Mobile apps play big roles in shaping businesses, both startups and established businesses. In fact, users find it easy to access different services through mobile apps due to the convenience, reliability, and flexibility mobile apps have to offer. But then, what does it take to hire a reliable mobile app developer? Whether you are a project manager, an entrepreneur, or just starting up your business and need the best mobile app developers, this is your ultimate guide.

We will explore different models you can hire mobile app developers, challenges you are likely to encounter & solutions, and steps you should follow when hiring mobile app developers, among many other valuable insights.

Benefits of mobile apps

Below are some of the top reasons why mobile apps are significant in a business environment:

• Reach and serve customers seamlessly

Every customer looks forward to a faster and better service experience. Therefore, if you are a business person looking for ways to enhance customer satisfaction, all you might need is a reliable mobile app solution.

Through mobile apps, it is easy to tailor and personalize service delivery to customers, thus enhancing convenience. Users, including employees and customers, can easily log in with their details and track their history without worrying about losing anything.

What’s more, it is easy to collect user feedback and make improvements through mobile apps. This will enhance business growth and scalability.

• Easy to collect user insights

Customer views play a big role in improving the dynamics of your business. That is why you need to study customer behavior & engagement patterns to determine the best marketing strategy to use.

Through mobile apps, customers can easily share valuable insights, especially if they realize you have good value to offer in return.

Examples of data and insights you can collect through mobile apps include the following:

• Download and uninstall rates
• Monthly, weekly, or daily users
• Retention rates
• Demographics of users such as gender, age, type of device, among others

You can use the entry forms approach to gather such details and offer rewards and bonuses for users to complete surveys. With the insights gathered, you can then strategize marketing plans based on the strengths and weaknesses of the business.

• Easy to use with social media channels

A stable business requires an active engagement audience. That is why when people engage more with your app, it creates better brand visibility.

Therefore, as you strive to get your business known, you might need to consider integrating it with social medial platforms first. You will need a steady social media campaign to achieve all these.

Consider running your mobile app through Facebook and YouTube channels to get the attention you need.

As users continue to download, create a platform to encourage them to sign up through their social media channels.

• Easy to create a customized marketing channel

A custom mobile app will enhance the marketing of your business. Through mobile apps, it is easy to access user information, and the data collected helps in strategizing marketing campaigns.

With the data collected, the marketing team can easily deliver content to users in a seamless manner.

• Offers a competitive advantage in your niche

The digital space has raised the competitive bar higher in businesses. As a result, any business person requires a viable strategy to stay ahead of the tough competition.

One of the real deals of beating the competition is creating a mobile app that is highly scalable and can adjust to the changes in market demand and trends.

Challenges in the mobile app development industry

While mobile apps have a lot of benefits it offer to businesses, the same venture has a set of challenges that need your attention before you onboard the best mobile app developers for your project. Below are the challenges:

• Selecting the right app development approach

Before any process, you have to select a reliable technology app development strategy for your business. This is a decision you make at the initial stages to ensure it doesn’t affect your mobile app products in the later development stages. At Aalpha Information Systems, our teams will advise you on the right approach depending on the nature of your mobile app, your target customers, and your business requirements.

The different approaches you can consider include:

• Native app development
• Cross-platform app development
• Hybrid app development

• Competition

There are many mobile apps in the market with advanced features and functionalities. That is why it is challenging to produce a mobile app that will beat the competition and stand out in the market.

The key here is to ensure to create a high-performing app with extensive and useful features that will meet user requirements and fill the existing gap in the market.

Above all, don’t forget to promote the app through different strategies, ensuring it is discoverable and that it reaches the target audience easily.

• Budget

Developing and launching a mobile app for the market can be costly. You can have a great mobile app idea but the costs will limit you in actualizing the concept into reality.

Therefore, before you initiate the mobile app development project, make sure you source enough funds for the entire process. Most importantly, connect with expert mobile app developers like Aalpha Information Systems for a fair quote and get quality services in return.

• User experience

Use experience is one major factor that can determine the success of a mobile app. In most cases, programmers and UX designers find it challenging to provide a seamless mobile app with an impressive user experience.

Faster loading time, ease of navigation, and feature accessibility, among many other factors, contribute to a greater user experience. That is why it is key to hire experienced and knowledgeable mobile app developers who will ensure the final mobile app product has an incredible user experience.

• Overall performance

It is common for developers to launch a bug-free mobile app with no errors. That is why it is essential to ensure the mobile app design can perform well on different devices from the initial stages of development.

Most importantly, creating a minimum viable product and performing testing before launching are some of the best strategies to enhance the mobile app’s performance.

Ways you can hire mobile app developers

Once you have your mobile app idea, it is about time you start looking for the best mobile app developers to handle your project. Below are different ways through which you can hire mobile app developers:

• Outsourcing

Outsourcing mobile app developers is a perfect way to access top talents and stay within your budget.

