You’ve put in endless hours of hard work, design, and development to create your mobile app. After overcoming various challenges, your app is now live and ready for users to download. But how do you know if it’s performing at its best? Once your app is out in the world, you need to make sure it’s doing its job correctly.

These days, a thorough examination of your app’s performance is not just a good practice; it’s a necessity. This is where the term mobile testing lab comes into the spotlight. It offers a platform to analyze, and improve your app’s performance.

But why is it so vital to do the performance analysis of your mobile app after it’s out in the world? Let’s uncover the reasons that make this post-deployment phase a crucial part of your mobile app.

What Does Good App Performance Really Mean?

Well, it’s not just about fancy numbers and statistics. It’s about how the app actually works in the real world.

Let’s break it down with a simple example: Imagine you’re in a rush and don’t have time to make your morning coffee. You decide to use a popular coffee shop’s app to order and pay for your coffee on the go. The idea is to come by, pick up your coffee, and be on your way, just like in their ads.

But here’s the catch: when you open the app, it takes so long to load that you could have made coffee at home or waited in the store’s line. Most people, even if they’re desperate for their caffeine, would give up on a slow app and never use it again.

In this situation, app performance means that the app should open quickly and smoothly, allowing you to get your coffee without any hassle. But it’s not just about the initial loading time; it’s also about how well the app works, how fast its features and functions appear, and how it responds when you tap or swipe on your screen. In simple terms, it’s about how well the app does what it’s supposed to do and how smoothly it does it.

Why Should You Check Your Mobile App’s Performance After It’s Released?

Analyzing the performance of your mobile app after you’ve released it is more than just a good idea; it’s essential. Let’s understand why this is so important:

• User Satisfaction

Your mobile app’s success relies on keeping your users happy. If your app is slow, unresponsive, or crashes, it’s a sure way to annoy your users. And annoyed users tend to uninstall apps and leave bad reviews. Analyzing your app’s performance helps you make sure it’s a smooth and enjoyable experience for your users, keeping them satisfied.

• Bug Squashing

No app is perfect from the beginning. Even with testing before release, some bugs might remain hidden. These bugs can cause all sorts of issues, from minor annoyances to major malfunctions. Performance analysis helps you spot these bugs, squash them, and make your app more reliable.

• App Store Rankings

If your app isn’t performing well, it can get lost like other unstable apps. App stores take into account factors like app stability and user ratings when deciding how to display an app. High-performing apps often get better visibility, which can lead to more downloads.

• User Retention

Getting users to install your app is one thing, but getting them to keep using it is another. If your app crashes or performs poorly, users are likely to abandon it by analyzing performance, you increase the chances of users sticking around and becoming long-term fans of your app.

• Positive Reputation

Word of mouth is a powerful force in the app world. When your app works well and consistently, users are more likely to recommend it to others. A good reputation can lead to organic growth as more people learn about and download your app.

How Can You Analyze the Performance of Your Mobile App after Deployment?

Analyzing the performance of your mobile app after releasing is important. To do this, you need a Performance Testing Strategy. Let’s explore the process of testing your mobile app’s performance in a simple and straightforward way:

• Match Test Goals with Business Needs

Before you begin testing, align your testing objectives with your app’s main purpose. This means understanding what your app needs to achieve for your business.

• Set Performance Benchmarks

To know whether your app is doing well, you need to set performance benchmarks. These are goals you want your app to meet. Here are some key performance indicators (KPIs) to consider:

• Response Time: How quickly the app responds to user actions.
• Error Rate: The number of errors or bugs in the app.
• Request Volume: The number of requests the app can handle.
• User Activity: How many users can use the app at the same time.
• Time-to-Interactivity: How long it takes for the app to be usable after you open it.
• Blank Screen Time: The time a user sees a blank screen.
• Loading Animation Time: How long loading animations take.
• Video Quality: The quality of videos in your app.
• Load Time: How quickly your app loads.

• Prepare a Testing Environment

To test your app, you’ll need a suitable environment. This involves using emulators and real devices. Emulators help you understand how your app behaves and looks on various devices. You can also use load-testing tools to check your app’s performance. Software developers and testers use these tools to understand how users experience the app.

To test your app, you need a reliable testing environment that simplifies the process, making use of cloud-based service like LambdaTest. LambdaTest is an AI-powered test orchestration and execution platform that lets you run manual and automated tests at scale with over 3000+ real devices, browsers, and OS combinations.

