As of 2021, Google Play store has around 3.5 million apps, Apple has roughly 2.2 million, with Windows store and Amazon each had an average of 500 thousand applications – and then there are all types of categories ranging from entertainment to education to food and workouts.
With this number growing, startups to social enterprises to billion-dollar corporations are looking for that one app development company that would craft the perfect app and help them on their road to digital transformation.
But why are we seeing this trend? This calls for the fact that smartphone users are largely turning to mobile applications for their routine activities – basic to luxury items. And because most of these applications are either powered by startups or enterprise-level corporations – mobile market has a huge potential for business growth and scalability.
How To Find The Right Mobile App Development Company
Considering the buzz, mobile app development has become a high magnitude project which requires dedication to an idea, financial resources, immense attention, meticulous research and time. While you can provide for the finances, you need an app developer that takes care of everything else mentioned in the list!
Here are 9 things you need to do to find the right mobile app development services for your project:
-
Check the location and time zone
Mobile app development is a high magnitude project. It requires immense attention, meticulous efforts, financial resources and time. So, when you hire an app development company, you need to ensure that while you invest your financial resources, the company leverages everything else: time, attention and efforts.
To ensure an app development company’s dedication to your project, it is ideal to choose one from the same location, even if that means paying a 10-20% of marginal
-
Research from independent review sites
Independent review sites like Good Firms, Business of Apps and Clutch are great sources for gathering honest reviews about B2B companies. Clutch, especially, has different categories and standards to assign ratings to companies. You’ll find a long list of digital solutions providers – for app development companies to software engineering firms.
-
Study social proof and customer reviews
Social proof greatly helps with making an informed decision. You can understand the credibility of a company and authenticity of their services by assessing how many startups, mid-level to large enterprises have trusted a specific company for their app development process.
Other than the testimonials present on the official, there are other ways to assess a company’s social proof – customer reviews on social media handles (Facebook and Instagram), endorsements on LinkedIn, audience engagement in terms of likes, shares and comments.
While these are some obvious ways to check customer satisfaction and social proof, you can search other community platforms like Quora and Reddit with the company’s name and see what public has to say about the company.
-
Assess their portfolio
App developers usually have these portfolios and project pages on their official websites. When you assess the portfolio, make sure to check the following factors:
-
Magnitude of the project – games, enterprise-level app solutions, startup apps etc.
-
Complexity of the apps – payment gateways, marketplaces, social media platforms etc.
-
Industries served – ecommerce, real estate, automotive etc.
-
Design and aesthetic sense – minimalist, corporate, retro, feminine etc.
-
Current success levels of the projects – number of app downloads, monetization strategies
-
Delivery of business value – purpose of the app, problems solved, gaps filled, ideation, innovation, integration of leading technologies
-
Overall quality of the project – branding, user experience, feature richness etc.
The ideal way to test all of these factors in a company’s portfolio is to go to the Google Play or Apple store, download the apps (if free) and see how these apps perform.
-
Talk to the business analyst and technical team
Once you have shortlisted a company or two, book a consultation call (which is usually free) and seek business advice from them. Check how well the company is able to understand your ideas, relate to them and if it can come up with answers to your questions and further mature your business plan.
-
Discuss the app development timeline
App development timeline, whether in number of hours or months directly depends on the complexity of a mobile app. Plus, it directly affects the app development cost. You’ll have to choose a company that fits your planned timeline for app development.
Usually, a basic app can take 3 – 6 months for complete development, while apps with intermediate complexity can be completed within 12 months. Complex apps with blockchain integration or machine learning capabilities can even take more than 2 years because of their testing and debugging processes.
-
Ask about the ownership of app and app’s source code
As you came up with the app idea and paying for development, you should be the sole, legal owner of the app’s source code. While most companies don’t really claim the ownership of the code, it is ideal to check their prospective contracts for such clauses. Also, ensure the electronic record of such communication.
-
Choose one that values innovation and modern tech
Look at the app stores and you’ll find hundreds of new apps entering the market everyday – at least that’s what different statistics show us. Now you need to ensure that yours is the best one – the modern one – highly adaptive and yet easy to use and understand. Choose an app development company that knows how to innovate and integrate modern technologies like VR, blockchain, AI and IoT in your app.
-
Compare app development cost
Some companies have solid upfront pricing quotes, while others are flexible with installments etc. similarly, some companies may charge per development hour while others would give you a base quote and add on for each new function or feature.
Request quotations from your shortlisted companies, then compare the overall price.
Usually, a basic mobile app costs $10,000 – 20,000, while apps of medium complexity are somewhere between $25,000 – 65,000. Feature-packed apps meant to power complex industrial or enterprise solutions are $65,000 +. The cost depends on features of the app, since they affect the development hours and duration and the programming effort.
Wrapping Up…
While on your search for the best app developer NYC, you can actually use these 9 tips as a checklist and go for one that meets most of your needs. While going overboard with your planned budget is not ideal, you will have to balance quality, flexibility of payment, contract terms, and app development duration.
