How to find an app developer for your project is a tricky task sometimes. Several of you have been planning to build a mobile app, and you will need to find an app developer that helps you achieve your goal. Searching a Mobile App Developer can be a tedious job. This require special skills and need to do some homework before you start looking for the right app developer for your project. There are several companies and independent developers who have this skill set, but not everyone is the right fit for you.
In addition, if you have not hired an app developer in the past, it might be a very difficult process for you to find app developer. Here are some most important deciding factors to evaluate a good mobile app developer for your project:
Define Your Needs
1. Looking For In-house or Company or Freelancer?
You should identify whether you want to hire a in-house team, work with an individual app developer or mobile app development company? It depends on whether you can lead and manage the app development process yourself.
Relying on individual app developers can be risky since communicating with freelance developers from other locations is very difficult. You should evaluate risk factors before getting started. If you select to work with an individual developer, you may need to work with different resources like designers, developers, and CTO. You should also check whether you can work with an onshore or offshore developer because communication is key to developing a successful mobile app.
An app development company can take your project from scratch and help to design, develop, test, deploy, and app store optimization. They have teams of experienced developers, designers, QA analysts, and project managers that follow a specific process, quality control, better communication, and workflow. Another advantage of hiring development companies is they come with more experience and knowledge.
On the other hand, In the in-house development approach, you are owning an entire app development team that completes the project from beginning to end without involving any third party. You need to hire a full team consisting of iOS or Android mobile app developers, Quality Assurance Engineer, UX/UI Designer, backend (server-side) developer, and Project Manager to create a great application.
| Freelancer | Company | In house Team |
| Pros: -Cost effective. -Wide talent pool. with different skills -Several hiring platforms. |
Pros: -Many options from all over the world. -Cost efficiency. -You can get required tech expertise. -No need to manage, the project manager leads the team. -Faster development process. |
Pros: -Better communication. -Full control and better understanding of the project. |
| Cons: -Language and time zone barrier. -No guarantee of project completion. -Difficult to manage. |
Cons: -Communication and culture gap for some location. -Costlier than freelancers. |
-Cons: -Hiring process take more time. -More expensive than others. |
2. Decide The Location
Location is a big factor while considering a mobile app developer or company. Communication is key to the success of any project and developer location most affects this. Whether you want to hire an onshore, nearshore, or offshore development partner, you need to stay on top of the communication. It is recommended to hire a nearby programmer or agency so that you can meet in person and discuss the progress. World best locations of mobile app developers.
It is true that the onshore team can be expensive however project quality and on-time delivery is also an important factor. You should be careful while moving through with offshore developers and making payment to them.
Cost of the developer also depends upon the location of the developer. Developers in the USA definitely cost more than the developers in Europe and Asia. Following table defines the rates of App developers at different locations:
| Region | Hourly Rate |
| North America | $120 – $200 |
| South America | $40 – $60 |
| Australia | $90 – $100 |
| Eastern Europe | $40 – $60 |
| Asia | $20 – $40 |
3. Decide The Skill Sets You Need
Choosing the right tech stack is one of the most important things to consider while building an app. Decide whether you want a native app for iOS, Android, or a cross-platform app built with React Native, Flutter, or similar technology. App platform depends upon the business type and audience you want to target. iOS and Android are two major platforms available to develop mobile apps to target the global market. The development process for both platforms is very different. Most of the developers have expertise in one of the platforms. If you want your app for both platforms, go for the hybrid cross-app development process that also reduces the cost of development. So before hiring an app development company, you should be clear about which platform you want your app to build.
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Where to Find and Hire App Developers
1. Search On Online Platform For App Developers
Platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and AppFutura are such a great platform to find an experienced developer or agency. You can find the developer from all over the world and communicate with them in a moment. You can have exposure to find a developer with a specific skill set. These platforms allow you to communicate and conduct interviews of developers and agencies.
These platforms work as a mediator between you and programmers during the project. You can access the developer portfolio, resume, and skill set to find out who is the best fit for your project. All you need to just create an account and post a detailed job at free of cost. A good job description attracts developers to place a bid and offer their services. After selecting a developer, you can mutually decide the phases and milestones of the project. It is also recommended to discuss payment conditions in advance and avoid future conflicts.
2. Use Clutch or GoodFirms For Reviews
Clutch and GoodFirms are business to business review websites. They do detailed research and collect reviews from client to identify best app development companies. Their research and listing help startups and businesses to identify reliable and top mobile app development companies worldwide.
These platforms enlist companies in easy to understand manner and you can see company portfolio, detailed reviews given by clients, hourly rates, focused area, and contact details. This valuable information allows you to quickly hire a mobile app development company. With the help of their categorized directories, you can quickly find your desired mobile app programmer.
