Do you have the next big idea? Are you willing to test your might being an entrepreneur? Is your app idea another multimillion or billion-dollar one?
These are some questions that often pop inside an app entrepreneur’s head or the venture capitalist they are seeking funds from. However, the biggest question that still remains is whether to hire someone capable to turn that into a reality.
The majority of struggles end if as an entrepreneur you have an app design company partnered that supports you every step of the way. This makes for a smooth journey through app development and a promising app that entices customers.
To help you find the best app design companies to shortlist, we have written this article. The article will focus on the key considerations you should have before hiring someone.
Therefore without any further delay, let’s start…
Key things to focus on before hiring a mobile app design company!
These are some of the most important considerations that every entrepreneur should keep in mind before hiring an app design company. These are:
Depth of the portfolio
If you are hiring a company for the very first time, it is highly likely that you might fall in the pit of sweet talks. See every company wants to make a dime and everyone is willing to show that they are capable of your money. However, the problem arises when the hired company is not what it marketed itself as. Suing is an option but this will take your plan of app development further down the road.
Therefore what is the best way to judge a company without really working with them? The purpose of a portfolio is to showcase capabilities. The variety of work done by the company or their work in a particular industry or may be a particular type of technology. This would help you get a better idea of whether the company is worth hiring or not.
Expertise with technologies
Apps are primarily developed in three formats i.e. native apps, hybrid apps, and web apps. Each of these formats requires its own technology, frameworks, and programming language to develop. They do coincide in many spaces, however, it is always to good to hire experts who understand the type of development you are seeking.
To give you a better idea. Starting with web apps, these are web-based applications that run on a browser. Adding to it, both native and hybrid apps run on the platform. However, there is a major difference. Native apps are platform-oriented but provide a much better experience. On the other hand, hybrid apps are simultaneously developed for more than one platform. The difference between the two can be stark depending on your app idea. Therefore, the expertise of the company is also a huge factor in achieving your needs.
Common tech stack for the three formats of apps:
Hybrid Apps
- Front-end: JavaScript, HTML5, CSS
- Back-end: Node.js, Firebase, MySQL
- Frameworks: React Native, Ionic, Xamarin, Flutter
Native Apps
- iOS: Objective-C, Swift
- Android: Java, Kotlin
- Frameworks: React Native, Xamarin, Flutter
Web Apps
- Front-end: JavaScript, HTML5, CSS
- Back-end: Node.js, Firebase, MySQL
- Frameworks: React.js, Angular.js, Vue.js
Size of the company
This is a factor that is often overlooked. It is important to learn about the size of the company. For instance, if you are simply looking to develop a mobile app then the project may not need way too many heads to complete the work. However, this depends on the complexity of the app.
Adding to it, an enterprise level requires a decent amount of employees to fulfill the requirement.
Does this mean, we are not supposed to hire someone with a strength of 50 people or 10 people?
Well, the other factor while hiring an app design company is to look for the number of projects they’ve already enrolled for. With a small team and multiple projects, the chances will be higher than your project may cross the deadline. However, if the team hired isn’t committed to multiple other projects then even a small team can do great wonders. Also, there are plenty of firms that are doing it and proving their mantle even with a small team.
Credibility in the market
Right now, there are multiple platforms such as clutch, Goodfirms, MobileAppDaily, Wadline, etc. that mention some of the best companies in different domains of development. Seek out insights from them.
Also in general, a company has a reputation in the market. This factor can also be judged by the number of customer retention rates, awards & accolades, online reviews, etc. This would help you understand whether the company, you are willing to hire is worth it.
Communication process
As of today, the process of hiring is not limited to your own geolocation. One can even outsource their work to far-off land. Although, whatever the case may be, the communication between you and the app design company should be at ease.
It is because it is your app and the ideas that you have should reflect on it. To achieve this, the app design company needs to proactively reach you at each stage of development and get insights from your on how the app should be.
For communication, app designs companies use tools such as:
- Slack
- Skype
- Zoom
- Gmail
Ask the company to tell you how they communicate with their clients and keep them in line with the progress of the development process.
Cost of Development
Cost of development is everything. If money wasn’t a constraint majority of entrepreneurs would end up hiring the best company known. However, with monetary constraints, it is good to be a little judicious while selecting a company. Also, the prices differ a lot if we think about app development all around the world. For instance, in India, one can find a company at $20/hr for starting price, however, in the USA this could be around $40/hr. Also, it is important to check the pricing from this perspective. Adding to it, another factor that one should focus on is the minimum hiring cost. For some companies this could be $1000, however, some might only take projects equal to or more than $50,000.
Support
Majority of companies provide support for a year or two. Beyond that, they charge additional money for support. It is important to understand that developing an app and maintaining it are two different factors. In order to run an app effectively, one needs to maintain it well, and who would be better for that other than the company that developed it.
Wrapping Up!
Finding a company that is aligned with your requirements is a difficult task to achieve. However, with the above key considerations, we have tried to cover as many important points as possible to help you hire the best app design companies. With these in place and your own experience, we hope you will be able to hire someone capable. However, our last piece of advice would be not to settle at the first interaction. Even if the company you approach or they approach, learn how they can help you, and repeat the same with others. This way you’d be able to hire someone who stays in tune with your app idea and deliver you something compelling.