How long does it take to build an app?
Whenever you want to develop an application, one of the most common questions people ask is how long does it take?
A lot of people want to know how long it takes to make an app. The answer is, it depends. It could take months or even years to build an app depending on how much work goes into it and the complexity of the app.
This can also vary based on your approach. For example, generally, first-time founders pay so much attention to features that make the app so complicated in the end. However, if you approach your app as a solution to a one-simple problem, then your project will be far more simple and more successful.
App development timeline
The App development timeline is a crucial factor when it comes to the success of a business. The time frame can have a profound impact on the app’s conversion rates and revenue, as well as its ability to retain customers and build a buzz around the app.
The app development process consists of 4 main steps:
- Planning
- Designing
- Development
- Testing
Stage 1: Planning
The whole process of making an app can take longer, but the planning stage is the most important part. This stage includes considering the app idea and its target audience, designing and prototyping, understanding the requirements of the platform, and determining if your app idea is achievable.
It usually takes several weeks to complete this stage. If you’re not sure if you want to add another feature or go through with your ideas, then it will take longer than usual.
Stage 2: Designing
This is one of the main stages, design is the process of creating wireframes and specifications for how an app should look, behave, and function. There are many components involved in this stage, such as wireframing, user research, prototyping, and testing. The design phase at Etrexio can take between 4 to 6 weeks depending on the nature of the project and the complexity of your business model.
Stage 3: development
The development stage is when developers get involved and start programming the application using a development language.
App development times depend on the kind of app you want to make. Complex apps with many features take longer to develop than simpler ones.
The development stage at Etrexio takes around 5–7 weeks.
There are two main methods that have been used for app development, coding from scratch and developing from a template. If you want to add new features and expand your business in the future, coding from scratch is the best option. However, creating something from a template prevents further development chances even if it’s faster initially. If you find a good template and don’t want to expand it in the future, then go with the template. However, for a scalable business, it’s not a good way. Because if you want to add new features to template-based applications, your developer has to understand the structure of the template (which is equivalent to previous developers’ mindset and development approach) and then can add new features which take longer in the long run.
Stage 4: Testing
Testing is an important stage in the development of any app. However, it can be a difficult and complex process. The testing stage is the last stage of app development. The process starts with developers checking to make sure the app works on their devices and then they send it to a beta group for feedback. After that, the product is ready for release.
The testing stage usually takes a long time because it requires expertise to find out the most appropriate way to test the app so that it can stand up to user feedback. But at Etrexio, it usually takes 1–2 weeks to test the app.
To sum up…
In general, the time needed to build an application changes according to the scope and the required features of the app. But the expertise of your development partner cannot be ignored. The better the app development company has a better team, the better the result and speed you will get.
At Etrexio, with a globally experienced and professional team in the mobile application design and development department, your process can be done as soon as possible.
