Checklist for Choosing the Best Mobile App Development Services
In 2020, global revenue from mobile apps will have Increased by $318 billion USD. This was a significant increase from the previous year’s figure of 60 billion US dollars.
With over 200 billion US dollars in revenue, the mobile games segment topped the list. Social networking mobile apps generated approximately 31 billion dollars in revenue, placing them second on the list.
Mobile apps are becoming most popular in all segments due to their high earning potential and the opportunity to capture a large market share. According to Statista, over 3.48 million mobile apps were available on the Google Play store as of the first quarter of 2021.
Revenue of mobile apps worldwide 2017-2025, by segment (in million U.S. dollars). Courtesy: Statista.
As mobile apps became most popular, the demand for mobile app development services also improved. Businesses and entrepreneurs recognized the significance of finding mobile app development services to maximize their revenue and growth potential.
However, the demand for mobile application development services has significant growth in their industry. Mobile app development companies are coming into existence on the opportunity across the globe.
As a result, most businesses find it difficult to select app development companies from a wide range of options.
The number of available apps in the Google Play Store from 2nd quarter 2015 to 1st quarter 2021. Courtesy: Statista.
Resources required for mobile app development:
You may believe that new-age businesses such as mobile games and social media are distinct from traditional businesses. Their business strategy and resource allocation are unique in a way that traditional businesses cannot comprehend.
This, however, is a misconception.
Any technology-oriented business, like any other, has strategies that are almost identical to those of a traditional business. Market research, competitor analysis, consumer behavior study, planning, and implementation of the solution, marketing, and post-purchase services are all prioritized. The major areas in which a new-age company invests its resources are below.
Market Research
There are a few steps you must take before you begin developing your app. “Market research” is the first item on the list.
Try to find answers to questions like
Who is your target audience?
What are the problems they are facing?
How will the solution you’re working on benefiting them?
What are the current options available to your intended audience?
How can your solution help the audience better?
Business strategy
You must plan how the mobile app you are developing will benefit your company. Profit and growth are the ultimate goals of any business. As a result, any investment they make should yield profits or growth.
At this point, a company should decide whether the mobile app will be part of their growth strategy or a source of revenue. For example, a construction company can create a mobile app as a media consumption platform where they can share the latest designs, DIY tutorials, or general construction and design tips and guides. The strategy, in this case, is to help their brand name reach a larger audience, making it easier to sell to the same audience later.
A revenue-oriented solution, on the other hand, will be a platform through which a company can connect with their customers and sell products and services to them directly. eCommerce sites are a good example of this.
Another thing a company should consider is how they intend to implement this strategy. Are they going to make money through ads, subscription offers, in-app purchases, one-time payments, upgrade plans, or some other method? What types of content can they use if their strategy is to increase their brand’s reach? How frequently should the content be updated? Is it necessary to make the content available in multiple languages?
Consumer study
To be honest, this should be included in all stages of app development. Several times, the targeted audience will come into contact with a business. Each interaction will provide more information about the targeted audience. As a business, you should use this data to improve your products and find more effective ways to reach your target audience.
Direct surveys and market research can be used to build a customer profile in the early stages. Once the app is live, you can use the data from the built-in analytics or third-party tools to make decisions. More information can be gathered directly from customers after they have directly engaged with your business, either during a business transaction or after they have made a purchase.
The information gathered can be used to improve existing products, introduce new products, boost marketing efforts, and so on.
Building the app
The app can be built in-house or by contracting with outside firms that specialize in mobile app development.
While developing an app in-house gives you more control over the entire process, it may increase the cost of the process and delay the app’s release. You must invest in technology, infrastructure, human resources, and set your own methodologies and quality standards. You must also consider app deployment and post-deployment strategies. All of this will incur costs, and hiring the appropriate resources and establishing infrastructure, among other things, will take time.
If you hire a mobile app development company, they will already have the necessary resources and methodologies. As a result, the development cost and time may be lower than if an app were developed in-house.
Hiring an app development agency is the best option if you have no prior experience in this field, have a limited budget, or need to launch the app as soon as possible.
App launch and post-deployment
Whether it is an iOS app or an Android app, your app must adhere to specific guidelines and quality standards in order to be featured on respective app markets. This is, for example, a recommendation made by Apple. This is one of the guidelines provided by Google. There are a number of such guidelines and tips available for both the App Store and the Google Play Store.
However, simply submitting your app to the app store or play store will not suffice. Even if app store optimization is done correctly, your app’s success cannot be guaranteed at this stage. You must promote your newly launched app to your target audience, which necessitates the implementation of a well-planned marketing strategy.
You should also update your app on a regular basis to meet new technology standards while also keeping it secure and bug-free.
Should you hire mobile app development services?
As you just read, mobile app development is a complex process that combines business strategies and technological innovation. It requires market and technological knowledge. The resources required for developing a mobile app are extensive, and you should plan ahead of time to avoid squandering your investment.
As a result, unless you have prior experience developing a mobile app, it is always preferable to hire mobile app development services so that the outcome can be somewhat guaranteed. The benefit of hiring a mobile app development company is that the right one will have enough industry experience and expertise to assist you with the entire process, from market research and product conceptualization to app launch and app marketing.
But how do you discover the best mobile app development services?
Finding the right mobile app development services
The definition of “best mobile app development services” may differ from one company to the next. There are several factors that determine whether a mobile app development service is appropriate or inappropriate for a business.
Price
First and foremost, the cost of hiring an app development service should be reasonable. Unless the services are available at a price range you can afford, hiring is pointless because the project will never be completed and you may lose ownership of the final product.
