We are living in a world where we can easily observe a constant shift in the work dynamics and methodologies of industries around us. The tech industry has the biggest hand in this change and evolution. With the unique and beneficial inventions and developments in this industry, people are now looking forward to transforming their work patterns from traditional to technological. One such tech development is known as mobile applications, commonly called mobile apps. These apps have transformed how industries function as well as how human lives function. In this blog, we will focus on everything that goes into developing apps as well as understand the app development cost process.
The Mobile App Industry: An Overview
The mobile app industry is known to be thriving with each passing year. The statistical reports of the industry have estimated the revenue of the sector to reach $613 billion by 2025. Since the majority of the population owns mobile phones or smartphone devices, this automatically means that these people are constantly availing themselves of the services of different mobile apps. This has led industries, be it healthcare, education, media, sports, news, and many more, to realize that one of the fastest ways to grow and progress is by shifting their work methodologies to digital mode so that they can attract more people and increase their revenue generation.
In this regard, industries have been heavily reaching out to mobile app development companies to get their applications made in no time, at an affordable price, and with the added benefits of professional guidance that assures fewer risks and errors.
The Important Role And Responsibility Of A Mobile App Developer
The mobile app development industry is incomplete without mobile app developers. These developers are professionals who have the skills and experiential background to design, create, and deploy hundreds and thousands of mobile applications in the app market. App developers do not only take over these three procedures but also provide their consultancy and assistance throughout the procedure and help other professionals working in the team as well.
What Skills Do Mobile App Developers Possess?
Mobile app developers are not only pros at technical skills but also possess tons of soft skills that make them successful in the industry. A few of these skills include:
Technical Skills
● Coding skills.
● Back-end development skills.
● Front-end development skills.
● Full-stack development.
● Software integration.
● Research skills.
● Programming.
Soft Skills
● Problem-solving skills.
● Decision-making skills.
● Communication skills.
● Teamwork skills.
Check It Out: Database as a Service
What Are The Types Of Mobile Applications?
Moving forward in the article, we will discuss a few types of mobile applications before understanding how mobile apps are developed and the app development cost process. The reason for discussing these types is to understand what is in the market and what mobile app developers have to offer. Some of these types are
- Native Mobile Applications.
- Mobile Web Applications.
- Hybrid Mobile Applications.
- Native Mobile Applications
These apps have the unique feature of being deployed on a singular or specific platform, for instance, Android apps or iOS apps.
- Mobile Web Applications
Mobile web apps are accessible through their web browsers without being installed.
- Hybrid Mobile Applications
Hybrid mobile apps are the third type of application that we will be discussing. Just like native apps, these applications do require installation from the app stores. However, they include the features of both web apps and native apps.
What Are The Benefits Of Mobile App Development For Businesses?
In this section of the article, we will review a few of the benefits and advantages that creating a mobile app provides to businesses.
- Market Place And Value.
- Increased Conversion Rates.
- Improves Customer Satisfaction.
- Open Doors For Effective Marketing.
- Market Place And Value
The first benefit of mobile app development for businesses is that it allows companies and the industrial sector to establish their name and place in the market. Since there is an increasing amount of competition among businesses in the market, app development helps people make their own identities on a vast scale.
- Increased Conversion Rates
The third benefit of mobile app development is increased conversion rates. Users often tend to turn into customers when they realize the potential of your business through your app, which helps increase conversion rates.
- Improves Customer Satisfaction
With the help of data analysis and getting detailed insights into customer preference and buying behavior, businesses can easily make customers feel heard and belong to the business cause, which would improve customer satisfaction.
- Open Doors For Effective Marketing
Mobile applications also pave the way for generating effective marketing campaigns for businesses. The majority of people are active on social media platforms, which leads to brand awareness and media visibility.
How Are Mobile Applications Developed?
You might be wondering, if the article is about app development cost, why are we reviewing all of this information? Well, this knowledge is essential as it is interlinked with determining the costing procedure of a mobile app. You will understand this better in the following sections of the article. Mobile applications are developed by following a detailed procedure for mobile app development.
Also Check Out This: Why is a Quality Assurance Tester Needed on a Software Development Team?
The Stages Of Mobile App Development
In this section of the article, we will review the stages of mobile app development.