Just like any hiring model, you will experience some challenges, such as different time zones and communication challenges.

However, when working with a reputable mobile app development company, you don’t have to worry about these challenges because project managers always plan and streamline all the processes, ensuring the project moves smoothly.

In return, you will get the best quality in the required timeline.

• Hiring A Freelancer

Hiring a freelancer is a viable option, especially when your project doesn’t require too much. Here, you will need to get a freelancer who can fix your project within a specified timeline and a specific budget limit.

Based on your desires, you can select either hourly rates or fixed project rates. However, a fixed contract rate is the best option here since hourly charges vary, and you might end up spending beyond your budget plans.

Before you hire a freelancer mobile app developer, you have to note that it’s not one person who will oversee all the processes to the end. You will also need other freelancers for QA teams, designing, team management, and coding.

Yes, you will save more when you choose the freelancing option. However, the quality might not be top-notch, plus a lack of transparency & accountability due to different skills working on the same project might cause some inconveniences.

• In-house App Developers

This model involves getting your in-house team to handle your mobile app development project. In-house developers are quite expensive, hence the need to plan well to ensure they deliver the product within the shortest time possible.

Among the costs you will incur, including paying employee benefits, pay for hiring new teams, and training costs, among many other expenses.

How to hire mobile app developers: steps to follow

Finally, you are on the move to hire the best mobile app developers. Simply follow the steps below:

• Define the mobile app goals and objectives

Before you even think of hiring the best mobile app developers, do extensive research on the app concept.

Think of the nature of the append revenue model you want to implement. Determine if you want a free app or an app that you need to pay for and who should pay for such an app. This will help you determine the features you should add.

Initially, you can opt for a free app, especially if you want to build a solid audience base. Once you reach a certain audience response, you can then consider integrating app monetization strategies such as in-app purchases.

During this period, make sure you have a good product concept, functionality, and design. With these details, you will be able to describe to developers everything you need in your mobile app.

Go a step further by creating flowcharts and templates of how you anticipate the whole process to occur and every component you would want to be integrated into your mobile app.

• Determine the app type and platform

Next, clarify the type of app and platform you intend to use. Do you intend to hire mobile app developers, or do you intend to execute the processes all by yourself?

The mobile app development progression can be tough, especially when you need a feature-rich app. That is why you need to clarify everything at the very beginning.

• Set up a budget

The process of developing mobile apps comes at a cost. If you need to get the best mobile app developers, you should have a budget to cater to the services.

The cost of hiring developers depends on different elements. For instance, iOS platform developer’s costs vary from Android app developers. That is why you need to have a better understanding of what it takes to produce an app you intend to hire developers to accomplish the task.

Once you understand what it takes to develop such an app, you can now set up a budget depending on the expertise and experience level of the developers.

Don’t forget to estimate the resources you need to put in during the app development process and the costs of app maintaining and updating with market trend changes.

Make sure you have a better understanding of the features, specs, app type, design, and developers when estimating mobile app development costs.

Maintain a flexible budget, just in case the expenses go beyond your expectations.

• Gather app development resources

This is a critical phase when hiring mobile app developers. You need to ensure the development teams are trustworthy, transparent, and competent enough to actualize your app concept.

Below are the tips that will help you maneuver this phase with ease:

Conduct research – before you take some major steps, start by doing research to understand the dynamics of the mobile app development industry. Especially if you are new in the field, you might need to engage some experts to give you a clear overview of the processes and a budget breakdown.

You can explore some resources such as the best sites to hire developers or top mobile app development companies, the average cost of getting a mobile app developer, and the best programming languages, tools, and resources for developing mobile apps, among other relatable content.

The research and insights you will gather will help you hire the best developers for your project without going beyond your budget plans.

Review experience developer’s experience level – Before you engage your preferred developers, weigh and evaluate their expertise and experience level in the mobile app development industry. Ask if they have handled similar projects. This will give you an overview of what to expect when working with them.

Review their portfolio – you need to screen the process carefully before you hire the right mobile app developers for your project.

Of course, you will get a lot of skillful mobile app developers. However, you need to narrow down your search to ensure you hire developers with specific skills. For instance, developers who can seamlessly use a specific programming language and a set of specific technologies.

The goal is to employ a team that will not only deliver your desired product but also developers who will deliver mobile apps that align with your goals and objectives.

Review communication strategies – while communication doesn’t carry a lot of weight when hiring mobile app developers, it is still a matter you cannot neglect.

Your app development team must understand and comprehend all the requirements for your project to ensure they deliver exactly what you need.

Without clear communication, some elements might be misinterpreted, thus causing inconveniences along the process.

