How to choose an ally for your app project?

Mobile app development has become an integral aspect of every business these days.

With startups across the globe wanting to excel these days, selecting the ideal development partner has become very significant. Hence, before doing research on the net for web and mobile app development companies, these critical aspects deserve your attention.

A peek into crucial stats

As per Statista, as of Q2 2020, Android users chose between 2.7 million apps, presenting Google as the major hub with a large number of mobile apps. Being not too far behind, Apple’s app store remains firm at second spot with roughly 1.82 million apps for iOS.


This clearly showcases the increased demand for mobile apps. Also, as per App Annie, an average mobile user takes recourse to nine apps every day and approximately 30% in a month. We devote 3 hours daily on our mobiles, out of which 90% of the time goes to apps. This proves that apps have become a significant part of our daily lives.

However, mobile apps have to win users’ hearts and minds by providing them a higher ROI (Return On Investment).


  • There are two demurs that make business owners wary:
  • Who happens to be the ideal developer for your project?
  • What will be the expenditure of Mobile app development?

As the financial aspect differs subject to the initial needs, technology stack, business requirements and awaited results, we want to assist you in analyzing the method of selecting the company that helps your business reach greater heights.

THINGS TO LOOK INTO PRIOR TO SELECTING AN APP DEVELOPMENT COMPANY?

  • The ideal quality you want in your partner
  • The money you wish to invest on the project
  • The deadline and timeline of the project,
  • The planning of working – “The Agile Methodology” to accomplish the project,
  • The technical help required from the firm,
  • The level of customer involvement.

While fixing the budget with the development company, you have to make sure that there are certain aspects that shape the cost to develop a mobile app.

These factors happen to be architecture and team strength, the platform for project development and whether a need to merge your app with third-party solutions will arise or not. In order to develop a mobile app, the majority of firms seek $25,000 for a normal app and $1,00,000 for a complex and tough app. However, a good app company will provide you with a project estimation free of cost instead of asking for a budget.


The cost and the size of the project also specify whether you need a firm or a freelancer. Of course, if it is a complex project then a seasoned and bigger team with requisite skills are required.


PLACE TO FIND AN IDEAL MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT PARTNER

SEEK REFERRALS AND SUGGESTIONS

The appropriate app development company has to be your loyal partner. Therefore ensure that you work with talented and experienced professionals, make the right use of your professional network and don’t be reluctant to seek referrals and recommendations.


Talk to your friends and trusted business partners to get their experience and contacts for the respective firm. This is an ideal knowledge source but keep in mind that each project is different, so seek the details.


SIMPLY, GOOGLE IT!

This is an ideal process. Assuming that you have searched for the ideal mobile app development company in India, go through the websites of the firms thoroughly, closely watch their portfolio, verify their experience and referrals and then write down the companies you find appropriate.

TAKE HELP FROM B2B AND B2C PLATFORMS

The IT companies such as Clutch, Linkedin etc happen to be very trustworthy sources to find the right fit for your project. These websites provide a list of IT service providers. There are also other platforms where you can find freelancers, like UpWork. Verify the reviews of each firm and freelancers as well, check their portfolio, certification and awards won by them.

ASPECTS TO CONSIDER WHILE SELECTING AN APP DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY

There happen to be various procedures of developing mobile apps however, only a few platforms to build them. Every app development journey varies from the other and needs a unique skill set and technology stacks. You have the liberty to select from Native app development to cross-platform app development, based on your requirements. Therefore, to develop your own app, choose the partner with caution. Moreover, a mobile app development company is not just a service provider, but it offers consultation. In case you are in a limbo over the next step in your app development process, choose a company having good consultancy skills. Also see if it gives you seasoned designers, quality assurance specialists, and growth consultants.

TEAM STRENGTH AND MARKET SIZE

It is imperative to get an insight into the market capture of the company you are thinking of selecting as a partner for your project. Assess or seek their team size of designers, developers, testers, UX/UI professionals, QA experts working currently in the company.


Further, get clarity over their hiring plans – do they wish to expand or simply trying to save a ship from sinking.


EXPOSURE & PROFILE MATTER A LOT

Never have any reservation with regard to asking crucial questions about their recent projects. Kindly go through their portfolio and observe reviews and clients testimonials for the app built in the respective app stores. Also, ask the firm about their experiences.