- Planning And Making Important Decisions.
- Designing the Application And Prototype Making.
- Beginning With The Initial Development.
- Beginning With The Front-End Development.
- Testing And Debugging.
- Deploying The App In The Market.
- Maintaining The App Constantly.
- Planning And Making Important Decisions
The first step of mobile app development is more like a pre-development phase. In this phase, the mobile app developers, along with the app owner, have to make some important decisions based on the initial idea of the application, market research, competitor research, and user demands. Some of these important decisions that are included in the planning stage include the following:
- The purpose of developing an application.
- Target audience.
- Unique selling point of the application.
- The type of application.
- The features that will be integrated into the application.
- The platform or platforms of deployment and monetization strategy for the application.
- Resources and technologies that will be required in the process, along with their availability.
- The need for mobile app developers and other professionals in the project.
- Marketing strategy for the mobile app.
- Overall deadline along with the breakdown of timelines.
- Last but not least, and the most important point, is a cost budget.
These decisions help mobile app development team members and the client remain on the same page from day one. Other than that, in times of confusion, developers can easily refer to the developmental plan or edit it when it is needed.
- Designing the Application And Prototype Making
The second step of the mobile app development journey includes developers designing and creating a prototype of the mobile application. A prototype is an initial version of a product that includes only a limited number of features to test the functionality or workings of the app idea to make sure that it is practical and okay to move forward with its creation. Prototype creation can be of many types, and it depends on the requirements of the project and the developers’ approach, which makes them select either one or a mixture of prototype creation methods.
- Beginning With The Initial Development
The initial development procedure begins with the back-end development of the mobile application, which includes creating codes, integrating features into the mobile app, checking their functionality, and other essential elements of the mobile application.
- Beginning With The Front-End Development
Meanwhile, some mobile developers indulge in the process of back-end development of the mobile application; skilled professionals who are pros at mobile app design carry out the task of creating the front-end development of the application. In other words, these developers are busy designing and creating functional, attractive, and interactive User Interfaces (UI) for mobile apps.
- Testing And Debugging
Once the mobile app development is done with both back-end and front-end development, the creation phase enters the testing stage. In this stage, the app is tested as many times as it is required to detect any kind of error and debug it.
- Deploying The App In The Market
After the mobile app is tested and debugged, it enters the final stage of the developmental process, which is deploying it on the chosen platform.
- Maintaining The App Constantly
Lastly, it is essential for app developers to keep an eye on customer feedback after the launch of a mobile application to ensure that the working condition of the app is satisfactory.
A List of Features That Are Included In Mobile Applications
Based on the type, purpose, and objective of developing a mobile application, there are different types of features that might be integrated into the application. Some of them are mentioned in the list below.
● Push notifications.
● Two-method authentication.
● Sign-in and sign-out options.
● Wishlists.
● Maps.
● Direct messaging.
● Chatbots.
● Payment options.
● How-to screens.
● Calendar.
● Social sharing, etc.
How Are App Development Stages Related To App Development Cost?
The purpose of reviewing the stages of app development is that it is directly connected to the cost of making a mobile application. There is not a certain or definite cost that goes into developmental stages; however, it is more based on a percentage-based criterion.
- The planning stage would require 10% of the total cost of app development.
- The design stage would cost 15% of the total app development cost.
- The developmental stage would require 60% of the app development cost.
- The testing stage would require an estimated percentage of 10%.
- The deployment phase costs the least, with 5% of the total app development expense.
- The cost of app maintenance is estimated to be 15% to 20% of the app development cost per year.
Also, Check These Out
- How To Choose The Best Mobile App Development Company?
- Image Recognition In Python Based On Machine Learning
How Much Does It Cost To Make A Mobile Application?
Genuinely speaking, there is no one answer to this question. You will only find out the true value and cost of your mobile application once you talk to the professional mobile app developers who will create it. The reason for this is that the cost of a mobile application depends on many factors. However, the estimated cost of mobile app development ranges from
- Simple applications might get developed at an expense of $10,000 to $40,000 or more.
- A mid-complex app might be developed at a cost of $30,000 to $500,000 or more.
- A high-end application might be created at an expense of $500,000 or more, which might even reach millions.
