If you are looking to grow your brand’s mobile audience or improve a user’s experience with your brand and services, developing a mobile app is a great idea. However, not many companies have the expertise to develop an app in-house. In such a situation, many brands turn to an app development company to help them design and develop an app that meets all their requirements.
Choosing the right app development company is critical because your brand’s app is going to be one of its biggest assets and touchpoint. Here are five ways to identify the best mobile app development agency to match your needs.
1. The company’s past app development experience
The best way to predict the quality of the mobile application development services a company offers is to look at the apps they have developed in the past. Before you sign on an app development company, make sure you ask them for their complete portfolio of work. You should also find out if they have developed apps for companies that work in a similar industry as yours. Relevant past experience usually means that the app development company already has valuable insights into what your customers are looking for in an app and the best ways to deliver this to them.
2. Experience with app development platforms
When you decide to develop an app, there are largely two platforms to choose between: iOS and Android. If you know that your audience is largely present on a single OS, it might make more financial sense for you to develop an app only on that platform. These are called as native apps.
On the other hand, if your audience is present equally on both or if you have plans to scale up in the future, you might need to consider developing an app for both platforms. You can also consider developing a hybrid app. A hybrid application is not restricted to an operating system. This is because it is written using standard web technologies such as HTML5 JavaScript and CSS and then the code is ‘wrapped’ making it portable. Read more about native vs hybrid vs crossplatform here.
Whichever option you decide to go with, you need to check if the app development company has extensive experience on that platform. Again, a portfolio of their past mobile application development services is a great way to understand this.
3. Understand their app development process
Getting an app developed for your company involves a complete understanding of your company’s processes and USPs. Your customers need to have a similar experience with your brand no matter what platform or device they are accessing it from. Because of this, it’s critical that the custom mobile app development company you sign on understands your brand inside out.
Before you partner with an app development company, make sure you ask them for details about their entire app development process, from ideation to creation. This will give you how much of a priority they place on understanding a client’s brand as a part of the overall development process.
You should also find out whether a project manager will be assigned to your app and the team who will be actually working on it. Once a project manager has been identified, make sure you build a strong rapport with them to help the entire process function smoothly.
4. Get a clear timeline for the completion of the app
Setting a realistic timeline for the delivery of the finished app is very important. This helps you plan your marketing activities around it and ensure that the app launch is successful. A reputed custom mobile app development company should be able to give you a final timeline for the completion of the app. They should also ideally give you a breakdown of timelines for each stage of completion of the app. To ensure that the timelines are met, you can create SLAs for approval and delivery timelines. It’s also a good idea to have a contingency plan in case there is a delay in the timeline, to ensure you are prepared for any eventuality.
5. App maintenance and testing processes
Developing an app is rarely a one-time job. Once the app development is completed, it needs to be routinely checked for bugs and other issues. These errors need to be resolved as soon as possible to ensure that a user does not experience any glitch with the app. Because of this, you need to check if your app development company offers continued mobile application development services through technical support even after the app is delivered. Read more about why it is important for businesses to keep updating their apps
The terms of this support can vary depending upon your company’s requirements. Some brands continue to engage with app development companies on an ongoing basis while others only require it on a need-basis. Whichever system you decide to go with, you should always verify that the custom mobile app development company you choose to partner with can meet your requirements.
Your company’s app is an extension of your brand and can be a powerful tool to engage with your audience and generate business results. These five tips will help you find the best mobile app development agency that can deliver an app tailor-made to your requirements.
iTech India has been providing customized software solutions since 2003. We specialize in custom software development, app development and re-engineering. Contact us today to know more about how we can bring value to your business process.
