Mobile Application Development Cost - Things To Consider
It has been found that more than 86% of the mobile users’ time is spent on mobile applications. Whether it is messaging, posting photographs or ordering things online, consumers are glued to the apps on their smartphones. This has been a key driving factor for enterprises in increasing their investments in developing mobile apps. It is only imperative that Mobile app development costs find a key place in the top budget factors of most of the global organizations.
Generally mobile app development consists of the following five steps:
Research
UI/UX Design
App Development
Testing and Deployment
Support and Maintenance
At the primary level, the functional necessities of an app determine the inherent cost involved in its development. Here are a few key factors that decide the cost of developing a mobile application.
Geographical Location
The location of the developer is a key determining factor for the average cost of app development. North American developers are the most expensive to hire. The hourly rates of the app developers in India are one of the lowest.
If there is no in-house team to develop the app, it has to be decided whether the development team has to be a local one or an outsourced one. The most common argument that is given to choose a local team is that physical proximity might help in simplifying communication. But in these times when the physical distances are not so much of a concern with the advent of technology, it makes more sense to outsource a team of developers. A superior level of expertise at reasonable costs might be an intelligent choice. In a lot of cases, the foreign developers tend to outperform the local talent pool and they are also more than willing to go that extra mile to ensure that the physical distance is not felt by the client by way of constant updates about the app.
App Platform
Apps may be developed using Native app development technique or Cross Platform development. In Native app development, apps are developed for each of the operating systems individually. Usually this is more expensive since you would require separate developers for development on individual platforms, and it is time-consuming.
According to technopedia, Cross-Platform Development means developing an application for multiple platforms, providing a similar environment across the platforms. The codes can be reused and agile app development tools help to reduce the cost of development significantly. It is easier and faster to deploy. So based on the budget allocation for app development, it can be decided whether to go for technically superior Native Apps or easy on the pocket Cross Platform Apps.
Functionality and Features
The main purpose of the mobile app can be a key factor in determining the developmental cost. The number of features and the complexity directly affects the budget as it would dictate the level of expertise of the developer as well as the time required. Based on the project complexity, apps can be classified as simple, mid-sized and complex. Simple apps do not call for extensive user information gathering. Middle sized apps cover a number of processes while complex apps are feature-rich. Complex apps require real-time synchronizations, interactivity, performance offline etc.
A number of complex features like Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and 3D animations add to the complexity of the app and further increase costs.
App Design
Mobile app design comprises designing both the User Interface (UI) and the User Experience (UX). Designers decide what colour scheme to follow, types of buttons and font sizes. App design can be implemented using Standard UI or Custom UI. Customized UIs are time consuming and hence more expensive than Standard UIs. The most basic step in UI designing is to get the WireFrame in place. Wireframe is the visual depiction of how the app should be. After this as the complexity of the elements in the app increases with respect to the UI/UX, the cost of the app also increases. Various latest technologies like VR and AR, if integrated into the UX design, the time required for implementation would go up and so does the cost.
Backend Integration and Testing
Normally, in mobile app development, the OS provides APIs for developers to facilitate data exchange between an app and a database. Sometimes, based on the functionality of the app, it might be necessary to opt for third party API integration. In some cases, these APIs are readily available, while in others, as the app demands, it might have to be developed. So such integrations can get expensive. Also, in many cases, it is not cheap to manage the backend of an API, push new content and handle traffic from multiple users.
Another tool that is used by apps is an administration panel that is used for managing content, users and statistics. In order to track activities and assess the performance of the app, it is equipped with analytics. Based on the number of parameters to be analysed, the cost may vary.
A very important step in mobile application development is testing the app for any errors. Quality Assurance and testing is very vital and it is to be done extensively before launching an app. The app has to be tested in multiple devices and in all available scenarios to mitigate the risk of hang ups or errors once the app reaches the hands of customers. In many cases, this is an added cost, but an unavoidable one at that.
Maintenance Plans
Once the app is deployed, you cannot dust your hands. Whether it is an enterprise app or a consumer app, the maintenance of the app has to be factored in. Basic app maintenance would include bug fixing, improving stability and performance, code optimizations and support for the latest OS updates and third party integrations. In addition to this, if the app has to be scaled up or if new features have to be added, that would also incur additional costs as it is a continuous process based on the market demand.
App Hosting and App Security
A mobile application that is developed has to be hosted somewhere in order to work seamlessly. The choice of the right hosting partner depends on parameters like bandwidth per user, monthly active users, backend API requests and scalability. There are options for shared hosting as well as dedicated hosting. Dedicated hosting is more expensive than shared hosting.
App security is a crucial factor these days as there are constant threats from hackers. Most of the apps in the app store, especially enterprise apps have a lot of sensitive user data. It is absolutely important to use tools that identify the vulnerabilities in the apps and make the apps secure. The cost of securing all these data is quite high and thus plays a pivotal role in influencing the cost of app development.
Conclusion
An app that is user friendly and interactive can be a turning point for businesses in the current scenario. With millions of apps crowding the app market, it is necessary to build an app that would stay ahead of the competition. Every step, from ideation to UI/UX design to deployment to maintenance is pivotal in achieving that business goal. So choose the right people to work with to create a product that would take the app world by storm.
