Spending judiciously should be the first consideration for any business because you need to justify every single penny that you expend. This is all the more important for startups as they usually run on a shoestring budget. If you are planning to invest in a mobile app for your business, the good news is that you can do it in the budget. Needless to say, mobile app development within budget should not mean that you have to compromise in terms of its quality and features. You can spend a limited amount and still have an app that is appealing, functional, and successful. All that you need to do is to have a clear plan of action and the right approach and you are good to go. Here are some simple tips that can help.
Establish your goals to begin with
Having clear product goals in the first place is essential to building an app within your constraints. Here are a few pointers that can help you in establishing the goals in the first place:
- Your target audience and their expectations
- The specific objective that the app needs to meet
- Your competition and their mobile strategy
- The results you want to achieve with the app
To start with, you need to do extensive market research to know your audience and competitors. In case, you are investing in an enterprise mobility solution, determine the exact objective it has to serve. Further, prepare a list of features that you visualize in it and have them documented for the developers.
Choose the right development partner
Once you are sorted out with respect to the objectives and requirements of your app, choose a development partner you can trust. Be upfront regarding your financial constraints right from the first time you meet the team. Ensure that they understand your idea and requirements and are ready to come up with a solution that matches and is yet within your budget. A reliable partner will draw up options for you and help you choose one that is just right for you.
Decide the right pricing model
While choosing your mobile app development company, check the pricing models they offer. Typically, you will get a choice between a fixed price model and an hourly model. Fixed pricing makes sense if you are running on a limited budget because it assures that you have to pay only a specific pre-determined amount and nothing more than that. However, the downside is that you may not have the flexibility to ask for more features and would have to pay extra if you need them. Therefore, it is vital to think properly before selecting the pricing model for the project.
Start with an MVP approach
If you have limited finances, taking a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) approach is the best thing to do. By doing so, you choose to develop a product with just the required functionalities rather than a full-featured application. An MVP not only cut shorts the investment but also enables you to validate the product concept before you go ahead in full speed. Basically, you can minimize your risks and keep adding features to the app at later stages.
Initiate with a single platform
When you want an app within budget, avoid rushing up development for all the platforms. Rather, opt for iOS or Android app development depending on the devices that a majority of your target audience uses. Before you pick a platform of choice, build a research-based user persona to get a clear idea about your target audience and ensure that you initiate with the right platform. Once you have enough funds, you can move on to the other platform as well.
Find ways to cut down development costs
The next obvious step to economize app development would be to identify all that elevates the cost and find ways to cut them. For example, incorporating a specific functionality such as Augmented Reality requires extensive skills and can increase the cost and time of the project to a considerable extent. List down such features and evaluate whether they are really necessary for your app. Skip the ones that your app can do without because it is advisable to stick to only low cost-high need features at this stage.
Bear in mind the app maintenance cost
App development and deployment is just half the work done because you need to ensure that it runs seamlessly all the time. Unless your app delivers flawless user experiences, the chances of running successfully are minimal. Hence, it is important to understand that you also need to incur the mobile app maintenance costs post-deployment. Engaging a team that provides affordable maintenance and support services is essential in this context.
Conclusion
Partnering with a trustworthy company that has an established name is a great idea if you want an awesome app for your business. However, make sure that they fulfill your requirements of the right expertise, optimal pricing, timely delivery, and flexible pricing models. Also, look for a team that follows an agile approach to development as it ensures the timely delivery of projects while adhering to excellent quality standards.
Mobibiz is a leading name in the mobile app development space. As a provider, we make sure that we understand your requirements right from the beginning and chalk out a project completion strategy accordingly. While we excel in creating high-end apps and enterprise mobility solutions, we are equally good at creating minimal viable products for businesses running on a budget. Share your requirements with us and we will have a perfect solution for them.
