Building a mobile app for your company is on-trend and if you haven’t gotten one, you’re probably behind the curve. However, there are multiple questions to be asked before you set your foot down and actually hire that app development company. You will be spending a lot of time with this company or developer, so it’s best to make sure that you get along. It is also important to make sure that you are on the same page when it comes to the ideas and visions you have for the app so that the both of you get the best out of the deal.

If you have decided to jump on the digital bandwagon and get a mobile app for your business, you need to start looking around as fast as possible.

Note: If you are seeking a mobile app development firm, you can save time and get up to 5 quotes from trusted local mobile app development companies on the ThunderQuote platform for free.

So what are the questions you need to ask the developer you are planning to hire?

Question #1 : What is your most used programming language?

Before you get down and dirty and start working on the app, you will need to know their most used programming language. The top five common languages are Javascript, HTML, C ++, Objective-C and Swift. It is crucial to find out what the developer uses most so that you can make the necessary plans to maintain and upkeep your app. It will be better if you, yourself get acquainted with the programming language.

Question #2 : Do you have a portfolio or examples of past apps I can look at?

Hiring someone to head a project this big is daunting. It is even scarier if you do not know what they are capable of. Having a portfolio to look at and discuss over will be a great help because then you have a general idea of what their work looks like. While browsing you can also pick up certain design features that you like and have that incorporated into your own app. Just think of it as window-shopping. How will you know exactly what you like if you haven’t dipped your toes in the sea?

Question #3 : Can I contact your past clients?

Asking around is extremely important to gauge how they are with their customer service skills. The people developing the app will work hand in hand with you and if they are rude and non-responsive, you will have a hard time working with them. Having a portfolio of clients to look from will help give you a clear view of their work ethics and how results-oriented they are.

Question #4 : How long have you been developing apps?

It is sometimes wrong to judge a company based on how long they have been in the business. But creating a mobile app is costly and you would want to hire someone with a huge backing when it comes to experience. You cannot deny that with time comes more experience. That is just something you cannot look over. So, finding out how long they have been developing apps is crucial so that you know how capable they are of buckling down to create that one-of-a-kind app for your company.

Question #5 : What kind of smartphone do you use?

This might seem like a weird question but you might want to make an app for the iPhone. This means that they people you are hiring should be extremely well-versed in the iPhone and how the app systems work. This doesn’t mean you should shun all Android or Blackberry users. It just means that you should look out for these tiny details. But hey, if they can work across all platforms, that is even more amazing because they are diverse!

Question #6 : How can my app generate an income?

Your main goal from the start of this process is to make sure that this app makes money. You are not about to spend thousands on building an app just so that it can sit there and look pretty. It has to generate some sort of income for your company. So when deciding on hiring a developer, you need to ask this question to ensure he knows of the building blocks needed to monetise the app and bring in that moolah for you. The inclusion of ads, in-app purchases or paid subscription purchases must be well-thought out to ensure you generate money.

 

Picture Credits : thenextweb.com

Question #7 : Do you offer maintenance and support?

The app world is an ever-changing market and because of that you would need real-time maintenance when there is a new update to the operating system or if you find bugs in the app. Customer reviews are extremely important and you need to think about this before hiring a developer. They need to be able to constantly improve the app in real-time. Figure out if this is included in the initial pricing of the cost of developing the app so that you don’t get blindsided by a giant bill at the end.

Question #8 : Who will be managing the process and who do I call?

Constant communication is crucial when it comes to a project like this. Not two minds are like-minded. You need someone on call that you can contact for anything related to the app. If you have a suggestion or a concern, you need to know who to call. You wouldn’t want to be bouncing around at customer service and wasting time. Always ask for a specific person to be a project manager that you can call on when you need help with the app. You can also call this person for updates and to view prototypes. Basically a constant connector between you, the owner of the app and the developers making your app.

Question #9 : Who owns the code?

This is extremely important because it brings in legal jargons as well. If the app takes off and it makes billions, how do you ensure that the app and its code belongs to you? Long story short, you are the one who gave birth to the idea of the app so the most logical thing is that the code of the app also belongs to you. Some developers lock you out of the ownership of the code. Therefore, for safety purposes, always get lawyers involved and always read the fine print! Clients should always own the code and everything that comes with the app.

Question #10 : Is everything included in the price that was quoted?

Simple apps that run on one platform has the starting price of USD 25,000. The bigger and more complex apps for the ‘bigger boys’ can rack up prices of almost USD 500,000. It is important to make sure you have a budget if you are looking at software companies to develop your apps for you. This guide written by us is a good guideline when it comes to how much you have to spend when you decide to make an app. You need to ensure that the upfront price the developers are asking for will then cover the entire process because you do not want to be shell-shocked at the end of it having to pay so much more.

The process of creating a mobile app may be tedious but hopefully this guide helps to shed some light on the process of hiring a mobile app vendor. With these questions, you will be better prepared when engaging your mobile app development firm or mobile app developer. All the best with your mobile project!

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