How Can You Reduce Mobile App Downtime During Maintenance?

Are you struggling to reduce your mobile app maintenance downtime?

Relax, we have got your back.

We understand the consequences of an increased app downtime and how badly you want your app to back live as early as possible. An increased downtime can impact the overall image of your app. This can even result in the failure of the app in some cases.

Hence, here we are with some effective steps that can assist you in the process. In this blog, you will get to know the basics of mobile app downtime, factors that decrease the downtime of your app, and practices to reduce your mobile app maintenance downtime.

Let’s begin the journey to end your curiosity for the same.

What is an App Downtime?

Before we head to the practices to reduce mobile app downtime during maintenance, let’s understand its meaning and basics.

Mobile App Maintenance Downtime refers to a period where a mobile application is temporarily unavailable or inaccessible to users due to planned and unplanned maintenance activities. Such downtime occurs when mobile app developers need to implement updates, patches, bug fixes, and other changes to the codebase, infrastructure, and other systems.

During downtime, users may encounter error messages, blank screens, or be unable to access certain features or functionalities within the app. This interruption can be frustrating for users, especially if they rely on the app for essential tasks or services.

Understanding the concept is the first step towards a solution. Widen your scope with the factors that contribute to increasing apps’ downtime in the next section.

What are the Factors That Increase App Maintenance Downtime?

Well, as you understand the mobile app maintenance downtime concept, the next step is to identify the factors that can increase the downtime of your app during maintenance.

Here is a list of certain factors that contribute to high app downtime. Let’s count them one after the other.

1. Complex Updates

The complexity of an application plays a significant role in identifying its maintenance costs. Apps with intricate features, integrations, and functionalities can affect the process of app downtime during maintenance. More complex and intricate features require extended time for app maintenance.

2. Lack of Prior Testing

When testing is not taken seriously, it may result in unexpected issues in the app that can result in an increase in app maintenance downtime. Failure to address bugs, compatibility issues, and performance bottlenecks during testing can impact your app’s image and maintenance procedures.

3. Poor Deployment Practice

Inefficient deployment practices, such as manual deployments or lack of automation, can enhance the risk of human error and downtime. Poor deployment practices of an app can impact the overall maintenance service as without procedures in place, updates may not be applied consistently.

4. Inadequate Monitoring

When the objectives are unclear related to app maintenance, then it can increase your app’s downtime of maintenance. It further leads to inadequate monitoring of an app without real-time visibility into the system’s health and performance metrics. This can become a challenge for app owners to retain app users and address issues promptly.

5. Limited Scalability

Limited scalability can impact the app’s performance. The app may struggle to handle increased user traffic during maintenance periods, which can further increase the app’s downtime. Inadequate infrastructure resources, including server capacity or network bandwidth can result in maintenance-related disruptions.

6. Communication Challenges

When you hire a mobile app development service provider, you should know the importance of distancing your company from the development team. A far location can result in increasing communication challenges. Along with this, you should prior inform the app’s users related to its maintenance otherwise it may result in users’ frustration and dissatisfaction.

7. Third-Party Integrations

An integration with third-party and APIs can improve the functionality of the app. However, it can also add to maintenance overhead. Changes or updates in the external services may necessitate modifications within the app that can affect its maintenance costs. Selection of the right external services can play an important role in this aspect.

Practices to Reduce Mobile App Downtime During Maintenance

It goes without saying that every app owner wants to decrease their app’s downtime.

But the question is how? Here are some app maintenance best practices that will help you decrease downtime and improve its performance.

• Plan Your App Maintenance Process

Before you head on to any maintenance work, planning plays a crucial role. You should draft a clear plan of exactly what you want to achieve during the maintenance of an app. Identify if it’s really the right time to maintain your app. Evaluate the need for app maintenance.

Here you can use push notifications, in-app messages, or email newsletters to inform your app users about its maintenance.

