before or doing it in a different way

3. Available on both iOS and Android

4. Easy to navigate and use without too much struggle

5. Functions as well as it looks

How to develop your own mobile app

While technology constantly changes, software and tools can help you throughout the application creation process. A few popular programmes to consider familiarising yourself within 2024 include:

• React Native

• Ionic

• Android Studio

• .Net Multi-Platform App UI

• Flutter

How to develop your own mobile app

It can be challenging to know where to start after you decide to build a mobile application. Factors like the scope of your project, its specifications, and your technical knowledge will determine your next steps. You can learn about a few of your options in the next couple of sections.

Partner with a mobile app development company.

A mobile app development agency is an organisation that provides mobile app development services. For example, it may have a team of user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) designers, marketing professionals, and project managers. In addition to technical help, some may provide guidance and strategic recommendations. Retaining mobile app development services may be the best approach for those with time constraints or who are not interested in hands-on mobile application development.

There are many different mobile app development companies on the market today. Make sure to research and compare options to identify which ones are trustworthy and best suited to deliver your project's needs.

Develop a mobile app yourself.

Mobile app developers are specialised programmers who know how to work with programming languages like Python and JavaScript. Sixty-nine percent of mobile application developers have a bachelor's degree, and 24 percent have a master's degree [10]. You can also teach yourself to code with online courses, boot camps, and Guided Projects. If you're new to development, consider a beginner-friendly course like Web Applications for Everybody from the University of Michigan.

How to develop a mobile app in 5 steps

Remember that the software development life cycle (SDLC) is often iterative. Some steps may overlap with one another or take place several times. Microsoft documentation outlines the mobile app development process in five steps:

1. Inception. During this phase, you should refine your ideas into a more concrete foundation to build your app. This may include researching the market for existing competition, identifying the value your app intends to provide, and deciding which mobile technologies you want to employ (like geolocation or camera access.)

2. Design. The design phase requires planning and defining your app's user experience (UX). You'll need to apply graphic design skills to determine the layout, functionality, and aesthetics of your user interface (UI).

3. Development. During this phase, the application is built. A working prototype helps identify potential setbacks or additional opportunities that arise during development.

4. Stabilisation. During stabilisation, you'll identify and resolve any bugs or defects in your application's performance. Additionally, you should evaluate its usability. You may need to return to the development stage or reevaluate elements of your design.

5. Deployment. When your application is finished, it's time to release it to the public. Your deployment method depends on the platform you've chosen to develop your application for. For example, if you developed an iOS application, you might distribute it through Apple's App Store. You may also publish an Android application through Google Play, Google's official app store.

Develop a mobile app with Coursera

You can build a mobile application with an industry leader by enrolling in one of Meta's Professional Certificate programs. If you're interested in app development, build your own iOS or Android app and gain access to the Meta Career Programs Job Board with the Meta iOS Developer Professional Certificate or Meta Android Developer Professional Certificate.