The notion of taking an idea from the drawing board to the App Store can sometime be very daunting, therefore we have decide to create a small road map that will guide you through the most important steps of App Development.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why people don’t make their dreams of creating their own App a reality is that they simply don’t know where to start, or how to get the ball rolling. Let’s be honest even the most seasoned developer can sometimes get a little overwhelmed with everything there is to know about iOS Development.

We have divided this article into four parts:

1. Register as a developer with Apple and download Xcode

2. Getting familiar with the language

3. Patience lots of patience

4. Creating a developer account

Register as a developer with Apple and download Xcode

If you are serious about becoming an App Developer the first thing you should do is register as a developer with Apple. Not only is it totally free but it also gives you access to a plethora of resources. Furthermore you will get access to Apple’s developer kit.

Another good reason for registering is that Apple has uploaded a whole library of sample codes that you can use in your apps.

All you have to do is head over to developer.apple.com/ios and then click the Register button in the top-right hand corner. They will now ask you if you want to connect it with an iTunes account, after that there is a survey to get you started.

The next thing you will want to do is download Xcode, you can do this by opening the Mac App Store. If you can’t find it on the front page then just do a quick search for it.

Getting familiar with the language

Great now that you have registered with Apple and have installed Xcode you are that much closer to becoming a real developer. Now before you start coding your first app you might want to get to familiar with the language. The first thing you need to do is get an understanding of Objective-C, this is the language that most developers use to access the Cocoa Touch (API for building iOS device software) frameworks.

Stanford has some great courses on iTunes U to get you started, other great resources can be found on the iOS Dev Center by Apple.

Patience, lots of patience

You need to understand with as with everything else in life developing an app is not something you just do over night, it takes lots of practice before you can develop your own apps. This is also one of the biggest reasons why people give up on app development, they simply don’t have the time it takes to learn the language needed to create their apps.

Creating a Developer account

Great so now you have created your first application and are ready to test it on an actual device, or submit it to the App Store, well this is when you will need to create a paid developer account, don’t worry this isn’t going to be some expensive endeavor it only costs $99/year to join the program and trust me it will be the best money you have ever spent.

Not only can you submit apps to the App Store, but it also gives you access to iTunes Connect and furthermore you can download beta versions of iOS before they’re released to the public.

Conclusion

I hope this short guide has given you a better idea of how to get started as an iOS developer. I am not going to lie, getting from the beginning stages to creating an app from the App Store takes a lot of time and isn’t something that happens overnight. But remember, once you have created your first app or have submitted it to the App Store there is no greater feeling in the world. Good luck on your path to becoming an App Developer.

If you’re looking to add some fun to your site, while still making good use of icons, then take a look at this set of adorably entertaining Skewed Icons! Normally this quirky icons set sells for $15, but for a limited time, you can get all 240 Skewed Icons for just $7! That’s more than 50% off!

Highlights:

• 240 Vector Icons
  This bundle, created by Denise Chandler, includes 240 icons that are sure to put a smile on your visitors’ faces. Besides the standard everyday icons, you’ll find a slew of new ones like rolodex cards, flowers, monster faces, money, food, drinks, clocks, pictures, balloons, T-shirts, TVs, and more.
• Completely Scalable
  All graphics are infinitely scalable vector icons, so you can make them as large as you’d like to fit your current project.
• Various Formats
  Icons come in multiple formats including .psd, .png, eps, .ai, and .pdf, so you can play around with them in your favorite graphic design program.
• Royalty Free
  All 240 Skewed Icons include a royalty-free license, so you can use them for personal or commercial projects without any credit necessary.

Price:

Normally this quirky icons set sells for $15, but for a limited time, you can get all 240 Skewed Icons for just $7! That’s more than 50% off!

When you launch your app, those first few days are the most important. Thats when you’ll get the most exposure, you’ll appear high up in the “newly released” lists, people will want to write about you, and heck you might even get featured if you’re lucky.

That’s great and all, but if you wait until your app is launched to start promoting it, you’ve already lost the highly competitive race to the top.

If you want to win or even finish the race, you have to think about marketing and promotion before you even start building your app.

