Creating A Themed App

A themed app can related to just anything. Some such apps are released for holiday purposes, like Christmas shopping lists, or leprechaun video games for St. Patrick's Day. Similarly, other themed apps are released for events such as the Academy Awards, the World Series, or other annual events that users want an app to get involved with. If you are considering developing a themed app, there are a few considerations you should take into account before and during the design process.

Timing Is Everything

When it comes to building and releasing a themed app, the timing of its release can make or break it. Releasing an app after the event or holiday it is themed after, can create dramatically lackluster sales and downloads, which is to be expected with such tardiness. With that said, releasing your themed app earlier opposed to later is always a safe bet. For instance, if you are developing an app specifically for March Madness, it would be much better to release it in January or February opposed to April, or even May, when the college basketball season is over.

Keep The Theme

Another common mistake that is made when developing themed apps is not staying with the theme. Sometimes an app will come out and appear to have a theme such as Easter, but in actuality it has little to do with the holiday at all. For example, an app called Easter Bunny Games may lead the user to believe it is an app with suggestions of games little kids can play involving an Easter bunny. However, when the app turns out to be a video game with the objective to catch a bunny hopping around on screen, naturally there may be a lot of disappointed users and outraged parents. Something like this can be catastrophic for an app, ultimately leading to low sales figures and a hoard of bad reviews.

Choose A Popular Theme

When choosing a theme for your app, picking the right one — a popular one — is pivotal. In other words, if you design your theme around an obscure holiday such as National Nurses Day, it is likely that app users will be not be enticed by a related app. Similarly, choosing a theme the public does not need an app for can also set you up for failure. For example, designing an app that lists all the Lieutenant Governors from the State of California probably won’t produce large amounts of downloads. On the other hand, designing an app for a big event like the Presidential Election is a more popular idea with large numbers of people interested in the theme.

Conclusion

Creating a themed app is all about timing and selection. If you choose a theme for your app that is unpopular or you release the app after the event is over, then it will likely be destined for failure in the mobile market. The key to having a successful and profitable themed app is to focus on an event and release it before that event takes place. This means sticking to a tight design schedule and hoping the event is as popular with app users as you imagine. In the process, you should also consider the market you are targeting with your app. If your app is geared toward a demographic that doesn’t use mobile devices very often, then you may want to go back to the drawing board to create an app with a more modern following.