We get questions every day about the process of building custom mobile apps. We get it. We’d want to have all the information possible when making the investment in a custom mobile app too. While we can’t answer all of your questions in just one blog post, we can take a shot at answering some of the bigger ones. These are the questions we get asked most frequently and their answers. If you have more questions or want answers specific to your situation, feel free to schedule a free consultation anytime.
How much does it cost?
Each product is unique and different and, as such, answering this question without specifics can be difficult. Your final cost will depend on what you’re looking for in your software, how you want it to function, the number of features you need, to name a few. That said, small projects can cost as little as $50,000 and only take a couple of months to complete. Other projects can cost 500k+ and take half a year or more to complete. and take a couple of years. Either way, there’s no denying that custom software is a big investment.
It can be daunting to understand how much will be required, and how to get the most from your available budget. It’s important to determine the proper level of investment for a successful initial release and make smart trade-offs to get the most value from your available budget. A good software partner will be able to guide you through selecting features that will deliver the most business value for the cost.
How soon will my app be ready to go live?
A simple application can be done in as quick as a month or two. Something more complex can take a half a year or longer to properly develop. Our recommendation is to find the minimum viable product (MVP) and getting that out in the hands of users ASAP.
It can be really tempting for clients to put many things up in the first phase. However, it’s important to remember when you are building high-quality software, it will be built in a way that allows you to add and enhance features down the road. The most important aspect of new software is getting something in the hands of users as soon as possible.
One of the questions we ask that helps our clients focus on what is really important is “If everything you have in phase 1 was complete except for this feature, would you hold of launching your app?” If yes, it belongs in phase 1. If no, then it is a phase 2 or beyond feature.
I have a GREAT idea for an app. Is it even possible to develop?
There are three ways you can figure out if your idea is possible to develop into a full app.
First, you can try to find the right partner with a lot of experience building apps. This experience will allow them to pull from previous experience to know if something is technically possible or not. Secondly, conduct some research into other applications that have similar functionality. For ideas that stretch beyond your custom software company’s experience and applications that exist, make sure your custom app designer does a technical spike, which is investing time building a proof of concept to demonstrate the possibility of your idea. Many times this will take less than two weeks.
How do I pick the right person or company to build my app?
There are a couple of things you want to look for when looking for the right person or company to build your app. You want to pick a custom software company that:
Focuses on your business goals: You don’t want to just build technology for tech sake. A good company will focus on working to ensure the investment in technology is meeting the needs of your organization and the people that will use the application. A good software developer will help you solve business problems, not just technical problems and design something that will scale with your organization.
Look for a full-service shop: The best software design shop will offer project management, product direction, UX & UI design, as well as software development. The strongest software is built with a full team.
A seasoned and reliable team: Software design teams that have experience designing mobile apps will have the know-how and experience to ensure your software is effective and reliable. They know how to track progress and communicate results and needs to help your project stay on time and on budget.
A Human-centered approach: You want to find a software design team that is your strategic partner, not someone who will dictate your needs to you. You want to find a design team that doesn’t just design technology for technology’s sake; you want a team that puts your users and their needs first.
Can you create custom mobile apps that work on both iOS and Android?
A seasoned and reliable software design team will be able to design a mobile app that will work on both mobile operating systems. And, bonus, if you build it right, your app could also work on desktops without major investment.
If you have any more questions or want more information about building custom mobile apps, please get in touch and we can get you answers to all your questions.
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