Top Mobile App Development Companies

What is Mobile Application Development?

Mobile app development involves coding, designing, testing, deployment, and maintenance processes for creating applications that run efficiently on mobile devices. Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets may range to devices with different operating systems, majorly Android and iOS. Mobile app developers embrace other programming languages and advanced technological tools to build a full-fledged solution.

What Does a Mobile App Development Company Do?

An app development company plays a vital role from validating app ideas with conceptualization and prototype creation to the development and maintenance of apps leveraging the years of expertise and experience of CTO, project managers, Business analysts, mobile app developers, UI/UX designers, and QA engineers (App Testers). They work closely with each other and strategically plan the entire mobile app development process to take your business to the next level. The mobile app development team starts the project with a strategic plan followed during the development journey.

What are the Different Types of Mobile Apps?

Before you start searching for app developers, it's good to understand the various types of mobile applications. This will help you understand the basics of building your app.

Native apps

• The coding methodology used for native apps is such that these types of apps become platform-specific.
• The native mobile app is supported only by the respective operating system such as Android and iOS.
• A native app is usually much faster and has more features than a web or cross-platform application.
• You should opt for these apps only if you need to use the lightning-fast processing speed in your app or if a large chunk of your targeted users use a specific mobile operating system.

PWAs

• PWAs or Progressive Web Apps are web applications that give a mobile-like experience to the user.
• No requirement for storage space on the device.
• SEO friendliness, low cost, speedy development, and versatility to work with various screen sizes and devices are the benefits that have made PWAs popular.
• PWAs are ideal for businesses looking to provide a similar experience to their users across multiple devices at an economical cost.

Hybrid apps

• These apps are platform-independent, and they work well on both iOS as well as Android platforms.
• They provide versatility to the app as a hybrid app can be easily accessible across many platforms and operating systems.
• When you want to reach the maximum number of people quickly, a hybrid app will be the best choice.

Furthermore, Mobile app development types can be categorized by Mobile Operating Systems.

Android: With more than 3.55 million applications, Android, being an open-source and free software stack, stands first in the app market. Hence, to reach users on this platform, one has to hire mobile app developers who are experts in building customized apps for Android OS using programming languages such as Java and Kotlin.

iOS: According to the same report, the second largest app store is the Apple store, with 1.6 million applications built for iPhone and other Apple products. To build apps for these devices, one has to hire a mobile app development service provider with experience in building apps for iOS OS using programming languages such as Swift and Objective C.

Windows: In some sectors, Windows is gaining ground with its latest Windows CE 5.5 Kernel exclusively used for Smartphones. With revolutionary products and other marvelous changes in the Microsoft Edge browser, Windows mobile may surprisingly become people's choice in the future.

One can develop a cross-platform application other than the abovementioned types, as it caters to multiple operating systems. Built with standard codes, cross-platform apps are affordable as you don't need to create different native apps for separate operating systems.

Why is it Important for Businesses to have a Mobile App?

A mobile application enables business owners to achieve all their business goals and objectives. It opens a vast array of growth opportunities for businesses. Smartphone users nowadays prefer a mobile app for their day-to-day needs. Users rely on it for food, travel, or shopping. Let us look at the various reasons why businesses need a mobile application.

• Build and maintain corporate branding and reputation digitally.
• Improves connection and Communication with digital assistants.
• Enable users to access services in real-time for hands-on interaction.
• Enrich user journey with enhanced engagement and personalized experience.
• Minimize the marketing cost associated with brand promotion.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest trends with rich customer insights.
• Provide a better understanding of your product and services.

An innovative mobile application allows users easy access to all the products and the information they require in real-time with features optimized for hands-on interaction. With a proficient mobile app developer team, you can build a better app that provides its users with all kinds of robust customer service features and functionalities. Top mobile app developers with enough experience can help you bring your ideas to reality.

Essential Aspects To Consider Before Hiring Mobile App Developers

Hiring developers to build a mobile app is crucial for business owners' development projects. The success and failure of a mobile app depend on the app development agency. It is essential to check their expertise and background before hiring. Look at the various aspects to consider before hiring.

Market research

It's essential to create an outline or document of the mobile app development project with all the features and functionalities along with USP for the target audience that appeals to them. It includes conducting in-depth market and competition research to identify users' unmet needs, what competitors offer, and how your app idea can fill the void.

