How to Find a Great App Development Company
When it comes to app development, finding the right partner for your project can be a complete minefield. You’ve got budget, scope and timescales to consider, and there are so many companies on the market. However, you need to remember that you are looking for a partner, not just a service provider. Make the right choice and you’ll be all the better for it.
When it comes to choosing an app development company, you need to see through all the noise and the marketing and get to the bones of what a company is offering you. After all, app development isn’t a cheap endeavour. If you’re going to invest a considerable amount of money, you need to ensure it will get the necessary return. To help you make the right decision, here are nine top tips for finding a great app development company.
1. Make Sure You Secure a Viable Idea
With so many apps on the market, you’ll want to make sure yours stands out. Any reputable app agency won’t help you build an app just for the sake of you having one and them getting money in their pocket. A great app development company will want to help you succeed. This means taking your idea and ensuring it can effectively solve a core user problem. What’s more, once you’ve landed on a strong and original product idea, your app development company should be able to help you safeguard your intellectual property during development. Your concepts and ideas should remain yours at all times.
2. Do Your Research
Finding the best app development team does take time, but it is time well spent. The first thing you’ll want to do, once you’ve got an idea for an app or a problem that an app could solve, is to take a look at different companies. A company that has a proven track record with a platform is going to want to showcase it. Consider whether the company has worked with well-known brands and companies and be sure to read any available testimonials. What is worth bearing in mind, however, is that it isn’t fundamental that an agency has worked on a similar app or within your industry. The skillset you’re looking for is the ability to use applications to solve core business and user challenges.
3. Review Their Previous Work
Once you contact a company, you should be able to get a more in-depth idea about who they are. Any trustworthy app development company will be more than happy to provide you with examples of their previous work and client testimonials. Their portfolio should include reviews from customers who can vouch for their abilities. By looking through their work, you can get a sense of the quality of the work that they provide and the scope of their expertise.
4. Ensure They Are Versatile
If you are investing in an app development company, you don’t want an off-the-shelf solution. A great agency will always be thinking outside of the box to make sure your app takes advantage of new ways of coding and new technologies. Look for an app development company that can set you up for future growth. That means being able to deliver cross-platform development and develop for multiple frameworks and languages. You won’t know exactly what skills you need for your app straight away, so it pays to have a team that is versatile.
5. Define The App Development Process
If you’re going to invest in an app development company, you need to understand the process they will use. An app is far more than something that is pleasing to the eye; it needs to create a positive user experience and generate user loyalty. Your app development company should have user experience at the forefront of its app development process. The basics of any process should include discovery meetings, mock-ups, approvals, testing, quality assurance and deployment. Make sure all of these deliverables are clear and that there will be checkpoints along the way.
6. Consider How You’ll Communicate
Communication is key to any project. You’ll need to know that you’ll be able to get hold of your developers to ask questions. A great app development company should be able to lay out clear, open and concise lines of communication. This ensures everyone stays informed and updated on progress. Check that the method of communication works for you, whether email or in person. Also, as well as being able to reach out, you should expect weekly updates as a minimum.
7. Get a Handle On Pricing
Budget is bound to be an important part of your decision-making process, so it’s vital that pricing is clear from the outset. It is difficult to directly compare costs between companies because there are so many variables involved. Features and functionalities, the scope of the project and ongoing costs will all have an impact. However, what is important is that you understand the reasons behind each quote. Cheaper isn’t necessarily better, but you need to make sure that your money is being put to good use. Your quote should involve structured pricing that lets you see the time needed for each aspect of the process.
8. Check You’ll Have Ongoing Support
App development is rarely a one-off project. Once it’s launched, it will need updating or modifying at some point. You might need essential upgrades, bug patches or improvements. This is why you need to know that your app development company will be there for you and your app when you need them. Do they have the capacity to manage ad-hoc work? What’s more, are they committed to keeping up with platform updates so that you can ensure your app is optimised at all times? Make sure you have ongoing support and consider the costs involved too.
9. Look for Enthusiasm
The fact is that people who love what they do produce better end results. Look for an app development company that is genuinely excited at the prospect of working with you. They should be enthusiastic, have lots of ideas to bring to the table and be invested in your success. What’s more, you can tell how enthusiastic they are about development by the amount of time they dedicate to it. If they are regularly attending conferences, learning about new trends and technologies and contributing to the development community, you know they have their eye on the ball.
Developing a great mobile app is no easy task; it takes technical expertise and specialist skills. That’s why considering these top tips is a great start to finding a great company to work with. However, once you’ve ensured an app development team is experienced and dedicated to your project and can deliver what you need on budget and on time, it may well come down to trusting your gut.