Mobile apps are an integral part of our life
today. There’s an app available for almost every possible thing we can
imagine, from apps for tracking physical activity to stock trading apps used
for millions of dollars of investment. There are some apps that many people
rely on a daily basis such as social media apps and there are some apps that
are used less frequently. Successful mobile apps are not the ones that are
used frequently by users or the ones which have a higher number of downloads.
Rather, the two factors that determine the success of a mobile app are: the
user retention rate and the number of active users.
Recent statistics show that
nearly half of the mobile apps lose a majority of their peak audience within
90 days of the launch. In 2019 alone, the average app lost $33,000 a month
due to high rates of app uninstallation. Therefore, high user-retention rates
are a good measure for the success of an app. There are many reasons why apps
lose their userbase, but one of the most common reasons is negligence or the
lack of regular application maintenance and support.
Why is App Maintenance Important?
Successful mobile application owners always have
a well-thought-out maintenance and support strategy for their apps. No matter
how well-built and brilliant your app is, there is always some room for
improvement. Whether it is in the form of adding new features or revamping
the design of the app, the main goal of app maintenance and support is to
improve the user experience. Businesses invest heavily in application
maintenance and support services to ensure
their app delivers a smooth user experience post-launch.
To read more
about the subject, see: https://www.goodcore.co.uk/services/application-maintenance-and-support/.
To prevent apps from becoming outdated and
risking uninstallation, smart business owners seek long-term application
maintenance services so their apps can be timely updated. User
feedback is
important for app maintenance because any concern or negative experience
communicated by the users can be utilized to better the app. This improves
user retention and increases customer loyalty in the long run.
Here are some other ways
professional application maintenance and support services help keep
your app up to date.
Software and Hardware Changes
The technological
landscape is always changing as new technologies and devices enter the
market. The libraries, frameworks, and operating systems also change frequently.
Both software and hardware changes can have a significant influence on your
app and its features and layout. For instance, Apple comes out with newer
devices and operating system versions every year; the new devices have
different screen sizes and UI differences which can alter the experience of
your existing application. With routine application maintenance, you can
update your app to be compatible with the latest software and hardware
changes.
Latest App Market Policies
Google Play and App Store are the biggest app
marketplaces and they have strict quality and security standards that every
app has to comply with in order to get published on the app store. The terms
and conditions and developer guidelines for the app stores are updated frequently
and every app is required to conform to the changes. If not, the app owners
risk the possibility of getting suspended and having their app removed from
the app store. Most of the policy changes are with respect to app security
and privacy and therefore it is important to routinely update the app in
accordance with the latest policies. A recent example of such policy change
was the release of Apple’s
iOS 14.5 that made it mandatory for all apps to maintain app tracking transparency by asking for
user consent.
Changing Market Trends
Mobile app development
trends are always changing and when a feature gains popularity in the market
it becomes a common practice for apps to adopt it, keeping the competition
alive in the market. Take Snapchat’s 24-hour story feature for example; the
story became a popular trend in the market and eventually other social media
platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, added stories to their
feature stacks. Application support services allow you
to easily adapt to changing market trends by adding new features and
functionalities to your app.
App Value
An app that is regularly updated and well
maintained shows the users that you value them. It shows that you care about
the experience of your users and listen to their feedback to make your app
better for them. This is especially true for apps that are monetized; when
your app is updated regularly the users believe they are getting the best
value for their money. In simpler terms, app maintenance is a sign of respect
for your users and what you invest in application
maintenance services pays off eventually in
the form of good user retention and customer loyalty in the long run.
Different Types of Application
Maintenance and Support
We now understand why
regular app maintenance is important for the success of an app. There are
different types of maintenance and support that a business can include in its
app maintenance strategy.
Emergency Maintenance
Emergency maintenance
refers to solving sudden errors and bugs in the application. The app
development process includes a thorough process of testing and quality
assurance to make sure there are no bugs, but small errors and bugs can
happen despite that. These errors need to be dealt with urgently so the
system can function smoothly. Companies avail emergency maintenance services
by reporting the bugs to their development team to get them resolved swiftly.
Perfective Maintenance
Perfective maintenance
deals with user feedback and channels it into making the app perfect in terms
of user experience. With time, market trends, user demands, and requirements
change and to retain users it is important to address these changes by giving
app users what is trendy and what they demand. Perfective maintenance takes
these changes into account and modifies the app according to them.
Adaptive Maintenance
As discussed previously,
there are new software and hardware environment changes every now and then.
It is crucially important for apps to stay abreast with the technological
changes by updating the app to be compatible with the latest hardware and
software. This type of app maintenance is called adaptive maintenance.
Preventive or Scheduled Maintenance
Unlike emergency
maintenance, preventive maintenance (also known as scheduled maintenance) is
concerned with regularly checking the app to reduce the occurrence of bugs
and errors in the long run. It can mean maintaining the app at regular
intervals and addressing any complexity in the system that is likely to cause
issues in the future.
Corrective Maintenance
The last type of
maintenance is corrective maintenance. It involves solving errors and issues
in the code, UI design, or the logic of the app. These issues can be the bugs
reported by users or residual errors that were overlooked during the testing
and development of the app.
