Digitalization is a modern phenomenon in business. An idea that is shaping the industries and their methodologies to function and earn. Startups and enterprises are focusing on several building programs for mobile, but the work is not over with it. Mobile app maintenance is also a key factor to ensure business through the app is going well for the users. That’s not it. Herein the blog is a lot more about what it is, its cost, and best practices for maintenance.
The mobile app has been served to ease their lives and innovate their lifestyles for users. It is also, therefore, imperative for businesses to renovate their working pattern. In all, it even is there for simple tasks, easy access to products and services, and wide reach to audiences.
And there is more here. Still, this won’t be enough.
Applications have to be maintained as they are active all the time and utilized by multiple users at a time. People invest a large portion of their lives in mobile applications. The stats below show the average time spent in the three years from 2019 to 2021 by country. The highest time devoured to the mobile app is by the people in Brazil, which is five hours 26 minutes in 2021, 32% higher than from the year 2019. Also, it has been shown that each year the time spent is increased (mostly).
Source: Statista
With the increase in use and the advent of the newest technology, mobile apps are optimized and innovated with the best possible technology and functionalities. The invention and evolution of mobile apps lead to complex processes and coding structures. Once it is developed, there is a lot more to be done to keep it active and error-free for the consumers. But first, lets us know what exactly are things are involved in it.
What is Mobile App Maintenance?
Mobile app maintenance is the collection of myriad processes included to keep a mobile app active, updated, error-free, supportive to users for hardware and software, performance monitoring, and fixing bugs in mobile applications.
Some applications are made up of extravagant features and functionality, so they must be maintained well. But that is not it. Mobile apps are out there for their continuous use. Between the apps, the person who owns them, and the customers, there is a virtual string that has to be strong and reliable so as to ensure a connection between all of them.
What else should you know about mobile app maintenance’s importance? Here are a few more points.
Significance of Mobile App Maintenance
Once the app is built completely, next is mobile app maintenance which becomes the priority. A few reasons are mentioned below that justify its significance to a business.
Retain Users
Maintenance eliminates the app’s bugs, improves the app speed, and also integrates new features. This would maintain the value that an app is supposed to offer to the users and make it a part of the daily routine.
Enhance User Experience
Long-term retention to the mobile app is when you have an excellent user experience that the users will not just use the app but also will like to use. This would also trigger referrals and increase the number of installs.
Scale-up for Financial Benefits
Maintainance of mobile app also includes scaling up the possibilities of increased channels of income earned through the mobile offering of new features and services to the acquired users, and that would with the intention to acquire more.
Get an Edge Over Competition
By maintaining the app, you keep up with the trends and also work on the betterment of the app. To thrive in the competition and stand out from the throng and the maintenance will enrich users’ app utilization.
Betterment of the App for Long Term
When a business is planning to keep up with mobile apps, it is better to maintain them. This would eradicate the short-term hurdles in the functioning of the app, and also, the betterment of the app is to retain users for the long term.
What is Mobile App Maintenance Cost?
Businesses look at the broader picture and figure out what in all they have to spend for mobile apps – from building to business. The process, time, sources, platform, and a lot more factors determine the cost to make a mobile app – the list is never-ending.
Well, we are discussing mobile app maintenance, so it is a completely different picture we have to focus upon. However, some factors would be similar. But let’s see what is out there in the mobile app development costs that businesses should know and get a rough estimation.
Look, it is a total estimation of the mobile app maintenance costs considered to compare with the development expenses. Let’s say here in all the app-building costs is 100 percent, the maintenance cost is around 30-60 percent of it. It is noted that the complexities of an app are directly proportional to the maintenance costs.
Then further is an important factor for how long is the app is going to work for the business and users; the longer is its usage, the higher will be its maintenance costs. It then depends on the checklist that a business makes to maintain an app – like what types of maintenance are required in the app, which will also affect the cost again. See, here are a few types mentioned.
Investment in the mobile has no fixed amount. People are ready to risk their businesses on an app. But who would not want to target such a huge market? It is probably the widest market on the planet. In 2021, the number of app downloads worldwide was 230 million, including paid and free apps, which was up by more than 63 % in 2016.
Mobile app maintenance cost is a long-term process and thus is possibly a huge expense for a business. However, a better way to do so is to hire developers that would take charge of all the inclined types of it, and that would also optimize the recurring expenses.
Mobile App Maintenance Types – List of all You Should Perform
Maintaining an app must have several purposes, and so its types are categorized the way. Every business has different priorities due to the way it works and the outcomes it offers. Thus they might need to maintain an app based on different factors. Mobile app maintenance types are also categorized such that is can serve the business and their ideals.
Corrective Maintenance
Corrective maintenance of the mobile app is fixing the bugs malfunctions in any stage like designing, front-end, back-end, database, etc.
Preventive Maintenance
As the name suggests, preventive measures are measures taken to reduce the complexity of the mobile app and its functioning so as to reduce the possibilities of bugs and dysfunction.
Adaptive Maintenance
Adaptive maintenance is updates and modifications in the system to uphold varying hardware and software environments.
Evolutionary Maintenance
Evolutionary maintenance is intended to prevent long-term errors so as to prepare an application for efficient and ergonomic performance.
Mobile App Maintenance Practices to Maximize the Impact
Maintainance is a phenomenon that intends to maximize the outcomes of mobile and make it an appealing user experience. And also, the thing is to know how we can even maximize its effect to the most. Down this section is the properest mobile app maintenance practices.
Integrating Advance Feature
Look at how users interact with the feature and functioning of the mobile app. Take those feedback to update, modify or eliminate the features. Also, take into account the suggestions from the customers, which will help make an application that they demand.
Support for Hardware and Software
Operating system, platforms, the technology always keeps on updating, and mobile apps have to be updated accordingly to ensure compatibility in the devices. This also will prevent the malfunctioning of the mobile applications and ensure articulate working.
Maintain the User Interface
The user interface is very important to maintain because that is what users are going to interact with. Styles, trends, user habits, and relevancy have to be updated on a periodic basis to retain the user with an attractive user experience.
Fix the Errors Timely
Check on the errors caused and fix them before is ruin the inclined function and features. Also, make sure errors from the user’s side are all resolved on time as it risks their existence. Keep a regular check on the technical issue.
It’s Worth Investing in Mobile App Maintenance
Now you know why mobile app maintenance is imperative, what it costs and some amazing practices. Since it is a time-consuming task partnering with a mobile app development company can ensure all the essential and important aspects of maintenance like technology updates, device compatibility, user feedback and suggestions, and every such thing that would require such services.