Have a great phone app idea? Here's how you can create one

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A Fulshear mom who developed an app that can lock her children's cell phones if they ignore her calls or texts is explaining how she did it.

"I'm not going to say it's an easy process, but I still feel like any mom can do this," Sharon Standifird said.

When Standifird decided to develop her Ignore No More app, she turned to a resource we all have at our fingertips.

"I had no clue how to do this," she said. "In this whole process, the number one tool was actually the Internet."

She learned that first, do your research.

"I discovered that this app idea was actually not on the market," she said.

Then, create a story board.

"It's being able to tell a story to someone else, or tell the story of my app," Standifird said.

If you don't write code, hire someone who does.

"I probably spent about three weeks trying to find the right developer," Standifird said. "You have to feel comfortable with your developers."

And then you have to be able to pay them.

"The cost for this is anywhere between $30,000-$60,000," she said.

Don't fret if you don't have the cash.

"Talk to family and friends. See if they want to get involved with your app. Also, you'd be surprised on the Internet there are actually sites that you can go through to kind of like fundraise money for your app," Standifird said.

But most importantly, she says hire a lawyer to review all of your contracts.

"Are there risks? Absolutely. But I have a good feeling this risk is going to pay off," she said. "And I was able to make it come to life. That's the best part."

Standifird says the most surprising thing she learned is that after you create an app you need a marketing plan so it doesn't get lost among the thousands of other apps out there.