How to Find the Best App Development Company for Your Tech Startup?

Every mobile app development company claims to be unique, flexible, and committed. So how will you choose your next mobile app developer?

What you need is a good way to judge their capabilities by analyzing multiple factors related to the firm’s skill set. In this article, we’ll look at some top tips on choosing your next mobile app developer from various business perspectives.

Here are a few things to look out for a great technology partner:

1. Do they have a great portfolio of mobile applications?

Do not make a hasty decision of hiring an app development partner without checking their portfolio or past works.

A developer who has a great mobile applications portfolio will naturally create better results for you too! This way you will be able to see what kind of mobile apps he has created before, whether he can build your specific mobile application requirements or not.

Ask them to walk you through their portfolios, so that it becomes easier for your to judge and make the best decision for your startup.

Also, ask them what percentage of the apps they have developed are still being used after six months or longer.

2. Do they have prebuilt Solutions for your requirements?

Many of these app development agencies have already worked in past with many clients and some of these agencies create what we call “app solutions” which is a pre-built app with many of the features pre-created and configured.

Working with pre-built app solutions and them customizing it based on your own needs will save you both time and money, so do check out these options as well.

3. Check the App store reviews of the apps they developed!!

Here is a Big one, they would showcase in their case studies and success stories the apps that they have developed, go into those apps and check the app store reviews and feedback, see if the customers are talking about apps being crashing or certain features not working, things like these are huge red flags.

So please don’t just look at the mobile applications in mobile developers’ portfolios, read their reviews — particularly on apps they’ve created for other businesses — so you have a sense of how satisfied their past customers are with their service delivery. If possible, talk directly to people who have worked with them.

4. Peep Into Client Testimonials Reviews

When you hire a mobile app developer, you must peep into their website.

Check the Client Testimonials page and find out the reviews posted by the client company. References help to find out the kind of work the mobile app developer has done in the past. Even gives a glimpse of the brand with whom the app developer has worked.

The best place to look for reviews and testimonials are :

- Clutch

- Good firms

- Google reviews

- Glassdoor (for employee reviews)

5. Do you want to develop a quick prototype or MVP?

Mobile developers’ skills in creating iPhone/Android prototypes are sometimes underestimated — if your budget is limited, make sure their prototyping services are included in the price!

It’s much easier to get user feedback on paper mockups or even clickable wireframes than it is with real live code, so it’s good to be able to test designs early on.

6. Do mobile app developers have “mobile marketing experience?”

Once you create the app you got to promote it, and typically the app owner first creates the entire app (which costs huge bucks) and then starts finding a digital marketing agency to promote it.

This approach is wrong!!!

The goal should be to create a tech business and not just a working app.

What is the point of having a great working app with no takers?

so start the “marketing” of the app at the early stages, once you have the MVP or even initial prototype, your marketing activities should ideally start so that you can do product validation and find the product-market fit.

Many Mobile advertising agencies are now moving into mobile app development, taking their mobile marketing knowledge with them.

Maybe you want to develop a mobile application that can be marketed using mobile ads, but if the mobile developer you choose has no direct mobile marketing experience, he will not know how to design your mobile application for maximum exposure.

Here is a quick tip: ask specifically about their work experiences in this field.

If they have worked on mobile applications similar to yours before, it means they know what’s possible and what’s not.

But if they don’t have any direct mobile app marketing background then maybe look into hiring a specialized agency at the same time or even later after you gain more mobile application traction.

7. Would they like an equity partnership? (this is ONLY applicable when dealing with offshore or nearshore mobile app developers)

Some mobile application development companies are open to taking an equity partnership if your mobile app is really great.

But for this, you need to contact a mobile outsourcing company directly, never rely on third parties like search engines or mobile app developers directories.

It won’t work, because most mobile developers don’t put their mobile applications in directories that include personal information about them — they will only put the “cease” versions there (a version that cannot be downloaded anymore).

