Building a mobile app shouldn’t cost you an arm or a leg. There are better ways to minimize app development cost while meeting high-quality standards for your app.

As you may well know by now, more businesses are warming up towards mobile technology. This so-called smartphone era is not a passing trend. People have come to embrace the fact that the Internet and smartphones are here to stay. They are a part and parcel of our modern lifestyle.

Thus, businesses need to have a mobile app to thrive in today’s digital landscape. But one thing not mentioned is that app development is not as easy as they make it out to be. It takes considerable effort and time to create a full-fledged mobile app.

The cost of a mobile application varies depending on certain factors. The features, functionality, platforms, and the developer’s experience have a huge impact on its cost. Also, building a mobile app doesn’t only involve coding. It’s an end product that intertwines the various tasks and roles of web designers, quality assurance testers, project managers, and others.

So, how can you reduce app development cost? These are steps that worked for our clients and we’re confident it will work for your company, as well.

5 Proven Ways to Reduce App Development Cost

Cutting down the app development cost doesn’t mean compromising on certain features or functionalities. Here are strategies to create a mobile app that still checks all the boxes sans the hefty cost. Let’s start.

List down all project requirements

Before embarking on a mobile app development project, be clear on the features that your mobile app should have. Write down the features and the purpose it serves.

Keep them in a document where the development team has easy access to. This guides them to better understand the scope and requirements of the project. Documentation eliminates any room for confusion if goals change or there are mistakes in the report.

Additionally, include in the documentation the technology and platforms to use. It’s also recommended to consult with mobile experts on how the mobile app should look and perform before visualizing its prototype.

Choose Cross-Platform Development

Ideally, native apps offer faster speed with better performance and stability. But if you want to decrease the cost, it’s better to develop an application for multiple platforms. Whether it’s Android, iOS, or Windows, cross-platform apps will scale down your app development cost.

Make sure to hire a mobile developer or company who has a strong background in cross-platform development. What’s great about cross-platform apps is that you can reuse the codes. This means that it needs less time and effort to process so it’s faster and cheaper to do.

In business, less development time translates to an earlier market release. This then leads to quicker sales and profits. Second, there’s no need for manual updates which will significantly minimize the need for app support, bringing down the cost.

While cross-platform applications don’t offer the top-tier user experience, they are a good choice if you aim for superior performance at a lower cost.

Hire an Outsourcing Partner

After finalizing the project requirements and the platform to use, what’s the next step? Hire a mobile app developer. You have the option to hire in-house or outsource them to a software outsourcing company.

If you choose the former, you’ll need a separate recruitment team to screen, filter, and recruit potential candidates. This can put a significant dent on your recruitment budget.

On the other hand, outsourcing gives the best results at a low-cost investment. The outsourcing team handles all aspects of recruitment and manages the development team for you. Your mobile project will be run by top-caliber app developers so the output will of the highest quality.

Also, you can choose to hire developers on an hourly or fixed basis. Compared to hiring in-house, this payment model allows for more control so you don’t bleed your budget dry.

Adopt an Agile Methodology

In a traditional methodology, projects run in a fixed, linear cycle. It follows a sequence of processes: plan, execute, test, monitor, and closure. The traditional approach emphasizes more on upfront planning, documentation, and other linear processes. This method is often costly because a big chunk of the budget is spent on developing features that end-users will never use. As a result, your team will run into budget and timeline issues.

We recommend a better alternative—Agile methodology. An agile method provides more flexibility than its traditional counterpart. The entire project is split up into smaller and manageable stages; allowing clients to make small iterations without interrupting the budget or schedule.

In each stage, the development team builds, tests, and deploys the features through an iterative process called sprints. When you need to change or add something, the team can fulfill them quickly without revamping the entire project.

This reduces risk and app development costs in the long run. In fact, more clients are turning to agile methodology, with 63% of them using it to manage their application development.

Monitor and test regularly

When it comes to software development, there’s no going around quality control. It simply is a must for all clients. If you only test the mobile app after completing the project, fixing any issues can be an uphill battle. These bugs may require more money to fix, thus, raising your app development cost.

We recommend to continuously test in every stage of app development. This helps the team to solve the issues before moving to another stage. Refrain from testing after all stages are complete. Ensure that everyone in the team understands that features should be tested in each stage of development.

Reduce Costs and Grow Your Startup

Developing a fully-functional app takes a great deal of skills, time, patience, and yes, money. However, building one shouldn’t cost you a fortune, either.

To trim down app development costs, you need to list down requirements, embrace cross-platforms, use an iterative process, and perform regular testing. As a result, you’ll be able to efficiently gain control of your startup budget—at all costs!

Additionally, hiring a highly skilled mobile app developer can further optimize your development strategies from day one. Choose a remote mobile development company that truly understands your business goals.

Someone like Full Scale. We are a Kansas City-based offshore software development company that speaks the language of technology. Our web development team are experts on building web and mobile apps and bringing top-notch user experience. Whether its native or cross-platform mobile application, we use the right approach tailor-fit for your business.

Contact us and start your journey to mobile app success.