Hiring globally is the best way to find low-cost app development services. The cost of developing mobile apps, for example, is lower in South-East Asian countries such as India and Eastern European countries. If you believe that hiring from these countries will not disadvantage you in terms of communication and quality, this will be a wise investment decision.
Pricing model
Pricing models for app development agencies are frequently different. Some agencies, for example, charge you per project, while others charge you based on services provided, and still, others may charge you based on resources. There are also app development firms that provide you with a flexible pricing model.
Experience
Hiring an experienced app development agency is the best option for most businesses because it reduces risk.
When hiring a mobile app development company, inquire about their previous experience developing similar mobile apps or mobile apps for the same market or industry. Examine the market performance of the apps. They may be familiar with the industry, business model, and target market if they have prior experience developing a similar app. As a result, they can apply their experience at each stage of development, such as user experience, technology platform selection, payment integration, data security, and legal compliance, among others.
You should also test the performance and quality of the mobile apps they have created by downloading a few of them and using them on a device. You can also look at the ratings and feedback their previous customers have given them.
Expertise
The creation of a mobile app is a difficult process. It consists of several stages, each of which necessitates expertise in a specific discipline.
The first stage of app development, for example, can be identified as product conceptualization. This stage entails planning the product you intend to develop, its strengths, and how it will benefit you as a business and the targeted audience with their problems. The expertise should be related to market research and business planning in this case.
The following stage of app development is concerned with product design. It is the process of translating a product concept into design elements such as wireframes, icons, typography, and images. Creativity and design skills are required in this situation.
Experts will be required in the following stages.
- Finding the right technology platforms,
- Maintaining coding standards,
- Understanding quality parameters,
- Following legal and security guidelines,
- Meeting app store eligibility
- Promote the mobile app
- User analytics etc.
If you intend to hire an agency to manage the entire mobile app development process, you should ensure that they have the necessary expertise to manage each stage of the development cycle. A lack of expertise in even one stage can have a negative impact on the success of your mobile app.
Location
When hiring from outside the country, you must be mindful of communication and cultural differences.
If there is a significant time difference, communication may suffer because the team you hired may not be available at a time that is convenient for you. So, before hiring, make sure that support is available around the clock or at a time that is convenient for you and your team.
You should also confirm that the team can communicate in a language that you are familiar with. Misunderstandings will result from miscommunication. It will cause unnecessary delays in development and may have a negative impact on the final product’s functions.
Quality standards
A mobile app’s quality is essential for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, the app should provide a positive user experience. It should meet security standards to avoid legal action from authorities or users who believe the app has violated their fundamental rights. To be eligible for submission to the App Store and Play Store, the most popular app markets currently on the market, the quality should be kept in check.
So, when you looking for mobile application development services, make sure the service provider understands these quality standards. Normally, any professional app development agency will have a document that states the quality standards they follow, the measurements they take to ensure mobile app quality, and how they mitigate any issues that arise related to this matter, as well as contact information for the people who are in charge of monitoring and maintaining the quality of the product they develop.
Before hiring, you should inquire whether the agency is willing to share such documents. If such documents are not available, you should investigate your options to determine what quality standards the agency adheres to.
Property rights and Disclosure
Without a doubt. If you are paying for the services, you should own the product concept and final product. In the early stages of communication, you and the app development agency should sign a proper non-disclosure agreement, and the agency should respect the product as intellectual property of your business.
Security
Any app product must meet security standards. The app should be safe and secure to use, protected from unauthorized access, and the data should be securely stored in accordance with all data policy and data security standards established by security experts and legal authorities.
Any failure in this department will not only have a negative impact on the business but will also incur additional costs in the form of fines and compensation, as well as tarnish the company’s image in the eyes of the public. It may even force the company to close its doors, and the parties involved may face legal consequences.
Delivery management
Hiring mobile app development services does not imply that you will hand over the entire process to the agency and be left to wait until the final product is ready.
The agency should keep you updated on the progress of the development and solicit your feedback on a regular basis. You should not be treated as an outsider, but rather as a member of the team. Regular meetings should be scheduled, and you should have the ability to express your concerns and provide feedback.
In the early stages of communication, the delivery management standards and guidelines should be documented and shared with you. As a client, you should have company contact information for various levels of team members.
Deployment
Deployment is the process of releasing the final version of a mobile app and making it available to actual users.
Apps are typically distributed through app markets such as the App Store or the Google Play Store, depending on the technology and platform. Each app market has its own set of guidelines and quality standards that must be met in order to be deployed. The mobile app will be approved only after it has been reviewed. All of these guidelines should be familiar to the agency, and it should ensure that the app is deployed as planned. They should also be responsible for all App Store Optimization (ASO) techniques that will assist the app in reaching more users.
Post-deployment services
Post-deployment services are primarily concerned with app maintenance. It includes bug fixes, the release of new versions, the addition of new functionalities and features, user analytics, data acquisition, etc.
For post-deployment services, most companies charge by the hour or by a monthly retainer fee. However, this will be entirely dependent on their business and pricing model. As a company, you should strive to hire the best post-deployment services because they have a direct impact on uptime and user experience.
Conclusion
It is not difficult to find mobile app development services in this day and age. Finding the “right” application development services, on the other hand, maybe difficult for most businesses because the definition of “best app development services” varies from one to the next. Because every business is different, you should look for an app development agency that understands your industry and business goals, as well as shares the same business values as you.
TeamTweaks has over 12 years of experience developing mobile apps for both startups and large corporations. Throughout our history, we have created several trendsetting yet cost-effective solutions for a variety of industries. Contact us right away if you are looking for an experienced mobile app development company
