How to Choose a Mobile App Development Company

Mobile app development is one of the modern ways for building innovative product visions. Despite its obvious potential, it has to be executed expertly. That’s why you need to partner with a top mobile app development firm. 

But with so many services available, how do you find the best mobile app development company to help your business transform its innovative idea into a quality product? 

Don’t worry, we’ve got some app development tips for you.

We’ve compiled 10 tested and proven steps to choose a mobile app development company with the right expertise among the sea of options available. 

These are: 

1. Understand and Itemize your Mobile App Development Goals and Requirements

Choosing the perfect mobile app development company for your project starts with you. There are so many options out there, and you can easily get confused, or worse, make the wrong choice if you don’t know what you want. That’s why the first thing you need to do before you start comparing companies is to understand and itemize your mobile app development goals clearly. Not only will this foundational clarity streamline your search, but it will also increase your chances of finding a mobile app development partner that catches your vision. 

So, how can you understand and itemize your mobile app development goals and requirements? 

Firstly, you need to state the main purpose of your app in the simplest terms. Ask yourself: 

“What problem is my app solving?”

Providing a clear answer to this question makes it easy for you to identify the potential developer who is most likely to build it to your satisfaction. 

Next, you need to figure out the type of app you’re about to build. Is it a healthcare, fitness, fintech, or e-commerce app? Having this knowledge helps you select a mobile app development company based on their experience. (We’ll discuss this more shortly.) 

Platform compatibility is another factor when itemizing your goals and requirements.

2. Understand the Project Lifecycle and Management Process

The project lifecycle and management process refers to the sequence of events and stages involved in conceptualizing a mobile app idea and building it until you have a final product that users can access. Basically, it’s how a mobile app development company handles the development after you share your idea with them. 

Different companies handle development in various ways, and each of these ways affects the final quality and how it translates to business value. This is why it is crucial to understand a company’s project lifecycle and management process. For example, this approach affects the company’s delivery timeline, which in turn determines how quickly you get your product to the market. 

You should understand the different phases your product idea needs to go through before reaching completion. This base idea gives you the opportunity to then match with companies that think about product development similarly. Other factors like development timelines and delivery periods also factor into this, but we’ll talk about those later.  

3. Make an Initial List of Companies Based on Their Industry Experience 

Based on your mobile app idea, the project lifecycle, and its management process, you can now create an initial shortlist of mobile app development companies that fit your requirements. This list should be drafted based on certain factors like your preferred programming languages, technical proficiency, personalized recommendations, and clear experience building something similar to what you’re building.

The remaining steps involve narrowing down this list to the company that is most likely to deliver what you need. 

4. Screen them based on Technical Proficiency 

Screening potential mobile app development firms based on their technical proficiency is important because it helps you determine whether the company has what it takes to build a solid product. 

However, it can be quite tricky if you don’t have that technical proficiency yourself. So, what do you do in this situation? 

Do some research on the specific tech stacks and programming languages needed to build the kind of mobile app you have in mind. These could be Laravel, PHP, React Native, etc. Next, check the company’s portfolio and identify products they’ve built using the identified tech stacks. 

This is also an opportunity for you to spot a mobile app development firm that actually has mastery over these programming languages because they should be able to explain to you in layman’s terms why a certain programming language is best for what you’re trying to build. 

That’s not all. 

You should also quiz them on how they keep up with the latest tech trends so that you can identify agile teams. 

Finally, inquire about their in-house app development processes, QA testing procedures, and security best practices. As we mentioned earlier, you want to ensure that the team has the technical knowledge to deliver a fully functional mobile app. 

5. Study the Company’s Past Projects and Portfolio 

A company’s past projects and portfolio tell you two major things: 

1. The company’s experience building something similar to your vision
2. The company’s experience in your industry. 

The simple rule of thumb here is to prioritize companies with proven experience building the kind of app you want in your industry. For example, if you’re building an e-commerce app, it is better to choose a mobile development company that has built a series of e-commerce apps than one that builds mostly healthcare apps. 

Industry experience gives you an edge because the company may have access to industry secrets that you may not be privy to. 