Have they worked on similar projects earlier?

How did they tackle technical complexities in past projects?

Do they possess work experience regarding your business domain?

BE CLEAR ON THE ASPECT OF PRICING

The cost of the project is very critical, but it should not be the only criteria. Never fall for a chap option as it won’t serve any purpose for you. It is better to avoid a company during the initial stage itself than fixing problems with the app after the launch. 


Quality should be given high priority while choosing the app development company for your project. Quality goes a long way in expediting the development process and making it affordable going forward. So, do not forget to validate the payment methods and terms while talking about the project’s details. What is the method of calculating the price? Will it be a total payment upfront or scattered in installment.

CLEAR CUT COMMUNICATION

Clear and good communication is very essential for your mobile app development project to succeed. You should be in the know of each and every thing in the development process. For this to happen, you should seek the medium of communication while choosing your partner.


For example, you should have total project information constantly to monitor the progress efficiently. Talk to them regarding the tools they utilize to handle the way a project is moving: Asana, Slack, Jira etc. Also while choosing a firm, observe closely the regularity with which a firm responds to your queries, messages and phone calls.

TEAM STRENGTH

What really turns a project successful is team efforts and diligence. The skill matrix and personalities are very significant, to build a successful mobile app. Also, you should have a great rapport with your technological ally to leverage development procedures. Hence, don’t be reluctant to talk to the company’s representative and create good relations with them. The environment of the project’s team creates a durable impact in ensuring the success as well.

CLIENT’S TESTIMONIALS

Always seek references and client testimonials from prospective partners. The ideal development companies provide you with anything without any request from your side. If the firm does not have a letter of recommendation or client testimonials to showcase, then simply move away from them. Also, cross check the materials given and look for some references on your own.

ACHIEVEMENTS & REFERRALS

Experience has to be one of the criteria to factor in for you to choose an ideal company. Experience is usually showcased by various awards for top projects the company has undertaken, recognitions in the media, or the result of R&D projects published on platforms such as Dribble and Github. Mobile app development is not an easy task and it needs accuracy and experience, a holistic knowledge of the target audience, and, of course, creativity. These skill sets can be obtained with experience. Recent projects give a clear view of the way a trusted company plans and operates. If they have a solid profile of big, ambitious projects then the same reflects positively on their qualities.

QUALITY AND MAINTENANCE ARE VITAL

Do not forget the fact that launching your mobile app in the app store is simply the beginning. It is just the beginning of a long procedure of regularly launching updates, handling bugs and including new features to turn your app useful and keep it ahead of the competitors.


This means it’s a must to select the apt and skilled resources with a clear cut policy that follows app maintenance and support to the core. Prior to moving ahead, assess these policies:

The cost according to each new app launch

After the launch, long-term and ongoing assistance

Handling bugs and charging accordingly

To Conclude

It is in your best interest to jot down all aspects of the best mobile app development procedure to ensure every condition is met. By doing this you can eliminate the hiccups to a great extent and focus on the important facets of your mobile app and take the right call quickly. It must have been clear to you by now that the best app development company is the one having technical exposure, great communication skills, good portfolio of successful projects and the burning desire to excel. Finally, in order to achieve desired results from the app it is critical to hire app developers carefully. A wrong move can hurt you financially and spoils the growth of your company. So, it is ideal to get good developers on board for your app project to prosper.

What are the advantages of cross-platform mobile app development?

What are the advantages of cross-platform mobile app development?

Introduction

If you think that your business requires a mobile app, then the immediate and foremost question that pops up in your mind is, “Do I go for a native mobile app or a cross-platform mobile app?” Despite your choice of platform hinging predominantly on the platform your target audience enjoys spending time on, going for cross-platform mobile app development makes the prospect of your app turning successful and well-known in less time than a native mobile app. Dissimilar to native mobile apps, which operates solely on a single operating system, cross-platform apps are very versatile, have a single code base and operate on several operating systems.

Two chief types of cross-platform mobile apps happen to be:

Native’ Platform Mobile Apps

Through the assistance of a third-party vendor, these apps are developed with the API given by the native operating system SDK (Software Development Kit), in other programming languages without the backing of the operating system vendor. The final app utilizes native APIs and has a sole cross-platform codebase, which results in a higher native feel compared to a hybrid app.

