So with all this extra time you’ve had on your hands during quarantine, I’m sure you have picked up some new hobbies, and I’m sure your favorite new hobby you’ve mastered is app development… I mean it’s so easy… right? I am totally kidding. Despite having extra time on our hands these days, it still probably isn’t enough to adopt coding as your second language. But that doesn’t mean you can’t build an app! Thanks to our wonderful friend, technology, there are now ways you can learn how to create an app without coding. Here is how you can build one for yourself:
Choose Your Fighter (AKA app)
Before you choose your app builder, you have to pick what kind of app you want. Your two main options are:
Native Mobile App
When you first think of an app, you probably think of a native mobile app (hopefully one day we will change that 😉). These are the apps that you download from the app store, and are the apps most people are familiar with. However, the downside to creating a native mobile app is all of the work that goes into it. Not to mention you have to build two apps so they can run on both iOS and Android devices.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
On the other hand you have Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). PWAs were first introduced by Google in 2015, but the idea has been around for much longer than that. These apps look and function like native apps, but are hosted on the web. They run faster (shoutout to service workers doing the heavy lifting there), and drive higher adoption rates! (Keep reading our blog and you’ll see we're kind of obsessed with them).
Choose Your Builder
Next step, choose what no code mobile app builder you are going to use. There are lots of options out there, so let’s break it down and talk about some key features you will want to look for:
It Shouldn’t Break the Bank
You don’t need to be dropping your entire marketing budget on an app builder, trust me! Pricing for app builders will vary based on what features you want access to and how many apps you want to build. So, obviously the more you want out of the app builder, the more you will have to pay. It will be an investment, but you shouldn’t have to go bankrupt because of it.
Also, a quick word to the wise. While there are free app builders out there, I wouldn’t recommend using one. Yeah it sounds awesome in theory, who doesn’t love using something for free? But you will have limited access to features and functions, and at the end of the day you probably won’t be able to give your users the experience they want.
Start Building!
Finally, build your app! You can do this by taking advantage of all the resources a no code app builder will provide you with, like templates, tutorials, and tools! Using a template will help you get started building your app. This will be super helpful if you have never attempted building an app before. It will provide you with an outline of different pages, and what components should go on each one. At Lumavate, we use Starter Kits to help get customers started, and offer different Starter Kits for each one of our solutions. Tutorials are another great way to get familiar with the app development platform. A tutorial will walk you through how to use the platform, what tools are available, and where to find everything! Lastly, there are tools like different features options, drag and drop functions, color themes, and more. These tools will give you the ability to have your app look and feel however you want it to!
And then in the end, you will have the very best mobile app for you. Who knew all it took was a no code app building platform. You can now consider yourself a citizen developer and have the power to continue making as many apps as you want!
Meet with one of our experts to see how easy it is to centralize your product data, manage digital assets, and create digital product experiences. Trust us…you’re going to be wowed.