3. Post A Job On LinkedIn, Developer Job Boards
You should create a job and post it on LinkedIn, Twitter, and developer community like Stack Overflow to find a developer. On these platforms where you can search a developer with a special skill set. After posting the job you may receive a very good response from developers and directly connect with them.
You can discuss your startup project and get some valuable feedback. If you belong to a nontechnical background, it is recommended to talk to some experienced developers to get some technical inputs for your project.
Read More: How Much Does it Cost to Create an App
4. Ask Your Network and Get A Reference
Someone in your community may have a good connection with a developer or company. You might get a valuable reference to work out with him/her. Ask friends, colleagues or relatives if they have a developer or mobile app developing company to build a mobile app for your startup business. You will definitely find an app developer in your close network.
Things to Consider Before Hiring
1. Choose Someone Who Understands Your Needs
You want to ensure that the developer understands your requirements and business objectives. They should be able to listen to your idea, your needs, your business objective, your audience, and your future plan. A good mobile app developer would be able to provide you feedbacks, technical input, and suggestions on your requirements.
If they have had prior experience in the same industry, they should be able to provide you suggestions on the features as well. By doing this, you will learn the developer’s communication skills, technical knowledge, and more importantly inclination to your project.
2. Ask Them To Brief Your Project
A good developer should be able to understand your project scope, requirements and explain it back to you thoroughly. Need to know if they have analyzed requirements properly and have valuable suggestions and questions for your project.
Provide them your wishlist of features, any sketch/layout of the design, or a detailed RFP to get maximum feedback from them. You should also ask them if they see any challenge in your project and how they plan to overcome those challenges.
3. Look At Their Technical Capabilities
A technical assessment is much more important than any other criteria. You should understand their app development capabilities and knowledge of tools. App Developers know multiple programming languages, SDKs, app development methodologies, and backend development tools to build native and hybrid apps. Make sure to ask them to provide appropriate solutions for the project. This way you could get a chance to assess their skills and knowledge base.
Some questions you can frankly ask during the interview:
- Are they equally capable of building apps for iOS and Android?? How many years of experience they have in iOS and/or Android development?
- Do they build the apps using native or cross-platform app development approach?
- Are they familiar with app design – UI/UX?
- Do they have knowledge of backend server and REST API integration?
- Knowledge of app store guidelines also helps in submitting apps for approval.
4. Look At Their Previous Work, Reputation and References
You can request the past work they have done on mobile apps. Also ask them to provide the portfolio and CVs of their developers. Download and test their apps to know if they have built apps with similar functionalities.
Also look for reviews, awards, and online reputation for the developers. Do they have client testimonial on their website? Are there reviews for them on third party sites like Clutch.co, UpWork, AppFutura or Google Reviews? Are there negative reviews for them? Make sure to do some due diligence before you decide to hire them.
When you are ready to hire them, you should ask for 2-3 references that you could call to hear from their past customers. This is a very common practice whenever you want to hire a developer or a vendor for your IT Projects, but many times people skip it.
Read More: How to Find a Software Developer for your Startup
5. What Is Their Pricing Model?
You want to know the pricing model that will be mutually agreed between you and the developer. Mobile app developers are flexible and work according to your budget. You need to decide whether to offer a fixed cost or accept their hourly rates and proposed time to complete the project.
You want to know how they will invoice you and how they will send the time-sheet if it is hourly engagement. If it is a fixed cost, you want to know the milestones and cost associated with each milestone. You should need to draft an agreement that clearly mentions fees and payment terms between you and the developers. Also, you should know about the developer’s strategy and policy for post-production support if you are really impressed by them.
6. Time Availability To Start And Complete The Project
It is very important for you to know if the developer has enough bandwidth to start on your project and complete it in time with full dedication. On-demand app development services have enabled time precise execution and you can publish your app on time.
You don’t want to hire a developer who will make you wait 3-4 weeks to start the project or a developer who will work only a few hours per week on the project. You want someone who can jump on your project quickly and can devout the required time per week to keep the pace and interest in the project. Find an app developer task will over with this factor because of time importance.
Final Points
Simpalm is a top app development company in DC, and has strongly thought that if you follow the above checklist, you will make a good selection. Sometime you might be tempted to skips the checklist and try to make the selection process faster, but that can bite you back later if you ended up making the wrong selection. I strongly recommend following the proper process in selection in order for you to create the right product for you. If you need any further tips, you can contact me directly at piyush@simpalm.com.
Thanks and Regards
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I like that you recommend asking the designer for their portfolio to look at their previous work, as well as researching their reputation and services. My husband and I are going to be opening a business soon, and one of the things we’re interested in incorporating to our business is an app, for customers to be more engaged with our brand. I will definitely consider what you said about making sure they have a portfolio and understands your brand, and how you want to perpetuate it.
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