The mobile app market is continuously booming and revenue has skyrocketed year over year. There really is no better time to jump on this trend!
So you’ve decided to build an app, either you’re turning your app idea into a startup business or implementing an app to improve your business operations. The first thing that crosses your mind is probably, “Who should I choose to develop my product?”
Here, we list out the top 6 factors to help you find your app development soulmate:
Experience and previous work
Before hiring an app developer, you should look at their portfolio to see how many apps they have developed and the quality of the previous work. How experienced are they? Based on their previous work, do they have the capability to achieve your vision of the app? Were previous clients happy with the quality of the work? Did they enjoy working with the team? The answers to these questions are one of the most important factors when hiring a development team, as app development is a complex process that requires expertise and experience. All developers may claim to be experts, but not all can prove their expertise through previous work.
In our previous blog, we explore the importance of product marketing. Look for an app development team that also provides marketing services such as branding, strategizing, and monetization planning. This will prevent you the hassle of communicating and trying to integrate marketing strategies with the development team, and ensure that the marketing strategies are fully taken care of throughout the development process. Moreover, such a development team usually has dedicated specialists who have extensive experience in marketing apps and working with developers.
In House Development
A good question to ask your developer is whether they outsource any part of the code or the development process as this could cause some quality issues. Many developers outsource all or pieces of development overseas in order to save costs, however the quality will often suffer. Quality Canadian App Developers will do development in house and employ highly skilled, high wage individuals in the development of their products.
Language
It’s important to ask any potential developers which language they code in. There are dozens of options, but both Apple and Google have preferred languages, often referred to as “native languages,” that ensure optimal performance on their devices. This means that for best results you should build both an Apple and Google app in the preferred language. While this may be slightly more expensive up front, it will ensure long term viability and optimal performance. For example, features like bluetooth connectivity work best when developed in native languages.
It is also important that your developer uses a language that is commonly used and supported, so you are able to scale your platform or take it to another development shop in the future.
IP Ownership
Another important thing to consider when looking for an app developer is whether you’ll have the intellectual property ownership of the app after the development. If you do not have the code, you have to stay dependent on the app developer for any future update. This could create some unnecessary problems for your business in the long run as regular app updates are required due to reasons such as operating systems update, bug fixing, enhancing UI/UX, and new features release.
Costs
Although “buy low” seems to be a good strategy in the stock market, this is definitely not the case when choosing your app developer. Always ask for a break down of costs and services to see what lies behind those costs. As stated earlier, apps developed in native languages for both iOS and Android cost more but are of higher quality in the long run. Having part of the development outsourced overseas can also contribute to a lower cost, but it’s going to cost you the quality of the app.
Generally speaking, “if it’s cheap and fast, it won’t be good.” App development is a complex process that requires expertise and experience, and those are costly to gain. When hiring your development team, you are not only hiring them for the time they are developing your app, but for the time and effort they put in to achieve their experience and expertise.
Authentic Partnership
You should always try to find a development team who genuinely understands and cares about your business, as well as being able to provide insights when it comes to not only developing your app but building your business. You should not only be looking for an app developer but an authentic partnership. An authentic collaboration relationship is at the root of any successful project. It leads to effective communication and creativity beyond the scope of app development.
Throughout the development process, communication is crucial to ensure that the development team understands your vision of the app and is able to keep up with defined timeline and scope. Determine your communication channels and regular progress update schedule from the start of the project to ensure you are informed and involved throughout the process.
Bottom Line
Lastly, remember that your relationship with your development team continues long after the product is launched. Take time to evaluate the aforementioned factors of your app developer to ensure you find yourself a long term business partner! Contact Vog, a trusted Canadian App Developer for more information.