Pre-marketing your app is the process of generating interest and buzz about your app before you launch. Register the domain name, build a landing page, and start generating buzz while you build your app. When launch day comes, you want a mob of people in the hopper itching with excitement to install and try your shiny new app. Consider reaching out to online influencers with branded giveaways such as promotional calendars with your website and launch date marked on them. They will appreciate the useful gift and be more willing to share your app with their networks.

AppifyWP just released a free WordPress theme called AppifyWP Launchpad to help developers do just that.

It features a simplistic layout with templates for iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Mac, and PC apps. Also included is a custom MailChimp widget so you can collect email address from people who are interested and notify them when you launch. You can add up to 3 slideshow screenshots or a video within the device to tease people of the awesomeness coming their way. If you want more than just a landing page, you can add WordPress pages or posts and link to them from within one of two widget areas included in the theme.

When you’re ready to launch your app, if you decide to upgrade to the full version of AppifyWP, all of your Launchpad settings will transfer automatically and you’ll get all the added features of a full blown website, more screenshots, the ability to select multiple-platforms (if your app is a hybrid app), and lots more ways to customize your site.

Having an effective landing page combined with the pre-marketing elbow grease will help set you up for a successful app launch and long term sales cycle.

Get the course C Programming: iOS Development Starts Here AND Objective C for Beginners, together for the low price of just $89! That’s more than 55% off the regular price of $198 for this bundle.

Here’s some info on each of the two courses that you’ll get access to:

Course 1: C Programming: iOS Development Starts Here

C is the basis of many programming languages in use today: C++, Objective C, PHP, Java, and even Microsoft’s .net languages. Sure, it’s been around since the 70s, but it’s still used today in applications where speed is critical – like financial applications, video games, and complex engineering.

In this video tutorial, master trainer Mark Lassoff goes over all of the important concepts you need to learn C programming. After completing the course, you’ll be ready to write and adjust C applications. There’s no programming experience required for this course.

This course is suitable for:

• People without programming experience who want to eventually create an iOS application
• People who want to learn programming and need a good starting point
• Students taking a programming class who need supplementary material
• People who want to pick up computer programming as a hobby
• Web designers who want to start programming

Course 2: Objective C for Beginners

Once you’ve mastered C, it’s time to move on to Objective C with Objective C for Beginners. Objective C is a cool derivative of C that adds all sorts of functions and features. If you’ve ever tried to learn iOS development but found it too difficult to understand, this is the course you need! In this Objective C tutorial you’ll learn everything you need to know to start learning to develop iOS apps.

You’ll start with the basics, Objective C variables, and move through more complex concepts like the Objective C foundation classes, data structures, and creating your own classes and objects. This class contains over four hours of video lecture, lab exercises, and more!

You’ll work with instructor Mark Lassoff to master the concepts of Objective C programming used by iPhone and iPad application developers worldwide.

This course is suitable for:

• Programmers who want to create iOS applications but don’t know Objective C
• People just starting their programming career who know some C but want to get into iOS
• Developers who want to make iOS applications as a hobby, but don’t use Objective C
• People who have attempted iOS development but need more of “the basics”
• Anyone who wants to learn a new programming language and have fun

Read more info about these two courses

About the instructor:

Mark Lassoff is the man behind LearnToProgram.tv, a leading corporate technical training firm that provides training for software, web, and mobile developers worldwide. Their courses have taken place at Fortune 500 companies, training centers, and Federal government organizations. Now you can experience the same great instruction that you get in one of their classroom sessions - at a small fraction of the price!

The release of a retina screen will pose a problem that was seen when the iPhone 4 was released. Apps needed to include high resolution graphics so they won’t look blurry on the device.

At App Design Vault, we have decided to pre-empt the situation and released a Photoshop design template that is a massive 2048×1536 pixels in the resolution.

Click here to see exactly how large it is.

The best part is that you can now download the template for free here. It is time to start future proofing your apps so they can retain their crisp look on the iPad.

People have called us crazy to give this away as a free download. We don’t care, we just want to get this into the hands of as many people as possible.

Please prove them wrong by doing this..

1. Download the PSD template here
2. On that same page, please click on the Google +1 button or the Tweet button to share it with your friends.

Thank you, I can’t wait for the iPad 3 to be released. I’m sure you can’t wait too.

