How long does it take to build a mobile application?
This is most certainly a question that is frequently asked by many customers in the present day, considering the popularity of mobile apps.
There are many answers to this question, taking into account the various platform involved. But if I were to answer this question briefly, my answer will be 6 months. However, the launch of high-tech plug-ins and mobile app builders have made it easier for people to build an app in a matter of days.
This simply means that there is no universal to support this question, the only way to determine the duration of building an app is to finalise a platform that suits your requirement the best.
Your mobile app will define your business model before a large target audience, therefore, cutting corners in the beginning can be detrimental in the longer run. Contradictory to this statement, if you spend enormous time and money in building a dream app, there are chances that you will end up ruining your budget for the entire year. The mantra is to find a balance, where you can achieve the development of your app within your budget and time, but in no way compromise on the features. Construct a plan before actually deciding to build a mobile app.
Let’s look at the key elements that define the timeline of building an app:
Friendly UI for enhance user experience
Customers will judge your app based on their first interaction, including the easy to navigate interface and the features of the app. Developing an app that has an excellent user interface can definitely win your customers’ hearts but will require significant efforts in terms of both time and funds.
A plan of action that includes detailed pathway of designing, developing and testing the app will have to be implemented. If you are successful in planning well for your app development, you can certainly delivery a smooth app that your customers will love engaging with.
However, to build an app that offers a seamless interaction with your customers can only be delivered if you have relevant knowledge and awareness of your industry.
Tailored app development
Commonly known as custom app development, this platform involves building an app from scratch to meet the requirement of the client. Even though this platform is quite popular, there are certain challenges that come along with it.
The fact that even experienced app developers fail at finding the right analytical tools and third-party integration that help in improving various sections of the app, is drawback attached with this type of app development.
Additionally, the time required to build, design and test these apps is enormous. In many cases, developers lose track of time while developing an application, further increasing the cost of the entire app development.
Deployment of resources
While handing over the project of building an app to an app development company, it is important to analyse that you have right team members with relevant experience. Alongside, making sure that you are always connected to the team to align with your interest is also imperative.
A gap in the communication with the company you hire often results in the delivery of an app that you didn’t really want. This directly impacts the delivery date of your project, pushing it further to make alteration at places where things didn’t go as planned.
This is the most common issue when you pass on the development of your project to a third-party company, causing unwanted delays in building your app. Therefore, if you are going with custom build apps, it is okay to keep a buffer for a month.
Designing the app
Besides building an app that has an excellent user interface and amazing features, it is important to consider creating an app that comes with a pleasing design. The look and feel of the app are a major factor that engages customers and makes them loyal towards your business.
The design, of course, should be curated keeping in mind the functionality of the app. To make this happen, you will need a team of designers and developers that align together and communicate with each other well.
Additionally, there is a very high possibility that many versions of your app design will be created until you lay your hands on the final version. Sometimes, it takes weeks for an app designer to understand your preference and the industry standards which is a very big factor to decide how long your app will take to get pushed to the next stage.
It is possible to create an app without hiring a team of developers which we will discuss in the last section. Read more here.
Third party & API integrations
If you are planning on building an e-commerce app, there will definitely be a need to connect your app to other services for payments, social media integration and more. The development of e-commerce app requires deploying a backend API developer who can integrate third party APIs in your mobile app.
A lot of times, app development companies don’t take into account the time they will require to integrate APIs in their apps which exceed the initial timeline.
Publishing the app
After your app is fully developed and tested by a team of quality analyst, you can go ahead with publishing the app, which also will be done by developers, because it is not a non-technical task.
The waiting time to publish an app depends on how competitive your industry is, which can be done within a matter of days but sometime also stretches to weeks. The app also takes certain time to rank in the relevant industry, again, depending on how competitive the industry is.
Building an app through a mobile app builder
Businesses that operate on a very small scale may not have a great budget, time or resources to get their app build, which is a very good reason for the popularity of mobile app builders. You can find many companies that help convert website into mobile app with the help of drag and drop method, DIY method and the ones that create an app on your behalf. With many options available in the market, it is important that you go with an app builder that provides native apps. Companies who don’t create apps on native platform are either building an app on hybrid app development or simply handing over web view apps.
While it’s understandable that you are spending lesser money and time to build your app, there is no harm in looking for options that are as good as custom app development. This can only be possible through native app development.
App My Site is amongst very app builders that offers a native app in the same budget and within 5 days of registering. An e-commerce app that possesses every feature that a good app should have, is a part of the app delivered by App My Site.
In a nutshell, it is not possible for every business to spend 6 months in the development of a robust app. If you are looking for e-commerce app and want to surpass all the planning for building an app, go with a WooCommerce app builder to create an app within days.
Conclusion
The nature and features of every app differs, which also defines its timeline. If you can deploy the right kind of resources, the development of your app can last up to 6 months. Building an app through a mobile app builder on the other hand can be done within a week or less.