What Are The Factors That Influence The App Development Cost?
In this section of the article, we will be discussing a few of these factors to gain a better understanding.
- Type Of Application.
- The Platform Of App Hosting.
- Cost Of App Developers.
- Additional Members Of The Mobile App Development Team.
- Feature Of The Application.
- Other App Development Costs.
- Type Of Application
The first factor that highly influences the cost of mobile app development is the type of mobile app the client wants. Each type of application requires a different time period to be developed, different features to be integrated, and other requirements. This automatically leads to a difference in cost criteria for each application. A few of these types include
- The healthcare app’s estimated cost is $50,000–$250,000.
- The social media app’s estimated cost is $50,000–$500,000.
- The educational app’s estimated cost is $25,000–$250,000.
- E-commerce apps estimated cost is $30,000–$500,000.
- Gaming apps require an increased budget because they might range from $30,000 to $500,000 or more.
- The tourism app’s estimated cost is $30,000–$500,000.
- The Platform Of App Hosting
The second factor that heavily influences the cost of the mobile app development procedure is the platform chosen to host the app. Clients have multiple hosting options when it comes to app creation; however, the most common ones are
- Hybrid platforms that can cost $13,000 or more.
- Mobile web app development options that can cost $13,000 or more.
- Native applications that focus on creating the app for a single platform can cost $8,000 or more.
- Cost Of App Developers
The cost of app development is also determined by the app developers you choose. In this case, businesses and companies usually have three common options.
- In-House Employees
The first option is hiring full-time, in-house mobile app developers as employees. This option is one of the most costly when it comes to hiring app developers, as their salaries are pretty high, estimated at $113,125 per year in the USA.
- Freelancers
The second option for selecting mobile app developers is through freelancing. This option is comparatively less costly, as a rough estimation of a freelancer’s hourly fee is around $13 to $60 per hour. However, it is essential to do thorough market research on these freelancers to save yourself from getting scammed. Freelancers are preferred when a specific part of the project is required to be developed or a simple app is being made.
- Outsourcing Agencies
One of the safest and most profitable outcome-guaranteed options is opting for outsourcing agencies. These companies provide an entire team of professionals to carry out all the necessary tasks involved in developing a mobile application. The cost criteria of outsourcing agencies are neither too expensive nor too low; they are affordable as they come in packages.
- Additional Members Of The Mobile App Development Team
The next factor that influences the app development cost is the number of additional team members that are required in the process of mobile app development. A mobile app development team includes different professionals who join hands to develop functional, error-free, and beneficial apps. For instance, a team would include a UI/UX designer, QA tester, software engineer, project manager, digital marketing expert, etc.
- Feature Of The Application
One of the biggest factors that is known to impact and determine the app development cost is the type, quality, and quantity of features that will be installed in the application. As the number of features increases, so will the price, and the same goes for the complexity of the features. If an application includes all the recent and trending features, it will automatically increase the cost of development.
- Other App Development Costs
There are many other factors in app development that determine the cost criteria for app creation.
Some of these factors include the following points:
- The technical requirements required for back-end development
- Integration of the mobile application with external systems and applications
- The cost of the fee required to deploy the app
- The labor cost of the location where the app is being developed
- The cost of working on digital marketing of the application
- The cost of post-development maintenance and upgrade of the application, etc
Also, Check These Out
- The Process Of Hybrid App Development
- What Are The Leading And Most Valuable Forums For Mobile Game Development?
Are There Any Ways To Reduce App Development Costs And Make them Affordable?
People often wonder if there are any ways through which they can reduce or control the cost of mobile app development. Since the need to launch mobile applications on the market is becoming necessary for businesses and companies, everyone is looking forward to developing apps in an affordable way. There are a few possible ways in which businesses can control the app development cost without losing the quality of their services. Some of them are mentioned in the list below.
- Launch An MVP.
- Develop A Simple Application.
- Hire Professional App Developers.
- Using Readymade Templates.
- Outsourcing App Development.
- Launch An MVP
The first way to reduce the cost of mobile app development is to launch an MVP on the market for users. MVP is the short form of a minimally viable product. It is defined as a version of the application that includes the basic features of the app that are necessary to make it functional and fulfill its purpose. With the help of an MVP, businesses get the benefit of launching their app in the market and then working further on upgrading it over time, which lets them invest money clearly instead of spending it all at once.