And that’s where this phenomenal bundle from App Design Vault comes in! Included here are four iPhone App designs that are completely customizable. All for only $47, an 83% savings over the normal price of $280!

Each theme is professionally designed and it includes over 20 design elements, all sliced up .PNG files ready to go into your app design. There’s a sample Xcode project that shows you how to use your theme so you can be up and running in seconds. PSD files are also included for more flexibility.

Here are some details on what you get with each theme:

Social Boo
Created specifically for Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare apps. It comes with four screens: a list of social updates, a user profile, a splash screen, and an icon. It also includes design elements like buttons, progress bars, etc. View template

Pricing:

Get ALL 4 of these app templates today for just $47 instead of $280!  Save over 83% off the retail price!

But those guys that made it to the list do not have special powers. Not at all. One of the secret weapons used by Top App Developers is…. Design.

Why Developers Do not Make Use Of Not So Secret Weapon

This widely known secret weapon is not widely used. Why? Here are a couple of reasons why

Not Enough Cash to Hire A designer

You will have to pay upwards of $2000 to hire a designer to design an app and it’s icon. You will agree that it is a brave thing to do since you are not sure we will get a return on that investment when the App hits the store.

You can also try hosting a 99-designs contest. Sometimes you may be successful, sometimes not. To get great designs, you will have to guarantee the contest and offer a minimum of $500 as a prize.

Spending hours trying to go DIY

You can also try the DIY route and fire up Photoshop. The problem with this is you end up spending hours and hours and then end up with a design your 3-year old niece can come up with. Ugh, painful.

How to get Great Design for Your App Without Spending $2000+ 

Well, have no fear, there is a Vault located 5km under a bank in Switzerland packed full App templates.

Tope, call him the Vault Overseer, has released a bundle of iOS App Design themes worth its weight in gold. All specially for the Mobile Orchard audience.

In this bundle, you will get four iPhone App themes. Each theme comes with

• Over 20 design elements per theme. Sliced .PNG ready to go into you new app design.
• Sample Xcode project that will show you how to use the theme. You can be up and running in literally seconds.
• .PSD Photoshop files. Especially if you are up to the task of tweaking the theme

Here are some more details on what you get with the themes in the bundle

Social Boo – Facebook, Twitter, Fourquare is within reach

You can use this to design your Facebook and Twitter apps and make it look amazing.

The theme has 4 screens. A list of social updates. Another screen for the user profile, a splash screen and an icon. Included in the theme are also design elements like Buttons, Progress bars etc.

PodRadio – Multimedia design on Steroids

PodRadio is a Multimedia App Theme. Do you need designs for an App that plays audio or video? PodRadio has you sorted. There is a screen with a list of Album titles, a detail screen with red glowing player controls. Fast forward, Rewind, Play, Pause, the works.

The app has a nice leather navigation bar that makes your app look classy. You can also use this navigation bar in any other apps you have.

Foody – Classy Recipe design

Recipe apps sell well on the App store. That is why Top Chefs like Jamie Oliver are coming out with their own apps too. Foody has a brown leather feel to it. It takes its inspiration from the the Find My Friends app from Apple.

This goes to prove that you can take these design concepts and use them for any kind of app.

Foody has a screen with a list of dishes, a detail screen with a list of ingredients and a framed image for the dishes.

PhotoPad – iPad PhotoBooks with a Twitter Interface.

Do you like the cool interface on the Twitter iPad App? Well, it so happens that you can use the interface for almost any kind of iPad app.

PhotoPad is the proof. It can be used to design a Photo-book app for weddings, baby photos and holidays. You get Photoshop files and the Xcode project included in the bundle.

Get the Special Deal Bundle – Only for a limited time

Each theme in the bundle is sold for $70 separately, which amounts to $280 in total. As a special discount for Mobile Orchard reader , you can get all themes in the bundle for $70.

The bundle is only available until the 5th of December, 2011.

If you think it is for you, go ahead and download it now.

App Design Vault offers a lifetime money back guarantee on this deal. That’s right! If you buy it and don’t like it, you can come back to App Design Vault in 4 years and still get your money back.

“I don’t have cash to spend on hiring a designer.”

“If I had some cool templates or themes to work from I’d be all set.”

“I don’t want to hire a designer. I’d rather learn to do it myself!”

