Imagine your app going viral. Millions of downloads in a single year. You are snowed under money. Hurray!!!
But let’s come back to the present for a while. With a greater user base and engagement come more responsibilities. App management is a post-development job you will have to perform regularly.
The objective behind app maintenance is to ensure that the app remains secure and bug-free. And over the course of time, you keep incorporating new features into it.
This guide will walk you through the different aspects of mobile app maintenance, and why it’s important.
Table of Contents
Mobile App Maintenance Process
1.) Planning & Research:
It all starts with planning and research. You decide what are the areas that you are going to improve. It could be the interface and user experience of the app. Or maybe you are going to incorporate a new feature into the application.
Another way to figure out what new features you need is by looking at the customer reviews and complaints. What’s the common gripe in the comment section?
2.) Back Up:
Before executing the change, create a backup of all files. So, just in case, you have to revert back to the old version for any reason, you at least have an old version available of your app.
The changes being made are not made love until the final product is ready. And executing the changes takes time — sometimes months. During this period, your app will still be available on App or Play store.
3.) Execution:
Then comes the execution part. In this phase, you execute the changes you intended to make. It could be further tightening of the security or improvement in the menu section.
Or, maybe you want to make your app lightweight by trimming the code and eliminating the junk. Whatever you had planned, make changes in a systematic way so you can track your progress 
easily.
Types Of Mobile App Maintenance:
1.) Preventive Maintenance:
This type of maintenance prevents the same error from occurring again and again. Since the initial version of an app is bound to have bugs and other flaws, preventive maintenance aims to fix those. If you don’t take this maintenance seriously, your target audience will switch to a better option.
2.) Perfective Maintenance:
As the name suggests, this maintenance is carried out to make an app perfect. When users download your app and leave reviews on the Apple or Play store, you discover their unconsidered needs. In this maintenance, you might have to make a few changes in the functionalities, and thus code modification is needed.
3.) Emergency Maintenance:
You can’t plan emergency maintenance in advance. It takes place when an unexpected error occurs and leaving it unresolved for a while can have serious consequences. For instance, if an error directly threatens a user’s privacy or confidential data, it’s resolved on an emergency basis.
Now you know why those sudden breakdowns occur on social media sites and are resolved within a few hours.
4.) Adaptive Maintenance:
Adaptive maintenance refers to the process of upgrading the knowledge or algorithm of software. In the constantly evolving world, software that’s considered advanced today would be left miles behind if not updated) in the next 12 months.
Common Areas Of An App’s Maintenance:
When you are conducting an app’s maintenance, you look into the following parts:
1.) The UI/UX:
Statistics tell us Every single dollar invested in UX results in a return of $100. Indeed, UX and UI are important parts of any app. Every viral app offers an enchanting user experience. But it has to be maintained regularly.
With new features and trends emerging on a regular basis, small changes here and there in the existing design are not a big deal.
2.) Bux Fixing:
Getting complacent about the emerging bugs in your app can lead to a loss of audience. And sometimes, a complete failure and crashing of your app. So app maintenance greatly revolves around bug fixing.
3.) Performance Check:
And in every maintenance drive, professionals check the performance of an app. Using traditional matrices, they compare the loading speed and overall performance of an app from the previous version.
Each performance testing drive gives insights regarding custom usage and behaviour. This performance tracking keeps the app in the best possible shape.
4.) Inclusion of New Features:
Maybe your competitor has launched a new feature that’s helping him to attract more traffic. And even steal yours. To keep their app updated in accordance with the latest trends and practices, it’s normal to incorporate a new feature during maintenance.
Some Common Benefits Of App Maintenance:
- Well-maintained apps provide a top-notch user experience, and thereby accumulate more traffic over time.
- Such apps boost a brand’s image and strengthen credibility.
- You are less likely to uninstall an app that’s being constantly improved.
- Regular maintenance keeps you ahead of the competition.
- And of course, the more engagement and users you acquire, your revenue keeps going up.
We have always emphasized heavily on app maintenance. And we deploy experienced resources to maintain and improve our clients’ apps. If you have a business mobile app, we recommend you do the same!
About the Author:Asad Taqvi is a UAE-based editor and journalist. He’s always been a communicator my soul, hoping to inspire others through his skills and thoughts. He’s passionate about writing on different topics such as SEO, mobile app development, Social Media Media, Blockchain Technology, And Many More. He’s brilliantly imaginative in filling out the specifics of the innovation processes and design thinking.
This post helpful for beginner students of mobile development.
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