How to Make iPhone/iPad Apps & Games

How to Make iPhone Apps

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Every iPhone application starts as an idea before it evolves into an actual app. The application must fill a void, make people laugh, or make peoples' lives easier in order to be successful. An app that caters to a specific niche is another successful attribute. Even if you do not know how to make iPhone apps, you can still make your own iPhone app and profit from it by following a few simple steps. Contrary to popular belief, it is not absolutely necessary that you know any programming languages to make an iPhone app.

Steps

1. Think of an idea for an iPhone application. Do adequate research to find out if your app is likely to succeed. Ask yourself several questions such as, "Does my app solve a unique problem?", "Does my app target a certain group of people?" or "Is my app interactive enough to hold the attention of people?" Ask others if your app idea is of interest to them. If others are interested in your app, this is a good indicator that it will be successful in the App Store.
2. Do market research. Analyze other applications that are similar to your idea, and take notes of what not to do for the design and function of your app. Download and analyze the top-10 apps in each category from the App Store, and figure out why they are so successful. This can help you to include relevant features that are proven to be successful into your app.
3. Know the iPhone user interface (UI) and Apple's mobile operating system (iOS) inside and out. You cannot make iPhone apps if you do not even know how they both work. There are many books and online forums that can help you thoroughly learn iOS and the iPhone UI. Download iPhone SDK and XCode from the Apple Developer website.
4. Make sketches of your app in a notebook so that your idea can begin to come to life. Sketch out 1 thumbnail screenshot of your application per page. Draw out exactly what you plan to put onscreen. Experiment with various buttons, text, navigational schemes, and the ways each screen will connect.
5. Use the iPhone GUI Photoshop Template to design the app's layout. You can also hire a designer to do this part of the project for you.
6. Open XCode, and write code for your app using Objective-C and CocoaTouch. If you do not know these programming languages, hire someone to do the programming work for you.
7. Submit your iPhone application to the App Store after it is fine-tuned.
8. Promote your new app via social media, off-line social circles, relevant businesses, and blogs. Discuss your app before it is released to generate buzz about it. If you do not feel your marketing abilities can get your app noticed among the millions of others in the App Store, hire someone who can.

Tips

• While it is not necessary that you have an iPhone or iPod Touch to develop iPhone apps, it is highly recommended that you purchase at least 1 of these 2 devices. It is helpful to know the capabilities and limitations of an iPhone so that you know what you can and cannot do while creating your app.
• Make it easy for users of your app to post to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. This will help spread the word about your app as well as provide you with unbiased feedback on its merit.
• Release multiple versions of your app after its initial release. This helps maintain or even raise the demand for your app.
• You will need to pay $99 USD to join the Apple iPhone Developer Program.

Warnings

• If you are hiring someone to do design or programming work, require him or her to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before he or she begins working on your application. This protects you so that anyone you hire cannot take credit for your app and profit from it instead of you.

Other Tools and Resources to get you started

• How to create iPhone Apps with NO programming experience  (Excellent Resource)

• App Creation Video Course
• Ray Wenderlich - Tutorials for iOS development

Things You'll Need

• Notebook and pencil
• iPhone, iPod Touch, or Mac-based computer with iOS (must have 1 of the 3)
• XCode program
• iPhone SDK
• Non-disclosure agreement (optional)

Sources and Citations

• http://coding.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/11/how-to-create-your-first-iphone-application/
• http://developer.apple.com/devcenter/ios/index.action
• http://itunes.apple.com/app/app-incubator/id309795024?mt=8
• http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/MobileHIG/PartII/PartII.html
• http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/?p=1628

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