Mobile apps have the potential to enhance the user experience businesses provide to their customers. From boosting sales to increasing the number of positive brand interactions — a mobile app can transform how your target customers perceive a brand or a business. However, as the number of smartphone users worldwide increases, so does the number of apps. With over 5.95 million apps spread across multiple platforms like Google Play, Apple’s App Store, and Windows Stores, competition for user engagement in the app market is at an all-time high.
How can a business make its app different and worthy of its target users’ time?
Conduct Market Research
Market research isn’t just about defining target audiences. It is about identifying the values your business and products bring to a target consumer. What value is your business adding to a target consumer via this app? Why should customers download your app and use it to buy your products or services? A way to answer these crucial questions is by studying which business apps have and haven’t worked in the past.
Assessing similar business apps that are currently in the market also helps. What type of feedback are those apps receiving? Most users say that they’re unlikely to engage in business with a company that has provided them with negative app experiences in the past. So apart from conducting observational studies on competitors, it’s also important to interview some target consumers about their expectations from your business app.
Choose the Platform for Your App?
The best-performing apps are usually available on both iOS and Android app stores. Development costs for these mobile apps are higher, but they also attract more user engagement and hold large volumes of data. Native apps are usually designed to perform specific tasks on particular platforms. For instance, a puzzle game designed for Google Play Store will only serve a fixed purpose on one platform. Hybrid apps, on the other hand, run in web-view. Users can download them either from app stores (just like native apps) or via websites.
Unlike native apps, which developed using either Java or Swift, Hybrid apps developed using technologies and programming languages like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. A Hybrid app developed for any platform/device from single code bases. Hence, developing Hybrid apps is much cheaper.
Define Time and Resources
The amount of time a business has to develop and launch an app will determine its nature, the number of features it has, etc. Similarly, the number of resources available to the company will also play a key role in determining app type and features, etc. In addition to having a flexible timeline and sufficient budgeting, having highly-skilled developers is extremely important. A good app development team can create an efficient app, even with limited resources and time. Here you may define the timeline for your project, available budget, and what team you need to hire.
Why Outsourcing Mobile App Development is Beneficial
Many app development teams from popular outsourcing destinations have entered the radar of companies from Western countries. Unlike app developers in the US, the UK, or major countries in Europe, these talented development teams from countries like Romania, Colombia, Ukraine, etc., command much lesser fees. By outsourcing mobile app development, companies can receive:
Lower Development Costs
Eastern European or Latin American countries are way cheaper than countries like the US, the UK, or Western European countries, so far as app development is concerned. Hence, the hourly salary rates of app developers are also significantly lower. For instance, a software developer’s salary in Costa Rica is about $28,536 a year. On the other hand, the average salary of iOS developers in the US is $96,016 per year. That’s almost four times more! In countries like Ukraine, payment is even lower.
Faster Processes
When businesses outsource their mobile app development, they don’t have to spend time or resources on training or retaining the developers. They partner with app development experts who’ve worked on multiple projects of similar nature in the past. So, by teaming up with an experienced offshore app development team, businesses get to complete their app development projects much faster.
Choose the Partner
Businesses can scout the dynamic talent pool of software developers globally and select the best candidates. There are many services, such as Clutch.co, where you find information about outsourcing development agencies. You should assess as many offshore development agencies as possible before making a final decision. However, the process of selection can be time-consuming. Even better, platforms like YouTeam provide businesses with detailed shortlists of app development teams in the market in 48 hours. So, you do not have to worry about selecting the right candidate.
Potential Risks of Outsourcing Mobile App Development
Here are some small yet possible risks businesses must be aware of before they launch a partnership with an offshore development team:
- Time Zone Difference. Offshore development teams sometimes fail to handle large time zone differences. That’s why ‘nearshoring’ is usually the safer option. Nearshoring is the process of delegating app development responsibilities to development teams in nearby countries or countries in the same timezone.
- Information Leak. As long as the offshore development team takes security measures to protect business data and prevent data leaks, these risks are not too significant.
Outsourcing mobile app development has its fair share of advantages as long as it’s done right! Learn more about possible risks and how to avoid these risks while outsourcing to an offshore mobile development agency.