Budget and time

The outline of the project shows the functionalities and UI design complexity level required, which helps estimate the number of hours incurred in the mobile app development process. The working hours when multiplied by the developers' hourly rate, the development cost is calculated. In the fixed price and dedicated team models, the experts will help provide accurate time and budget estimates.

Now, as a business, you also need to be ready with an approximate amount to invest in developing your app and the time you are looking to launch your app. We advise you to research and know the development cost and timeline to set realistic timelines. This will help the professional mobile app development service providers you approach to provide an estimate considering all the factors.

Monetization model

Every entrepreneur wants to make money. Identifying all the possible ways a mobile app can generate revenue before it rolls on the development floor is imperative. It helps decide if the app idea remains profitable and how it brings money through various channels. Now, some apps may be built to streamline business processes. In such cases, you should look at how your business app will help improve the ROI for your business.

Action plan

When you have the perfect mobile app development partner, it's time to see how the team will execute the app development plan using which methodology while keeping the client involved at every development step.

If the unmatched benefits of outsourcing app development intrigue you and you are willing to outsource your project to a reliable mobile app development firm, then you ought to have a guide to follow to outsource your mobile app development services.

Explore the idea and platform options.

Businesses can happen in myriad ways, but what makes your venture unique shows the difference. Not all business ideas can turn into tangible products; therefore, exploring a business idea and the platform on which a mobile app shall be built should be the primary step. Show diligent research into the market, consumer demands, and how your peers do it.

The next step is choosing an apposite platform to reach the maximum number of clients or targeted users.

Search for app development experts and check the reviews.

An online directory that lists mobile app developers can help you get the best one in your preferred location. Mobile app development professionals with hands-on experience making customized mobile app solutions can be scanned through clients' reviews and ratings. Choose the one that has positive reviews and ratings.

Explore their portfolio

While positive ratings and reviews may help you select one of the best mobile app development partners for your project, checking out their portfolio will make you understand their problem-solving capabilities and experience. A portfolio with similar projects in the past could make you appreciate their work and the final products.

Coding and management practices

Developers that make a mobile app should follow standard practices and internationally acclaimed methodologies to build a mobile application. For instance, their coding practices should include the concepts of indentation, inline comments, structured programming, the naming convention for global variables, error return conventions, and exception-handling systems. In addition, companies with ISO certifications and agile compliances are always preferred tech partners for your mobile app development projects.

Communication skills and regularity

While most clients prefer testing the hard skills of mobile app developers and teams while hiring them, a significant number ignore soft skills. Most cost-effective app-building companies are in third-world countries where English is a second or third language. Miscommunication leads to misunderstandings and, ultimately, time-consuming escalations. In general, professional app development service providers have English-speaking project managers, and thus, they could be a preferred choice.

Secondly, before you choose a mobile app development company for your project requirement, discuss the frequency of their Communication and the channel of Communication, as you should overlook the entire project based on regular Communication. Regular updates make you aware of your project's whereabouts and progress.

Programming languages

The base of any technical expertise in mobile application development is programming language skills. Proficiency in several languages, platforms, and frameworks like Swift, Kotlin, Java, Node.js, React, Angular, Flutter, React Native, and others would align your mobile app solution with your business goal.

Why Should You Hire a Mobile App Development Company?

Hiring a Mobile application development company offers many perks to business owners. First, they get access to a globally talented pool of mobile app developers to work as their remote team. The mobile app development agencies bring their years of experience with the assurance of quality projects. Businesses can avoid the hassles of hiring an in-house team and save costs on overall development.

Here are the reasons why you should hire an app development company.

• Get a dedicated and experienced mobile app development team well-versed in the latest technologies under one roof.
• Makes you free from the overheads of handling the system, team, and project so you can focus on your core business.
• Proves to be a budget-friendly endeavor as there is no need to invest in training or up-skilling the team.
• Affordable labor costs save money, and you reach faster ROI.
• Quick development reaches an early finished product, which means faster time to market.
• Offshore companies operate most of the working hours. Get round-the-clock support.
• Talent unlimited! Get global talent access for all techs.
• Get rid of overheads and general costs such as infrastructure and maintenance.
• Leave everything to an offshore company. You are free to focus on your core business.
• You can upscale or downscale the number of resources as per your requirements.
• The external outsourcing teams can sync with your internal ones to fill the talent gaps.

