Are you looking for developers to bring an app idea to life? This post outlines your options and provides an overview of how to find and hire talented app developers.
An app that the market will love requires more than technical skills. It takes creativity, effective communication, and the ability to plan efficiently and work within a team. Finding good app developers would be easy if software development was just a matter of pounding code. Beyond that, it’s harder to find IT talent in the middle of this massive labor shortage, and a recent report by Indeed and Glassdoor suggests the deficit shows no signs of letting up anytime soon.
If you’re hoping to build and launch a successful app, finding talented app developers should be a key component of your strategy. This blog post will cover your options for finding app developers and provide an overview of the hiring process.
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Why Should You Hire an App Developer?
Is hiring an app developer necessary for building an app? If you have programming knowledge, you can build it yourself easily. Even if you don’t have programming expertise, there are no-code platforms that allow app development without technical expertise.
Then, why do you need to hire an app developer? The primary reason is that you may need more time to develop an app as a business owner. Also, if you don’t have an IT background, you may not have a clear idea of what you need to build the app. As a result, the app may not be as expected.
Here’s how hiring an app developer can help you:
1. Access to expertise and experience
App developers bring expertise and experience to the table. They better understand what works and doesn’t work when building a mobile app. Also, app developers are familiar with the latest mobile app development trends and understand the mobile app market in-depth. As a result, with app developers, you have a better chance of building a mobile app that resonates with your target audience.
2. Reduced time and costs
Building an app on your own is time-consuming, especially if you don’t have a technical background. Building an app on your own is time-consuming, especially if you don’t have technical knowledge or experience in app development. You may manage to build the app somehow, but it may exceed the budget or timeline. Also, it may not turn out to be how you had imagined it.
Since app developers have experience developing different types of apps, they can build high-quality apps faster. This way, you can reduce both the cost and the time-to-market.
3. Access to the latest technologies
Being part of the app development industry, app developers are usually familiar with the latest tools, technologies, and frameworks for building mobile apps. Hence, they can integrate the most suitable tools into your app and ensure it is up-to-date and meets user expectations.
4. App developers can bring a fresh perspective to your project
When you hire an app developer, you don’t just bring a new person but also their knowledge and experience. As a result, these developers can bring fresh ideas for your app that you might not have thought of on your own. Also, they can help you identify features that can make your app engaging and user-friendly, making it a success.
Know Your Options: Finding App Developers
There are three strategies for finding and hiring app developers. You can hire in-house app developers as full-time employees, you can hire freelancers, or you can outsource your development to an off-site software development team. Remember that you can also use any combination of these strategies to make your app idea a reality.
1. Hire in-house app developers
Hiring in-house developers is the traditional approach to app development. Having your team of developers can be expensive and time-consuming, but it does have a few advantages. Like all full-time employees, in-house development teams are part of your company and become integral to your culture.
Many start-ups hire a small core of in-house developers to handle the day-to-day tasks while outsourcing various components of the development process. This can make their efforts more flexible and scalable, allowing outsourcing partners to address the overflow of work and those areas where the in-house staff lacks expertise.
2. Hire freelance app developers
Freelance app developers are individual software engineers who work for themselves as a business of one. Companies usually pay higher rates for freelancers than they would for in-house staff. Still, they typically save money because they don’t have to cover benefits, payroll taxes, paid holidays, etc. The companies are also not required to pay freelancers when the workload is light, while payroll is a sunk cost for salaried employees.
You can hire freelance app developers for your project from many freelancing websites, such as Upwork, Fiverr, Toptal, and Freelancer.
3. Hire app developers as an outsourced team
The third option for finding talented app developers is to work with an outsourcing provider. A comprehensive outsourcing provider can handle every aspect of app development: Project planning, design, coding, and QA Testing. You would typically have a primary point of contact at the development firm who communicates with you regularly. This person would then work with their development team to bring your ideas to life.
9 Steps to Finding and Hiring App Developers
Hiring app developers may seem daunting, but it becomes more manageable when you break it down into individual action items. The following nine steps will guide you through finding and hiring app development partners.
Step 1: Research various hiring platforms
Websites like Clutch, GoodFirms, and G2 Crowd are excellent places to find talented outsourced software development teams. These platforms allow you to search for development teams with the exact skill set required to build your app. In your search, prioritize companies with impressive reviews from a sufficient number of clients.
Step 2: Examine each potential partner’s portfolio
What apps have your prospective partners created? Look for someone with experience in the type of app you’re looking for, and explore what they’ve produced. Are you impressed with the design and functionality of those apps? Do they seem usable, and are their clients happy?
Step 3: Explore technologies and programming languages
Different programming languages allow developers to accomplish different things, and some languages are more efficient than others when achieving specific goals. When meeting with prospective outsourcing partners, ask direct questions to determine their developers’ levels of expertise in the various technologies you might use to build your app. Dig deeply to discover which technologies and programming languages they plan to use and how they plan to use them.
