So you’ve got a great app idea. Whether it’s for making your business more efficient, helping people simplify their daily tasks or providing enjoyment through a fun game, the possibilities are endless. Now you just need to look for an app development company to help turn your vision into a reality. There are numerous considerations when choosing the right app developer besides price – after all, you want the greatest product, not the cheapest product. It’s important to be diligent during your selection process, because working with the wrong team can lead to costly mistakes and missed objectives. Here are the key criteria you should consider.

Look for Happy Clients

Most app development companies will showcase their portfolio on their websites. If not, be sure to ask for a list of past clients and projects so that you can be confident in their skills, work quality and experience. Experienced app developers are able to add more value through recommending ideas that you may have overlooked on your own. Avoid companies or freelancers that may not have the required experience and thus are learning on your dime. Digging a little deeper, you can look at the app developer’s past projects to see if the developer has experience in your specific sector. You can also contact the companies that they have developed apps for and find out what their experience was like. Ultimately, you want to find an app developer that you can work well with.

Test Apps They've Created

Before you hire an app development company, make sure you’ve checked out at least a handful of mobile apps they’ve created. Look for the apps online, download them and spend some time to form an educated opinion about their quality. Don’t forget to read user reviews for published apps (but beware of negativity bias – people are more likely to write reviews when they dislike something rather than when they like it). As a bonus, if you come across a specific functionality or feature that you want for your app, you can be sure that this developer can deliver on it. And if you end up hiring the developer, you can provide these features as examples to better communicate what you are looking for.

Ask About Platform Experience

Understand which platforms the app development company is capable of building for. Do they specialize in developing web-based or mobile applications? Within mobile, do they specialize in iOS, Android, or cross-platform apps? If the app is linked to a website, will it be optimized and responsively designed for mobile? These are all valuable questions to ask your potential app development company. If you are unsure of which platform to build your app for first, the app developer should also be able to advise the pros and cons for your project.

Understand Their Development Cycle

Some app development companies offer end-to-end service from product consulting, user-interface (UI) and user-experience (UX) design, graphic design, coding and development to QA and delivery. Others may only offer a part of the development process, such as UI/UX design, and refer other companies offering services that integrate with theirs. What you require will depend on the kind of app you are creating, but going with a company that covers all the steps of the app development cycle will minimize the number of moving parts and make the project a little easier to manage.

Look for Transparency & Agility

The best app developers are the ones that proactively communicate with clients to keep them in the loop and are fast to solve problems and respond to changes. The reality of any software project is that things can, and will change. If possible, look for a company that employs Agile software development. With an Agile approach, the team is able to quickly and pivot easily when needed to ensure a high product quality on delivery. In addition, the client is involved in every step of the project and they are able to see work-in-progress.

Know Their Latest Technology

There’s always something new going on in the app development world. If you want your app to be leading edge, ask your app developer what top trends they are familiar with and what technologies they are exploring right now. They may be able to recommend ideas that could lead to the next big thing or at least a more exciting, memorable and modern app.

Post Deployment Support

Just because your app is posted on the marketplace and getting downloads, doesn’t mean that your masterpiece is complete. Does your chosen app developer provide support and maintenance after the app goes live? From releasing updates and patches to scaling up if you attract more users, you will need to constantly improve your app so that it stays competitive and user-friendly. Make sure you understand whether your app developer can offer this type of support. With some diligence and a careful selection process on your part, you’ll have a better shot at choosing the right app developer who can deliver a successful and compelling app that meets your goals.

Get in Touch

Whether you are looking for a custom web application or a new mobile app, we’re application developers who’ve been at it long enough to know how to build a breadth of software systems from beginning to end – efficiently and reliably. Talk to our team to learn how we can support your next app development project.