Creating your first iPhone application is a one-step-at-a-time learning and development process, each step of the way may be confusing and overwhelming, but the more you learn the first time around, the better your next iPhone application will come out. Keep your mind open and think about how you will develop the next release of your iPhone application and the new features that you will add to make it more appealing to the consumer market that you are targeting. Your first iPhone application is a great learning experience that can contribute to newer and better ideas and concepts for more iPhone applications that have the potential to be extremely successful in the future.

According to Wikipedia, over 7 billion apps have been downloaded worldwide by iPad and iPhone users, with an average spending of $80 per iPhone user, making the iPhone app business extremely lucrative | Now, you have the most innovative idea of a lifetime – in your opinion – and you are certain smartphone users will love it, but creating your first iPhone application is a supreme mystery to you. With the rapidly growing iPhone application market, there are apps for almost anything that one can imagine!

The good news is that anyone can make and promote an iPhone application, if they have a great idea and the heart to follow it through to an active app. In addition, although there may be a learning curve involved while designing it, with some of our instructions, tip and tricks and the investment of your time and resources, you will be on your way to implementing and marketing a new and exciting iPhone application.

Is It Really Original? The Research Step

The first vital step that you want to take in creating your first iPhone application is to research whether or not your idea for an iPhone application is truly original. Is there an app for the smartphone that is similar to the one that you are trying to develop? If there is, what does your iPhone app bring to the table that is new, interactive, and otherwise stimulating to set it apart from others?

Some statistics to keep in mind, according to NewMacOnline, is that although almost 7 out of 10 apps are not game-related, the majority of iPhone apps that are downloaded are games, with books and entertainment coming in second and third place respectively. Knowing the market and what types of apps smartphone owners are interested in is a crucial part of creating a successful iPhone app.

Preparations

In order to create your first iPhone application, you will want to have certain equipment and supplies on hand. First, make sure you have an iPhone or iTouch – otherwise, how will you know for absolute sure before you market your app if it really and truly is going to be a hit? You will want an Mac computer that is Intel-based with a Mac OS, version 10.5.5.

If you have friends or acquaintances who understand the Objective-C language or Cocoa Touch, now is the time to recruit their help. Beware that you are sharing your unpatented ideas and concepts with these people that are helping you and understand completely what their interest is in assisting you. If they want monetary reimbursement – and even if they do not request compensation – it is a good plan to draw up a Non-Disclosure Agreement to protect your ideas, designs and hard work.

The Creation of Your iPhone Application

There are several directions that you can go in at this point in time to start the creation of your iPhone application. At the Apple developer portal, you can download the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) and register for free to design your iPhone application with. Join the Apple iPhone Developer Program, also. It will be necessary to understand the Objective-C language and Cocoa Touch controls to successfully build your app, which can be done with a few resources such as Steven G. Kochan’s book, Programming in Objective-C 2.0 and the Mac OS Reference Library tutorial.

Within the SDK is an iPhone Simulator, which will enable you try out your new app and see how it would run on the iPhone. If you happen to be stuck at this juncture, have no fear; there are programs that will assist you with the creation of your iPhone application, such as Interface Builder and PhoneGap. Interface Builder is certainly capable of building extremely complex applications; however user reviews report that it is not very intuitive, so there will still be a learning curve involved. PhoneGap will convert web applications into iPhone apps and it is already approved by Apple.

If you are experiencing trouble at this point in time, after reading and learning about Cocoa Touch and Objective-C and you hit a road block, this might just be the time to tap into your resources and reach out to designers who are familiar with the languages so that you can get your iPhone app in motion.

Submit App and Promote

This is the exciting, although possibly tedious, part. Once your iPhone application is ready for distribution, there are a few steps left to do. Recruit the help of a developer to submit your app to the Apple Store, unless you are already familiar with XCode. You will need to create the appropriate certificates, properly compile the application, and upload your app to iTunes Connect.

Finally, you will want to market your app, because it will get lost in the midst of all of the other thousands of apps out there if you don’t actively promote it. Use the social media aspects of the Internet, including Facebook and Twitter to market your app, as well as pre-launch Press Release.