Nowadays android is a secure, easy to use, popular, hardware-friendly operating system. Millions of people all over the world using android OS as their primary device for telecommunication. Android apps are getting more innovative, powerful, and beautiful. Apps are changing the way of life. In this article, we are going to discuss and show you the steps to become an android developer.
Things you need to start android development:
Android development is not that much platform-oriented. You can start android development on Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS. But when we talk about the iOS app, it is not that much easy. You need an iOS device for iOS development. So, android development is much easy to start. Now I am going to cover all those devices and software you need to start the android development.
A Decent Computer:
I am saying that you need a high configuration computer for this. Actually, you need a computer that can handle 3 or 4 tasks at a time. Because you need to research, write the code, test the app, and other little things. That is why you need a computer that can handle those things. I have a 2 core 4 threads processor (AMD Athlon 200ge) with 8GB RAM and 1TB hard disk. I never face any problem with that configuration. But in the case of Android Development, I prefer intel processes because they support AVD better than AMD.
Android Phone:
We can test our app using many virtual tools. But we need a real device for final testing. Sometimes you can find a real bug using physical devices. So, as an android developer, we need physical android devices. I think we should test our app on an old, low configuration phone. I still use the itel-1355 (512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, android 5.1) phone for my final app testing. By using this method, you can be sure that your app is good enough to run on any low configuration devices.
USB Cable:
Good quality USB cable is very helpful for data transfer. This is so much helpful for debugging. USB cable helps you to connect your phone with the computer and pass the app on your phone. A good quality USB Cable can make this process easy and hassle-free. I think this is actually important for the start.
Android Studio IDE:
Android Studio is a great IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for android app development. This can help you to design layout, add functionality, check problems, correct mistakes. Actually, this IDE you are going to use for creating the full application. You can install this IDE on Windows, Linux, Mac, Chrome OS. A developer can easily handle firebase using this IDE. Error handling is much easy in Android Studio. You can download an android studio from the official website of android. AVD or Android Virtual Device is a great service of this IDE. You can use AVD to test your apps. If your processor doesn’t support AVD then you can use good quality external emulators for the app tasting.
Programming Language:
For android app development, we can use Java, Kotlin, C++, Python, etc. But Java and Kotlin are the most used programming language for android app development. Actually, programming language helps an app to do different things like enabling dark themes, mathematical calculations, saving data, communicate with the servers, etc. So, programming is a must need for making a standard android app. There is some alternative platform that can build some apps without coding like apps geyser. But those apps are not standard, device friendly. You can add limited functionality. So, learning a programming language is a must need for quality app development. But the question is which language you should learn for app development. The answer is simple if you already know the basics of Java then start with Java. But if you are totally new in this programming sector then start with Kotlin. I think everyone should start using Kotlin because it is lite and easy to write.
You also need to learn XML. It actually for design. You don’t need so much time to learn that. You can easily use the android studio design tool to add different things like button, image view, web view, check box, and many other things. Proper knowledge of xml can help you a lot to fix design issues.
Learning Source:
Google is the best place for learning this type of thing. You can find many YouTube tutorials, eBooks, web documentation. My main learning source was YouTube. So, the recommendation is to start with a step-by-step video tutorial on YouTube. Just search on YouTube ‘Android Development Beginner Tutorial’ and select a series tutorial that you like. If you stack at any situation, “Stack Overflow” can help you. Android Developer website is another great place for learning different things. Anytime you face any development or coding related problem just run the debugging and copy the bug info and search it on google. There is a huge chance that already someone faced that problem and fixed it.
Ways to earn by app development:
There is a different method you can follow to make money by developing android apps. In this segment, we going to cover the steps and ways that can help you to earn money.
Monetize Your App:
There are many ways to monetize an app. Ad mob is a great example. Facebook ads, sponsor ads are also great mediums. Actually, you can place your own services as ads or even you can do it for other organizations. In-app purchase is another way of earning. You can sell your full version app to a user using an in-app purchase.
Publish Your App on Play Store:
Publish your app on the play store and focus on marketing. You need 25$ to create a play console account. This is actually for your play console account lifetime fee. Before uploading or publishing an app you have to research similar apps and how they are showing their apps.
Work as a freelance app developer:
You can work for other people or organizations. Create gigs in the freelance marketplace and work for the client. In this method, you don’t need to think so much about marketing and management. But if you have a unique and problem solver app and you are really passionate about it then my suggestion is to focus on your dream app. It can change your future. You can earn more than freelancing. Here is some marketplace you can work: Toptal, Fiver, Freelancer, Upwork.
Things You Have to Remember:
Programming is not so much easy. App development is all about ideas, art, technology. As an app developer, you have to face a lot of problems, errors, bugs. This is part of our life. Never give up only after some try. Remember solving problems is not easy. Learn, read, watch, and try to apply. Never compare your level 1 with others level 10.