No matter how shiny and new something is right out of the box, eventually, it will need a little TLC to keep it that way. It’s as true of that hot new phone you had to have as it is of the Apps running on it.

Mobile apps are no longer limited to games and social media; today, mobile apps are as ingrained in our day-to-day lives as our morning coffee. The average person spends over 3 hours a day on their mobile devices, with most of that time spent in mobile and web apps. From a consumer perspective, these apps help provide quick and easy access to information and resources. For businesses, mobile and web apps allow for improved customer experience, increased viability, and most importantly, increased sales.

Recognizing the vast potential apps provide to your business, you wisely invested in a great app. However, the work doesn’t end there. After the fact, regular Maintenance is just as crucial to your app’s success as the initial development process was. And here’s why.

App Maintenance is About More than Fixing What’s Broken

Obviously, if there is a critical error with your app, limiting or preventing its functioning, you would immediately seek help. However, there are many other types of App Maintenance services that not only help to avoid these types of critical errors from occurring, they also help protect your investment.

• Emergency maintenance: addresses issues that are of immediate concern

• Preventative maintenance: seeks to identify and eliminate potential problems before a critical error occurs

• Adaptive maintenance: keeps your app current with hardware and software updates

• Perfective maintenance: digital technology isn’t stagnant. Perfective maintenance aims to keep your app up to date with all the features and functionality tech-savvy users will expect

• Corrective maintenance: repairs non-critical but significant errors found in the design, logic, or coding of your app

Some of these maintenance issues are clearly significant, like emergency maintenance if your app isn’t working, or repairing bugs affecting the app’s performance. But why is continued app maintenance so essential?

Refining UI/UX

Out with the old and in with the new could be the motto of modern digital technology. Styles and trends change quickly, and competition in the mobile and web app field is fierce. To keep your users engaged and attract new ones, you need to provide outstanding UI/UX.

Keeping Up With New Features

Regardless of how advanced your current app is, there is always a new technology just around the corner. Ten years ago, not many could have predicted some of the standard features in mobile and web apps today, like AI-powered chatbots; app maintenance helps you keep up with a rapidly changing environment and changing user expectations.

Managing Upgrades

It’s hard to stay on top of all the iOS and Android version updates; however, failing to do so could affect your app’s functionality. These lapses in performance and the resulting downtime as upgrades are rushed to be implemented are annoying for users and could lead them to abandon your app altogether. A regular maintenance schedule helps to reduce costly downtimes and embarrassing performance issues.

Keeping Your App Secure

When you handle personal user information, you have an obligation to keep that information secure. Cyber hackers are always looking for their next victim, and for companies who suffer a security breach, regaining user confidence can be challenging. App maintenance helps to keep your security protocols tight and users safe.

Growing With Your Business

Even a reasonably robust app will require maintenance to keep up with long-term business growth. In addition to the challenges we have already mentioned – keeping up with user preferences, digital trends, and performance issues – your app will require maintenance to ensure that it can scale with your business and maintain optimal performance.

It is estimated that 40% of apps are ignored or uninstalled after one month. Don’t become a sad statistic; if you have already invested in creating an app, you should also be investing in regular app maintenance to keep it working for your business.

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