Everyone loves mobile apps and every business wants to have one, sometimes even without a specific purpose. Some people want their own apps for business, others for leisure. On the one hand, there are software development companies (or freelancers), which offer their professional services, which are therefore expensive. On the other hand, there are such tempting things as do-it-yourself app builders, which offer to quickly create and publish apps, and most importantly, for free, almost free… Or not so free.
What is a DIY app?
What is the general image of a DIY application? What can it really give you? The simplest are a kind of template that you configure. Android? iOS? windows phone? No problem, here you go, there are native and cross-platform options at your service. App creators control the process from inception to submission to app stores.
Here are some basic things on offer; all these functional options vary from manufacturer to manufacturer:
– placement and updates of various content;
– integration of social networks and RSS;
– push notifications;
– click to call and feedback forms;
– Geographic location;
– peculiar features for companies (for example, menus for cafeteria and restaurant applications);
– analysis and so on.
Some DIY apps take 20 minutes to create, others take much longer. Some are completely free and worthless (as a rule, they offer premium benefits for a fee). Some specialized app building services let you build business apps for scheduling, billing and payment management, messaging, and marketing. Whatever the model, app creators have to find a way to monetize their efforts: setup fees, hosting fees, one-time fees, monthly or yearly subscriptions, etc. Amounts range from, say, twenty dollars a month to much, much more.
What’s wrong with DIY apps?
Let’s describe two bad things about them:
– Perhaps the biggest problem with DIY apps is that in many cases you have to allow in-app advertising as a cost of being free. That is used to monetize the apps that are businesses in themselves: there is a free version that can be upgraded by paying the user thus removing the ads. But if there’s a branded app that features a company’s products and services, an ad inside it kills it instantly. People hate ads on company websites if they just browse them. When it comes to mobile app usage, which is much more result-oriented, ads distract and frustrate users.
– The second problem is that the creators of applications do not provide the quality required for serious products. But really, who would entrust a serious product to such a builder? The full development cycle, including thorough quality assurance by a development company, cannot be provided by cheaper builders. So this problem depends on what you need.
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You get what you pay for, that’s the truth. It’s impossible to fit all of these app builders into a single template, as their services and costs differ drastically: from free drag-and-drop app builders (like Infinite Monkeys) to more serious, specialized builders, who have more or less hefty fees. . . The cool thing about DIY builders: They present app building as an accessible way to build a mobile presence, no matter who it is for: local brands, retailers, communities, etc. There are numerous companies that accepted it and created such software for their needs.
But, on the other hand, these applications are usually more of an excuse than a quality product. It is not the solution to make a serious software product. Just like translation tools cannot replace a qualified translator, app builders cannot replace professional companies. Both will not change in the observable future. And if you really need an app that simple, which offers nothing more than the features listed above, you can find and check out such creators to see if any of them offer the balance that fits your budget and expectations.