How much do Mobile App Development Companies Charge?

The cost to develop a mobile is different according to geo-location and the company. It also depends on the team members you require to hire for your project requirement. For example, a simple mobile app will cost approximately $5000 to $10000.

But if you want to build an enterprise-level app, it will require investing approximately $50,000 to $150,000.

In addition, the mobile app features, functionalities, technologies, third-party integration, and many other factors can increase the cost of your mobile app development project.

Hence, before you search for a mobile app development company to hire, be clear about the requirements and what you want to include in your mobile app. It will help to cut the unnecessary cost. Once clear, you can ask the company for cost estimation and break it down in detail. This will help you to arrange for the required budget at a particular phase of your mobile app development process.

Which Factors Affect the Cost of Mobile App Development?

The cost of your mobile app development project depends on many factors. Such as;

Type of Platform

The cost set by any expert mobile app-making company varies according to the platform on which you want to develop your app. For instance, iOS app development is costlier than Android and Hybrid app development.

Level of complexity

The higher the complexity level, the more complex backend functionalities like large databases and more storage space will be required. While a simple app costs start as low as $5000 or as high as $10000, a more complex app will cost around $50,000 to $150,000, and a gaming app can cost anywhere between $10,000 to $250,000.

With many app features, complex UI design, and advanced integrations, the project surges the requirements for complex backend functionalities like large databases and more storage space. The complexity proportionally increases the time and cost required to build an app.

Simple Apps: These apps will cost from $5,000 to $50,000 and take a minimum of 30-90 days to develop.

Complex Apps: A complex app with more features will cost $600,000 to $110,000 and takes a minimum of 100-180 days or more to build.

Level of security

The level of encryption that you choose will have an overbearing effect on the development costs incurred. The nature of the information you gather and the number of users you intend to reach decides the level of security required. For instance, a banking app will require a more robust deposit than others, as sensitive financial information will be managed through the app.

Number of plugins & integration

To boost the capabilities of their apps, many businesses need to use third-party plugins. Social media plugins are the most common type of plugin used in many apps. The top mobile app developers will code APIs to ensure these plugins work seamlessly with all the intended devices. The higher the number of plugins and integrations, the higher the cost.

Location

The costs of developing an app depend on the geographical location of the app development service provider. The average hourly cost of building a mobile application with USA-based developers will range between $35 to $70, and with UK-based app developers will range between £35.00 to £70.00. In comparison, Indian app developers charge $20 and $60 per hour to develop an app.

Decisive Factors To Hire the Right Mobile App Development Company

Location of the company

Onshore

Mobile app design and development companies located in your country are called Onshore. The advantage of giving your work to an onshore app company is that you will benefit from working in the same time zone, culture, and language. For instance, if your business is located in the USA, the companies providing mobile app development services in the USA are onshore companies for you.

Nearshore

Nearshore app development companies are those that are located near your home country. Latin American countries like Argentina and Brazil will be nearshore locations for the US. With nearshore service providers, you can better balance time zone, Communication, and cost for mobile app development services.

Offshore

Offshore mobile app development companies are those whose location is outside of your home country. I.e., For a company located in the USA, the offshore destinations would be countries such as Ukraine and India. The primary benefit of outsourcing to these offshore companies is that of cost. You can have your mobile app development requirements taken care of at significantly lower prices.

Domain Expertise

While pursuing your ideal mobile application development company, look for one that has previously worked in the same industry in which you wish to develop your app. This provides an assurance that already knows certain things about the industry and hence will be able to provide valuable inputs.

Working hours and Communication

Before you zero in on a team of expert mobile app developers, ensure that you and your team have the maximum number of overlapping working hours. This will help direct Communication on any matter and thus save more time.

The communication protocols should be defined clearly, as this can lead to confusion in the later stages as the mobile app project progresses. Decide the mode and time of Communication with the selected mobile app development firm so you can be clear about the expectations right from the initial stage.

Designing and coding standards

Following design and coding standards during development is essential to improve project efficiency, guarantee high performance, mitigate the risk of project failure, make maintenance easier, enhance security, and ensure effortless debugging. Ensure the development team follows the design standards provided by the app stores and coding standards set for quality code production.