So if you want an equity partnership, make sure you talk with mobile application development team members directly.

8. Is a mobile application development company dedicated to mobile apps?

Mobile developers are not mobile-only developers, they develop server-side applications or web applications as well.

Some mobile application companies that focus only on mobile app outsourcing are just small agencies that have mobile departments but there is no specialization, so you cannot expect all portfolio mobile applications to be high-quality ones.

This doesn’t mean though that you should avoid mobile application companies with non-mobile departments — quite the opposite, it’s a good sign if your potential mobile outsourcing partner has other types of work — chances are, they will take more care about your project since it’s their main source of income! And finally … will fix it for free, which can save you from unnecessary expenses.

9. What kind of mobile apps have they developed before?

After mastering the mobile platforms and the software aspects, the next thing you should consider is previous mobile projects.

You can also ask the developer what mobile apps have they developed before. This gives you an idea of how their mobile development skills are, whether they use mobile app prototyping tools, which kind of mobile applications they worked on, and for whom.

10. Take Note Of Their Costs

The cost of app development will depend on the complexity, features, and resources required for your project.

The proposal you sign should have provisions ranging from IP ownership, payment breakups, and the ways your confidential information will get handled.

11. How much time can it take from the moment I send requirements until delivery?

This mobile outsourcing factor is very important because the mobile application development process can take a lot of time.

Usually, mobile companies that develop mobile applications know the importance of deadline and they do their best to reach it, but still — some types of mobile apps (e.g. mobile games) require more time for development than simple mobile websites, so some mobile companies decide to offer fixed deadlines or even milestones instead of open-ended project development!

Also, make sure your chosen mobile developer will follow agile methodologies while developing your original idea into a real mobile app.

12. Do they have any experience in your industry?

If you are looking for an iPhone/iPad app then you need to find a company with extensive experience in mobile marketing and social media marketing,

13. What frameworks do they use?

If you know precisely what kind of mobile product you want to develop, it’s often helpful first to look at different mobile development platforms and technologies: native development (Objective C, Swift for iOS and Java / Android), cross-platform mobile development, or hybrid technology (PhoneGap, Ionic …). If you then ask the provider what platform he prefers to work with, this will tell a lot about future collaboration.

14. What Technology know-how do they have?

Mobile application development requires a broad set of different areas of knowledge: programming languages, UX / UI design, mobile technology specifics (graphics rendering pipeline, OpenGL APIs …), mobile OS details (Android Fragments or iOS UIViewController ), cloud platforms integration ( Parse Facebook API )… If you check carefully the candidate’s previous work experiences, this will point out if he has already worked with your project requirements before.

15. What mobile app development processes do they use?

This is the most important part of any research towards finding the right tech partner yet this is the most ignored one.

Ask for the processes and best practices for design, development, and deployment and teams that will be in charge of each stage.

How mobile apps are actually developed is as important as the mobile platforms and programming languages.

Mobile developers typically use different mobile application development processes: Agile Scrum process, Waterfall model, mobile project management tools … For example, mobile product owners know well that mobile app prototyping is a very important step in mobile software development.

16. Which programming languages do they use for mobile software development?

Mobile apps are usually created with one or more programming languages. Besides Java / Android and Objective C / iOS, mobile applications are often built using C# — MonoGame, Unity 3D…

If you prefer a specific programming language for mobile app development, please check if the mobile developers you are considering have enough knowledge in this area before moving forward.

And don’t forget to ask about their experience with custom mobile technologies too!

17. Do they create native mobile apps?

Native mobile apps are mobile applications that were specifically designed and developed for a mobile operating system like iOS, Android, Windows Phone. If you only ever need to use mobile device features like GPS, camera, and internet connectivity in general, then native mobile app development is your best choice.

18. Are the developers skilled?

If you are thinking “why is it so important to check mobile app developers’ skills?”, the answer lies in one term:?Certification.

