Do you know why many businesses, organizations, and companies are developing their own mobile applications? Let’s check.
There are over 5 billion active users on the internet and according to a survey, maximum people spend over 6 hours a day on their mobile phones and tend to spend 90% of their time on mobile apps. This is generally because mobile applications are more convenient to use than browsing. Now, imagine the calculation:
- 90% of 6 hours = 5.4 hours
- 5 billion people spend 5.4 hours on average on mobile apps
- 5,00,00,00,000 * 5.4 = 27,00,00,00,000 hours
Can you believe this? This is the impact of mobile applications with the ever evolving mobile app trend. No wonder, why having a mobile app is crucial these days.
One more survey by Gartner describes the importance of mobile apps, i.e. consumers in 2009 downloaded almost 2.52 billion applications globally and this figure can reach 258.2 billion in 2022. This is why apps started to become one of the most productive and successful tools for businesses, trying to reach over a broader audience.
But the problem is that many business owners don’t know how to develop an app and look for alternative options. And the best alternative is to outsource the work of creating an app.
Now both outsourcing, as well as developing an app self, both have their own pros and cons. But in this write-up, we will mainly focus on outsourcing, it’s processing, how to outsource mobile app development to a perfect team, and of course, the main question is how much does it cost to outsource mobile app development?
Now, before choosing a partner to outsource mobile app development, it is very important that you must ask them certain questions and then come to any conclusion. Some of the relevant questions are:
- Are the software ideas worthy to construct an application?
- Are all the functions and features constructively explained?
- What are the platforms, it should be released on?
- What would be the average cost and budget?
- Is the application going to be a full-feature app or a minimum viable product (MVP)?
The Process to Outsource Mobile App Development
When you build your app, there is a particular process that is supposed to take place. Testing, Project Management, Deployment, Maintenance are some of them. But, the actual steps of building an app with an outsourcing team, is given below. Let’s take a look.
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Selecting the Right Agency
Finding the right agency and then analyzing the details with them is very crucial. As several things are quite important and should be considered while looking for the correct company to outsource mobile app development such as: Will they provide a project manager? What will be the budget? Is app maintenance required? and much more based on your requirements.
As you pick your best option, you will next need to start with your communication details.
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Preparations
In this step, you will figure and finalize all the details which need to be done according to the release of your product. Questions such as: Should the application be an Android app? Or it can be an iOS app? Or maybe a hybrid application? These questions should be immediately solved in this step.
Also, the development time is very important and should be set upon. Setting certain deadlines is always a good idea as it is better to set up the functionalities and their complexities, having them tested and notified at a certain period to avoid any glitch in the future.
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Building the App
The actual development starts from this step. This mainly varies and depends on the project that includes backend programming or front-end programming, UI and UX design, and mainly high-quality assurance. All these stages should be divided into smaller steps for effective results so that all the parts of the codes work properly without any bug or glitch.
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Implementation
This is the step, where the final product or app is completely ready with all the functions working properly without any issues and is ready to be released.
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Maintenance
Most of the time, after release there is always something that needs to be changed or fixed. At times these issues are found by the users, even after the testing where no signs were found to be rectified, but as said the human factor is always the final trial.
Many a time, projects do require a further extension, so after the implementing step, there might be an immediate need to start working on such issues and solve them. Development companies usually do offer post-project support, so your options are always open.
How to Pick a Team to outsource Mobile App Development?
The cost of developing an app can be expected, but choosing the right team is more crucial. You can start your own research by checking their website, details about them on social media platforms as it says a lot about their past projects, the work culture they opt for and the strategies or approaches they believe in.
You may come up with questions such as checking on the type of industries they have worked for? Do they work on UI and UX design too? Which specialized technologies do they use? And much more. All these questions will help you to come to a decision where you can finalize your development team.
As a business owner, you can acknowledge this process by following certain steps. You must consider these points while finalizing your app development team.
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Knowing your Requirements
The foremost thing to do is to be aware of your needs and requirements for the mobile app which you are planning to create. As you have to specify the details to your team and help them understand.
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Finding the Right App Development Company
Selecting the app development team based on the type of outsourcing you need. You can opt for either onshore, offshore, or nearshore outsourcing accordingly and then go for that particular company.
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Check the Portfolio of the Company and Communicate with their Previous Clients
Always check every recommended company’s portfolio with mere detail and try to communicate with their past clients for better results. You will be able to relate to their experience and come to a certain decision at times.
