Finding and testing an app idea before you invest

Many app projects fail for the same reason: they were built before anyone checked that people wanted them. Yet testing an idea costs almost nothing today. Here’s where the ideas that work come from, and how to put them to the test in a few days.

Where good ideas come from

For a shop, an association or an independent, the good idea is almost never an invention. It’s the answer to a question your customers already ask you:

• Repeated questions: “Are you open on Sunday?”, “Any places left?”, “What’s today’s menu?”. Every question that keeps coming back is an app section.
• Tasks that eat your time: bookings by phone, reminders by text, paper sign-ups.
• What your customers already do elsewhere: ordering from a competitor’s app, or going through a platform that takes a commission.
• What you already do by hand: a WhatsApp broadcast list, a Facebook group, a spreadsheet of members.

Checking there’s a real need

Before building anything, ask ten customers three questions:

1. How do you currently… (book, order, keep informed)?
2. What annoys you about the way you do it?
3. If you had an app for this, would you install it? What should it do first?

Listen to the answers to the first question more than to the third. People are polite: they say yes to an idea. What they already do tells you far more.

Testing in a few days, without a big budget

The best way to test an app idea is to publish a first version, small but real, and watch what happens.

Start with the web app

It’s online the same day, with no developer account and no review from Apple or Google. Your customers install it from a link or a QR code. If the idea doesn’t take off, you’ve lost no more than a month’s subscription. If it does, the same app moves to the stores without redoing anything.

Keep one feature

A test app does one thing well: booking, or ordering, or informing. The rest will come if the test succeeds.

Prototype with AI

For a specific feature (a quiz, a calculator, a price simulator), the AI extension builder makes it from a description of a few words. It’s the fastest way to show an idea to real customers. See creating games and tools with AI.

The right numbers to watch

• Install rate: out of a hundred customers who see the QR code, how many install?
• Return: how many open the app again the following week?
• Action: how many book, order or sign up?

Set a threshold before you start, for example “50 installs and 10 bookings in a month”. Above it, carry on. Below it, change the idea, not just the colour of the buttons.

Once the idea is validated

Write your app brief, add the missing sections, then move to the App Store and Google Play. The steps are in publishing on the stores, and the timeline in how long does it take to build an app.

At Maymoune, every feature is included in all three plans, detailed on the pricing page:

• Starter, €19 a month: your web app, installed from a link or a QR code.
• Ultra, €59 a month: the same, plus the iPhone, iPad and Android app on the stores.
• Ultra Lifetime, €2,999: one single payment, with publication on the App Store and Google Play included.

For inspiration, browse the guide by trade or open the examples on your phone.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if an app idea is good?

Ask ten customers how they do things today and what annoys them, then publish a small real version and see whether they install and use it.

How can I test an app without a big budget?

With a web app: it’s online the same day, with no developer account, and installs from a link or a QR code.

How many features for a first version?

Just one, done well: booking, ordering or information. The rest will come if the test succeeds.

Do I have to rebuild the app to move to the stores?

No. With Maymoune, it’s the same app with the same content.

How much does a test cost?

The Starter plan costs €19 a month with no commitment. Details are on the pricing page.