Today, smartphones, tablets, and apps have become extremely important in users’ lives. As per a study, a user spends around 4 hours a day on mobile, and nearly 90% of that time specifically on different applications.
Considering this fact, it has become mandatory for every small entrepreneur to build an exclusive app to promote their business. But the real challenge for small business owners is to estimate the cost of developing an app. In order to make this challenging task a bit easy, let’s take a look at the four crucial factors that determine the cost of mobile app development for a small business.
1. Business Model & Its Specific Requirements In Relation To A Mobile App
First of all, you should define what your business model is and what is its specific needs? How an app can add value to your business model? Will it be used as a direct marketing channel for promoting your products and services? Or, whether the app provides convenience to your customers?
Answering all these questions will help you in identifying the unique requirements of your business model. Also, you can easily figure out what kind of app you want to create. In addition, it will let you determine the scope of your project and the technologies you require to bring it to life. All of these factors directly affect the total cost of mobile app development.
2. Type Of The App You Want To Create
There are different types of an app and determining which one to build also help you in estimating the total cost of its development. Let’s explore the five major types of apps:
A. Web App
A web app is basically a mobile-friendly website that is built by incorporating responsive design so that to provide the users with a seamless experience across multiple devices. This is the cheapest alternative for small businesses.
B. Native App
A native app is built with the language specific to a particular operating system. For instance, using Java or Kotlin for Android or Objective C or Swift for iOS. These apps deliver the best performance but in case you want them to cater to multiple platforms, you have to build an exclusive app compatible with each operating system.
C. Hybrid App
A hybrid app is built by using frameworks such as Ionic or Cordova and web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These apps are basically the websites embedded into mobile app shells via a web view.
D. Cross-Platform App
A cross-platform app is built with a single source code that can run smoothly across different devices and platforms. Xamarin and PhoneGap are two of the most popular frameworks for developing these apps.
E. Next-Gen Components Oriented JavaScript Frameworks
This is a new class of apps that use frameworks of JavaScript such as React Native. These apps render near-native experience and have mixed features of both cross-platform and hybrid apps.
You are required to invest different amounts of money in developing each of these apps. Therefore, deciding which type of app you want also affect the total app development cost.
3. App Design & Development
You also have to keep some money reserved for hiring app designers and developers who will give life to your raw idea and transform it into an interactive mobile application. The cost of hiring these professionals depends upon various factors such as their location, niche expertise, portfolios, etc.
4. Hiring Style
The last factor affecting the total app development cost is your hiring style. Either you can hire freelance programmers or experienced mobile app development companies to build your app.
Here, the first alternative is affordable, but a bit risky; While the second might be a bit expensive but more reliable. In addition, you can also take the help of the mobile app development company in case you want to whip up an app with a simple layout and basic functionality.
All these factors directly affect the total app development budget of your small business. Also, you should carefully think and evaluate your specific business needs so that to make better decisions and estimate the overall cost for your project as accurately as possible.