Well good news. It is for these reasons the Mobile App Design Starter Kit was created. You get everything you need to quickly design apps for iPhone / iPhone4 / iPhone4s, iPad and Android, without the expense of hiring a designer.

The kit includes editable Photoshop and Pixelmator files, and over 300 custom and standard design elements for each platform. All assets are pixel perfect, vector shape layer elements created by mobile app design expert, Jen Gordon.

This kit saves you thousands on hiring a professional mobile designer and is regularly sold for $199, but in this deal, you get it for just $77 (regular $199).

See what you get:

Here’s what’s in the kit:

This update includes many requested features such as multi-platform support, portrait/landcape orientations, and a revamped settings page to quickly configure your site.

Check out the demo site and the video to see what’s behind the curtain.

Giveaway

Cory over at AppifyWP was nice enough to offer Mobile Orchard readers a chance to win an AppifyWP license. He is giving away one regular license and one unlimited license.

To win all you have to do is:

1. Follow @appifywp on twitter
2. Send a Tweet: “Following @appifywp for a chance to win a free copy of the AppifyWP WordPress elegant themes courtesy of @mobileorchard http://appifywp.com“

The winners will be chosen on September 8th. Good luck!

Then there’s the other 20% that are backed by passionate designers and developers changing how we interact with technology. People like Mobile Orchard readers These apps deserve recognition.

Even great apps get negative feedback, and that’s OK. Feedback is a great thing when we can learn and improve from it. What’s broken is that when someone leaves a negative review in the app store, it scars your app for life, you can’t respond to it, and you can’t learn more about the problem in order to fix it quickly.

Harsh app reviews

Most of the developers I know building great apps tell me how app users are so quick to make a harsh review without much use or thought. I can only imagine how frustrating this is to deal with if you’ve put a lot of time and effort into creating something useful.

This is human nature though. When we’re frustrated with something, we want to vent, and in the heat of the moment we usually say things we don’t mean and without much forethought.

Get feedback coming to you and not the app store

As an app developer you want feedback (especially heated negative feedback) to come directly to you and never find it’s way into the app store.

When the feedback comes to you instead of the app store, you control your destiny:

• You can turn your angry customer into a happy one by promptly responding and supporting them
• You can learn more about the problems and fix them faster
• You receive less negative reviews in the app store

It’s a win/win.

Creating an outlet for customer feedback

One of my personal favorite apps for taking and sharing panoramas, 360 Panorama by Occipital, does a really good job at keeping negative feedback out of the app store while helping disgruntled customers. They have two buttons, “Send Feedback”, and “Send Love”. Send Feedback opens up a screen which looks and feels like a review, but sends an email directly to the developer. Send love takes you to the app store for a review.

As you can see they have quite a good rating, which is well deserved, but it wasn’t always that good.

Crittercism is a handy framework for quickly incorporating a feedback mechanism into your app. Shacked Software recently incorporated this into Flickpad and has reported good results so far. Crittercism loads a support forum where users can submit bugs, ask questions, suggest feedback, and spread the love for your app.

Google+/Hangouts
I was recently chatting with my friend Nick who is one of the developers behind Diptic, a top photo app in the iTunes store, and he mentioned experimenting with Google+ and “hangouts” to field support questions. Great use of modern (and free) tools to improve customer support.

Appirator is a class that you can drop into any iPhone app that will help remind your users to review your app on the App Store. This technique can be effective to remind people to rate your app. Displaying the review reminder after several uses will help ensure that only people who are enjoying your app see the reminder.

Frequently update your app

Not only do updates reset the bar in the iTunes app store to that you can re-establish a good rating, but they (hopefully) improve your app. Fix the bugs and add new features, even minor updates in small increments can have a positive impact.

There is no silver bullet

Achieving a great app store ranking isn’t easy, but with some conscious effort and planning you can maximize your rating and avoid the permanent scaring of harsh reviews.

In recap:

• Create something useful
• Provide an outlet for feedback other than the app store and make it very accessible within your app
• Quickly respond to your customers
• Quickly fix bugs and update your app
• Remind frequent users to rate your app in the app store

Cory Shaw is a user experience designer, founder of User Kind, and creator of AppifyWP, a WordPress theme for app developers and one of the most elegant themes to help App developers quickly create a stunning site to market their apps.