Why you should build an app for the app store
Whether you’re new to Application Development or not, having your own app on the store is extremely valuable.
Whether you are looking for a full-time position or starting your freelance journey, you need an app on either the Google Play Store or Apple app store. It doesn’t have to be the next big app with thousands of downloads or overly complex; it just needs to be on the store and working correctly.
Here you will find out exactly why.
The best way to improve your skills
The most important reason for developing your very own application and pushing it to an app store is building your skills and increasing your Android app development confidence. There will be plenty of functions that you’re unsure about, features you don’t know how to implement, but that’s the exact reason why you should build an app. It pushes you out of your comfort zone in terms of what you already know, forcing you to explore new areas that you need to work on, gives you the experience of finding problems and researching solutions to get your app working as you want it. A skill that you will be doing throughout your career as an Android developer.
With new libraries, frameworks, and updates to programming languages being released all the time, you will need to keep your skills up to date. In many cases, you don’t need to be an expert in every new technology but familiarize yourself with what tasks it performs and how to recognize it in a codebase. Should you need to use it for a company or client application, you can build a small app including this new feature to fully get to grips with it before implementing it into actual work.
You’ve presumably already heard by now that to land that first job in Android development or get your first client; you need a portfolio. You need proof that you know what is necessary for the job required or how to build an app for a client. Employers also want to see what you can do, and they need evidence that you understand what you declared on your CV or resume, as anyone can say they know everything about app development. Your portfolio doesn’t need to be extensive, just a few small projects demonstrating your work in various Android areas, whether that’s a type of architecture like MVVM or using libraries such as Retrofit or Glide. As the crowning jewel, your very own application is published to the store for all to use. Doing so will intrigue any potential employer that saw this in your job application as you’ve gone above and beyond most candidates. You’ve demonstrated your knowledge of building an APK file and going through the whole process of getting your app on the store. As a bonus, your app and how you developed it are now excellent topics of conversation during your interviews, allowing you to demonstrate your hard work on the project confidently.
App ideas for the store
As I mentioned previously, your application doesn’t need to be complicated; it doesn’t need the latest trending features. The best app you can build is one you want to use. However, please make sure there are elements to it that you don’t yet comprehend. Doing so will further help enhance your abilities as a developer, which should be a continuous priority.
Some ideas for apps to help you out are:
- An effective To-do list app. The cliche starter app is still an excellent choice for demonstrating your skill set. You can work with SQLite and Room Persistence library to show some advanced database knowledge, combined with a solid understanding of RecyclerViews, the Android architecture and the use of a Repository class. This project will surely help excel your portfolio ahead of most of the competition.
- An in-depth e-commerce app. With businesses moving towards having an online presence, e-commerce apps are in high demand. Here you can demonstrate your understanding of cloud storage using a service such as Firebase's FireStore to create databases, store images for products quickly, and provide a system to add and authenticate users.
- A simplistic but well-designed alarm clock app. An alarm app that’s visually pleasing using Android material design and some UI/UX design expertise can stand out in your portfolio. It highlights your keen sense of appealing interfaces, which is crucial for keeping the application users engaged. The project also provides an excellent opportunity to work with push notifications to handle intents, another tool to add to your utilities.
Although these are merely ideas to help get you started, if you have a specific application that you want to build, give it a go. Draft out how you will make it, what features it will have, and what areas you need to research to get the store’s application ready. Create a rough sketch of the UI and how the various elements of it interact. Your passion for the project will significantly improve the speed and willingness to learn new Android development aspects, allowing you to grow as an Android programmer. There are so many free resources such as YouTube and Stack Overflow to help if you become baffled while building your project, and in the end, the hard effort will pay off.
If you want to learn more about Android development, a brief history of Android and an overview of Android Studios, you can read more here.
Now I want to hear from you.
What applications are you working on or have developed in the past?
Leave a comment down below.
