What methods do you guys use for fast releases in mobile apps? Is it better to optimize first or just go straight to the app stores? How much do app size and load time really matter in this case?
What are the quick deployment methods?
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I also rushed the first release while developing a new app, and as a result, the stores caused serious optimization issues. You should focus on optimizing first and then measuring performance with the tools recommended by the stores. Size and loading time are really crucial—users don’t want to wait on their first try.
When I started a small mobile project at a startup last year, this was actually the thing I thought about the most. At first, we started with "let's just push something out quickly, we'll optimize later," but later we realized that without some optimization, the release process was a complete nightmare.
First, we reduced the app size by 30% by compressing images and removing unnecessary libraries during compilation. Then, when we got the "Android App Bundle" error after submitting to the Play Store, we had to restructure the project a bit. Even though we eventually published it directly, if we had done early optimization, we wouldn’t have had to deal with either the users' loading time or the market's requirements. Size and loading time are really critical because most users give up within the first 3 seconds.
Last year, while trying to launch a small mobile payment app at a fintech startup, the CEO pressured me with, "Get it on the market in three days." Trusting my previous experience, I published the APK without optimizing it first. It went live on Google Play, but at 2.5MB, it faced harsh criticism—download rates dropped by 40%, and some negative reviews even called it "old and slow."
For the second version, I reduced the size to 800KB, cut down on network requests, and removed the splash screen. This time, download rates increased by 18%. Turns out, market algorithms prioritize criteria like "load time under 2 seconds" and "app size under 1MB"—something I only realized later. So, optimizing is a must, but you also have to play by the market’s rules.