Step 4: Identify your prospective partner’s development approach
Different development methodologies work well for various projects. For example, here at Net Solutions, we frequently use an Agile Scrum approach to app development, and we often encourage our clients to start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). That said, you might prefer the Waterfall methodology, and it’s essential to know whether a prospective partner is willing to adapt. Most importantly, you must ensure that any outsourcing partner takes a strategic approach to app development. Those who take a haphazard approach seldom produce high-quality results and are rarely efficient.
Step 5: Meet the team
Having an in-depth conversation with a salesperson is one thing, but meeting the team doing the actual work is essential. This is especially true if you’re working with a team in a country with a different native language than your own or a different time zone. Ensure they’re fluent in whatever language you’re working in because miscommunication can cost you time and money. They should also have strong project management skills and a commitment to delivering on promises.
Step 6: Verify references
It may be tempting to skip this step, but speaking with past clients will help you assess the level of quality that your prospective partner provides. Ask about their communication skills, any roadblocks they had along the way, the prospective partner’s willingness to accommodate changes, and the final result.
Step 7: Set the budget
Based on the price quotes you received, determine how much you’re willing and able to spend on development. An MVP is often a good idea for a new app because you can avoid spending money and wasting time developing features the market doesn’t want, and it can be beneficial when launching an app on a tight budget. Ultimately, price shouldn’t be your only consideration, as cutting corners on quality could sink the entire project.
Curious to get a ballpark estimate of how much app development costs? Check out our blog post that covers how much it costs to build an app in 2023.
Step 8: Identify your timeline
Experienced app development teams should be able to give you a solid estimate of how long it will take to build the first version of your app. The timeline will be subject to change, especially if you add features or change things as you go, but it’s always good to have an idea of how long things will take. This will inform your budget as well as your go-to-market strategy.
Step 9: Draw up contracts
Well-written contracts outlining all the services you intend to outsource and all the legal requirements of both parties are essential. Common agreements include:
- Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
- Master Services Agreement (MSA)
- Services Level Agreement (SLA)
- Statement of Work (SOW)
Note: Have your attorneys review all contracts before signing anything.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire an App Developer?
While the real cost of hiring an app developer may vary depending upon their experience and the project complexity, here is a general breakdown of the cost to hire an app developer:
Cost of hiring an android developer
| UK | £50 – £150 |
| US | $100 – $250 |
| India | $20 – $100 |
| East Europe | $30 – $100 |
| Latin America | $20 – $80 |
| Australia | $75 – $150 |
Cost of hiring an iOS developer
| UK | £60 – £180 |
| US | $120-$300 |
| India | $25 – $125 |
| Eastern Europe | $40 – $120 |
| Latin America | $30 – $100 |
| Australia | $90 – $200 |
Cost of hiring a cross-platform app developer
| UK | £50 – £150 |
| US | $100 – $250 |
| India | $20 – $100 |
| Eastern Europe | $30 – $100 |
| Latin America | $20 – $80 |
| Australia | $75 – $150 |
Work with Net Solutions: A Mobile App Development Team with 20+ Years of Experience.
Finding the right app development partner can be challenging. App developers sometimes make big promises but fail to deliver on them. It happens for many reasons, such as a lack of experience, a clear development process, or access to the latest technologies. Hence, when choosing app developers for your business, choosing someone with technical expertise and experience is essential.
At Net Solutions, we have the experience and expertise to build high-quality mobile apps. Our app developers, designers, and project managers have built software for household names like Xerox, Euro Car Parts, the Harvard Business Review, and countless startups using the latest mobile technologies. Also, we have a well-defined process as an ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified IT services company. Hence, you can completely trust us to deliver on our promise.
If you need to hire app developers, we should talk. Meanwhile, you can check how we helped Euro Car Parts amp up their sales and conversions with a unified custom-built CMS system.
Frequently Asked Questions
The average cost mobile app development for mobile app development will vary considerably from one country to the next, and that’s only part of the equation. Rates will vary significantly based on the type of app you’re trying to build and the features you plan to include. We’ve written a guide to app development pricing , but you’ll need to talk to individual providers to determine your budget.
Choosing your partner based on their skill set and expertise is essential. No matter where your prospective partner is located, you’ll also want to consider language skills, experience, and willingness to work within your time zone (if that’s a factor for you). Indian development firms may offer an advantage for English-speaking companies. Wherever you outsource your app development, read the company’s blog content to evaluate language proficiency. Talk to their project managers to understand how well they communicate in English, and only work with a team with high English fluency.
Many companies find high-qualified developers on websites like Clutch, GoodFirms, and G2 Crowd. These websites include ratings and reviews for app development teams, and you can review a prospect’s portfolio, skill set, and the technologies they use. However, remember that these sites are no substitute for thoroughly vetting potential providers and checking references. App development is a significant investment, and choosing an outsourcing partner is not a task you should take lightly.
One of the first things you must focus on is the business’s overall goals and plans after the app is released. The developer choice will depend on whether you want to sell to a company, gain users, build an MVP, or a refined final version. Second, what platforms will you cater to (iOs, Android)? The next thing you need to remember is to have a clear checklist of what you can do yourself and what services you need help with. Self-evaluation of your capabilities and shortcomings helps. And then, of course, the budget is something you should be careful about – set realistic goals and cost analysis.
