Here are 8 factors to look for while hiring a mobile app development company If you are looking to increase your business sales, one of the best ways could be launching a mobile application
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
If your company does not have a mobile application yet, then you could be missing lots of opportunities to generate revenue. If you are looking to increase your business sales, one of the best ways could be launching a mobile application. Most of the companies look for the offshore mobile app development companies as it is even considered to be as a cost-effective option for building apps.
Hiring in-house developers for building an app can be a very expensive task. When you choose to outsource your project to an offshore firm, then you will be able to save money as you don't need to pay salaries, overhead costs, and infrastructure costs.
So, here are some of the factors to look while hiring a mobile app development company:
1.Operating system Platform
It will be of great significance to decide from the starting about the platform you want to develop your app for that is either hybrid or native development. You should specifically base your app platform for the major operating system that is Android or iOS, or one can ask the app development company to build a cross-platform app. The fundamentals to keep in mind are to choose a company that can accommodate your requests and has a deep working knowledge and skills of these platforms and adheres to the app development guidelines.
2.Check their company website
Have a look at the website and know what kind of services they offer. Almost all the mobile development company has a business website. Find out how many years have, they been into the business. It is advisable to hire that has around 3-4 years of experience in the industry.
3.Past work
Land up to the portfolio page and see what type of projects they have worked on in the past. Try to get details of the applications and their features by downloading the same particular app from the respective app store. For example: If you are planning to build an app for the entertainment, then find out whether the company has worked on any such similar app in the past. When you come across an app on the portfolio page, then try to get information about it from the app store. Download the app and see how it functions.
4.Client Testimonials
Before hiring any agency for developing your mobile app, read the client testimonials on their website, this can give you some of the ideas about what type of services they offer. If you want to know whether the company is reliable or not, ask the professionals to offer you with some past or current client references. Don't even hesitate to contact them with the help of email or phone to know whether they are satisfied with the services provided to them.
5.Communication
Communication between the clients and the app development team plays a very major role in the success of the project. At the time of hiring an offshore agency, you should know what communication channels, do they use. Most of the project managers communicate with the help of phone calls, skype, emails, and Instant Messaging. It is essential that the developers or the project managers are available to exchange their ideas from the clients on a regular basis while developing the project.
6.Pricing
The pricing of the app development plays a very crucial factor while deciding to hire an agency for mobile application development. Different companies would quote a different process for mobile app development. You should compare the cost of app development and some other factors while hiring an agency.
It is important to hire a company that maintains complete transparency with the clients and keeps them updated about the progress of work on a day to day basis. Do not hire the first company you come across at the time of searching on the web. Spend some of the time doing R&D to find the right service provider for your mobile app development project.
7.Timeline
An app development company needs to establish a proper project timeline and needs to make sure to adhere to it. As most of the app development companies are working on the multiple projects at a given point of time; thus, it is essential for lasting relationships and maintaining reputation; they should deliver the project on time. One way to make sure that is by allocating skilled, dedicated, and experienced team for the project.
8.Maintenance
Once the app is launched, then from time to time, you will have to release updates, fix errors and bugs or even might to add some of the new functionality. Thus, it is the best interest to understand the policy of the app support or maintenance. You can even check whether the app maintenance fee is charged on an hourly or monthly basis for the continued support.