App developers can have different qualities and skills required for app development. A developer is knowledgeable, logical, and technically strong to understand real-world problems and solve them using a programming language. App developers are well qualified and have completed bachelor/masters in computer science. During graduation, they learn computer science fundamentals and programming languages.

A developer should have both technical and management skills to become successful in his/her career. Being a leading iOS app development company in USA, we will help you to know what qualities they should have to handle your project. A comprehensive portfolio and resumes are sufficient to ensure a journey of qualified developers for your project.

1. Strong background in 1-2 Native Mobile programming languages

A good developer has knowledge of at least two native languages like Swift, Java, Kotlin, or any other. They have the ability to code iOS and Android apps for different device sizes. Before Swift, developers were using Objective C to code native iOS apps. Native programming languages are most preferred in app development since they provide better user experience, speed, performance, and scalability. The following languages are highly popular to develop native apps. Make sure your developer does have expertise in one or two of them to develop your app.

  • Swift: This is parallel scripting & multi-paradigm native language to develop iOS, WatchOS, tvOS, and macOS apps.
  • Java: Java is one of the popular object-oriented languages to develop mobile & web platforms.
  • Kotlin: Kotlin is new and becoming popular since it is supported by Google. It is a statically typed programming language that supports Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
  • JavaScript: It is an imperative, high level interpreted, and object-oriented programming language. JavaScript is used by most of the developers to build mobile & web apps.
  • C#: C# is CLI based component & object-oriented programming language. Used by Xamarin developers to build native.iOS and native.Android apps.

2. Knowledge of Cross-Platform Development

Coding cross-platform apps are at the next level. A qualified developer has this ability and is technically sounded to develop cross-platform apps. There are several hybrid apps popular in the market. You may find a quality developer who has the ability to develop native and cross-platform apps. Many cross-platform frameworks are based on HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. Few others need a native language like C# for Xamarin app development. You may find a developer who knowledge of following cross-platform frameworks:

  • React Native framework
  • Flutter framework
  • Xamarin framework

3. Understanding of UI/UX Design

An experienced developer can use PSD files and take them into SDK and storyboard to create a user interface. They know which screen is perfect or need changes in your design. What resolution, effects and pixel perfect design is needed to create a user-friendly design. What color resolution, design elements, and app icons are best for app development. They may suggest you changes while coding a user interface using PSD files.

4. Ability to work on Backend Development

Simpalm is a top app and web development company in the USA, and has developed several apps for its clients. We suggest that a good developer can have a skill set to develop both the frontend and backend of your app. They can develop a backend database and setup server/hosting for your app. Many developers use MySQL, NoSQL, RoR for database development. They can also create APIs required for the project. You need to make sure that you have sufficient time to develop the frontend and backend of your app because individual developers can take time. On the other hand, if you have a dedicated developer for the backend, you can communicate to the frontend developer for suggestions.

  • Knowledge of Google Firebase, Amazon AWS, and Azure is a plus.
  • The ability to code a backend database in MySQL or SQL is great.
  • The ability to work with backend developers and help in writing logic is great.

5. Knowledge of Third Party APIs & SDK

App developers learn several APIs and SDK integration in their careers. These things take time and senior developers can have abilities to integrate any third-party API or SDK. Every time they have to learn what technology is used in building an API. App developers with good knowledge of Web services (RESTful and JSON) can implement APIs quickly in your app. Some of the popular APIs frequently used by developers are:

  • Google Places/Google Map API
  • Twilio Text Messaging API
  • Stripe Payment Gateway API
  • Facebook, Gmail, Twitter Login APIs
  • MailChimp API
  • Dropbox API

6. Knowledge of Phone Level SDKs and APIs:

Several apps have requirements to access device features to perform certain actions. App Developers with 2-4 years experience know how to code and implement apps with device native features.

  • Camera: Camera is an essential smartphone feature to take photos and use it in the app. Certain apps can not be developed without camera features. Apps like Barcode scanning, QR code scanning, live streaming, social media, video calling, photo and video editing need to access a phone camera. An experienced developer knows how to implement camera features and use different camera tools while developing your app.
  • Geolocation: Almost, 80% of apps available in the app store use geolocation features to track users’ locations. Whether it is an iOS or Android app, it is seen that the user is asked to access device location during signup/registration. A quality developer knows how to implement geolocations features, map features in your app. You can
  • Geofencing: Geofencing is a somewhat advanced feature and should be effectively implemented. An experienced developer has capabilities to implement geofencing in your app.
  • Microphone: Audio apps, eCommerce voice search apps use microphone access. It has limited use and is required.
  • Bluetooth: BLE is a complex feature and senior developers have the ability to connect your app with other BLE devices.
  • Sensors: Smartphones have several sensors, an experienced or senior developer can implement it for your app.

7. App Store Knowledge

Many developers have the ability to work from start to end. They can help you to publish your app on the App Store and Google Play Store. They have full knowledge of app store guidelines to submit and get approved for your app. You can ask them in an interview and see how much they know about app store guidelines, how to get approval, and what are the conditions of the app store. What are the steps to take to publish an app?

They can help you to conduct beta testing and create a final ‘build’ for app store submission. A developer account is required on app stores before publishing your app and you can ask your developer to create it.

8. Strong Qualification Background

As we discussed in the introduction, a quality and experienced developer also has a strong qualification background. This must be evaluated based on your requirements. If you need an in-house or full-time developer, you can effectively consider this as a quality check factor. For onshore projects, it does not matter too much.

9. Communication Skills

Communication skill is key to success. Many app founders, entrepreneurs work with remote developers for ongoing communication. It should be effectively verified before hiring an app developer. How efficiently he/she is understanding your requirements, challenges, and goal of the app development. How he is qualified and uses native language such as American or British English in communication. Many projects got stuck due to communication failure. Make sure you check the communication power of your app developer in advance.

10. Teamwork

A good developer is capable of working in a team, understanding client requirements, and handling particular modules. Teamwork is necessary when project size is large and development takes years. Whether it is a small or large project, it can not be completed individually. It needs a designer, developer, tester, and backend server developer. Overall it is teamwork. Make sure you have a good developer who can lead the team and development process.

11. Attitude toward Project Execution

We have considered this point as a developer quality because many projects failed due to incomplete work. A positive attitude towards project execution is necessary and a quality of app developer. Many times, a developer stuck in the development process, he could be stuck in solving errors, bugs, and functionality. This may take days and hours to be fixed. Simpalm has a team of quality app developers in Chicago who are passionate about their work and have problem-solving skills

 

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    Piyush Jain

    Piyush Jain is the CEO and Founder of Simpalm. He leads the business and engineering team to build the mobile and web product solution for clients. He loves to write thought leadership articles on IoT, Mobile, Blockchain, BigData, Web and other software technologies.