Top iPhone (iOS) App Developers (2023)

iPhone app developer responsibilities

How to develop an app for iPhone?

Despite having plans to hire a skilled iPhone app developer, you may still be curious about the app making process. Which is fair – you want to have some idea of what your developer will be doing to know how to further enhance your app to boost those installs.

But it is important to note that the approach we present to you below should be tailored to your unique app concept. Feel free to tweak and shape the following steps according to your goals.

So how does it work?

Create an app idea

First and foremost, you should have a great app concept that users will want to use. But it is rare to come up with a completely new idea that does not exist on the market already.

This does not mean that you won’t be able to think of an intriguing app idea. Most apps within the App Stores are in fact variations or combinations of already existing concepts. So generating an idea with this in mind will surely spark some interesting themes.

Research the current market including common social platforms, such as TikTok, Twitter and Instagram to see what apps are trending right now.

Pro tip: Think of the app services you use frequently that you consider useful and identify what common interests users have. Your app should offer a solution to common obstacles in our daily lives.

For example, a common problem may be people having trouble finding parking spots in a certain area. So your app idea could be a concept that helps users locate a spot, with an option to pay parking fees through the app itself.

Do some competitive market research

Once you have your million-dollar app idea, do some market research and look into your competitors by simply typing relevant keywords into the App Store.

This browse may even inspire you to improve existing app concepts. You may discover a similar app that is lacking useful features that you can offer in your app instead.

Your competitor research should therefore involve checking reviews and ratings of other apps and understanding if users are complaining about the same errors and if their needs are being met.

When exploring the market, make sure to take note of significant elements of existing apps to understand what prominent attributes you want to include in your app as well as relevant keywords to look out for.

Other important elements include the following:

Write out your app features

Now that you have gathered your research notes, you can bring your app idea to life.

Refer back to the list of attributes of your competitors above and fill them out for your own app idea.

These are the main questions you want to ask yourself when proofing your app concept and whether it will outperform your competitors, transforming into the next successful app in the market:

Create an app mock-up design

When it comes to designing your app, you may surely have plans to get an experienced web and graphic designer to help you out with this. But you surely have some ideas on how you imagine your app to look like.

There are some points to consider when creating a mock-up in order to efficiently communicate to your designer what you have in mind.

The first thing you should prioritize is ensuring that your app is user-friendly. User experience (UX) is key to a successful app. You want people to be able to navigate through your app easily. If they cannot, they may opt for another app that offers more simplicity.

Aim to make your app intuitive and optimized for humans, and not just for the iOS device. So make sure buttons are visible and in decent reach of the thumb, for example, or interesting animations and graphics are included to impress the user.

Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines are extremely helpful in assisting you with the basics.

You can then think of what should be on the main screen (homepage) as well as the main mechanism for navigating through your app. This includes the location of tab bars and side menus.

Remember, it should feel intuitive and natural to the user.

Establish an app marketing plan

You can have the ultimate app concept, but it will only go as far as the quality of your marketing strategies. So now is the time to put together an effective app marketing plan.

Think about how you would like to pre-launch your app. In this case, you can look into social media and email marketing to draw attention to your app.

Let users know when the app launches and how it will change their lives for the better.

Make sure you have a landing page set for your app, even before it is launched. This way people can learn more about your app and what fantastic services they can benefit from.

Strong calls to action to subscribe and sign up to email listings will secure installs from the minute you drop your app.

Consider paid marketing too. If you have a decent budget, integrating paid marketing can take your app to the next level instantly. You could use it to give people a little tease on social media about the upcoming app.

TikTok and Facebook marketing are perfect ways to get your app the attention it deserves.

Use an app builder

This is the part where your iOS app developer steps in. But perhaps you are curious to know roughly how one builds an app.

Step 1

Downloading a Software Development Kit (SDK) is essential for developing applications, and in this case, the iOS SDK in particular. It provides necessary tools for software development in one combined, installable package.

Specific SDKs are used by app developers to create apps that require certain advanced features, such as advertisements and push notifications.

In general, they include all the necessary components needed, from APIs, code samples to guides and libraries, to build and maintain apps without having to write everything from scratch.

You can also use the templates in the SDK for guidance when designing your app.

Step 2

Another essential you will need is Xcode – Apple’s full-featured IDE for OS devices.

It provides developers a more simplified workflow in the app making process while coding, testing and designing.

Step 3

As mentioned previously, apart from the new programming language Swift, Objective-C is a must when it comes to building your app as well. So you want to learn and understand at least the basics of Objective-C before you begin programming.

Step 4

Just when you thought the SDK could not get any better, it comes with an iPhone simulator.

Once you are happy with your app, test it in the iPhone simulator and include all the ways a user may use the app.

Don’t forget to identify any bugs so you can fix these before launching it.

Pro tip: It is also helpful to have others test your app to get some specialized opinion and feedback on your work. A second, third and fourth pair of eyes can illuminate aspects of your app that were completely invisible from your own perspective.

Submit to the App Store

After testing and completing those bug fixes, the moment you have been waiting for has finally arrived: It is time for your app to shine.

Now before you set your app free into the world of the App Store, make sure you have looked into App Store Optimization (ASO) to ensure your app profile copy, which includes your selected keywords, title, icon, display screenshots and descriptions, is fully optimized to rank higher in the App Store.

Submitting your app to the App Store also means getting your app approved by Apple’s App Certification Team.

So you definitely want to review your app against the App Store guidelines, insert your app meta data and create your app listing via App Store Connect to avoid any rejections that will only delay the launch process even further.

Maintain and improve

Once your app has been approved and finally out in the open, make sure you measure your launch success and track your app’s journey moving forward.

Utilize relevant KPIs as key metrics to get an accurate overview of how well your app is performing.

We suggest creating a dashboard on which you update, preferably, on a monthly basis the number of traffic, clicks, impressions and installs your app receives.

It is also useful to keep track of subscribers of email listings as well as reviews and ratings to further improve your app to continue to meet your users’ needs.

How much does iOS app development cost?

When it comes to app development costs for iOS, it can depend on what level of expertise you are thinking of bringing to your business.

If you are looking to hire a single iPhone app developer, you may find these stats below interesting. They summarize the average salary of a developer, including the years and levels of experience:

When estimating the development costs of your app without an external app developer, you need to consider the development team location and the complexities of your app. These two factors have a massive impact on the overall costs.

Nonetheless, there are some average numbers we can give you, but note that they apply to the different types of apps:

In our App Development Cost research page we take a deeper look into the complex costs of app developers for iOS, using a wide range of sources and methods.

Develop the ultimate app for iOS

By now you must be an expert when it comes to all things iOS app development. Put these methods, tips and tricks to use and create the ultimate iOS app that iPhone users did not know they needed.

Of course, the app making process can be a challenging one, and it is always a good idea to leave it up to the pros to develop the best iOS app for real results.

Check out our list of the top iOS App Development companies and finally bring that app idea of yours to life.