Mobile app development is a fast-changing industry and mobile developers need to learn how mobile market trends are evolving in order to become successful.

Also, mobile app development is a branch of the IT industry that requires a certain set of skills and mobile developers who have the right certification can prove their mobile application development knowledge with certificates.

Certification may give you a good idea of a mobile developer’s expertise, but it’s not meant as a substitute for mobile app reviews from clients!

19. What mobile platforms do they develop mobile apps for?

Android, iOS … Mobile platforms vary greatly even though they all use the same programming languages most of the time, so you definitely will want to know which operating systems your mobile outsourcing company uses most often.

Especially if you want them to build an Android app because Android mobile app development services are quite popular among mobile companies nowadays.

20. How do mobile developers find mobile application testers?

Mobile developers usually have mobile testing team members on their QA teams, but not all mobile applications get tested by the internal mobile QA team.

Some mobile app outsourcing companies outsource the mobile application testing phase, which can be a very expensive and time-consuming process due to the high number of test stages required for each mobile application.

Ask your potential mobile outsourcing company what types of services they offer in regards to mobile app testing — if you want them only to build the software part, don’t ask about this issue!

21. Can they provide mobile app testing?

Many people think that mobile application testing should be done by the mobile developers themselves or other software testers. In fact, it’s not so!

Mobile app companies typically have their own QA teams with very strict standards of quality assurance. Specialist testers usually test mobile applications on different devices using multiple test scenarios before the launch. Also remember to ask about their defect tracking system, which will help you track bugs faster and more effectively.

22. Are mobile application developers willing to sign NDA?

At this stage, the mobile developer is very likely to agree with a non-disclosure agreement if your mobile application project sounds interesting. Don’t be surprised when a mobile app company asks for this document!

After all, the mobile apps they are creating will contain sensitive business information that can’t be shared with everyone.

So please make sure you really want to hire a mobile outsourcing company before moving forward with any written agreements, because once signed they are legally binding agreements that cannot be changed later on.

23. Do they offer any mobile application outsourcing guarantees?

Mobile app developers won’t come back to you with mobile applications that crash all the time or mobile apps that don’t function as they should.

But still, there are a lot of mobile app development companies that offer mobile redundancy or mobile compatibility guarantees — what it means is that if something goes wrong with your mobile application they will fix it.

Mobile application development companies shouldn’t be only interested in your project’s success. I think this is good because if they get back to you and admit that something went wrong, it means that they care about the quality of their work.

On the other hand, there are general guarantees for all types of projects (like a no-plagiarism guarantee) — just make sure you will know what kind of guarantee(s) your mobile outsourcing company offers before signing a contract with them.

24. Do they offer training or support after delivery?

This is another plus that can save you from unnecessary expenses! There are so many mobile industries these days, mobile web technologies mobile app mobile application mobile apps mobile app mobile apps mobile application mobile applications mobile application development, but still, a lot of companies fail to organize their own training courses or support sessions for their employees.

Mobile outsourcing companies should be able to offer you at least one type of educational program that will teach your employees how to use this or that tool.

Conclusion

Remember a great tech partner can help you make your tech startup a success where a bad development agency will only bother about their billing rate and invoices.

This is a tricky part. You’ll have to find mobile application developers who are not only honest but also able to create mobile applications that really work and op top of it becomes a partner for your business or startup success.

ABOUT RITESH

Ritesh Osta is a Mar-Tech and Digital Marketing Consultant.

As a Tech strategist, he has been certified by Oracle, SAP, and Hubspot. He has had the privilege of working with Fortune 500 companies like Nestle, Amkor, & Mahindra for 15 years.

Now, he helps Startups and Entrepreneurs create, launch, and promote Digital Products to establish their brands.

He is also a Certified Public Speaker and Trainer with a love for coaching people. As a cat lover, he is a part of PAWS; an organization that provides shelter to homeless animals.