How to Manage App Development Costs

You have come up with an app idea but, now, you’re not sure how much the app will cost to develop. What kind of budget will you need to allocate for app design and development? Predicting how much it will cost to turn your app concept into a reality is difficult, however, it’s important that you do some research in order to get an accurate estimate for development. In this article, we will be providing you with a little more information about how to estimate mobile app development.

Mobile App Development Process

You should have a good understanding of the mobile app development process and the step by step procedures app development companies go through. The development life cycle includes separate work phases where the development team will plan, design, build, test and deliver the application.

1. Market Research & SWOT Analysis
2. Specifications & Requirements
3. Design Stage
4. Development
5. App Testing
6. App Submission / Publication
   
   

Important Factors in Mobile App Development

• Specific Features

An important factor that you should take into consideration is the number and type of features you want to include in your mobile app. There are three types of mobile apps which differ in features, functionality and complexity.

1. Simple – this type of mobile app completes basic functions with no third-party integrations. Simple mobile app functionality mainly includes push notifications, personal profiles and social logins.
2. Medium Complexity – this type of app may include third-party integrations e.g. payment feature or real-time chat pop-up.
3. High Complexity – these apps include a range of complex functionalities including custom design, animation & in-app purchasing.

• Work Costs

Your labour costs are dependent on whether you choose to commission a mobile app development company or freelance developers. This is the primary reason an app is an expensive product to build, because of the time it takes to build it. You need to be aware that most of the time a cheap app doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll receive a good product at the end of the development process. A cheap app may seem good in the short team, however, in the long term, it can lead to bugs that will have an impact on the user experience, eventually leading to a decrease in users.

Devices & Operating Systems

Firstly, you need to choose which operating system you would like your app to be on. If you choose to launch on both iOS & Android, you’ll have to decide whether you will develop a cross-platform/hybrid application or develop two native applications bespoke for both Android and iOS. This decision has an impact on how much it will cost to develop the app. If your main objective is to reach as many users as possible, you should develop an app on both application platforms. This will drive the cost up because it will take time to adapt the app for multiple screen sizes, hardware specs and resolutions and will cost more if you choose to develop natively as opposed to a hybrid application.

Mobile App Development Maintenance

People often get carried away with their app development and forget about the long-term costs that could arise. Apps are like websites; they need general updates and fixes after the initial development. In theory, you need to plan to spend double what you have for the initial development to maintain and update your mobile app.

Produce an MVP

A minimum viable product (MVP) is a prototype of your app, only including the core features. This will help you save time and money on the original development and will allow you to match your user’s needs. As you test the MVP with users you will get a feel for what features are effective and what features need tweaking, planning the enhancements needed for the second phase of development.

Contact Appoly for App Development

If you’ve got an app idea that you’d like to discuss, or for any of our other key services, get in touch and speak to one of our expert UK based development team members.

We’re always happy to discuss new projects, whether big or small.

You can get in touch via phone, email, or by using the contact form on our contact page.