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Selecting the Service and Payment Model
As per the development team you opt for, you need to choose the best service teams project-wise that have provided their best working staff models. There are 3 service model options you can opt for: Project-based, Dedicated teams, and extended team.
The payment model will depend upon the type of service team you choose. You can choose between fixed, time, or material paying models.
Now, here is a list of the potential points you should discuss with your app development company for better results:
- Having experience with similar projects within the industry.
- Possibility of building a prototype before starting the coding process.
- What are the approaches which can be used for everyday work?
- What are the communication tools used by the company and how frequently does the team communicate with their client?
- Which technology stack can merely be used?
- Do they have any references to show from their previous clients?
- Do they get support from any business partners, such as Microsoft or Google?
- Asking them to state their work culture and their principles.
How Much Does It Cost To Outsource Mobile App Development?
You should always keep in mind that building an app is not a cheap process. It depends upon many aspects such as the functionalities of your application, the stages of production as well as deployment, final testing, advertising, a developed team with skillful people, and a lot. Some of the major aspects are listed below according to which the cost of development varies:
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Complicated Apps
Construction of complicated applications can cost till six figures at times, but also can push up over to $1,000,000.
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Basic Apps
Construction of basic applications that are only available on one platform is likely to start around $25,000.
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Others
Apps which consist of back-end maintenance, always cost more than the others. The cost of developing mobile apps can also vary according to the extra features, type of mobile API, and CRM integrations used. Also, the eCommerce combination can be either basic, advanced, or enterprise, and setting up the budget of marketing, updates, etc. can also be quite imperative.
The cost to outsource mobile app development will also vary depending upon the region you have selected. You could also get a Free Consultation from an Industry Expert about the cost.
- South America: Android/iOS mobile app development service charges are from $25 to $120 per hour.
- United Kingdom: Android/iOS mobile app development charges are from $35 to $175 an hour.
- Eastern Europe: The app developing charges start from $20 up to $110 per hour.
- India: The app developers charge $10-$75 an hour.
- North America: North America is pondered to be the most costly region for Android/iOS mobile app development. The companies there charge from $20 to $250 per hour.
- Australia: The mobile app development rate starts from $35-$150 per hour.
- Indonesia: The mobile app development companies charge $20 for an hour.
How to Outsource App Development? Best Practices
This is one of the most common questions which can be found on Quora or Reddit. There are certain general rules which can be kept in mind while outsourcing an app for avoiding any mistakes in the mere future.
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Always Beware of the Trends & Stay Unique
Being aesthetic, absolute, and instinctive about everything is alright but your app should amazingly stand out from the others. It should be inspiring and should be able to add value, bringing something new to society.
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Security
Hackers in today’s date are very active, therefore customer information should always be protected quite thoroughly than your own app. For such security, you should construct authentication mechanisms and other options in mind.
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Know your Users
Connecting and creating a good rapport with your users in the early stages is a good idea. You can collect feedback from them and can start app outsourcing, keeping the key terms in your mind.
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Agreement and Software Documentation
This is an important practice to take into consideration, as it is needed to come to terms or agree with the person or team, that helps you to construct your app. They will know the details about your process, therefore having an agreement issued with them for safety is a good option. If you are constructing the details all by yourself, your employees, later on, will have a limited amount of reference on how to maintain and run the application.
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Legal Representation
Not all agreements go well, conflicts can occur at times in the future, therefore it is always better to cover your foundation. The ownership rights, data loss, scant end product, etc. are some of the risks which are likely to be encountered in the future at times. Therefore, it is better to be transparent to reach the authorities and best to get advice from a law firm in the country.
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Keep Leverage Till the End
It is always better to reserve a certain part of your total payments until the acceptance of the outcome, as it is considered as a highly positive practice. Leaving yourself with a powerful force, forces a developer to fix any post-release issues quickly. The cost of your project will drastically rise if anything goes untrue in the future.
Final Thoughts
If you want an experienced app development team, you can notably lower the total cost of your project by outsourcing. Opting for the right company with a team of experts helping you to meet your goals can be quite challenging but not impossible.
India is a highly beneficial region for low mobile app development costs with an accurate amount of quality of the product. In view of all the facts mentioned above, you will be able to opt for a well-founded app development company with a suitable budget and high-quality results.
- Shruti