Pricing model

The mobile app project type and size decide the kind of pricing model that businesses should consider. There are various ways of cooperating with the company- dedicated price model, fixed price model, time and material-based model from which companies can select. For instance, a fixed-price model would work best if the project requirements are set in stone. Otherwise, the projects with variable conditions fit well with the dedicated price model.

Project timeline and submission

In the dynamic world, the app's time-to-market plays a crucial role in bringing enormous success to the business. When you hire a mobile app development company, set clear expectations for the timeline and app submission on the app stores, which can help you get the first-mover advantage. Partner with an app development company having a team of experts following an agile methodology that ensures building the app before the deadline while following all the compliances. It keeps all the conflicts at bay.

Reliable testing and maintenance

QA testing during app development is essential to deliver a quality solution that's stable, secure, and usable. The team should perform a variety of test cases such as UX testing, functional testing, performance testing, security testing, device, and platform testing during and after the development to ensure the app performs as expected continuously.

Once the app is live, some specific errors or bugs might creep in. These errors or bugs occur for various reasons; knowing the reason is the best solution. Professional app development agencies have the experience and the expertise to foresee all such problems and will be taken care of in the app maintenance phase. Thus, app maintenance is an important aspect that can be a decisive factor in hiring a mobile app development service provider.

Mobile App Development Process to Ensure Project Success

Mobile app development is developing applications for handheld devices using various operating systems. All professional app development companies have a defined procedure for building a mobile application that helps transform a brilliant business idea into a perfect app that can become a primary source generate revenue. Apps should be attractive to a user's eye and interactive and engaging. A step-by-step approach is taken while developing a mobile app, from building a prototype to testing the final product.

To provide you with a brief overview of the mobile app development process, here's a procedural approach that consists of various essential phases:

Step 1: Discovery Phase

The discovery phase includes in-depth research and analysis by the mobile app development service provider you hire. This is the step wherein the research on various factors and aspects to consider are considered and finalized. Deciding which core features to integrate first is the most crucial information that will help create your MVP (Minimum Viable Product). Having a list of core features and functionalities by analyzing the market and competitors ready will go a long way in enabling the hired professional mobile app development firm to proceed faster.

Step 2: App Design Phase

The designing phase of mobile application development involves creating a user journey map, wireframes, motion design, screen transitions, animations, and visual user interfaces. Thus, engineering exceptional app design is one of the vital factors for the success of an app, as the design is the first thing any user notices. User interface (UI) design is essential for providing an interactive and engaging interface, which is the core of providing a better User Experience (UX).

Step 3: App Development Phase

The core of mobile app development process codes and algorithms. In this phase, core coding makes UI components lively and functioning.

Step 4: App Testing Phase

After designing and developing, the mobile app testing phase is initiated, where code is parsed and tested for flawless functionalities. App testing happens through vigorous tools and methods to assure product quality.

Step 5: App Launch/Deployment Phase

After app testing, the launch or deployment phase is performed, wherein a finished mobile app is deployed on a specific platform or network. It is also known as a mobile app launching if it is exclusively for business purposes.

Step 6: App Maintenance and Support Phase

Even after all the phases of app development are executed, it is crucial to maintain the application and address any issues a user may encounter. Constantly monitoring apps' performance, tracking statistics, detecting crashes, and enhancing products is vital to the success of your application. Most mobile app development companies have a clause for the maintenance of the app so that the businesses can genuinely rely on them for all their development needs and support when needed.

Questions You Should Ask Mobile App Development Company

Here are the essential questions for your mobile app development project requirement to ask the selected companies. The answer they will provide will help you choose the right mobile app development company that can make your dream come true.

• Can you please show me your previous work?
• What are the credentials of your app development team?
• What technologies can the app development company work on?
• What app development methodology do you follow in your company?
• What are the different types of mobile apps you can build?
• What is the policy for data security while developing an application?
• What are the pricing structures that I can choose from for the app development project?
• Do you provide post-development support and maintenance after the launch of a mobile app?
• What contracts do we have to sign before developing my mobile app?
• What type of testing do you do for mobile apps?
• Would you follow legal rules and regulations followed by the industry for which my mobile app is being developed?
• What process do you follow to make a mobile app?
• What is the size of your mobile app development team?
• What is the team structure that you offer for mobile app development?
• What is the expected time to deliver the mobile app?
• How much will it cost to develop my mobile app? Is it negotiable?
• Will I be able to change team members after the procedure to create my mobile app starts?