Author: Yves

Find the right market size If you’re aspiring to be an indie app developer, it might be worth focusing on medium-sized markets. A small niche market might not be worthwhile financially. A medium-sized niche, on the other hand, could be enough to support you while also making your business less interesting to larger app editors.… Continue reading N is for Niche

Is there an app for that? This is personal, and I’m sure all indie dev experience it differently, but I find that staying motivated on an indie app project can be an issue as you’re often working by yourself. Not having coworkers or a boss can be bliss but we’re also social creatures and solitude… Continue reading M is for Motivation

Who doesn’t like a good listener? Have ways for users of your app(s) to reach you via email or any other communication method allowing back and forth messaging. User feedback is priceless. It helps you decide which features to build first. It gives you ideas for new features. Moreover, if you build a feature a… Continue reading L is for Listen

Harder than it sounds No matter the context for a coding project, always code and test the smallest fraction of your project possible, test it and then add details piece by piece. The first screen you test should have maybe one text field or button or image. It’s easier to debug when you’ve only added… Continue reading K is for Keep it simple

Who knows where it will lead you? Be patient – your first indie app might not be your big success. It might, but if not it’s not a big deal. They say you need to fail to succeed. Ship an app and see where it leads you. I shipped my first apps in 2014. They… Continue reading J is for Journey

Don’t reinvent the wheel As you’re doing every job at your company from design to customer support, you can’t dive too deep into every subject. Take shortcuts when you can. A good way to save time on research or AB testing is to look at what successful apps with funding are doing. Chances are they… Continue reading I is for Imitate

Don’t follow it blindly As an indie developer, you need to be very efficient with your programming. Coding requires either a lot of time or a lot of money. Big companies or startups have the financial means to lose time and money with their apps because they make money through other activities or because they… Continue reading H is for Hype

Or just Apple? Independent app developers often focus on the Apple ecosystem. Apple product users spend more money on apps and it’s easier to maintain an app that runs on Apple hardware alone, as opposed to the many different Android phone manufacturers. I started making apps by learning iOS development and didn’t consider making an… Continue reading G is for Google Play Store

Thinking about user experience in terms of friction It’s been said that Snapchat’s gesture-based design was good for attracting young users as they felt only they could understand the mechanics and grown-ups couldn’t. Still, Snapchat’s UI is very simple or ‘low friction’. You don’t need to go through a lot of screens to perform an… Continue reading F is for Friction

Be ready for your app business to be challenged at any time Having a successful indie app is a fantastic opportunity. It’s also best to know upfront that it’s a fragile business. You are completely dependent on one or two app stores. They can decide to kick your app out at any time, without even… Continue reading E is for Enjoy it while you can