If you have decided that developing an App for your business is your next goal, most likely you have already achieved some awareness of the real benefits that an application can give your business .
If you need to fully understand the advantages related to the possibility of developing an app for your business, I recommend you read the article written by Martina Daniele that explains what the ‘ Advantages for your Business and for your Customers are. have a dedicated App ‘.
The factors that determine how much an App costs are varied. Before you start requesting quotes left and right, you can already create a rough idea by analyzing some crucial points.
To support you in this first analysis, I decided to list some questions that you could start asking yourself, whose answers can provide indicators to answer the fateful question ‘How much does an App cost?’
What level of quality are you looking for?
Needless to say,
Either you develop an App that definitely meets the minimum usability and accessibility criteria , or it is better not to have it.
Let’s see what I mean by these two basic concepts:
An App can be used when it meets the information needs of the user who is using it, providing ease of access and navigability and allowing an adequate level of understanding of the contents;
While for accessibility I mean an App that must be designed keeping in mind the needs of the large number of people who have obsolete technologies, or who install it on different devices: such as Smartphone or Tablet or Windows;
My advice is therefore to be wary of those who offer you an App, in which the quality is completely ignored.
The quality level of your App, in fact, is not an optional!
What type of app do you need?
The options for answering this question are different. In fact, you can decide that your App should be developed only for Android , or only for iPhone . Or for both platforms. Still, not to be underestimated, the choice to create an App dedicated to the Windows iPhone.
A century seems to have passed when, in 2015, during the last Build 2015 , the appointment dedicated to developers, Microsoft presented what was then the new strategy to increase the number and quality of Windows 10 apps dedicated to computers, smartphones and Tablet.
During this appointment, the Microsoft company decided to plan the conversion of apps designed for iOS and Android into solutions compatible with Windows 10 .
All this, possible thanks to a couple of fundamental integrations that have allowed the support of the coding languages of the applications for iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones and tablets, in the Microsoft development environment .
If you have doubts about the choice to make, I suggest you read the articles written by our team relating to: ‘ Why develop an App for IOS and bring your business to the App Store ‘ and ‘App Store Development: the new frontier of Business ‘. Both articles are available on the App Development website for Android and IOS .
Which graphics would you like for your application?
As you can imagine, besides the systemic component of the development of an App , it is fundamental, for the purposes of user usability, to think about the graphic design and logo design of the App .
An intuitive design will allow your customers to find what they are looking for with just a few clicks, reducing the time spent on research and the frustration often associated with it.
The options, also on this front, are various: you can decide to focus on a simple but functional interface; or a completely customized interface with images, icons, dynamic elements, etc.
In the first case, most likely you will find a more ‘affordable’ but also more standardized quote , compared to the second option, in which you will have a product that gives a completely personal character , adapting the appearance of your App to your Brand or your initiative (in case you decide to develop an App dedicated exclusively to a specific Promotional Event).
How would you like to monetize?
To answer this question, I think it is essential to start from the goal you have set yourself to achieve with your personalized App.
If your desire is to get as many downloads as possible and run your App, it is conceivable that making your App free on the Stores will facilitate the achievement of this goal.
However, we know that some Apps available on the Stores are Paid. The reasons can be really many. It happens that the App developer can not monetize in any other way, through the use of the App itself, if not asking users for the initial contribution to get it.
Or, we can think of an App that offers certain standard services through its App in its free version, while to allow the user to access Plus features , it requires an economic contribution.
Furthermore, it is to be foreseen the possibility of developing an App whose primary objective is the sale: I speak of an App with an E-commerce Module .
In fact, very often, I see the App of restaurants and pizzerias that decide to bring their Business both on the web, through the implementation of an E-commerce, and on the Stores, encouraging their loyal customers to download their App to allow them to buy products easily and immediately.
Should the application have a Login system?
In recent years, the tendency to take advantage of the social presence of users in order to acquire information, sometimes even detailed, on their account has grown .
In fact, it is easy today to make access to the App possible only after Login , via Facebook , E-mail and Password or by entering your Fidelity Card data.
Many are of the opinion that this strategy can, as in the previous point, decrease the number of downloads and the potential use of the application; however, it is easy to think that this first filter makes it easier to use some features, in which, for example, the recording of some fundamental data for the use of the App is foreseen.
Think, for example, of the Apps that have the E-commerce Module. In these cases, the customer can quickly log in and make their purchases, without the need to enter their data every time.
Does the Application need an Administration Panel?
In my experience, any App should have its own Administration Panel , made available to the entrepreneur or owner of the App so that he can make any changes he wishes, quickly and easily.
If we think, for example, of the Fidelity Apps for Customer Loyalty , I would say that it is unthinkable not to have a Panel that allows me to manage the contents of the App independently:
- Modify new articles
- Manage Coupons
- Create and send Push Notifications
- Develop and manage forms
And many other functions that allows the App owner to be autonomous in managing his marketing activities.
Does the application need to be integrated with a website?
Here the donkey falls! If in your design idea, the possibility of integrating your App with your website is assumed, then the development becomes more serious, and with it a significant increase in costs .
In fact, if you are planning to insert such functionalities, within your App that have a direct connection with the information that can also be managed through your website, then you need to provide an integration that allows the communication of the two platforms in real time , so that the user can fully experience the potential of the features provided.
In how many languages should your Application be?
Another important element to answer the question: ‘How much does an App cost?’ it concerns the number of languages that the App will have to manage.
In fact, the management of the App in the various languages must be prepared from the beginning, to the extent that, not only the contents of the front end must be clearly in the desired language, but also all the service messages , such as: error messages , welcome messages, successful in completing an action, just to give an example, must be prepared by the back end.
The system will then show the App in one language rather than another, depending on the setting provided by the device that is using the App.
Well, at this point in history, I know that we have dealt with the various elements that contribute to the evaluation of the cost of an App.
And you, where are you with the project of your App?
To conclude, I leave you one last tip: always make sure to contact professionals who are able not only to MAKE your App, but who can also provide valuable advice on your choices. In fact, I have seen many projects, or rather project ideas, fall, even before their own development, because, in my opinion, you need to know how to evaluate the feasibility and ROI of your idea.
Read Also: Mobile apps Development
It is useless, at times, to spend hundreds or thousands of USD on an App project that (we know, we know it from the beginning …) will be completely bankrupt if not in the face of further investments to promote and popularize the product.