The design, feature, and functionalities of mobile app changes in response to changing consumer habits. Additionally, synchronisation of your mobile app with any new OS release or new device hardware are some of the reasons why just launching a mobile app is not the end of your responsibility.
After you launch your mobile app, your concern changes from developing a hot new app to its maintenance so that it gives the users an optimum solution for his/her pain points.
But, before we provide you with essential points that you should consider for maintenance of an app, one of the questions might have appeared in your mind is,
What is the cost to maintain an app? Ideally, app maintenance cost is 10-20% of the overall app development cost. This cost depends on a lot of factors. For more details, you can check out this quick guide on the cost to maintain an app.
Now without beating around the bush, let’s look after some important points on how businesses can maintain their mobile apps.
10 important points to follow for maintaining your mobile app
Keep your ear close to the ground
You must regularly check the feedback page to learn what additional feature the users want and whether any feature of your app is not performing optimally. Such community-driven innovation and maintenance is a sure-shot way of keeping your app relevant and performing flawlessly.
Keep pace with the latest android or iOS update
All major operating systems are updated regularly so that they remain secure and include new features to improve user experience. Your app must keep pace with such changes through regular updates. If you do not update your mobile app, then it is likely that some of your app features may stop functioning. Both Android and iOS release their latest version to the app developer first before they roll it out to the public. You must proactively utilise this opportunity to update your app so that the user does not face any issue when their operating systems receive the latest updates.
Run tests and keep the library updated
You must regularly test your app to identify any bug, compatibility issues, or navigation problem. Your mobile app UX has to be changed in response to any smartphone upgrade. The latest smartphones come with varying screen size and this has a direct impact on how your users see the app. Some of the buttons on your app may look off or even cut-off if the UX is not optimised for the new screens that can result in some of the features of your app being blocked. Therefore, you must regularly test your app on the latest operating system as well as devices to avoid any performance issues and maintain customer satisfaction.
You can also use the app analytics to find out more about those features that the users use more frequently. This will allow you to figure out what features to strengthen further and which one to remove. You should also regularly maintain the software libraries to do comprehensive maintenance work so that your app operates flawlessly.
Giving the app when you look
The taste and preference of the users are bound to change with the passage of time and the introduction of new technologies. It would be wise on your part to keep pace with time and change the design pieces from time to time so that your app looks trendy and unique.
Keep the security features updated
Regularly review and offer security patches to your mobile app as any new operating system update can introduce new chinks in the security armour of the mobile app that can lead to a data breach and compromising users’ privacy.
Check the licenses expiry date
If your mobile app is built using licensed technologies, then you must keep track whether any of the licenses need to be renewed. If you make a mistake in timely renewing your licenses, then your app may stop functioning properly when the license date is crossed.
Research the certificate pinning
TLS connections from an app to the backend API are very good from a security perspective. To strengthen it, certificate pinning was introduced which guarantees that the user is connecting to a legitimate server. However, the average shelf life of backend infrastructure is so large that it becomes challenging to utilise hardcoded values and push the latest updates. Therefore, you must do research on the type of pinning and what level of verification is needed.
Create a product management process
You should analyse the consumer trends and try to balance it with constant updates that are frequently announced by mobile providers. The product management process will help you to make your application business and market-oriented rather than pure technology-driven to get higher ROI value.
Create schedule system maintenance
Regular system maintenance will help you to identify and fix the bugs well in advance and ensures that your application runs smoothly all the time. You must inform your users well in advance about the scheduled maintenance date so that they are not surprised and frustrated when ‘the system down for maintenance’ message flashes on their screen when they try to use your app.
Regularly check for any performance lag
You must extensively use the inbuilt analytics of the app to keep an eye on the loading time of the app, any lag in performance, or any responsive issues. You must keep a tab on the retention and churn rate, continuously analyse the user pattern and conversion rate. All these feedbacks will help you to improve your app and not lose any user due to performance issues and keep the app in optimum condition.
Conclusion
In conclusion, having a well laid out maintenance plan in place will help you to fix any bugs, and add new improvements so that you can improve the overall user experience to increase their loyalty. Furthermore, a proper maintenance plan will help you to keep up with the competition, maintain your brand image, and achieve significant financial benefits in the long run.