The report features leading names in the mobile app industry who have made themselves known for their application development services. With key factors like client testimonials, work quality, and more, we are here to help make the final decision.

One cannot create a viral mobile app overnight. A lot of efforts need to be put in the process in order to achieve that status.

To drive millions of app downloads and become viral is the dream of every app developer, startup founder, and app owner, but not every mobile app has what it takes. This is one of the reasons why you need a list that features the options as per your preference.

Here are the top mobile app developers with awesome skills in Chicago that can assist you in boosting your business and building an online presence:

Dope skills an iOS/Android Developer must Hone

1. Crazy UI and UX skills

A developers’ creative best comes with his prowess over UI and UX designs. Let’s separately mention the two.

UX Design

The easier an app is to handle, the better it is for the user. The UX design focuses on making the app simpler, cohesive and easy for the user to navigate through. When we talk about total customer satisfaction, the UX design matters the most. If the UX is not good or has too many jargons, the user won’t hesitate to uninstall the app in a jiffy. The key components of User experience design include-

Easy navigation and user flows

One of the major components of UX design requires a brilliant app information structure. This can also be called Information Architecture. The structural narrative which the IA intends to is to simplify the navigation process so that the app user can easily browse the entire app without any confusion.

Understanding consumer personas

Understanding (the classic case of) consumer taste and preferences will help you to get your grind. The buyer persona is the foremost choice to remember while developing an app that nurtures you to become an app developer. The UX design helps in comprehending the consumer behavioural pattern and needs so that the user feels an instant connection while navigating through the app. This goes without saying that the app should be user-friendly in its truest sense.

Evaluation through Wireframing

The wireframing is the introspection before the actual launch of the app. The wireframing stage allows you to test run and evaluate the app and work on the weaker points that need to be improved.

UI design

The use of colour, the graphical representation of images, the eccentric confluence of audio and videos, the appeal of language, everything matters in UI design. It can also be classified as an art form with vehemence. The User Interface should be highly interactive so that the user gets hooked to the app in the very first attempt. What all is required to make a clean, innovative UI?

Visually impeccable

There is no figurative representation of being visually accurate. You just need the right amount of everything to strike a balance. Like photography or painting, every page of your app should have a decorum that asserts the user to engage with it for longer durations.

Clarity in action

Speaking of mobile application development skills required, clarity is a trait, you, as a developer, must conform to. The app contents including the text, sounds, images, animations, etc. should be attractive as well as informative. The app should generate the notion of transparency. It also includes-

a) Relevancy

A user usually looks for easy navigation features, call to action buttons, support and helpdesk options, etc. Familiar signs such as the red button for closing should be added.

b) Responsiveness

Clarity also includes prompt action time with acute responsiveness. If the app lags or has a slow response time, the user will eventually shun it.

c) Communication

Communicating every activity is also essential. Suppose if it’s an online shopping app, minute details, loading pages, redirection to transaction pages, payment received/cancelled message, slow internet connection and so on should be conveyed.

Get your feedback via Prototyping

If you’re into the B2B sector, this is a valuable feature-to-learn while developing apps for your clientele. It helps you to play with your ideas and toggle through them as an when desired. Prototyping helps you gain considerable feedback from the clients (and users as well). Dynamic prototyping helps you to make corrections whenever required.Some great tools will help you in achieving this like Marvel, Proto and InVision. These are effective for developing mobile app development skills.

2. Gaining expertise in multiple prog languages

There is no rocket science in saying that a developer needs to learn multiple programming languages. There is an array of programming languages that you can learn from and gain proficiency in formulating applications. Modern-day programming languages for Android include

Java
Kotlin

For iOS, there’s

Objective-C
Swift

Learning more languages will increase your versatility and prowess over both the platforms which help you to be better in the game.

3. Efficiency in Cross-platform development

In continuation to the last point, the more you, as a developer, are blessed with knowledge, the better are your chances of being a successful app maker. Whether it’s the question of how to become a good Android developer or for iOS, the scope of edification is endless, and you can get a nice learning curve in both the fields at the same time. Having expertise over both the platforms can help you to earn more, saves labour, makes you way ahead than those who are restricted to just one platform. This opens a plethora of opportunities for a variety of apps to be developed across both platforms.

4. Experience of Agile Methodology

It’s a comprehensive method of continuous iteration for the entire duration of the app development. The Agile Model ensures interactions at every stage of development. It also helps the clients to stay updated on every major change that’s taking place. You can simultaneously switch from the development to the testing activity which was not possible in the Waterfall model. It’s extremely easy to manage and works perfectly well for smaller projects where the requirements are not so complicated. There is a review process for every phase where each phase has specific deliverables. Knowing the Agile Methodology is one of the key mobile application developer requirements.

5. Having an Ingenious Business model

App creation is one aspect, selling is another. You should have a compelling business model that should work on promoting your app and increasing its invisibility to a wider audience. Proper branding and the use of social media should be effectively used to make announcements. You also should be absolutely aware of your contemporaries and the changing scenarios so that you can implement new changes and features in your app(s) accordingly.

6. Awareness in Cybersecurity

Creativity comes with its set of setbacks. There are plenty of people who are successfully eavesdropping on your product to weed out confidential data and intellectual property. An infamous incident was the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal that had rocked the whole cyber world not so long ago. You may inquire what does an app developer do in such cases. Well, as they reiterate that prevention is better than cure, as a developer, you should take every possible safety measure to avoid a data breach. Be wary of malware attacks and other malicious software that stealthily carry on their witch hunts. According to a study, in 2017, 27 per cent of the malicious apps targeted the Lifestyle category. Following suit were Music and audio apps with 20 per cent.

Thus, it’s always good to know about the measures to safeguard your app for cyber thefts.

Additional Skills

Apart from the aforementioned technical skills, you must also work on the following ones-

Creative skills: This goes without saying that necessity is the mother of all inventions, and how creatively you mould the necessity into a lucrative venture rests totally on you.
Analytical skills: They say an analytical mind is very scientific; fast, responsive and quick to understand- a skill that will help you to become a competent mobile app developer.
Communication skills: You may be a thinker, but you need to be a good orator as well. App development is a team effort, and you need to convey ideas to different people, including clients and investors. Such should also reflect in your app.
Mitigating Skills: If there is an app, there will grievances. Creating an app is just half the work done as there will API errors and additional bug fixes to be done, you need to troubleshoot every hurdle coming your way.

What have we seen, we have learnt

App development is a process that you master with practice and time. To summarize the skills, you need to hone

UI and UX skills
Multiple programming skills
Efficient cross-platform development skills
Agile Methodology skills
Business Capability skills
Cybersecurity skills