mobileappTime and again, mobile apps have proved their mettle in engaging users and attracting customers. Emerging enterprises are developing their own mobile applications to push their business in the mobile-first consumer landscape. Large corporations are empowering themselves with apps developed on the latest mobile technologies.
There’s no doubt that mobile apps are good for business. However, their development entails high costs. Building a unique and effective mobile application involves the use of multiple technology resources and the help of various skilled professionals. In all parts of the world, the mobile app development price is generally high.
- According to the Clutch Survey (2017), developing a simple mobile application can cost you a minimum of $10,000.
- In countries like India, where there are over 800 million mobile device users, the mobile app development cost starts at ₹8,00,000 (8 lacs) and can exceed ₹50,00,000 (50 lacs).
- Enterprise mobile app development costs are even more expensive, bringing up the average spending to upwards of $140,000.
While these exorbitant costs deter businesses and entrepreneurs from developing mobile apps, there are a few mobile app development companies that reduce development costs. By employing certain measures, these app developers can optimize your spending on mobile application development.
Let’s have a look at these specific ways of reducing mobile app development costs significantly.
1 Pre-plan and Anticipate
Cost-cutting measures can start from the first step of the mobile app development process and even continue after the release. In the pre-planning stage, developers can map out their future spending while shaping up the foundational concept for the app. To build a mobile app that provides the best user experience, developers need to experiment with new technologies and test different APIs. It leads to multiple modifications and countless iterations. In most cases, the development costs rise due to these recurring improvements and changes.
Developers can avoid the cost surges by extensively planning the Application Development Lifecycle (ADLC). In the initial stages of the ADLC, developers can ideate on how the final product should turn out. There could be too many ideas being churned out, but it is important to shortlist only the most practical ones from them. While listing down the features to be built, developers can plan the types of resources and their scope for utilization. Similarly, developers can also save costs by identifying the false trails; the unwanted things. This ensures the mobile app development does not deviate from its intended path.
2 Select the Platform
iOS, Andriod and Windows Mobile are the three predominant mobile platforms for developing apps. The selection of the platform takes place in the initial phases of the ADLC. Developers may choose to deploy apps on all platforms in order to ensure the app reaches a maximum number of users. But, this approach increases the development costs significantly. As a best practice, mobile app developers should select one platform and target the specific user segment only. Single-platform mobile app development brings down the cost by almost two-thirds.
Through iOS app development, the mobile app can be used by iPhone and iPad users. The iOS platform reflects high user loyalty and high-spending users. However, the market share of iOS mobile devices is not that high. Similarly, there are technological limitations where the iOS version of a mobile app may fail to function properly with the Android or Windows Mobile version of the same app.
Android app development, on the other hand, has the world’s largest market share as a mobile platform. According to the global mobile user demographics, mobile apps can reach a vast userbase on the Android platform. The app revenue and spending power of Android users, however, are not at par with that of the iOS users.
On the basis of development complexity and costs, building an app on Android is less expensive and easier compared to the iOS platform. Alternately, cross-platform app development is also a feasible option to deploy mobile apps on more than one platform without spending excessively.
3 Project Outsourcing
One of the safest bet on cost-optimizing mobile app development projects is outsourcing them. With advanced communication technologies and real-time high-speed data transfer, mobile app development can be carried out remotely. App outsourcing can ensure that a completely developed and effective mobile app is handed over to you under the pre-specified budget. Paying the hired development team by the hour does not cost anywhere near to paying the salaries of the in-house development team. While most enterprises have qualms about app outsourcing on the grounds of loss of control, it is actually a great alternative to employ multiple expertise, skilled professionals and development teams on the same mobile app development project. This way, the app becomes more dynamic in nature, gets developed on shared resources, and is worth the money spent.
4 Thorough Testing
Developers must, at all costs, avoid rushing into things. As the ADLC progresses, there should be no haste made in getting the mobile app to market. If the app is inadequately tested, several bugs and inefficiencies are generated. This leads to additional expenditure on the updates, redevelopment, and debugging. It is wise to test the framework of the app extensively, under diverse and extreme usage conditions. Similarly, it is important to test a mobile app for different user demographics. The inferences from these testing measures can allow developers a foresight on how the app could perform after the release. Developers can identify the defective elements and rework on fixing them, thereby saving money on resolving a lot of issues post the launch.
5 Partner with Expert Mobile App Development Company
Mobile app development costs can be reduced in several areas throughout the ADLC. If the focus stays on bringing down the costs at every step of the development process, developers are unable to concentrate on building a credible app. The end-product (mobile app) becomes ineffective and nascent in functionality. Hence, it is important to not compromise on the quality of the mobile app while reducing its developing costs. Ideally, it is better to partner with a trusted mobile app development company that builds great apps and also does all the cost-cutting for you.
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