Before beginning this article, there are some notes you must read: All the processes involved in the mobile app development take their individual development time The Research & Development stage can take up to 2 weeks but if it is done right, it can save a lot of time in the app development process and … Continue reading “How long does it take to develop a mobile application?”
Before beginning this article, there are some notes you must read:
- All the processes involved in the mobile app development take their individual development time
- The Research & Development stage can take up to 2 weeks but if it is done right, it can save a lot of time in the app development process and will also help in smooth scaling of processes.
- Factors that can impact the project timeline and make it slower are changes in the mid-development, inexperienced developers, and highly complex requirements.
- RFPs, MVPs, and Cross-platform development tend to speed up the app development process.
There should be no doubt in accepting the fact that more than 350 million apps across the world exist and every business is looking for the same attention. It is quite normal for any entrepreneur to know first about the development cost of an app and how much time it will take to develop. After knowing the business and other benefits of the app they wish to develop it. In this article, we are going to discuss the common question How long does it take to develop a mobile application?
Stages in the Mobile App Development Process
There are several stages involved in the mobile app development process. Each stage has its own time slot. It initiates from the planning of the mobile application development and ends at the app launch. Every process is independent of each other and requires proper attention. Obviously, an app with different features and complexities has different app development time.
We have mentioned each app development stage to answer “How long does it take to develop an app?”
Now let’s discuss the stages involved in the app development process.
It is easy to get ideas for but not every idea can be equally great. Forming an idea and its research greatly impact the development timeline of the app. In this stage, idea formation is involved and then researching it for more improvements.
Initially every idea seems right but you should run a test for keeping this as real as possible. It can be a very vital step in the app development process. Test your application idea to make sure the users are going to love it when the app will launch in the market, else all your efforts will go in vain.
Another important thing involved in this stage is target audience. You should decide for which audience you are developing an app. It will help you in shaping your app features and marketing campaigns in the right direction.
Different apps have different target audiences. For instance, apps like Facebook have all ages of people while on apps like Tinder, you can find mostly youngsters. Targeting is a major factor for the huge popularity of these apps. Also, analyze the competition in the market. During the app research, you should collect information about competitors and potential threats.
It may take 2-3 weeks for app research. After the research, you will have the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, strategies, and target audience. There will be 3 major outcomes after this stage:
- Minimum Viable Product
- Use Stories
- App Prototypes
Stage 2: Planning
Now after research, you will move to planning. Since you have analyzed the app development market it is time to roll out a plan for the development process. In this stage, you will decide the features, functionalities, and configuration of the app. You have to make the decision to choose between the iOS app development or Android app development, native or hybrid, cross-platform or not, mobile-based or web-based app, etc.
After these plans, decide the features. The feature should be such that they should be necessary and doesn’t complicate or slow down the app. Some of the common basic features that every app includes are search bar, social media sharing platforms, profile building, login option, etc. These features are also known as MVP features.
As the app size will increase, the features will get focused on the type of app. For e.g. an e-commerce app there is a need of “Add to Cart” similarly a social media app will have the option of sharing media.
Stage 3: Design Sprints and Idea Validation
Design Sprints are useful for testing different aspects of the application. It can take a week for the whole design sprint. In this stage, you can test different aspects of the idea and get validated by a pool of prospective users. It will help you understand how the users will value a feature, how they use it, will it be difficult to use etc.
Stage 4: Development
In the app development stage, there are 3 things that need to be built: UI, Frontend, and Backend. After the planning, the developers and designers will initiate the development process. The development and design can take 6-8 weeks.
The User Interface of the app is the responsibility of the graphic designers. They will give a captivating appearance to enhance the user experience of the app. The UI of the app should be really touching for the users in order to succeed. Users use those apps which are visually appealing.
Apart from the UI, frontend and backend of the app are the main components of the app. A frontend is what the users will see and interact with the app such as screens, buttons, and all the things which you see on an app. But nothing is useful without the backend of the app. It is responsible for the overall functioning of the app. When you click on something in the frontend different codes are executed in the backend.
| Backend Development | Frontend Development |
| Data Storage | Frontend Logic |
| Users Management | Caching |
| Server-Side logic | Synchronization |
| Data Integration | Wireframing |
| Versioning | UI Design & UI Development |
Stage 5: Testing
There is no developer in this world who can write code without making a single error, and nothing is wrong in this. It is possible that bugs or conflicts will arise in the app. That’s where the need for testing arises.
There are many different ways of testing an app. We at Amplework, are having the best QA experts who will identify all potential bugs in the app and the developers will resolve them.
Stage 6: Deployment on App Stores
Whether it is Google Play Store or Apple App store, you need to follow certain guidelines while deploying an app. Take proper screenshots, write excellent app descriptions, video or image demonstration, icons, and app store optimization.
Apple has a more detailed and tough deployment process in comparison to the Google Play Store.
Factors which can slow down the App Development Process
As we mentioned above, developing a mobile application generally takes 2 to 3 months. But there are some factors which can negatively impact the timeline and delay the overall app development process. Here are the common factors:
In-between Project Changes
Developing an app is a continuous process in which all the stages are interlinked to each other. A delay in a prior stage will also impact the timeline of other stages as well. If the client makes any changes after initiating any stage then the process will get slower. Changes can also affect the performance of the app because too many changes in an already built codebase can do that to the app.
Inexperienced Developers
What does it take to develop an amazing app? An out-of-the-box idea, a proper budget, and experienced developers. However, experienced developers have higher rates in comparison to their cheap alternative inexperienced developers. Hence, if a company is giving a very low amount of quote for your project, don’t forget to check the developers’ experience. Inexperienced developers may initially seem pocket-friendly but can be very expensive later on. At Amplework, our mobile application developers are highly experienced in many different industries.
Complex Technologies
If in your app development process there are complex technologies involved such as artificial intelligence, AR, VR, machine learning etc. then it can slow down the app development process. There is no qualm over the fact that these technologies are really helpful in an app but every good thing comes at a price.
How to Speed up the App Development Process?
As the numbers of mobile apps are continuously growing on the app stores, one can’t afford a slower development process especially when its competitors are also heading in the same race. Whether these are startups or a well-established business, they look for mobile app developers who can develop apps in no time and without compromising the app quality.
Every problem has its own solution, and the same goes with the time required for the app development process. In the case of Startups, gathering a massive crowd is a bigger goal and for that mobile apps is the best solution for them. Here are some factors which can boost up your app development process:
MVP Development
Minimum Viable Product or MVP simply means continuous development and constant improvement in the product. It plays a significant role in mobile application development. An MVP is a procedure in which initially the mobile app comes with essential features which are required to go live, and find out whether the user wants an updated and more sophisticated version of this app with additional features.
After getting the feedback from the users, you can decide what features you should add, what is not necessary, how to improve UI & UX etc.
Android or iOS mobile application development is a very big debate topic and people get so baffled that they find it hard to choose. The timeline and cost of developing apps on both platforms are high. But cross-platform app development is a reliable solution for this. There are frameworks by which apps for multiple platforms can be developed within less time.
White Label Solutions
White Label Solutions are already developed projects of an app development company. They will rebrand the solution, change the look and feel and make it look like your company’s. This will save a lot of time and also cost as nothing has to initiate from scratch. But this is not a very feasible option.
Wrapping Up
At Amplework, the most trusted mobile application development company in India, our developers are highly experienced and can develop an app for your idea in the minimum possible time. You can share your requirements and we will immediately start analyzing them, chalk out ideas, and begin development.
