Business mobile
applications have become an absolute necessity for enterprises irrespective of
their magnitude; to promote their products, provide better services to
customers, and expand their horizons. Consequently, businesses across diverse
domains are hiring a mobile app
development company for creating robust apps enabling them to
meet the increasing demands of a dynamic and competitive market.
However, app designing, development, and deployment, often turns out to be an expensive affair and can be quite challenging for companies with budgetary constraints. As per research statistics by Upwork, the minimum budget required for app creation falls between $150,000 and $450,000! So, in this write-up, I have summed up some ingenious strategies and best practices that businesses and mobile app development companies can refer to in order to help minimize the cost of developing mobile applications without compromising on the quality.
Mobile Application Development: Handy trends and strategies for cost-effectiveness
Baseline requirements in beginning
First of all, thorough market research of the latest trends and innovative strategies is essential to identify the requirement as per the domain intended, before jump-starting the developmental process. Once the objective is defined, obtaining clear visibility of the design path and product flow through wire-framing is necessary for budget-oriented decisions.
Keep initial features simple
Choosing standard UI, graphics, and animations instead of customized components, simple app design, and minimal features not only lessen the cost but also involves lesser roadblocks while development
Incorporating credible technology stacks
Technology stack such as frameworks, programming languages, and digital tools needed to architect an application, influence the development cost to a huge extent. These factors determine the developmental cycle, commercial risk factors, and the complexity of maintaining an app. So, choosing them wisely can be budget-friendly. HTML5, .NET, Ruby on Rails, etc. are some of the credible tech stacks.
Opting for MVP model
MVP or Minimum Viable Product is a prototype of the desired app comprising of all the basic essential features and functionalities. Building an MVP, instead of a full-fledged application, requires fewer resources and thereby proves economical. MVP is the best way to validate the acceptance of the app and the detection of any glitches in the operational system. Advanced features can be added later based on the requirement.
Outsourcing the project
Outsourcing the task of project management to a team of proficient mobile app developers or professional IT companies is a smart move indeed, as it reduces the overall expenses incurred. The reasons are as follows:
●
The client company can reap the benefits of experienced and
adept professionals managing the project.
●
The cost of maintaining vast office spaces needed for an
in-house development team is saved.
●
A huge talent pool can be accessed, irrespective of their
location.
●
The partner companies provide consistent service and deliver
projects on time.
●
The company can choose between fixed-budget or hourly-basis
payment models, depending on the project requirement.
●
Outsourcing the project to vendors operating in locations where
the labor cost is low, further minimizes expenses.
Agile methodology
Agile methodology refers to fragmenting project development into smaller developmental cycles comprising of tasks, sub-tasks, and modules. This facilitates better management, faster delivery, and offers the flexibility of altering the technique if the cost is too high. So, agile methodology is highly preferred and advised for budget control.
Cross-Platform mobile app development
Cross-platform app development involves a lesser workforce and high reusability of the code. Hence, even though Native apps perform better, choosing cross-platform mobile applications is advisable if the app is intended for diverse platforms like Android, iOS, and Windows. Frameworks like IONIC, React Native, Xamarin, PhoneGap, SenchaTouch, etc. are used for cross-platform development.
However, if the app to be developed is quite complicated, needs a native interface for top-grade user experience, cross-platform development may not be the right approach.
Using third-party plugins
Usage of already available third-party plugins, pre-built templates, and ready-made solutions that can be customized based on the project requirements, instead of developing them from scratch saves time and money. Google cloud platform for backend services, a third-party plugin for push notifications and chat functionalities are some of the commonly used instances.
Testing at various stages of development
Adequate testing at various stages of development saves effort and expenses during deployment and support post launching. It helps to detect bugs and check compatibility with different hardware and software environments proactively.
The aforesaid preferences regarding functionalities, features, platforms, technology stacks, human resources, and methodologies incorporated for executing projects are tried and tested strategies. These best practices work for businesses belonging to any domain and aide in devising a winning financial strategy to reduce the cost of developing mobile applications.
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