Apps boost the online presence of your business and help your customers stay hooked to your services. They help promote your brand and services. Unfortunately, these apps can be extremely expensive to develop. Here are 5 ways to reduce app development costs. Read these now!
With the growing number of people accessing the internet via smartphones and tablets, mobile app development has an incredible ability to access a large number of potential consumers.
According to the PewResearch Internet Project, an estimated 67 percent of U.S. smartphone owners use their smartphones to access the Internet on a daily basis. Recent studies also suggest that by 2017 app downloads will have grown to 200 billion and the subsequent mobile app revenues will have increased to $63.5 billion.
As of the first quarter of 2019, these app users could choose to download between 2.6 million Android and 2.2 million iOS apps. And they certainly are choosing: App Annie sets the total number of app downloads in 2018 at 194 billion, up from 178 billion in 2017.
Apps have become an essential part of businesses these days. No matter what your niche, apps play an important role to promote your brand, render services to a wide audience, circulate innovative ideas, and generate revenue for you and your business.
Unfortunately, it can be quite extremely expensive to develop an app. Like any piece of software, mobile apps vary widely in terms of development cost. We surveyed some of the leading mobile app development companies on the cost to develop a mobile app, and found that the median cost range is between $37,913 and $171,450, but could climb up to $500,000 or higher, says Clutch.
While that price tag may be feasible for the tech giants, smaller businesses and startups may face challenges in scrounging up the cash to fund their business projects, especially if they’ve never developed apps before.
You can adopt various strategies to reduce the cost of app development. There are plenty of ways to reduce app development costs taking into account other factors such as the app type, the design, the development process, and more. Here is how to save money when building an App. Let’s have a look at these in detail.
Keep it Simple!
Wondering how to save app development costs. Here is the first way. With increased competition among apps prevailing in the market space now, everyone wants to create the coolest new product with multiple features embedded in them. But it’s important to keep in mind that the more “features” you include, the more complex and intricate your project is going to be. This increases the difficulty for the users and requires a lot of money.
Rather than trying to include as many amazing features as possible into your app, you should focus on providing more value to your users. Try to include only core features that are important and valuable for the users. Also, you should try to keep your user interface (UI) simple. Again, less is more — adding lots of features to your UI will cost more money. This is one of the ways of knowing how to save app development costs.
Adding too many buttons or too much animation may draw your users away from your app and also increase the overall spending on your project.
Consider Outsourcing!
Opting for outsourcing solutions is one of the most popular strategies to reduce the cost of app development. Outsourcing app development can help you save money. You just need to make sure you find the right outsourcing partner for your business. Doing this will allow you to choose from tech experts all over the world. You can choose skilled dedicated app developers to work on your project which can help you get more for your money, too.
By using outside services, you’re also freeing up time for you and your full-time employees to focus on other value-driven tasks. But, before you choose an outsourcing company, consider these points,
- Read reviews about the company on Clutch, ask for a portfolio of past work, and solicit testimonials from previous clients.
- Make sure the feedback is not only positive but also that the outsourcing partner you’re looking for has experience of developing apps in your niche.
Choose Open-Source Frameworks!
Open-source tools offer plenty of advantages, including robust support and lower costs. When you use an open-source framework such as React Native or .NET Core, your developers can have access to predefined and prewritten code that they can apply to your project.
Before you choose an outsourcing partner, inquire well about the tools and frameworks they use. They may suggest certain open-source platforms that are cost-effective and available at lower costs. Choosing open-source frameworks for app development is one of the best ways to reduce app development costs.
Think About the Type of App!
Let’s continue our discussion on how to save money when building an App. Before you opt for building an app for your business requirements, consider whether you’d like to build a native or hybrid app. A native app functions specifically on Android or iOS devices, while a hybrid one will function on both.
Though hybrid app development has a cheaper price tag, it has some drawbacks too. Native apps offer a better user experience, enhanced security, and faster performance. Hybrid apps, on the other hand, usually take less time to develop.
If you’re looking for strategies to reduce the cost of app development, then building a hybrid app is probably a better choice. You can consult your developer and ask them about how to save app development costs. Later, you can analyze these options and look for the pros and cons of each choice so as to decide what will help you meet your end goals without sacrificing quality for a lower price.
Prioritize Testing!
Testing your app well before launching it in the market is a sure shot way to save app development costs. Hiring quality assurance (QA) specialists to test your app prior to its release may add to the expenses and increase the overall cost of your app. However, in the long run, testing will actually save your money. This is because the testers will spot the issues and pass these issues to the developers for getting resolved before they escalate and cost you more expenses.
A huge bug in your app can damage your business’s reputation. Fixing large-scale issues on a continuous basis will add to the app development costs thus increasing the overall expenses. Moreover, timely fixing of the issues helps up your brand image thus not letting you lose your current and prospective customers in the market.
Final Words
By now, I am sure you have got a clear idea of the ways to reduce app development costs. By implementing these simple yet very important strategies to reduce the cost of app development, you can save money while building an app for your business. It’s not necessary that app development has to be an enormously expensive endeavor. Making sound choices, including outsourcing development solutions, choosing only the core features, testing app features before release, using open-source frameworks, and more will help you keep your budget under control while still producing a quality app.
Praveen is a technology enthusiast with a flair for creating content. He is passionate about helping businesses achieve their goals. Praveen is currently associated with Resourcifi.
