With the advancement in the digital world comes a variety of striking development. Mobile apps have become one of the basic needs of humankind, not just the millennials but a wide age group of people is dependent on the digital world. And the growth is expected to go exponentially as smartphones are increasingly popular and important. To equip with the demand, developers engage themselves with the building of apps and software needed for small businesses.
Mobile apps make the needs of a basic lifestyle come upon a facile track. Every year the competitive landscape of the web is more challenging for some businesses to survive in this digital era. The worst affected are small businesses which are struggling to thrive in these challenging conditions.
Once the mobile app is developed, it doesn’t end here. Post-release if you are ready to hop on your project, then you need application maintenance services. It includes system monitoring, bug fixing, on-demand updates, app performance, feature improvement, upgrades, and others.
Why SMBs need a robust mobile app?
SMBs have a plethora of reasons in this digital age to create a mobile platform. A regularly updated mobile app can help SMB owners to capture bigger markets, and attract clients, besides increasing brand visibility. SMBs often face challenges in developing an app as there is a lack of dedicated programmers and IT support staff within a small organization. Also, a shortage of cash upfront is a problem faced by SMBs.
Having a mobile app provides enhanced visibility at different levels besides giving you the option to promote on app stores. It is the best way to reach a wider audience or potential users. But the existing app also needs enhancement of features or r UX/UI components, so hire an application maintenance company to scale your app.
While mobile apps are proven as successful marketing tools, as a part of overall branding strategy, and as communication channels with clients. The aim of having an app lies in improved customer experience and convenience.
Mobile App Features & Complexity:
The cost of an app depends upon multiple factors, but the features and complexity of an app play a crucial factor in deciding the app cost.
Some apps with simple features fall into the basic category, but few apps are more complex with more features that demand a high budget for development.
Basic App:
- Basic UI Component
- User Profile Panel
- Simple Search With Filters
- Manual Data Entering
- File Uploads Option
Moderate App:
- Custom UI Component
- CRM Integration
- Live Chat Integration
- Payment Integration
- Basic Admin Panel
- Multiple 3rd API Integration
Complex App:
- High Load Capacity
- Role-Based Dashboard
- Analytics & Reporting
- Live Or Stored Streaming
- 3D Product Modeling
- AR/VR/IoT Integration
- GPS Map Integration
What Affects Mobile App Development Costs-
1. Business Model:
In this digital era, a plethora of mobile applications are born daily and the importance of having a business model is vital for mobile app development, as it is a significant factor in determining the cost to build an app.
Before initiating the process, business owners must first analyze where it will fit into their overall business model.
So, what exactly is a Business model?
Simply, an assortment of various factors includes determining the target audience and their pain points, offering solutions, making it a direct source of revenue through sales, etc.
Prioritizing the demands of your customer is the most important factor, failing considerably in winning the trust of its customers as it compromises quality over quantity. Failing to understand its customer base, can lead to miserable failure and lost market share.
2. App Type:
Mobile apps are a good idea to make your products and services accessible to mobile users. After building a robust business model, the mobile app development team will have to research the project. After that, the project manager and the app development partner can choose the best-fit application carefully.
Since the overall cost to create an app is based on a complexity level, an app can be categorized as follows:
- Web App:
Web-app in simpler words is a mobile version of a website. Web apps should be mobile-friendly and must have a responsive design to ensure a smooth user interface across varied screen sizes – ranging from tablets to smartphones. Native apps have lower performance, 85% of smartphone users prefer apps over mobile websites.
Web apps are the least complex and very affordable.
- Native App:
Several applications provide a satisfactory user experience and performance and are built with native language to the operating system of a given device. Native apps are the most complex of all but have a high level of performance and can be optimized for a specific platform. Therefore, native apps are expensive., requires more sophisticated programming
- Hybrid/Cross-Platform App:
Built using the combination of web and native technologies, hybrid apps cater to larger segments of the audience.
Development and maintenance cost is low as compared to other approaches capabilities of these apps are limited because of limited access to smartphone hardware as compared to native apps. They can smoothly run on all OS like iOS, Android, and Windows.
Stages of Mobile App development process-
There are four different stages that occur during the app development process.
- Pre-research stage: The pre-research stage involves building a prototype or a wireframe to get approval from the client. The prototype is based on market research, a project timeline, and probably a prototype of the app. At the end of the research, the price is decided and starts the development process when both parties agree.
- App development stage: In this stage, the development of the app gets started.
- App testing: After developing an app, developers put it on trial mode to test it before launch.
- App maintenance: Every app needs application maintenance services to function properly and new versions come out with more advanced features.
Outsourcing or In-House Development Team: How to Choose?
Pros:
- No recruitment, training, and long interviewing expenses
- Easy to change or expand the team in case you’re not satisfied with someone. It’s much easier to stop working with or change an outsourced team than do the same with an in-house worker
- Access to an open talent pool
- Project Managers are not required as a third party creates a sustainable workflow that allows quality delivery
- Faster deployment in general
Cons:
- Cultural differences that may cause misunderstandings
- Lack of in-person control
- Less project dedication, compared to in-house development
Key takeaways for SMB owners-
A decade ago, it was not normal for any small business owner to have a mobile application. But now, in the digital age, third-party mobile templates make app development simpler. And with the advent of mobile app stores, customers can easily search for any mobile app. With a mobile app, an organization can reach and serve its customers more efficiently. It is an hour of need for SMBs to have efficient mobile apps.
To wrap it up, we can conclude that mobile apps have the potential to significantly boost your business and growth.
With the right approach and with the right application maintenance company, it can happen. Here are some tips:
- Never deploy all features in one go.
- Once your customers get accustomed to your new app, then start adding new features to improve the user experience.
- Before launching an app, ask for reviews and suggestions from your loyal customer base.
- Prioritise customers’ feedback. At the end of the day, you are going to earn from them.
- Use loyalty features.
- Provide a high personalization level
We hope this guest blog defines clearly why SMBs need mobile apps to be profitable.
Author: Techsaga Corporations
Techsaga Corporation operates in the IT Sector providing creative technology solutions to thousands of individual and business enterprises since 2012. Located in India, the USA, the UK, and Abu Dhabi, we are a family of 200+ employees who has covered 1500+ IT Projects. We’ve been working with and for an assortment of people in several industries. Our services include Web Development, Web-Design solutions, E-Commerce Solutions, Digital marketing, CRM solutions, and much more. For More Information Please Call:- +91 9718688880
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