The process of building an app

If you told me at the start of my career I would build an app I would have thought you were crazy! It certainly wasn’t in my plan!

In 2018 I released a series of business plan books for creatives. But the problem I had was still there. You fill out the books and don’t look at them again. A few years passed by before I had the space and time to turn my booklets into an app. I thought I can do this it will be easy. Ha ha! Not so much.

The truth is the app build itself was actually quite smooth. Christina my developer was extremely easy to work with. I had 90% of the content created and the branding already finished.

The research and trying to understand how apps worked took months. I started with a company I found in Syndey that sounded excited by my idea. As we progressed they stopped emailing me back. I then thought I could do it myself! I researched online platforms that required little coding. I had a guy overseas that said he could build it into an existing platform. We emailed back and forward for months but the platform didn’t have the features I wanted and it just didn’t feel right.

The tech part was a challenge. Each person would have their own portal, that part can be done easily. The part that was hard is that each person also has multiple pages that they edited and saved with their business information. With 7 sections and 41 pages, it was a big job. I had self-doubt at one point, what am I even thinking! This is too big for me to develop with no app-building skills.

After two failed attempts I decided just to Google developers in Perth WA. I spoke to five different places. Sometimes waiting days for replies, others I spoke to on the phone. Explaining my idea over and over again. I did online courses on how to build an app yourself. Yep, I am definitely a creative person and the tech was hurting my head. I had a zoom meeting with an app platform and they told me I couldn’t achieve want I wanted on their platform.

I learned the difference between a native app and a web-based app which is something you need to understand if you want to build an app. A native app is built for a specific platform, such as iPhone or Android, and can access the phone’s features like camera and GPS. It can be used with no internet connection once downloaded. While that sounds great they are very expensive to develop and require coding and tech. Every update would require more money as they are not user-friendly.

A web-based app is hosted on the web and accessed from a browser on a mobile device. They are simple to build and update although a negative is they will always require internet to function. A web-based app worked within my budget and meant that I can easily learn how to edit and adjust the app once the developer had completed the project.

After months of getting no where I was feeling deflated and I decided to try a Facebook group. I wrote my idea out and I received a few replies. I met with Christina via zoom and it felt right from the beginning. I went over my ideas and once she could understand my vision I received a quote. I was super excited when it came back within my price range. We started work on the app in January 2022. Adding the content was the first part. Once the functions and pages were set Christina then added graphics and colours. It all started to take shape pretty quickly.

Once the app content was complete I had a team of testers go into the app to check the content and test the functions. They had a week to play before they all gave me feedback. It was an anxious week for me. Waiting patiently to see if they thought the app was any good and was going to help them in their businesses. I received some great feedback (quite a few spelling mistakes) and made as many of the changes as possible and have a few up my sleeve for updates in the future.

The challenge of automation was next on my list. The word automation gives me a headache just thinking of it! The app is one thing but then we had to create automation to set up the payment gateway. Then a thank you page and a cancellation page. We had to try a few platforms and ended up with Stripe for payment, Mailchimp for thankyou, and cancellation pages which are all connected by Zapier. The sales page is on Carrd which is connected to the app and my email automation and website are all on Squarespace. Does that hurt your head lol?

For my customer journey, a client can find my sales page through my socials and website which takes them to a sales page and then to the signup. Once someone signs up I get an email. If they make a payment I get a notification on Stripe. The thank you page is automatically sent to them which welcomes them to the app. This was all the part I was unprepared for. After late nights, early mornings and lots of Googling we worked it all out.

Then came marketing. So it’s one thing to create an app but then you have to get it out there. The launch went well with lots of interest and supportive comments but selling takes more than a launch. I have had to get over being scared to talk in my stories and filming myself is now much easier. The old stats were people needed to see a product 7 times before purchase have now increased to around 30 times. I have had to set up new social channels so I am now across most platforms including TikTok, Twitter and Youtube. Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are where I am most comfortable but as you can tell by now I am up for a challenge.

The whole process of the build took three months and a team of experts. Christina from Tiny Oak Studio was amazing to work with and I can’t thank her enough for bringing my idea to life. Sam from Ads for Breakfast created my Facebook ads strategy that is next level and even though I know a lot about FB her skills are insane. Emily from Be Think Coaching has been such fantastic support for me. Her energy and can-do attitude are just what I needed. She has kept me accountable which has helped me move forward quickly. I am in her Unstoppables group coaching program and the woman in there are unbelievably helpful and have supported me throughout my journey.

The one thing I have done through this project that is different from any other projects I have done is asking for help from experts. If that is the only piece of advice you can take from my experience it is to pay for the experts to help. I have learned so much and met my own goals much quicker with the support I have had. Not to mention meeting some kick ass business woman. It really does take a village!

And of course a massive thanks to my husband, family and friends that have listened to me when things have gone wrong and have been there to celebrate my wins with me!

If you are thinking of creating an app send me a message! I am happy to share and answer any questions! If you want to check it out, the click the button below.