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There are two ways to build a mobile app – The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) approach and the Outsourcing approach.
There is a wide range of DIY tools available on the web & they reduce the entry barrier to acquire mobile apps by a business. There are numerous free websites that claim to allow businesses to build their own app at low costs or even free & none of them require knowledge of programming. These tools allow non-developers the ability to create their own mobile apps successfully.
But, in saying that, the question in everybody’s mind is – Should you outsource mobile application development to an external agency or try DIY? The decision is entirely yours & failing to consider it carefully can cost your business dearly in terms of time & money.
Some of the available DIY tools are for general app builders while others target specific needs, like apps for musicians or for medical practitioners. However, there are some DIY tools that let developers, who know programming, write apps using the code they know and then these tools will transform the code into a mobile application. After that you can submit the mobile apps to Google Play or the App Store.
However, there are many pitfalls if businesses decide to produce their own app using generic DIY apps building tools & websites.
Some of the reasons why using DIY tools or websites is not a good idea for building a mobile app for your business :
1. Less chance of approval by Google Play or Apps store:
These stores are very strict about what they allow to publish on their stores and approval guidelines are very stringent.
2. Less downloads of the mobile apps:
Even if these DIY apps get published in Google Play or App Store, the chances of users downloading these DIY mobile apps is remote as their quality is suspect.
3. DIY mobile apps lack native functionality:
For example, neglecting any key feature in the mobile app will reduce the amount of interaction a customer has with your business.
4. No customisation is possible for DIY mobile apps:
All mobile apps created by a certain DIY tool or website will look and feel the same, thereby, not distinguishing your business from that of your competitors.
5. The decision regarding what features to include in a mobile apps:
This is not possible in DIY mobile apps.
6. No Customer support:
If you develop a mobile apps by outsourcing you are assured of after-sales Customer support. This is not possible in case of DIY apps.
7. Sub-standard mobile apps:
If you decide to implement DIY apps for your business, you are minimizing the benefits of an app for your business.
