Today, the eLearning industry is booming and reaching a global market of $539.88 billion by 2028. Digital learning strategies in companies have made native mobile apps one of the most promising tools that assure an engaging and accessible learning experience.

Such native eLearning applications have great features like allowing access to things offline, offering personalized learning paths, and giving learners push notifications to keep them active. Indeed, they can make a big difference in how we learn and train by leveraging the mobile device’s unique capabilities.

This guide will take you through the critical steps to creating an eLearning app, from ideation to launch.

Table of Contents:

What is a Native App?

A native app is software developed for specific smartphone operating systems, most commonly Android and iOS. Since these apps can use device-specific operating systems, they perform better and faster and are more flexible than alternative app types.

If the native app is meant for use on different devices, developers will develop various versions specific to each device’s operating system. For example, Uber is a native app available in two different versions, one for the iOS platform and the other for Android.

Building a native app is time-consuming and resource-consuming, but the investment pays off in the form of a greater user experience, which is crucial if you wish to retain your app users.

Also Read: Different Types of Mobile Applications: Native, Hybrid & Web Apps

Benefits of Native Apps

Native apps offer several advantages over web-based learning solutions. They provide a seamless user experience, faster performance, and access to device-specific features. Additionally, native apps can be optimized for specific platforms, ensuring optimal performance and user satisfaction.

Here are some benefits of native apps:

  1. Performance: These apps offer better performance than web-based or hybrid apps because their components are better optimized.
  2. User Interface: Since a native app uses a device-specific operating system it runs more smoothly, giving a truly native experience that, the user is familiar with.
  3. Security: These apps are more secure as they don’t depend upon third-party frameworks.
  4. Access to Hardware: Native apps can take advantage of all the device’s hardware features.
  5. Access to Developers: Many developers are focused more on native apps, and so they can solve many problems related to animations or UI.
  6. Set–Up Cost: It is easy to set up a native app; a hybrid app, on the other hand, needs configuration to an external framework, which is a time-consuming process.
  7. Stability: Most native apps are backed by Apple (iOS) and Google (Android). Thus, it is highly unlikely that these companies would drop their own operating systems, which in turn, translates into long-term stability for the app.

Native Apps for eLearning

Now that we know what a native app is, let’s understand how to build one for eLearning.

According to Forbes, the eLearning industry is expected to grow to $325 billion by the year 2025. As more and more people use their mobile devices to access their content, it becomes crystal clear that native eLearning apps are the way forward for corporations, digital publishers, and educational institutions to disseminate content to their end users. Many companies are now investing in building their own native apps for eLearning.

As mentioned above, developing native apps is a time and resource-consuming process and not an easy endeavor. It requires technical expertise and experience to build the app and then provide post-launch support services.

Tips to Create an App for eLearning

It is with this in mind, we provide some tips that can help you build a native app for your eLearning requirements.

1. Understand Your Audience

The first and foremost step is to identify your target audience or the end-users who will access your eLearning content through the native app. Questions such as who is your audience and why your audience will use your content will help you understand your future users and set the foundation to build your native app.

2. Understand Why You Wish to Create a Native App

So why do you want a native app? Is it to help elementary school kids with their lessons, help someone learn a foreign language, or provide your employees with critical information to better perform their jobs? Once you know your goals, you will be able to know how to create an eLearning app and the technical specifications, along with all the necessary tools and features.

3. Choose the Media Formats to Create Your Content

You can structure your content to contain text, audio, video, graphics, animations, and much more. Your native app can use any one or any combination of the formats listed above to enhance your content. For example, gamification will be fantastic for young children, whereas busy professionals on the move may need audio. So, choosing a format that will work best for your audience requires careful consideration.

4. Make Learning Fun and Smart

The whole point of digital learning is that you can make storytelling more immersive and engaging. We all have our procrastination moments. So, it is important to add elements that will keep learners engaged and motivated. Also, make sure your learners know where they stopped last time and the progress they have made along the way.

5. Create Technical Specifications

Like any other app development project, you need to create your technical specifications document, which describes the functions and features of the native app to be developed with the minute detail possible. In case you don’t have in-house technical expertise, you can approach your native app development company to help you do it.

6. Select Your Developer

This is perhaps one of the most crucial steps in developing a native app. Realize that developing a custom app requires money and other resources so the developer you choose can either make or break your project. You can go by word-of-mouth or search online.

Make sure that the native app developer you choose has a proven track record in app development. Also, it is a good idea to consider developers who specialize in eLearning because they can help you plug loopholes that you have not considered in your technical and other specifications.

Also, ensure that the terms of engagement are clearly specified. And it’s not all over with the signing of the contract. It is a good idea to keep track of the development process until the release so that there are no untoward surprises later.

7. Test Your Native App After the Launch

Once you launch your native app, make sure to conduct extensive testing by your end users. Have them test the app and provide their feedback. This will allow you to identify any errors or glitches which you can ask your native app developer to address.

Also Read: Key Differences Between Web, Hybrid, and Native Apps: Pros and Cons

Conclusion

As the eLearning industry and the number of smartphone users grow, native apps have become the new trend for imparting learning and training. To take advantage of this new opportunity, you must define your learning goals, select the appropriate learning format, create detailed technical specifications, and then choose a native app developer company that can give shape to your vision.

Provide valuable inputs you may have overlooked, and design a native app in tandem with your eLearning goals. All these steps will help you successfully build a native app for your eLearning needs.

Hurix Digital offers extensive experience in designing and developing innovative learning solutions, including powerful native apps. We can help you translate your vision into reality, from concept to launch.

Explore our eLearning app development services and discuss how Hurix can help you unlock the full potential of mobile learning.