• Use of Staging Environment

Before implementing changes in the actual app, ensure that you make it in a staging environment. With the help of this platform, you can avoid errors related to bugs and compatibility issues that can cause downtime or performance-based issues.

Here you can use tools like Firebase test labs or AWS device farms to test your app on diverse platforms.

• Adopt a Rolling Update Strategy

A rolling update strategy can be effective in this process. In this strategy, you should update the app in portions while keeping the other parts operational. This app is helpful to the users to continue using the app with minimal interruption.

It includes an automatic update of all pods in a stateful set. Always try to find ways to update the tech stack that do not impact the app users.

• Perform App Optimization Measures

Try to adopt measures that can optimize the app’s performance. These measures can automate and schedule your maintenance tasks in the off-peak season. If your app contains any chance to perform app optimization through the latest technology, adopt it.

You can use tools including AWS and AppSync to update your app configuration and content without a new release.

• Improve Your App’s Scalability

You should adopt successful measures to increase the scalability of your app. Scalability represents the flexibility and agility of your app. The app should be scalable to store vast amounts of data and to run smoothly during high traffic.

This measure can be effective in decreasing the downtime of the app by increasing its elasticity to dynamically scale resources up or down based on users’ demand.

• Automate the Scheduling Task

You should try to use successful practices that can automate the scheduling task. With the help of the latest and updated technology, you can improve your app’s survival in the market. This process can also help you in following the current trends.

Such practices can be fruitful in scheduling your app’s maintenance tasks for off-peak hours or low-traffic periods.

• Regular Updates and Patches

Stay proactive with regular updates and patches to address bugs, enhance performance, and implement new features. Timely updates not only improve user satisfaction but also can mitigate the accumulation of technical debt.

You should identify the right time for updates. Consider a mobile app maintenance checklist as an important way to improve your app maintenance procedure.

• Conduct Thorough Testing

Under this practice, you should keep awareness related to testing. Prioritize through testing of updates before deployment to minimize the risk of unexpected issues. You should conduct comprehensive regression testing across different devices and operating systems.

Automation testing tools can be appropriate here to increase the validity and survival of your app.

• Outsource wisely

It is an activity, where you should decide between in-house and outsourcing of app maintenance service. Outsourcing can help you reduce your burden over maintenance. All you need to identify the right team in this scenario.

This practice can offer you a cost-effective solution while ensuring quality maintenance services. Although consider the mobile app maintenance cost in this scenario.

• Conduct Monitoring

With the help of monitoring you can identify the risks prior to they occur. This will help you to schedule the app maintenance times in the future. Along with this, you can check the legal practices that can change based on the changing government and law.

App monitoring is an important activity useful for ensuring the function of the app successfully.

How Nimble AppGenie Can Help in Effective App Maintenance?

Well, as we have stated to you, a team plays an important role in app maintenance services. All you need is to decide a team for you.

Partnering with Nimble AppGenie, we provide the best mobile app maintenance services that can assist you in improving your app’s performance in the market.

Our team specializes in implementing effective tools that can reduce the mobile app’s downtime and help you fulfill the demands of your app users.

Conclusion

Minimizing mobile app downtime during maintenance is crucial for maintaining user satisfaction and app performance. Increased downtime can enhance the app’s reputation and even lead to failure.

By understanding the concept of app downtime and addressing factors contributing to its increase, such as complex updates, inadequate testing, and poor deployment practices, developers can take proactive steps to reduce downtime.

Implementing effective maintenance practices, such as planning, staging environments, rolling updates, and scalability improvements, can further minimize downtime and ensure seamless user experiences.

FAQs

Niketan Sharma

Niketan Sharma is the CTO of Nimble AppGenie, a prominent website and mobile app development company in the USA that is delivering excellence with a commitment to boosting business growth & maximizing customer satisfaction. He is a highly motivated individual who helps SMEs and startups grow in this dynamic market with the latest technology and innovation.