Application Tips

We talk to and see a lot of application developers here at FoodEssentials.  Everyday we have a new developer register for our labelAPI with the aim of building the next greatest health and / or diet related application.  

Through this process we have seen what works and probably most importantly what doesn't work.  This blog post is an attempt to provide some tips based on our experience as developers and our expertise as advisors to app developers leveraging our data.  

We hope this increases the rate of success of our clients / partners, but most of all we hope it helps you to at least avoid some of the common pitfalls.

Some general tips:

• Start in IOS (iphone) - Android is too complicated
• Keep it absolutely simple.  
• Focus on doing one thing well.
• Start off offering it for free for several months to gain users.
• Be prepared to iterate many times in the first 12 months.
• Use paid ads in the first few months to get you in to the top 50 in your vertical.
• Use a less than 11 character app name
• Social log ins (Facebook) can have a significant impact on virality.
• Focus on getting a good DAU/MAU ratio

Try to Avoid:

• Thinking once you've submitted to the app store you're done - that's when the work begins
• Building something with too many features