April 11, 2023 
Launching an application is an exciting time that often feels like the conclusion to a lot of hard work, but your launch is really just the beginning. To get the most out of any app, you need to make sure its maintained and updated consistently.
Proper maintenance includes updating security standards and procedures, keeping reliable hosting, and making sure every feature is working as intended. When left unattended, apps can break down over time just like a car or home. When you keep it working optimally, however, you can maximize you app’s productivity and your company’s conversions.
Maintaining a Friendly User Experience
Whether you intend your app to be used by high level executives our Uber drivers and other service professionals, creating a very user-friendly experience is key to attracting and maintaining users. A friendly experience should include speedy loading times, working links, and intuitive navigation. The harder an application is to use, or the more outdated it looks, the more people are likely to turn away for something better. According to data gathered by Statista, 25% of apps were only used a single time. An even greater number of apps were only used 2 to 5 times.
Updating Application Security
Keeping software secure is a constant battle between developers and hackers where new vulnerabilities are found and then patched. Any app that doesn’t receive fixes for security holes will inevitably become a popular target for attacks, and that can be a huge problem for both your users and your company. If people don’t think their information is safe on your app, or there is a publicized breach of your database, your reputation can be negatively impacted.
Keeping Reliable Hosting
Where your app is hosted will determine its speed, reliable up time, and even security. If your app is on a good host, you and your users shouldn’t even notice, but a bad host will cause untold problems and cause a constant headache. The most important factors for picking the right hosting solution include:
- Price – You usually pay for what you get
- Uptime – Most hosts will claim 99% uptime, so check reviews
- Bandwidth – The more media you deliver, the more you’ll need
- Scalability – If you expect surges, you’ll need your host to adapt
When choosing a hosting provider, it’s a good idea to thoroughly search reviews and recommendations on multiple sites. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to find a specific provider that has the technical specifications required to reach your goals. That’s why most companies find hosting through a third-party service that can interpret your needs and connect you with just the right solution.
Performing Regular Maintenance
As the software and hardware that runs on computers and phones changes over time, your app will develop problems if maintenance isn’t performed. According to research by AppDynamics, app downtime costs major corporations $500,000 or more per hour. In order to prevent this issue, someone will need to consistently monitor for updates to plugins, malicious activity alerts, speed and performance issues, SSL problems, broken links, and bandwidth usage. Maintenance is also required to ensure all data is properly backed up and that outages aren’t causing user problems. Disaster can occur if an update or other change fails and a backup can’t be restored. When maintained properly, your app will work reliably like any other fine-tuned machine.
Ongoing Support
Finding a company that can provide all these maintenance, update, and hosting services in a comprehensive package will make this whole process a lot easier. Not only can finding and requesting each individual service take a lot of time, but coordinating between different companies can be full of pitfalls. Ongoing support from a company on retainer or in a comprehensive package can help you ensure your app adapts to user feedback, analytics, and A/B testing. You want to find someone who can be a partner in your apps success over time.
A highly effective partner for maintaining and updating your application is the company that built it in the first place. Since they are intimately familiar with every piece of code during development, they’ll be best suited to keep things running smoothly. Contact Troon today to learn about the application support and maintenance services we provide.
