You've got to validate guys! Sometimes daunting when you're expecting to have your dreams crushed but will save you tonnes of money and time. Early critique is incredibly valuable and there to assist your vision. Validating properly can also give you unique industry insight and help raise investment if required.
Market Research: Researching the target market, understanding their needs and pain points, and identifying any gaps in the current offerings. This can help you determine whether there is a real demand for your app idea. Checking out the positive and negative reviews of your nearest competitors is the perfect start. You can do this directly from the Appstores or by using websites like App Radar & Sensor Tower. Make a list of the pro's an cons and make sure you're addressing them!
Talking to potential users: Engage with potential users and gather feedback on your app idea. This will help you understand their needs and preferences and identify any potential issues or concerns. You wouldn't believe how many founders don't do this. You should do this at every opportunity! Create a "one pager" overview of your idea with a one or two hero designs of your app with the questions: Who is it for? What does it do? How does it work? Why? Let Leojbarnett.co make this for you... Shoot this out via Dm's on Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin to potential users! It's never been easier to find and target people. Make it easy for people because finding 5 mins of someone's time is NOT easy. Sometimes a simple message back of thoughts is enough as asking to fill out a survey is a lot. Spend a day or two in the zone on this. One BIG RULE - Be personal. Dont be a copy and paste robot when doing this. Personalise every message to some extent. You just need to take the time to do so. Offering incentives like free subscriptions or Amazon voucher competition can also be a great help here. Validation and feedback won't just get you on the right track for your UXUI but can also be a major factor in securing investment. Easily create feedback forms using Google Docs, Survey Monkey or Typeform.
Building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP): An MVP is a basic version of the app that includes only the core features. This allows you to test the app with a small group of users and gather feedback before investing significant time and resources into development. An MVP is the perfect way to validate. You learn so much once a product is in your hands. The beauty of an MVP (a very well built one) is it's super easy to market. With limited features. It means your targeting and messaging can be super concise. This doesn't get talked about enough with MVP's. But ensuring you've got something people can use and take you seriously is massively important.
Launching a landing page or pre-launch campaign: Launching a landing page or pre-launch campaign can help you gauge the interest in your app idea before you begin development. It also helps in building a list of early adopters and beta testers. Make a beautifully clear Wix website with some hero screens of your app to get moving. leojbarnett.co can make this for you along with a brand / logo to get the ball rolling. The landing page will give a clear CTA for sign ups and let you steadily build a mailing list.
Create a prototype or wireframes: This will give you an idea of how the app will look and feel, as well as help you identify any usability issues or design flaws before development. This also helps give a birsdeye view of your app to ensure it's agot all the nuts and bolts it needs to be fully functional. I have vast experience in wire-frames and know all the components that may get missed on a first build, along with insight into best UXUI users would expect. I also love ideating concepts along side you to make your app totally unique.
Here's some typical questions you can ask users: 1. How often would you use this app? 2. How does this app solve a problem you currently have? 3. How would you describe this app to a friend? 4. Are there any similar apps that you currently use? 5. How would you envision using this app in your daily life? 6. Are there any features that you would like to see added to this app? 7. Are you willing to pay for this app or would you prefer in-app purchases or ads? 8. How would you rate the overall usefulness and user experience of this app? 9. How likely are you to recommend this app to a friend or family member? 10. Is there any other feedback you would like to provide about the app idea? Ultimately, validating your mobile app idea involves a combination of market research, user feedback, and testing. It is important to be flexible and open to feedback, as it can help you improve your app and make it more successful. Criticism is usually more valuable than praise, so seek it at every opportunity.