Custom Business Application Development – 7 Tips for Small Businesses

Does your small business really need custom business application development? Short answer: yes.

It’s clear that digital tools empower small businesses to make twice as much money per employee and rapidly expand their workforce. Unfortunately, many companies see those numbers and go for a “one size fits all” off-the-shelf (OTS) solution.

But every business is different, so one size will either have too much or not enough. So, if you don’t want to waste time on a quick fix that misses the mark, you need custom software.

Why Custom Business Apps for Small Businesses

In a nutshell, custom business apps differ from OTS software in one major way: they’re tailor-made for you. Unlike one-size-fits-all solutions, they’re designed to fill specific gaps in your processes and meet your specific needs. You don’t adapt to them – they adapt to you.

Custom software can further transform the way your company operates, thanks to these benefits.

Customizability

The appearance and layout of your app are entirely under your control. So the people actually using it – your staff – can have a hand in the user interface design. This will make the transition to a new platform easier.

Adaptability

OTS software updates at the whims of the vendor. And there’s no guarantee those updates will benefit your company’s processes. Custom business application development, on the other hand, allows you to change your app exactly when and how you need it to.

Scalability

An adaptable and customizable app is a scalable one. When your small business expands, custom software can grow to accommodate your new requirements.

Automation

A custom application can take tedious manual tasks off your plate. Whatever eats into your employees’ time, whether it’s scheduling meetings or sending out emails, an app can automate it. This frees them up to devote their work hours to meaningful, higher-level tasks.

Integration

An OTS application can’t account for every combination of tech tools in its users’ arsenals. This can lead to information silos that require manual, inconvenient effort to overcome. But software built for you will integrate with any systems you choose, from CRM to messaging apps.

Vendor Support

Nobody will understand the ins and outs of your custom app software better than the vendor who developed it.

Not only that, but they’ll also understand your business and its needs. If you run into issues or want to make changes, that familiarity will make the process much smoother.

Access to Data

To protect the vendor, OTS software has restrictions on how much data you can access. But custom software is all yours, and that means you own all the data it collects. There’s nothing stopping you from feeding that data into analytics and using the insights to your advantage.

7 Tips for Effective Custom Business Application Development

As great as these apps are, small business owners may lose many benefits because they chose the wrong way to create custom software. To make sure you don’t fall into the common traps that plague many small businesses, follow these seven steps.

1) Consult Stakeholders

Before you begin custom business application development, you should know precisely what your app is for. And the best way to do that is to bring all stakeholders into the equation.

Staff, management, and leadership are in the best position to identify where your business’s tech falls short. Through interviews, surveys, or all-hands meetings, you can find out what tools are lacking and what’s the biggest time sink.

2) Lay Out Your App’s Objectives

There are many types of custom software that small businesses can opt for. And they all fill different gaps in your business processes, such as –

• Automating repetitive tasks
• Improving communication within your company
• Serving as a customer-facing platform
• Analyzing data and generating insights
• Covering industry-specific functions (finance, retail, healthcare, etc.)

Once you’ve conducted your interviews, this is the stage where you confirm the exact role your software will play. Your business objectives will home in on key features and focus the custom app development process.

3) Estimate Your Custom Business App’s ROI

Return on investment (ROI) measures how much your company stands to benefit from your custom software.

Every path to your goals, from custom business application development to purchasing an OTS solution, will have a different ROI. So, be sure to take all potential impacts into account, including employee engagement and productivity, process streamlining, and revenue.

4) Select the Ideal Platform

When you’ve settled on a custom-made business app and know what it’s for, it’s time to choose the platform.

Whether you go native or cross-platform depends on what devices your users prefer. If they’re split on iOS and Android, you’ll want to create a platform that’s optimized for everyone. You may even want to consider developing a web app instead of a mobile version.

All of these options will have unique implications for user engagement, accessibility, project timeline, and overall cost. Narrow down a solution that hits all the must-haves without going overboard.

5) Lock In the UX Design

Your user experience (UX) is what ultimately determines whether your software will be a success. Poor UX design is more likely to make it a hassle than a benefit. And that’s the last thing you want considering how your app fulfills essential business processes.

You should have a strong understanding of your users, their expectations, and their preferences. These three steps are critical for developing the UX your company needs.

1. Draft a design brief, including an overview of the software’s purpose, user needs, and project scope.
2. Build wireframes to visualize the user journey and interface – then ask target users what they think.
3. Set up usability tests once you have a functioning product and incorporate user feedback into the final software.

6) Partner with the Right Company

Finding the best custom app developer for your project can be the most daunting step of all. It requires careful research and background checks so you end up with someone you can trust.

Make sure they have –

• A portfolio of work with small businesses and can provide references
• Technical and industry expertise, as well as up-to-date knowledge of trends that are relevant to your business
• A well-documented development methodology (such as Agile) that proves they can adapt to changing requirements and meet unexpected challenges
• Airtight security measures, policies, and contracts that prioritize your investment and the safety of your data

Ideally, your development team should become a long-term partner for the remainder of your custom software’s lifespan. After all, they’ll be the ones who know your app inside and out.

7) Develop a Maintenance Plan

You don’t want your custom business app to become obsolete shortly after its creation. But that’s what will happen if you don’t update and maintain it.

Whether your app is internal or customer-facing, its longevity is determined by your response to user feedback and fluctuating business needs. You’ll need to plan for the future, including –

• New features in the pipeline
• Security updates
• Industry trends
• UI/UX improvements
• Bug fixes

Have Your Custom Business App Developed by the Best

DPL specializes in custom business application development that serves your business now and grows with it over time. Our team of multitalented experts has 20+ years of experience with a range of industries and enterprises of all sizes.

Tell us what you need using the form below. We can’t wait to build the final puzzle piece that’ll complete your business.