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App Development

How much time and money will it take to create a mobile application

Development time depends on how complex the project is. All projects can be divided into three types:

Simple applications.

 Created for two platforms. They have few screens, data, and actions that users can take. It is planned to create an API, backend and admin panel, the ability to view and send images, login and authorization through popular social networks. Such applications can use ready-made map services and work with GPS. Examples of applications from the Live Typing portfolio: Svezhev, Kaspersky Security Pulse, Ares, iStirka, Dubai Guide, Vogue Collections.

Time to create: 1-3 months. Cost: 20k – 30k $

Applications of medium complexity.

It includes everything listed above. The functionality becomes more complex: it can include chats, payments, etc. The cost here is affected not only by the complexity of the component, but also by their number.

Examples of applications from the Live Typing portfolio: LIMÉ, Yodel, My Doctor, RocketGo.

Time to create: 3-6 months. Cost: 40k – 50k $

Complex applications.

 It includes everything listed above. The functionality becomes more complex: it may include the processing of audio and video files, synchronization in real time, a large amount of custom animations, integration with a large number of third-party services, work with VR/AR platforms, the presence of several types of users. On top of that, there is a large amount of content and screens. Application examples: Sephora, ILE DE BEAUTE, Moviegoal, MyTech.

Time to create: 6 months or more. Cost: from 100k $.

Creating a mobile application takes not only the time of the development team, but also yours. We suggest you think about what suits you better: to devote personal time to the project or find a trusted person on your side and pay him money for control over the project.

Technical task

Terms of Reference (TOR) is a document that structures and describes all the information about the project device obtained during the design process: what platform the application will run on, what versions of the operating system it will support, what hardware parts of the device it will work with, integration with which third-party services and systems are expected. Specification can be ordered

in one studio and go to another with confidence that your task will be understood without distortion and an accurate assessment will be given.

Writing a technical task by a studio is a service that is paid separately. You can write it yourself, and the studio will conduct a review and tell you what it lacks to understand the task and implement the project.

Native or cross-platform development: what to choose

Depending on the approach to development, applications are divided into native and cross-platform.

Native

Native applications are created in a specific programming language for a specific platform: Java and Kotlin for Android, Objective-C and Swift for iOS.

Advantages:

  • Instant response to user actions;
  • Direct access to the hardware of the device;
  • User-familiar interface for the platform.

Disadvantage: high cost of development and support due to the involvement of at least one developer

for each platform.

Cross-platform

Cross-platform applications are created immediately for both iOS and Android using web technologies (HTML, CSS and JavaScript) with Cordova, Xamarin, React Native and Flutter tools. In order for the written code to work on mobile devices, it must either be “translated” into a language they understand, or a layer should be made that works on the device and makes requests to the device’s functions understandable to it.

Advantage: low cost of development and support due to the involvement of one web developer.

Disadvantages:

  • The need to refine the interface for each platform according to the guidelines;
  • Difficulties in achieving the correct operation of all the necessary functions;
  • Delay in response to user actions.

Cross-platform development can be a good choice if you are building a simple application, testing hypotheses, have a low budget, or have your own web developer. In other cases, we recommend choosing native development.

Feedback

First, you need to carefully look through reviews that customers leave in the App Store and Google Play. If you won’t respond to users needs and change anything, then the rating of the app will drop: the client will be unsatisfied, the comment is bad, and the impression is ruined.

Secondly, you should think about an alternative channel of communication – that is, the phone or the support button should be in the application itself, preferably in plain sight. If the client has a problem and does not know where to complain, he will write in the reviews for the application.

MVP Strategy

MVP stands for Minimum Valuable Product (Minimum Viable Product). In such an application, functional or visual excesses are unacceptable – everything that is in it is designed to work strictly for the business purpose of the product.

The MVP strategy is appropriate when you need to release the application on time, understand that people will use it, and test all the hypotheses that you formulated during the design phase. This is how you protect yourself from unnecessary spending on a product that turned out to be uninteresting to the audience. And if there is interest, continue to develop the product: add features, draw animations, connect third-party services.

The MVP version of an application for an online store must necessarily consist of a main page, a catalog with search, shopping cart and payment functions. It’s too early to offer multiple payment methods and implement augmented reality – just make sure that the application is used for shopping. Further analysis will show what else your users want.

MAP strategy

MAP (Minimum Awesome Product, or minimal amazing product) is an MVP that, in addition to solving the main problem, captivates the user. The ideologists of this strategy say that over the 12 years of the history of mobile applications, today’s user has already developed expectations from social networking applications, online stores, to call a taxi, etc. It is not enough to simply make a reliable application no worse than competitors, because people want to be surprised, and you want to earn. And if the application gives new experiences, then it will become the best in its niche, push users to leave from competitors and glorify their creators.