Using LambdaTest Android Emulator for app testing is just what you might be looking for. Let’s explore how this tool and its features can make your app testing breeze.

• Instant Access: With LambdaTest, you can get into Android app testing without the inconvenience of installation or complex configurations. It offers instant access to an Android emulator online. The instant access makes it easy for you to run automation tests, debug your web and mobile apps, and ensure compatibility across various Android devices.

• Test On a Wide Range of Android Devices: One of the major challenges in app testing is making sure that your app performs well across the several Android devices. LambdaTest’s Android Emulator lets you upload your .apk file and start testing immediately. This allows you to assess your app’s functionality on different virtual Android devices.

• Debug Your Android Apps: LambdaTest’s Android Emulator lets you pinpoint inconsistency issues using native debugging tools. The real-time debugging feature allows you to adjust elements and validate their behavior.

• Execute Automated App Testing: LambdaTest Android Emulator supports a wide range of automation scripts, including Appium, Espresso, XCUI, and more. These tools help you run your tests at a lightning pace. In addition, these tools provide you with reliable test results. Automated testing also saves you time.

• App Testing on Your Locally Hosted Apps: If you’re testing apps that are locally or privately hosted, LambdaTest’s Android Emulator offers a secure environment for device compatibility and responsiveness testing. This particular feature of the LambdaTest lets your app perform well across different operating system versions, regardless of where it’s hosted.

• Geolocation Testing: LambdaTest’s Android Emulator allows you to perform geolocation testing across 27+ countries, including India, Japan, the United States, Canada, Germany, the UK, Australia, and more.

• Fit Testing into Development Structure

The way you test your app should also align with how your organization develops it. If your team follows an agile approach, testing should be continuous and integrated into development. For a waterfall approach, testers need to report bugs regularly and perform regression tests. This alignment helps in smooth communication and decision-making.

• Test for Device Variation

It’s important to ensure your app works on various versions of operating systems. This means testing on different types of devices. You need to make sure your app functions well on all these systems.

• Prioritize User Experience (UX) Testing

Before your app can be accepted by app stores, it must offer a good user experience. Testers need to check for an intuitive interface, easy navigation, app layout, and how the app handles errors.

• Test Under Different Conditions

Apps need to perform consistently, whether they are used on high-end or low-end devices. They should be able to handle heavy server loads and be resilient to changes in bandwidth and network speed. During load testing, testers also need to see how the app responds when there’s a surge in user traffic.

LambdaTest makes sure your app performs well under a wide range of conditions. Smartphones and tablets, old and new, Android and iOS – this is the range of devices that LambdaTest covers. What makes it stand out is its inclusion of even the latest devices that might not be accessible on other cloud testing platforms.

• Handling Heavy Server Loads

Apps often face a big challenge: lots of people using them all at once. LambdaTest can help you with this too. It lets you test your app under heavy traffic. This way, you can be sure your app doesn’t get stuck or slow down when many people are using it.

• Resilience to Bandwidth and Network Changes

Network conditions can change in the blink of an eye. Sometimes it’s fast, and other times it’s slow. LambdaTest lets you test your app’s resilience to these changes, such as fluctuations in bandwidth and network speed. 

LambdaTest helps you see how your app copes with these changes. So, your app won’t mess up when the internet isn’t perfect.

• A Surge in User Traffic

Every app dreams of having a surge in user traffic, but are you ready for it? LambdaTest helps you test for that as well. With LambdaTest, you can simulate increased user traffic during testing. This means you can be confident that your app won’t break when lots of people start using it.

By following these steps and integrating a Performance Testing Strategy, you ensure that your mobile app not only reaches users but also provides them with a reliable experience.

In simple words, LambdaTest makes sure your app works on all devices, handles lots of traffic, deals with internet changes, and stays strong no matter how many users you have. It’s there to make your app a success and give users a great experience, no matter what the situation.

Wrap-up

App performance isn’t just about fancy numbers and terms; it’s about the real-world stuff. It’s how fast your app wakes up, how smoothly it runs, and how snappy it is when you use it.

LambdaTest, in this context, is your app’s best friend. It’s the bridge that covers the gap between high-end devices and their counterparts.

With LambdaTest, you’re not just ensuring a smooth app experience; you’re also securing your app’s future. Performance issues are unveiled and resolved, guaranteeing that users, regardless of their digital background, can enjoy your app without a hitch.

So, when it comes to the success of your app, LambdaTest is more than just a testing tool. With LambdaTest, the future is bright, and your app is ready to shine.