iPhone App Development Tips

The Apple iPhone no doubt created quite a stir when it first appeared in the U.S. market way back in 2007. What’s more, it had made developers run into a monomania, creating various kinds of innovative apps for it. Of course, this multifaceted platform encouraged developers to do their best and to test their creativity and flexibility for writing the apps.However, if you are really interested to know how to create apps for your iPhone, here is your opportunity to master the technique. Just go through this post, and you will have a first hand idea of how to develop apps for your iPhone. However, creating apps for the iPhone, especially if you are new to it, could be quite overwhelming as it may require you to tackle so many aspects concurrently that include the usability factor, testing, debugging, etc.Here are the tips.

Native Apps or Web Apps?

Native apps that work with the device’s own built-in features and is installed directly on the iPhone will obviously prove to be a pretty smooth app development experience for you. If, however, you are thinking in terms of developing a quick to react, high-performance app or an app with graphics, you need to delve deeper and become proficient in Objective-C to achieve itAlternatively, if you wish to try your hand at creating something simple, like a mobile-friendly version of your website, you can create a Web app. You can also create a native app first and then create a Web app around it.

The Viewport Makes the App Compatible

It provides a standard User Interface for your app. Component One Viewport™ for iPhone includes the header, buttons, content area, toolbar and support for the NavigationList control. In fact, it is what makes your Web app fully compatible with the iPhone.Incidentally, even though most web pages are supposed to be compatible or adoptable to the dimensions of the iPhone screen, it is more desirable to ensure that your page is most optimally displayed on the device. Defining this tantamount telling the browser to scale the page in the best possible way for the iPhone screen. Alternatively, you may allow the user to pinch or double-tap the screen in order to zoom in or zoom out the page.

Hide the Address Bar

It is well known that the address bar on the browser takes up much of the space available on the limited real estate of the iPhone screen. Why not hide the address bar temporarily to gain some more space on the screen where you could display more info, etc? However, hiding it permanently is no good either. The best course would be to see to it that the address bar remains hidden as long as the user scrolls through the search list. It can reappear once the scrolling comes to end.

Use Vertical Lists

Making use of lists is considered to be one of the best ways for displaying info; more so when you are giving the user several choices of action. Lists also facilitate navigating the menu as also helps faster loading. But if you have ever noted that making use of vertical lists proves far better than horizontal lists. Moreover, putting up a horizontal list involves lots of loading time, often entailing redirecting too many pages, linking each to the main page.

Don’t Complicate It

Rather keep it simple. It is always better to keep the initial version of your app simple and fast. Remember, a ‘basic app’ lets you work with ease, involving only the effort required to perform and nothing more. This way, it loads faster and performs better and as a result draws users to your app. However, once you become quite familiar with the process, you are free to include newer features at every release of your much prized app.

Include an Icon

Including a nice, eye-catching app icon would be a good idea, as it allows users to locate your app on their home screen. Creating an icon also makes it all look very professional, at the same time also appealing to the user’s eye.

Test on Regular Browsers

While it is customary to check your web app on the iPhone browser, it also becomes helpful to test it on regular browsers since this will make you aware about its general look and performance. Since different browsers would display your app differently, you would also have an overall idea about your creation.

Test It on An iPhone, Too

True, you have access to several app simulators, but after all they are nothing but simulators and so can never give the actual result. So, test your newly created app on an original Apple iPhone and check the performance. Only this way you will be able to know the level of performance of your own very app!