Anyone have any experiances with making/selling apps

[The man in black]

I have an excel spreadsheet that is an extensive training journal and have considered having it made into an app. The target audience is people that lift weights for the purpose of getting better at lifting weights. The problem is I am reading online where apps can cost thousands and thousands of dollars to create and I don't have that kind of money, regardless of what I could expect to profit off of it. So if anyone has knowledge of this field, please share your experiences. Thank you.

Edit-by making an app, I mean paying someone else to do it.

[buckethead]

I've had a shit ton of apps. I'll dump here after the super bowl

[buckethead]

If it is something you have some passion about, go for it. Yes, you’re right that a commercial app with millions of users is expensive to develop and maintain. But a niche app with limited user base can be made on the cheap. That is IF you are, or can find someone who is, a programmer.

There’s no shortcut to writing code. Someone has to do it. If you’re into it, you may be able to learn as you go, but finding someone who knows what they are doing is better. Maybe they get a share of the profits, rather than salary. If you’re making a free app just because you like the idea, maybe there’s a programmer out there that shares your passion. Start with StackOverflow if you’re looking.

As far as the app, you have to decide whether to go iOS, Android or both. This is a big decision. Frankly, I’ve never seen how someone can be successful with just one.

There are, however, shortcuts in this area. Using a multi-platform app development utility like appcelerator and others can bypass having someone(s) developing java and swift natively. As well, and this is my recommendation, a responsive web app that is downloaded as a bookmark will look and feel EXACTLY like a native app on the iPhone and Android but a) only requires one development environment and b) avoids the Apple Store altogether.

Speaking of Apple, if you decide to make a native iOS app, you ABSOLUTELY need to study Apples T&C’s. Don’t fuck around with Apple. In-app purchases, advertising, database and privacy policies will fuck up your gameplan more than anything if you don’t abide by their strict rules. Their review process each time you submit and update is a week to two weeks and each review may react differently to your app. It literally was the bane of my existence. Plus they take 30% of your revenue of the top…

If you have any specific questions, let me know

[TerryB]

What browser are you using?

[seeahill]

Gee, Bucket isn't completely dumb.

[TerryB]

This whole "coding" thing isn't going anywhere. I suspect the whole app fad will be over by 2018.

[The man in black]

What browser are you using?

Microsoft edge on the computer and Chrome on the phone.

[Shafpocalypse Now]

I see people sell excel templates np by themselves for that purpose.

[TerryB]

What browser are you using?

Microsoft edge on the computer and Chrome on the phone.

Hmmm...well that's your first problem. You need to vertically integrate your interfaces.

[Beer Jew]

I have an excel spreadsheet that is an extensive training journal and have considered having it made into an app. The target audience is people that lift weights for the purpose of getting better at lifting weights. The problem is I am reading online where apps can cost thousands and thousands of dollars to create and I don't have that kind of money, regardless of what I could expect to profit off of it. So if anyone has knowledge of this field, please share your experiences. Thank you.

Edit-by making an app, I mean paying someone else to do it.

I don't use apps.

[Shafpocalypse Now]

I'd be interested in looking at it, if you're sending it around.

[TerryB]

I'd be interested in looking at it, if you're sending it around.

ooh err!

[The man in black]

As well, and this is my recommendation, a responsive web app that is downloaded as a bookmark will look and feel EXACTLY like a native app on the iPhone and Android but a) only requires one development environment and b) avoids the Apple Store altogether.

How much could I expect to have to pay on a monthly basis to maintain a web app? I know their are a ton of factors, but just looking for a rough estimate. I will be talking to a developer this coming week and hopefully can start setting up a concrete plan.

[kreator]

In-app purchases, advertising, database and privacy policies will fuck up your gameplan more than anything if you don’t abide by their strict rules.

Don't disagree with this here, but I'm not sure any of this is relevant for this type of app. If I understand correctly, it's basically an excel template for lifting that he wants in app form? If so, it sounds very straightforward. Unless I'm missing something.

If you plan on storing user data centrally somewhere, then it becomes a little more complicated since you'll need to house a database somewhere and connect to it.

How much could I expect to have to pay on a monthly basis to maintain a web app? I know their are a ton of factors, but just looking for a rough estimate. I will be talking to a developer this coming week and hopefully can start setting up a concrete plan.

Depends if you plan on storing data inputted from users. If not, basically no monthly maintenance. Just a yearly fee for bandwidth and domain. If you plan on having users submit their workout data and have it stored and guarantee redundancy and privacy and all that, then you'd be looking at a little more.