Become a Self Taught iOS Developer

There are many times where we wish we could have an app for something we need. But when you can't find an app for your problem, a solution is that you could try building your own. However, the inconvenience of building a new app due to a lack of experience and knowledge may keep you from realizing your app development goals. This article will teach you how to teach yourself iOS development and become a self-taught iOS developer.

Steps

Getting Started

  1. Think of an idea. The first step to developing an iOS App is knowing and having a clear plan of what you are going to do.
    • Have a crystal clear vision for your idea.
    • Decide on what platform to develop the app. You can publish your app on the following platforms: iOS, WatchOS, MacOS, and TV OS.
  2. Decide the category in which your app idea lies. There are different categories you can choose from, so find one that best describes your app. Here are the main app categories:
    • Education
    • Entertainment
    • Games and Entertainment
    • Health
    • Social Media
    • News
    • Productivity
    • You may also choose to develop a cross-platform app, that could run on Android as well as IOS.
    • Decide the language in which to develop your app. You can develop an iOS app in XCode. For cross-platform development, you may prefer Xamarin or PhoneGap.
    • It is advisable to use XCode for app development because it is provided by Apple, and as a beginner, it will help you to develop apps easily.
  3. Start designing the user interface. Every app solves a problem or serves some purpose. But unless it has a user-friendly and navigable interface, it isn't very useful. When submitting your app, Apple will check the interface, so design the interface with the user in mind.
    • For that, you have to learn UI Design and UX design. There are many websites and YouTube channels that can help you learn what UI and UX design are and how to build it. [1]
    • Use XCode Storyboard for building your interface.
    • Or start prototyping your app in Sketch.
  4. Ask for suggestions. While building an iOS App by yourself, you can get suggestions from family, friends or other colleagues who are or have been interested in app development.
    • See if you can find app developers in your area that can help you.

Learning iOS App Development

  1. Watch tutorials on iOS development. As a beginner, you'll definitely benefit from checking out YouTube that what are the basics needs for it. There are many iOS developers who share their knowledge on YouTube making YouTube tutorials.
  2. Check out some tutorial websites. There are many websites that provide app development tutorials. Check out Code TutsPlus, App Coda, tutorial points, etc.
  3. Take some paid courses. There are many websites that provide iOS app development course for absolute beginners at a sustainable price, like Udemy, Code Avengers, Ray Wendrelick, Lyanda, Stanford courses, etc.
    • You may also find it helpful to take some classes available in your area.
    • Explore other libraries the language for better programming. In any language, other developers would have developed some other libraries which will make your programming easier. So, explore it. [2]

Starting Development

  1. Design your app or heir a UI designer. Design is the most important part of your app. May you app's performance will not be superior but if your design is great, you will probably have a decent number of downloads.
    • This work may need a professional person. So, you may like to hire a UI designer.
  2. Build the launch screen. The interface that a user is presented within the first few seconds of opening the app is considered to be the most important interface, so design it well.
    • You may like to use some animations on the launch page of your app. The first thing of all is keeping some tutorials because it makes easy for users to get completely aware of what your app is capable to do.
  3. Design menus, slider menu and other content of your app. Your app design is really an important element of your app. You may like to have menus or navigation place or may a very special gesture (i.e. performing a unique gesture or clicking the screen with three fingers). [motiongestures.com]
  4. Test your app on a physical device. During the development of the whole app, if you are using Xcode or any other platform, a mobile (also watch and iPad) simulator will be provided to you for testing how it is working. However, before submitting the app, you have to sideload your app on a real device in order to test it.
  5. Design a Logo. After you develop an app, then the next important work that you have to do is to design a nice logo which can develop more and more users to download an app. To Apple, you have to provide your logo for different sizes. For designing a very nice customized logo, you'll have to buy some professional software like Abode Illustrator.
    • Keep it simple, and don't add images or text in your logo. Keep it classic and recognizable. Also, be careful about contrast.
  6. Submit the app to the App Store. Before you submit your app, you have to be registered as a paid developer on developer.apple.com by paying 99$/year. Then you will be able to launch your app on the App Store.
    • Apple will provide some tools to make you aware of the revenue and analytics for your app.
  7. Start marketing your app on social media. For increasing the revenue you get by your app, it is important that you market it on different social media platforms so that you can interact with your consumers and also let other people know about your app.
    • You can also build a blog for your app by using WordPress.
    • If you think that you need some expertise social media marketing, then you may hire a social media manager in other to enhance your social media management.

Monetizing Your App

  1. Learn about monetization techniques. Now, there are different ways of monetizing your app. The following are the three main ways:
    • In app purchases-- While playing any game, you would have observed that at breaks there would be added in your game. That advertising pays the developer for casting their ad. Thi is one way to monetize your app.
    • Paid apps In the world of apps, there are so many apps which are paid because of its special utility. If you think that your app, in many sense, is really unique and can do you the thing that free app cannot do, you can also charge users to download it.
    • Normal Ad While using an app, you would have observed that there would small banner ads within the app. And, that is one of the ways you can monetize your app.
  2. Avoid malpractices like black hat techniques.
    • Before you start monetizing your app, also get known to the black hat technique of monetizing your app. This is a technique by which you can get more number of downloads in a artificial way. you just ask a company to do this work and the company would downloads you app in about 100-200 iPhone they did have to increase your business. But, you also have to play a large amount of money to them.
    • This practice is not suitable. Sometimes, Apple not only pulls out the app from the app store for those apps but also put a lifetime ban for that type of developers.
  3. Market your app. Many times it happens that you create a great app and your app business does not run cause nobody knows about it. To avoid this type of conditions, you should market your app. You may hire a social media manager for that.
    • Market it on social media like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.
  4. Keep on updating your app.
    • Do not do like you have developed the app and now you just forget about it. Keep on checking the updates in the iOS software and keep on updating according to it.
    • Sometimes, app store pull those apps out if they are not updated and having no utility now.

Tips

  • Learning online is more advisable then learning from class because online courses are updates as the language updates. So, you can get the latest development information.
  • For iOS apps, AR Apps can more profitable as this the latest field you can work on.
  • Start building small-small apps for practicing swift app development.

Warnings

  • Be careful about user security when designing apps for the web or payment.

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