How to Find the Best App Development Services for Startups?

In the digital age today, your digital presence is about more than just a website. You need to utilize everything, including apps, social media, emails, and other aspects of marketing as well. That is why we seek app development services and hire app development teams to make it happen.

However, that is not the end of it either. You need a digital presence that is constantly doing something new without changing too much, all the while staying up to date on the current trends, technological progress, and opportunities for growth.

For that, you have to take hold of an app development company, or hire app development teams get make sure that you have a few dedicated personnel to get your work done.

App development services don’t come cheap either. You need people on salaries that are typically more than $100k per year if you want a crack team of developers by your side.

With that being said, there are ways to make the best of it all, and we are here to show you how.

Finding the Right App Development Services

It is not just about having a team or an app development company behind you, but having the right kind of team. Not all apps are created equal, and neither are all developers experts on all the same things. Different uses require different kinds of expertise.

If you are not entirely sure where your business direction will take, or if you need to expand considerably, hire app development teams that are competent across all the major platforms.

These should cover your Android, iOS, and Windows platforms, with the latter being a niche in the smartphone world.

At the same time, you need to understand how different types of development works, too. Certain development cycles are designed to be dynamic and fluid, capable of handling changes. Others are more rigid and less likely to be capable of adapting to changes.

The Three Types of App Development in USA

While the rest of the world is no stranger to such processes, in the USA at least, there are three major project management types that app development services utilize.

These are the Agile, Waterfall, and the Rapid App Development (RAD) models. Each has their uses, their boons, and of course, their downsides.

The first one on the list is the Waterfall model, which by many standards might be considered as somewhat outdated and ‘legacy’ from a development standpoint. This is mainly due to the contemporary chances and necessities of project management and app development services.

The Waterfall project management model does exactly what the name says. It acts like a waterfall. Essentially, it is representative of a project management method that has laid out its entire trajectory and objectives, and those objectives are seen through to the end, without any particular stoppages or changes in the methodology.

That means, if you get an app development team onboard that follows a Waterfall methodology, you cannot make any changes after submitting the final requirements. Once the project has started, the methodology leaves no room for sporadic or even regular changes.

With the rapidly changing market trends and requirements, one can see why this is considered an outdated model. This leads to the antithesis of the Waterfall methodology, which is the Agile project management model.

The agility refers to the fact that this model is meant to handle and adapt to change. Every process is broken down into steps. If your app development services need six months to develop an app, they are ready to accommodate changes and revise the timeframe accordingly.

The RAD model is different from both of these, because it steps away from planning at all. It is all about rapid deployment, and developing a prototype with a crunch-style mentality.

Finding the Right App Development Services

Now that you are familiar with the various types of app development, you need to understand the types of services on offer.

Hiring Freelance App Development Services

Hiring a freelancer might initially seem expensive. After all, this is just one person you are hiring. However, for app development, it is important to understand that single-person development is a rare case in a competitive environment.

Even with skill and talent, most solo developers only are so because developing that particular app is their passion or side project. They may spend several years on it before coming with the final prototype, and even that does not have guarantee for future support.

So, unless your app is only for a very, very small business venture, having a single freelancer develop it can be ineffective.

But, if all you need is a few extra hands for your app development team, feel free to get some freelancing services. They are more costly than hiring a team in the long run, but can save you in a pinch if you are quick enough.

Acquire an App Development Team

App development in USA is usually done with a team. You can have 5-8 employees in a team on average. This also depends on what you are using.

Developing your own APIs, going native or hybrid with app development, network security, updates, support, bug fixing; these take varying times and resources.

APIs are essentially translators that allow two types of software to communicate. Developing your own APIs are costly in both manpower and time, but using existing third-party APIs can be cost-effective, though limiting.

Typically, an app development team will have a mobile developer, a backend developer, a dev ops specialist, a designer, and a QA tester. Project managers are typically involved in larger projects as well.

Finding the Right App Development Company

Sometimes, it is not a team you need to hire, but a company whose app development services you are procuring.

If you want to hire app development teams, you typically need an HR department, finance to handle payroll, offices, managers, and many more. By hiring a company that offers app development services, you skip all that.

Look at these companies the way you would any other service. See their portfolio, their clients, the maintenance they offer, their operational transparency, etc. If you prefer a hands-off approach, a company that is less transparent might suit you, but if you want some creative control, you need to ensure that you can be hands-on beforehand.

Other Factors You Need to Consider

Chances are you don’t know that much about software, or app development, or computers in general. Whatever the case may be, there is one thing that needs to be understood if you want to get into the world of app development in USA:

It rarely works exactly as you expect. Now, it does work, just in a different way than you might think.

For one, if someone gives you an estimate of 18 weeks for an app development project, expect it to be delayed for another 18 weeks at minimum.

Complications happen. Markets change. Requirements change. Unfixable bugs show themselves, halting all progress for minutes or days. These are all occupational hazards that cost time and money, but they are part of the experience.

Developers also work tirelessly, and it is often a job that requires tremendous skill, knowledge, and critical thinking. So, sometimes developers might not be able to be entirely productive all the time, might fall sick, or cause delays. These are normal for any person in any job, but in this case, timeframes can be heavily affected as well.

Conclusion | Finding The Best App Development Services For Startups

App development in USA is a complicated process. If you are going to hire app development teams or acquire a company’s app development services, consider reading through all this to get an understanding of what these projects entail.

Once you have the gist of it, you can proceed to searching for an app development company, hire freelancers, or acquire your own team.

However, if you still get some questions in mind related to any of the content shared in the blog feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.