Things to Look For When Choosing a Mobile App Developer

There was a time when even having a mobile phone was considered a luxury, and it meant luxury even to the top business owners across the globe. Today, having a smartphone has become the norm, and it has become rather mandatory for every business to have its mobile app. It might not be an exaggeration to say that mobile applications have been commodity. A simple Google search for mobile app development companies or mobile app developers gives you a plethora of options that might extend way beyond the 10th page of the search results.

You have to build your business with the utmost care and consideration. The same magnitude of care and meticulousness has to be applied in finding the right mobile app development company for your business.

An unavoidable offshoot of the number of choices is the magnitude of confusion. It might not be easy for you to conclude on the mobile app developer or the development company that you will need to partner with. We have compiled below a list of aspects that need to be taken into consideration when choosing your mobile app development partner.

The platform

The world of smartphones is dominated by Google and Apple, or to be specific iOS and Android. It is quite inevitable for any business to choose one of these and reject the other. However, each business has its own set of priorities. Some applications might have their focus on business, and some of them might have their focus on the consumer. Considering this aspect, business apps might want to go for iOS, and consumer apps might want to go for Android.

You will have to choose your developer, who will fall in line with your business requirements. There are considerable chances that you will find app developers who are experts in both these platforms. However, they might have their own areas of specialization. It is important to understand the areas of expertise of your mobile app developer before you get into a business relationship with them.

Another alternative is to use hybrid applications. Hybrid apps can flawlessly integrate with both the platforms and give you an experience that is on par with native apps. Although there are a few misgivings like the essential need for internet connectivity and bounded efficiency, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. However, if you would like to create the most robust experience for users by using native apps built for each platform, specifically, it might cost you quite some time and money. It all depends on the extent of delight that you would like to give your app users.

The extent of communication

Mobile app development is not an activity that happens with a single communication or even just emails communication. There is a need to constantly collaborate and brainstorm to ensure that your app gets to the best shape based on the inputs from the developer side as well.

In most cases, considering the economic standpoint, a lot of businesses tend to go with freelance developers. Although there are chances that you might find talented and dedicated freelancers, it has always been low in probability. To circumvent the challenges when it comes to freelance mobile developers, it is better for you to choose developers who are available in the same area and same time zone as you. It helps a lot if they speak the same language as you do, so there is no loss in translation.

Alternatively, you can consider partnering with an app development agency. The agency eliminates all the uncertainties associated with freelancers. They ensure that they have someone to back up your process if the developer is not available.

The transparency in pricing

Generally, when it comes to mobile app development, freelancers quote the price for building the technical competence of the user interface. However, it shouldn't be forgotten that a fully functional app is interplay of your front-end, the back end, analytics, security, authentication, and push notifications. All these factors need to be taken into consideration when the cost of building the mobile app is quoted.

As a business, it is important for you to question your mobile app developer or your app development company on all the price components involved. This will not only help you budget your mobile app but will also give you better clarity on what to expect and what not to. The transparency of the mobile app development partnership should play a major role in choosing the best mobile app development company for you.

Security

It has been statistically proven that about 56% of the top hundred paid apps on the Apple App Store have been susceptible to attacks by hackers. The number of attacks on mobile apps is increasing by over 1.6x every year.

Therefore, security should be of paramount concern when you partner with your mobile app developer. Anyways answer in the context of security should never be deemed acceptable. Your app development partner should be able to specifically tell you the steps that they will take to secure your app. Based on the nature of your app, depending on if it is an enterprise or a consumer app, the security features and the cost associated will differ.

Security should be given additional importance when it comes to apps that handle customer payment information. If you are building an e-commerce app or an on-demand app, the protocol, the payment gateway, and the encryption of information needed to be taken into consideration at the development stage.

The security should also be updated on an ongoing basis after the app has been developed. It forms a part of the larger picture of post-development support. App updates are essential to keep up with the latest trends in UI and to mitigate the extent of vulnerabilities due to the latest threats by hackers.

Conclusion

Mobile app development will not perish any time soon and is only expected to grow in terms of demand for perfection and features. The introduction of new technologies like artificial intelligence, block chain, and the internet of things will only make mobile app development more complex. The increasing magnitude of complexity mandates that you will need to have the best mobile app development companies’ period. The information given above should surely help you choose the best partner for you!