How Often Should You Update Your App?

If you own a phone, a tablet, or really any device these days, chances are that you have experienced apps that regularly push for updates. Yes, it's annoying, but we all know that they are necessary. Updates help keep things secure and can give us new features.

Once an app reaches the marketplace, it will most likely have to be updated within at least six months. Some apps seem to unveil updates more than others, with a typical app offering updates anywhere from once to four times per month.

The thing that most users hate doing, though, is regularly having to update apps. If you own an app, you probably are worried about pushing away users via heavy upgrades.

There's got to be a healthy balance when it comes to choosing when to update your app, right? According to software experts, there is. Check out the biggest times you should release an update, patch, or upgrade according to the pros.

If your app would no longer be compatible with a major mobile OS, you need to update your app.

Simply put, it's not acceptable to have an app that doesn't work with the latest iPhone or Android OS. Many a great app company has gone under simply because they didn't patch up their apps in time for users to update their apps reasonably fast after a new operating system upgrade.

Don't be that company.

People start demanding regular updates for some apps; if you're one of them, you may need to up your update schedule.

When it comes to choosing when to update your app, it's often a good idea to listen to what your customers are saying. If there's a lot of demand for updates, then you may end up having to be the app company that updates their software four times per month.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing; it just means that your customers are technologically aware and enjoy quality.

Most apps on the Google Play Store or the iPhone App Marketplace will just update one to four times per month.

A good rule of thumb for most app developers is to offer automatic updates one to four times per month—or at least offer updates at that frequency. These don't have to be massive updates; just minor tweaks that make the program run more smoothly.

If you are a finance-related app, you need to update your app any time you need to improve security.

The biggest issue apps have, particularly finance apps, is security. No one wants to have their accounts hacked, and it only takes being victimized by a single security breach to make many clients decide to stop using your program.

Ergo, security is the most important thing you can consider if you want to keep up user retention. Most clients do not mind security updates because it keeps them safe, and the truth is, it also can help keep your company from being held liable for damages if you regularly maintain your app.

There are a lot of jobs in cybersecurity that are created because people don't update apps. There are a lot of people who worry about black hat hackers hurting their finances and life. Cybersecurity predictions suggest security issues will get worse in coming years, so it's best to prepare your app just in case.

Any time you have a major bug fix, you should upgrade your app.

No one likes apps that are loaded with glitches and bugs. If you have managed to patch up bugs that clients complained about, that's worthy of an update. Your customers will like a more functional program and will happily download any tweak you can give them that can fix the errors they hate.

That being said, it's important to realize that your app updates might also be buggy.

As much as we all might want to think otherwise, app upgrades and updates can also have their own bugs. These bugs can and will take time to fix, particularly if you're a lone programmer who's the creator of the app.

If you are a regular Joe who just happens to have an app you sell, it's important to realize that you may have to spend some time tweaking the update after it's released. As a result, a very solidly built individual app might be spaced out a bit more.

If you've designed a new feature or want to give an overhaul to your program, it's time to update your app in a major way.

Major updates are risky and take a lot more time to put together than a typical tweak or patch will. This is why they are relatively rare and why they tend to generate a lot more buzz.

A pretty decent portion of companies who make top-performing apps avoid making too many changes at once because of the chance of having users dislike the upgraded features. So, if you do choose to complete a full overhaul, make sure it's one your customers like.

If a third-party app your app works with is upgraded, your app may be obsolete in its current form.

Generally speaking, any time that a third-party app that's heavily tied to your program alters itself heavily, you need to check to make sure your app isn't obsolete. If your app no longer meshes with the latest version of the programs it relies on for function, it's just as obsolete as an app that only runs on an ancient OS.

A good idea would be to update your app any time a closely-tied affiliate app has a major update. GBKSoft points out that it's all about the user experience. If your app no longer makes users happy, it needs an upgrade.

Of course, you shouldn't overuse the resources you have to continually upgrade your app.

Every app has its own life cycle and a unique range of update schedules that would work well for it. There's no "one size fits all" to app upgrades.

Things like the amount of time and money you would spend making the upgrade, the profitability of doing so, and the general demand to do so matter a lot, too. Ergo, if it doesn't make fiscal sense for you to send out a patch or a new version, don't do it.

Overall, it all depends on demand, profit, and common sense.

Experts can't give you an exact time to update it, but your common sense often can. If you have the resources to update your app, there's demand to update it, or if it makes sense to do so, then by all means, do it.

The person who best knows what to do with the app is usually the one who made it—YOU.