Hybrid ‘HTML5’ Cross-Platform Mobile Apps:

These are primarily written as a web application with contemporary web technologies such as HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. The final app is attached within a thin native container, which permits it to operate on any device notwithstanding several browser-centric limitations. But, these apps most of the time are unable to get a native look and feel akin to native cross-platform apps. Apart from being quite adaptable and simple to build, cross-platform mobile apps benefit both clients and developers with a lot of worthwhile and tangible benefits.

Benefits of Cross-Platform Mobile App Development

One App Instead of Many:

In case you opt for the option of cross-platform, your developers will not be required to write new code for each platform. Rather, they can opt for the same code on various platforms. Utilizing a single code base on all platforms not only reduces routine activities but also turn the job of maintenance and deployment very convenient for developers. This is a big advantage with a cross-platform mobile app development.

Remain Uniform Throughout:

A pleasurable and seamless user experience (UX) is the recipe for success as far as an app is concerned. A beautifully thrashed out UX of an app needs to perform uniformly on all devices. Keeping similar user interface design on all platforms, cross-platform development provides users with the same incredible app experience irrespective of the device they’re using the app.

Integrate with the Cloud Seamlessly

The other distinct advantage with cross-platform apps is that they can be integrated swiftly and comfortably with cloud environments and enterprise-level plug-ins. To put it simply, cross-platform apps gel with anything and everything and can leverage several plug-ins and extensions for improved app experience, expandability and functionality.

Swift Release:

Cross-platform development offers developers the facility to reutilize the code within the app many times and hugely reduces the time required to introduce the app to the public. Further, instead of building various apps, simply one app would suffice. This can spare developers a lot of precious time, permitting them to offer the project in a short duration.

Zilch Technical Hurdles:

Cross-platform development can be very beneficial for developers as they don’t have to learn new, platform-centric languages such as Objective-C, Swift or Java. Any developer with familiarity in HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript can easily begin with cross-platform app development. Also, these languages can be learned quickly than a totally new platform specific language.

More reach with less promotional efforts:

Standard rule stipulates that the large number of platforms you develop an app for, larger the audience you can reach out to. Developing the app for various platforms such as iOS, Android, Windows, and BlackBerry also minimizes your promotional initiatives as the majority of people will become familiar with your app. The other significant benefit is that you don’t have to make niche messages to attract a certain segment of audience.

Minimizes Development and Maintenance Expenses:

Clients requiring a cross-platform mobile application for their business will only need a small team of professionals well versed in a particular kind of technologies, which brings down the whole development expenditure regarding the project. As there is only a single app to deal and update, maintenance expenditures come down in comparison to managing and updating various apps for several platforms.

5 highly Desired Cross-Platform Mobile App Development Tools

In the past building a cross-platform mobile app used to be a very tall order fraught with a lot of difficulties and risks. But, with the enormous growth of cross-platform mobile app development tools, the scenario has transformed rapidly. Developers these days are leveraging these tools to churn out app with less hiccups. In this endeavor let us explore some well-known cross-platform mobile app development tools and platforms that can bring down your development time and efforts.

1.  Xamarin

The hugely popular and commonly used tool to develop native cross-platform mobile apps with the potency of C# programming language and.NET framework. It is owned by Microsoft!

2.  React Native

React Native happens to be an open source app development framework from Facebook to create cross-platform native mobile apps with the help of JavaScript and React.js. An ideal foil for Agile Development!

Also Read : React Native Or Xamarin ? Which One Is Best ?

3.  NativeScript

Another effective open source framework to make cross-platform mobile apps having a native look and feel with JavaScript, TypeScript or Angular. It even assists the Vue.js framework!

4.  Appcelerator Titanium

This is a leading open-source framework that permits developers to make native mobile apps for several platforms with a single JavaScript code base. A very good option for developers with knowledge in JS.

5.  PhoneGap

Earlier known as Apache Cordova, PhoneGap is a famous framework to create cross-platform hybrid mobile apps with the efficiencies of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript.

Lastly

Going by the afore-mentioned points it can be safely concluded that cross-platform app development is ideal compared to other methods. The chief reason being less expensive and time-consuming. If you are planning a mobile app for your business then consider the cross-platform development process.