- Develop A Simple Application
The next trick to reducing the development costs of mobile applications is to keep the UI/UX design and other developmental procedures simple. People often assume that developing an extraordinarily complex app will help them win the competition in the market. However, this is not the case in reality.
Consumers will always look forward to installing and utilizing apps that have user-friendly and easy-to-learn features. Therefore, it is important to keep the features and functionality of the app simple and minimal, which will also reduce the cost.
- Hire Professional App Developers
The next tip that has been proven to be beneficial for businesses in reducing the cost of mobile app development procedures is handing over the task to skilled and professional workers. People often make the mistake of hiring people who have little experiential background because they are providing affordable and inexpensive services.
However, this costs them a lot of money in the long run, as an unskilled app developer will spend more time and waste more money and resources. On the other hand, a skilled and professional app developer will utilize the right resources at the right time to eliminate the risk of loss and errors.
- Using Readymade Templates
The fourth tip to reduce mobile app development costs is to utilize ready-made templates available on the market. Mobile app development frameworks are libraries that provide instant solutions for app developers to design and create unique, creative, and functional apps in no time. Some of these frameworks are open source, and some of them require a specific fee to avail their services.
However, in both situations, this option saves plenty of time as it allows app developers to save time as well as money.
- Outsourcing App Development
Last but not least, outsourcing app development is one of the most recommended and preferred solutions to reduce mobile app development costs. With the help of outsourcing solutions and services, people get the chance to work with professionals who not only provide their expertise at affordable rates but also know how to deliver top-quality functional apps in no time.
Another reason why people prefer outsourcing options for mobile app development is the difference in labor costs between countries. If you opt for an outsourcing agency located in a region with low labor costs, you will automatically reduce the cost of app development for your project.
Does The Duration Of Time Influence The Cost Of Mobile App Development?
One of the biggest misconceptions made by people is that they need to remember to take into account the time duration that is required to develop a mobile application. However, in reality, the time taken from designing the app to developing it, testing it, and then finally deploying it matters a lot in determining the cost of a mobile app. There are different types of mobile app development companies that work on different strategies to fix app development costs. Many of these companies place heavy emphasis on the duration of developing an app. An increase in the time taken to create an app will automatically increase the cost.
What Mistakes Should Businesses Avoid To Reduce The Cost Of Making A Mobile App?
In the last section of the article, we will review some of the mistakes that should be avoided by businesses to reduce the cost of app development procedures.
- Keeping The Cost Of Updating In Mind.
- Taking Decisions Beforehand.
- Changing The Product Idea.
- Being In A Hurry.
- Keeping The Cost Of Updating In Mind
The first and most common mistake that businesses make is ignoring the cost of upgrades that will be required in the app from time to time. The app development procedure does not end with the deployment of the application in the market, and it is necessary to spare some budget for constant upgradation and implementation of features.
- Taking Decisions Beforehand
The second mistake that should be avoided in order to reduce app development costs is making the most decisions beforehand. A roadmap of the app development procedure helps developers, as well as app owners, eliminate the possible risks of creating confusion in the future, leading to extra costs.
- Changing The Product Idea
A mistake that could help businesses reduce the app development cost is refraining from constantly changing the idea and purpose behind creating the app. Changing the idea of the application will increase the time, money, and resource requirements again and again. This would also mean that the money invested in the previous procedures would go to waste, causing more losses and no profit.
- Being In A Hurry
The last mistake that businesses should avoid is not leaving or giving enough time to the app developers so that they can get their applications out in no time. Being in a hurry will only cause miscommunication, more errors, incomplete work, and negative outcomes. Therefore, it is always recommended to leave plenty of time for developers to do their work.
To Wrap Up
Mobile app development has become the talk of the town recently because of the benefits and advantages it provides to different industrial sectors. With the help of these apps, companies are becoming successful in attracting a large number of consumers, which in turn leads to an increase in revenue generation. However, it is also essential for these firms to evaluate the app development cost beforehand and get in contact with app developers who will help them make clever investments and ensure profitable gains.
Also, check These Out
