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According to IDC, Android dominates 85% of the mobile OS market share. If cost of mobile app development was a concern, and you wanted to choose only one platform, you may consider Android.

As the year is going to progress, Android will consolidate its position as the dominant mobile OS. Due to Android’s immense popularity, you would have thought about building an Android mobile app. However, as the ecosystem is massive, it is common to commit mistakes. As a result of this, you will spend a large portion of your time correcting those mistakes. By being aware of these things, you will have a much better experience in Android app development.

1. Use open-source libraries where possible

 Whenever you are thinking about writing code for your Android app, find out if there are open-source libraries which can help execute your ideas. If you spend time writing code from scratch all the time, it will take a large amount of time to create an app. Also, open-source libraries will implement the latest fixes so that all developers can use it without any hassles.

While there are thousands of libraries which will make your life easier, do not use them without analyzing them. Find out the number of stars and issues that are closed and open so that you have a better idea about the stability of the library. If you have enough time and expertise to evaluate code, then you should go through the libraries to understand its true worth. You should only use libraries that are of high-quality, free of bugs and reliable.

2. Continually improve with analytics

In Android app development, you can continue to improve your application by using analytical tools. They will help you take a closer look at the usage and performance of your mobile app. Tracking app usage and crash reporting are two extremely useful tools in analytics. As there are a myriad of Android smartphones with varying specifications, users may run into errors or bugs while using your application. By using tools that collect crash reports, you will be able to keep track of these bugs and fix them accordingly.

You also need to find out what your users want to have on your mobile application. By asking questions to the users, you will be able to get a better idea on how to improve your app even more.

3. Optimization is vital

It is important that you optimize your mobile app all the time so that your users have great experiences. Keep in mind that not all code is designed to run as fast as possible. Only certain types of code will use less storage, memory and run efficiently. Although unoptimized app may work in standard conditions, the lack of optimization will be visible in high-intensity situations. For example, find out how much memory is used by your mobile application. Memory leaks can reduce user engagement as it will make the app slower than usual.

4. Never release without testing

Testing is one of the most important aspects of Android app development. Regardless of how much time you spend developing the app, you should always test it before making it available to the public. Due to fragmentation, you need to find out if your mobile app works for all types of Android smartphones. During the testing phase, you need to keep varying the situation at different loads, to see how well your mobile app can handle those environments. You will be able to save a lot of time by detecting those bugs at an earlier period.

5. Simplicity is the key when it comes to user interface

If you are developing the Android app all by yourself, you need to pay close attention to the user interface. Even if you create a really useful mobile app, it won’t be successful until the UI is simple and easy to use. Always make sure that the UI is beautiful, minimalistic, and functional at all times. As the UI of your mobile app will have a long-lasting impact on your users, you need to put a lot of effort to make it as simple as possible.

6. Utilize sound architecture

In Android app development, you need to utilize sound architecture so that it is easier to manage your code at all stages. It will bring down the maintenance time significantly as it becomes easier to spot bugs and implement solutions. At the same time, you have the flexibility to add and remove code according to your requirements. For starters, you can use Model-View-Presenter (MVP) architecture for these features.

These are the things you need to be aware of in Android app development. If you are finding it challenging to create a mobile app from scratch, why don’t you contact Robust Tech House? We have experts who have years of experience building successful mobile apps.

Brought to you by RobustTechHouse

Also published on Medium.