5 reasons why in-house mobile app development is ideal

5 reasons why in-house mobile app development is ideal

It won’t be an exaggeration to say that mobile apps have, literally, taken over our lives. With four billion people online and 31 billion linked devices, mobile apps are emerging as the most sought-after means of doing business for everyone from your customers to allies to your workers. As per Yahoo Flurry’s State of Mobile report, consumers in the US at present are on mobile devices for over five hours daily, and 90 percent of their time on mobile is consumed by apps. As a result, the time spent on mobile web browsers has come down by several notches to mere eight percent. Due to the craze for apps, your website is having a tough time to retain traffic. This explains the potency of apps in these times.

In case you’re not into creating customer-facing or enterprise-facing mobile applications already, the time is ripe for you to do the same. So, here are five reasons why training your staff to create apps in-house will be ideal for you.

1. All are into apps

According to Gartner, 79 percent of organizations which were surveyed have hiked their mobile expenditure by 36 percent since 2015, and by the conclusion of 2017, 25 percent of enterprises will have their own app store to deal with corporate-approved apps. As per a new study by Wakefield Research of 1,000 executives at entities with more than1,000 employees dissects the the business demand:

97 percent of executives stated that employees or classification inside their organization have sought new mobile apps or app features.

98 percent of executives are of the view that their company would immensely benefit from certain kinds of mobile apps.

2. Enterprise apps enhance capability in the domain

If you have safe apps on phones or tablets they offer the best method to connect workers and exchange instant data and business intelligence. With proprietary and safe mobile apps, data can be evaluated and updated quickly by salespeople, technicians, partners and others who want instant and genuine information to finish their processes, at any time and from anywhere in the globe.

3. Customers are largely turning mobile

These days purchases through Mobile are going above in-store and even website-oriented buys. Reason for this revolutionary change happens to be young adult consumers. “People are increasingly preferring mobile purchases,” says Sachin Gupta, CMO at Code Brew. “69 percent of millennials buy from their mobile phones and this trend is going to rise by many manifolds by 2020.” As per Google’s Mobile Path to Purchase report, 26 percent of consumers consider a mobile app as the point of beginning when it comes to search with the objective to buy.

4. Mobile apps boost loyalty among customers

Apps go a long way in enhancing customer loyalty. The logo of a company’s mobile app on their phones makes an impression on them constantly. And if the app is linked in anyway to your company’s loyalty program, it leaves a positive effect. As per a report by SmallBizTrends 70 percent of smartphone users are using their smartphone to gather points to earn discounts. These also facilitate smart location-triggered features such as geofenced push notifications of discounts and reviews.

5. Third party app development can be costly and inefficient

Assigning mobile app development would come across a convenient strategy, it has its own drawbacks. According to Wakefield study, 96 percent of companies who enlisted the services of third-party vendors faced problems, such as:

Development costs spiked considerably (43 percent)

Huge maintenance expenses (41 percent), and

Deficit in customizable options (39 percent)

Moreover, 92 percent stated that the third-party came up with applications that was way below their expectations.

Opting for external vendors or developers also entail a lot of risks. These could be anything from inferior product quality, rampant delays as a result of different time zones and source code insecurity,including the problem of traps that make customer information available to hackers for misuse. So, these kinds of risks are not worth taking up.

Tips regarding app creation internally

Looking for app developers to work for your company is any day desirable. But, the short duration or seasonal type can turn this into an expensive affair. As per Glassdoor, the US national average wage for a mobile app developer in 2017 happened to be $92,067. This implies that you are paying more than $19,000 extra simply to onboard that new employee prior to even writing a line of code. Also as per the Wakefield study, 42 percent of businesses who outsourced their mobile app development said they don’t have adequate skilled staff and that is why they opted for external sources. However, mobile app development skills are very convenient and affordable to gain. Training your company’s entire IT team in every aspect of mobile app development (including the latest Advanced Java, Python, Selenium 3.0 or Angular coding), will be more cost-effective than the hiring expenses of one new employee, excluding their salary.

Conclusion

Mobile apps are increasingly turning out to be extremely necessary for businesses. By outsourcing mobile app development your company is leaning heavily on another business and turns everything into a costly affair and even endangers your code and customer data.

Selecting new employees is also very expensive, however upgrading your staff with the existing technologies of mobile app development can be a good business proposition. The dynamism and cost-effectiveness your company enjoys turns you very competitive and facilitates fresh mobile marketing prospects.