State the standards you need – Once you meet with your tech partner, strive to set the record straight from the very beginning by highlighting what you expect throughout the app development process. This will enable you to create a good collaborative working relationship that will accelerate the app development process without interfering with your budget.

Evaluate their technologies – Do their technologies align with the goals and objectives of your app development project?

Narrow down your preferred app development partner by evaluating the technology and practices they use. Everything should align with your app’s vision.

Do interviews – Before you hire app developers, do an in-depth interview. If possible, get extra help from professionals to help you select the best mobile app developers.

Other considerations to make during the interview process include:

• Get clarification on the developer’s skill set and expertise to determine if you will hire Android or iOS developers for your project.
• Highlight programming tools
• Get references and review past experiences
• Growth method
• Communication channels
• Exposure to specific niches in mobile app development
• Expertise and skillset
• Supervision of Programs

• Determine hiring model

There are different models of hiring mobile app developers. Each model has a set of pros and cons. It can be tricky to determine the best hiring model for your project.

That is why it is key to have a better understanding of your business needs and the different hiring models.

Think of data security, scalability, affordability, dedication, and competence elements of a specific hiring model and connect it to your project requirements.

In any case, expertise level is the key consideration one should factor in before hiring a freelancer or a dedicated company for web development services.

Of course, hiring through a dedicated app development company is the best choice, considering how flexible, available, and reliable the model is.

While you may still hire freelancers, you might not be sure of the quality to expect. Besides, it might be hard to access freelancer services, especially for fixing bugs and errors, if any, once they already delivered the project.

Note: if the project is simple with fewer requirements and a tight deadline, then go for freelancers. However, if the project is quite complex and requires a wide range of expert tech skills, then go for dedicated mobile app developers.

• Consider Time to Build

The success of mobile apps relies heavily on time to market. That is why you must be keen on selecting the appropriate time to develop and launch the product. After all, you don’t want to deploy a product when the target audience is already looking for something else. Still, you don’t want to launch a product when the target audience is already embracing something else.

You can consider hiring reliable, agile teams for mobile app developers to overcome this challenge.

Once you agree on the terms and conditions, you can then initiate the app development process in three phases, which are Design & mockup, app development & testing, and launching of the app to the Appstore.

• Contact a Developer or a Company

Finally, you can now contact your preferred mobile app developers. At this point, you have everything and processes aligned; the only element remaining is to engage a mobile app development partner.

As you finalize the process, make sure you ask your development partner core questions in relation to meeting your business objectives.

Ask them about their skillset, tech stack, UI, and any other component aligning with your business needs.

What’s more, you can review their past projects, check their referral rates, the projects they are handling, and anything that will put them ahead of other developers.

Once you are satisfied with your mobile app development partner, you can now discuss and set terms and conditions, sign a contract, and let the team handle your project.

What is the cost of hiring the best mobile app developers?

The cost of hiring mobile app developers isn’t constant. It varies based on a number of factors.

Nonetheless, hiring mobile app developers on an hourly basis can range anywhere from $25 – $50 or even more, depending on several factors.

If you need to onboard mobile app developers on a fixed price basis, you could spend approximately $10,000 – $50,000 or even more.

Some of the factors affecting the costs of developing mobile apps include the following:

• Location of developers – A developer living in the US will charge higher than a developer living in Africa or Asia.
• However, higher charges don’t necessarily translate to better quality; neither do lower charges translate to low quality. The wide price range is accelerated by the living standards of developers located in different regions.
• Complexity of an app – An app that requires many advanced features will require more skilled personnel and more resources. This translates to more costs compared to a basic app with basic functionalities and features.

Other factors that affect the costs of hiring app developers include

• Experience or skillset of developers
• The tech stack and expertise required to accomplish the project
• The platform used
• Number of developers and engineers handling the project

Conclusion

Mobile app development is an industry that is growing rapidly. Many businesses are now depending on mobile apps to scale and grow their businesses faster.

While mobile app development is a critical industry that requires professionals with exclusive tech skills, you must take time to plan and budget before hiring your app development partner. Use the insights shared in this guide to get your ultimate mobile app development partner.

FAQs

How can I hire the best developers for mobile app development projects?

Depending on your project requirements, ask for referrals from other business people & experts, review past records of developers, conduct extensive research on the best mobile app developers, and conduct thorough interviews before onboarding the teams.

How long will it take to complete the mobile app development project?

The period to complete a mobile app depends on the number of teams handling the project and the complexity of the project. Therefore, it can take a shorter or longer period, based on the dynamics of your project.

How can I find a reliable app development partner as a startup owner?

Start by defining your goal, then create a plan on how to actualize your concept into a mobile app. Most importantly, do some research on the ins and outs of the mobile app development industry. Above all, get a reliable, trustworthy, and professional app development partner to handle your project.

Any queries? Get in touch with our application development company – Aalpha information systems!