1. So You Want to Build a Mobile App (God Help You)
Hello and welcome to the big one: the "What is mobile app development?" and "How the hell do I launch this thing?" moment.
If you've ever thought, "Yeah, I'll just build an app, how hard can it be?" - congratulations, you're about to discover a new level of pain. I'm currently in the middle of launching CutCompass (the barber availability app that's going to make bank, thank you very much), and I figured I'd document the entire process.
Spoiler: it's not glamorous. It's gut-wrenching, caffeine-fueled, and occasionally makes you want to throw your laptop into the ocean. But hey - no one ever tells you the truth, so I will.
The Fantasy vs. The Reality
Fantasy:
You design an app, throw it in the app store, and watch the money roll in.
Reality:
Endless paperwork, mysterious "DUNS numbers," Apple gaslighting you into buying a Mac, and developer accounts that make you feel like you're signing away your soul.
The code? That's the easy part. The gatekeeping? That's where the real bloodletting happens.
What Even Is Mobile App Development?
At a high level, mobile app development is just:
Writing some code (React Native, Flutter, Ionic, or if you're hardcore, native iOS/Android).
Wrapping it up in a nice little package.
Getting Apple and Google to approve it.
Sounds simple, right? Wrong.
Because each platform has its own maze:
Apple: The Dark Souls of developer ecosystems. Expensive, hostile, and demands you own their hardware.
Google: More like a slightly annoying uncle. Still bureaucratic, but at least they explain what's going on.
And if you're not careful, you'll spend more time in their dashboards than in your actual code editor.
Meet My Sacrificial Lamb: CutCompass
To make this real, I'm using my own app, CutCompass. It's a barber availability app (think: real-time seat filling for barbershops).
Why is this relevant? Because everything I'm documenting is happening right now. Every form, every error message, every passive-aggressive email from Apple - it's all fresh. You're basically watching me suffer in real time, and hopefully learning from it so you don't have to.
The Stores: Where the Nightmare Begins
The very first step in app development isn't even building the app. It's registering yourself with the stores - Apple App Store and Google Play.
This is the real "welcome to hell" moment, because until you're in, you can't launch anything. You can't even test properly without it.
Apple: requires a Mac, a paid developer account ($149/year), and a random business identifier you've never heard of (the infamous DUNS number).
Google: makes you create a payment profile and cough up $25 one time. Still a hassle, but survivable.
We'll go into each platform's setup in the next articles, but here's the truth: this is the most mind-numbing step of the entire journey. Worse than debugging. Worse than UX testing. Worse than answering, "So when will the app be finished?"
Why I'm Writing This Series
Because no one ever documents this stuff properly. You'll find plenty of polished tutorials with pastel screenshots and cheery "just click here!" copy. None of them mention the rage-inducing wait times, the inconsistent error messages, or the fact that Apple basically makes you jump through hoops for fun.
So this is the unfiltered guide. The "you'll want to neck yourself halfway through" guide. The actual founder's diary of going from idea → working app → live in the store.
Coming Up Next
Soon, we dive headfirst into the Apple Developer Account signup process - aka the lowest circle of app-dev hell. Expect rants about Mac requirements, DUNS numbers, and why you're paying Apple $149 a year just to exist.
But first, let's have a quick rundown of types of Mobile Apps and the jargon that's thrown around.
Grab a coffee. You'll need it.