6. Look Up Reviews and Testimonials from Past Clients 

You know something else that tells you how good a mobile app development company is? 

Their reviews and testimonials. 

It goes without saying that companies with multiple 5-star reviews should be trusted over others who don’t. But that’s not the only thing you should be concerned about. 

You should also pay attention to what their past clients are saying about their services. Zero in on the key standout and recurring comments about a company as they give you insight into what to expect from them. 

Also, don’t focus only on the positive reviews! Check out the negative reviews as well to prepare your mind against potential red flags. If a particular complaint is consistent across multiple customer reviews, then it should tell you something is likely off with that company. 

7. Narrow Down the List Based on Your Budget 

By now, your initial list should have been reduced to only a handful of your options. Therefore, you can now start eliminating the available ‘solid’ options based on your budget expectations. 

You may be tempted to choose the cheapest option, but that’s not always the smartest choice. Instead, consider your project’s scope and the price quoted by the different companies. Identify the project’s must-have features and compare each company’s cost breakdown for these features. You also want to plan exclusively for ongoing maintenance updates. 

Finally, discuss engagement models with the shortlisted companies. While some companies like to use a Fixed-Price Model that involves charging a one-time fee for delivering the mobile app, others may choose a Time-and-Material Model that involves charging for the actual time and materials used sequentially. 

Your organization should decide on a more convenient option and stick with that. 

Most importantly, it is important to be clear about your budget capabilities and communicate this to your potential choice. Let them know how much you can afford from the outset to prevent any payment disputes. 

Don’t forget that! 

8. Ask About Their Post-Deployment Support and Maintenance Services 

Post-deployment support and maintenance services can be as important as building the actual app itself to your development goals. 

Basically, ask the development company how they handle their clients’ projects after developing the app. 

Do they just leave the business to figure it out, or do they stay in touch to ensure the smooth functioning of the mobile app? 

This is vital because mobile apps tend to experience downtimes even after they have been released to the public. In such situations, you don’t want to be stranded with no one to quickly handle rising issues when your users are complaining about bugs or technical glitches, or even worse, incur unplanned costs for fixing such glitches. 

It is advisable to make provisions for these beforehand. 

9. Discuss Timelines and Delivery Structure 

Timelines and delivery structures are vital because they help you make accurate projections about your time to market and even your revenue inflow. 

Simply, ask the mobile development company how long it will take to deliver a mobile app for your project scope. 

Being a technical deliverable, you should get pretty granular with your expectations. 

What does this mean? 

Usually, an initial Minimum Viable Product (MVP) should be one of the first major deliverables. You can use this to test your concept and see if it works. Next, ask for when to expect alpha tests, beta tests, user tests, and many other critical stages in the mobile app development process. 

Don’t just make payments and expect the company to ship the product to users at an arbitrary date. Make appropriate provisions for these critical stages and ensure a representative from your organization is heavily involved so that you can ensure your business vision is being captured at every step of the way. 

10. Meet your Dedicated Development Team Before Committing 

Ultimately, it’s wise to hire mobile developers or a development company that allows you to connect directly with the individuals who will be building your product. Many mobile app development firms assign projects internally without client involvement in team selection. While this approach isn’t inherently flawed, it’s important for you to know who’s working on your app, share your vision with them, and evaluate their skills to ensure they’re truly equipped to meet your expectations.

Once you’re comfortable with the hands handling your project, you can give them the go-ahead! 

Conclusion

If you’ve followed the steps we’ve itemized accordingly, you should already have a fantastic mobile app development company capable of building your dream app. 

It’s really about first understanding what you’re out to build, searching for a company with relevant experience, matching your budget, and establishing a connection with them. 

Still struggling to find a perfect mobile app development company? 

Debut Infotech Pvt Ltd is an excellent choice if you’re trying to build a top-level app. They’ve built over 200 apps across healthcare, retail & e-commerce, on-demand & delivery, fintech, banking, and travel apps, to name a few. 

The best part? 

They’ve delivered their projects on time 100% of the time while maintaining a 3x faster development process. 

If you would love to enjoy those benefits, request a free consultation today!