In 2020, having a mobile app is as obvious as breathing or eating to a business. Every local business has started having their own customer-friendly app to interact with and engage their traffic. However, the idea to hire the best mobile app developer can disturb an entrepreneur if they are not informed of the process involved.

Building an app is unfamiliar territory for most people as it requires specialized knowledge and professional resources. So if you are business owner with an app development concept, you might be concerned about where to find and hire app developer. The decision of choosing a freelancer, offshore development partner or local app maker may confuse you.

That is where this blog aims to help you. We will walk you through general practices and clever considerations you should know when you hire an app developer for your app project. Let’s start with:

Setting up App Development Framework

Most of the companies’ management and recruiters are unaware of the complications in mobile app development. If they need to recruit an excellent developer, they should know the basics of app development or consult an expert.

Platform of app development is the primary criteria that you should decide when you are hiring a developer.

There are basically 2 types of framework:

• Native – It is built for a single mobile operating system.
• Cross-Platform – It works across multiple types of platforms or operating systems.

Your app can be created in any of these platforms. You should weigh the advantages and consider your budget before confirming whether you should create an app for iOS or Android or for both. This is crucial because, an iOS developer will not be an expert Android developer and vice versa under most instances.

Read Also: Xamarin Vs Native App development: Which is the Better Choice?

Once you’ve made the decision on Native vs Cross-Platform, it’s time to think about hiring a Freelancer or Development Company for app development.

Hiring a Freelancer vs App development company

Freelance Developer Selection Process

After you have found a list of options, you must filter them all through the qualifying process to scoop up the most suitable, deserving and promising candidate for your app project. You can go through the following points of considerations to make the selection easier:

(1) Know the cost logic: You need to learn a few things about available platforms, frameworks and languages used for making an app. Find out the usual cost of building a simple app by partnering with an app developer and your target users.

(2) Relevant experience: Fresh graduates are not the best resource for making an app with great usability and unique features. Hire a developer (or a team of developers) who knows all about technologies used for an app and has a sample portfolio to prove their past mobile app success.

(3) Reviews and clients: The developer you are about to hire must show the list of his clients who have worked with them and left remarks on their website. Check their recently built apps for its UI/UX as it speaks most of the app’s success.

(4) Rapport and communication: since you are going to work for a long time on an app, you should seek an app developer who shows true interest in your business and get along instantly. Building a warm rapport makes the interactions easy and seamless. Also discuss the tools for business communication so that any barrier can be eliminated in time.

(5) Stay clear about the budget: Discuss upfront all about the developer’s charges and ask if there is any hidden cost or additional fees. This does not mean choosing the cheap options, but it is about being clear about the prices from the first place.

(6) Online Reputation: Now that the world is going online, one of the ways to trust the credentials of a freelance app developer is to keep an eye on their online activities. Ask if they have blog posts, or positive Tweeter image, or if they use specific libraries and components to build apps.

For App development companies

Hiring an app development company is altogether a different deal. With app development companies, you can expect more efficiency, mature resources and skilled talent. Whether you need a team of iOS app developers or Android app developers, you can take advantage of their immense exposure in creating unique mobile apps.

Here is the checklist to hire an established mobile app development company:

(1) Strong Portfolio: This is the most significant factor to check before settling for a right choice from the list of companies. Explore their online presence and find out about their success stories, past projects, outstanding capabilities, and products relevant to your project.

In case you are still not satisfied with their public portfolio, you may also ask them to show you some more examples or develop a small feature or plug-in to ensure they have what you are looking for.

(2) Talent Pool and Team Effort: Many app development companies display their team members and leaders on their online pages. If you want to build an app for both iOS and Android, you must check how many iOS experts and Android masters they have, including UX/UI designers, project managers and tech partners.

(3) Technical Resources: What is software without technology? This is another crucial point that helps qualify the best app development company. Make a list of technologies they have mastered. PHP, code igniter, Java, C#, HTML5?  Compare between these technologies and evaluate its suitability for your project.

(4) All-round Services: This may look optional, but sometimes it relives you from lots of burden that comes after deploying an app. Building an app is more than just coding. Hence, you can expect those highly experienced companies to help you grow your business, too.

Some of the additional non-technical services app development companies can provide are marketing strategy, successful app publishing, ASO, reputation building, monetization features, etc.

(5) Reviews and Feedback: Reviews and positive comments also give you much idea of what company to trust more than others. App development companies have pages filled with details on their years of experience, happy customers, video credentials, recommendations, and working developers. You can even check their universal reviews on Google, Yelp, and other online directories of top app building companies.

(6) Pricing and Contract: Usually, the price of an entire mobile app development project is subject to app’s scope, complexity, features and scalability. It also includes the amount and type of resources to go into building an app. However, this doesn’t mean you should hire the one that offers low-price commitments.

Also when you sign a contract or agreement with an app development company, you should see if it is inclusive of provisions, payment structure, NDA terms, promise of protection, etc.

The document of contract should offer simplicity to understand all the conditions and compliance terms. You can think of more queries depending on the type of project, target market and business strategy.

Where to Find an App developer?

Millions of people come up with an app idea and search the online market for the top qualified app developers who can fulfill their dream. Google can present you with lots of options including local as well as offshore developers.

The popular online directories and forums where you can find refined list of independent app developers are:

• TheyMakeApps
• Clutch.co
• Mobyaffiliates
• iPhoneDevSDK
• AndroidPit
• Android Forums
• Appdevelopermagazine

Online web services like LinkedIn, Indeed, Reddit, Quora, Upwork, Guru, Fiverr, ProFinder are also some of the famous online platforms for finding world class app development resources in a freelance model.

You can also check Google maps and identify app development companies near you if you prefer a hands on approach.

How to identify a good App Developer ?

Identifying a good app developer can seem like a difficult task to deal with. As we know, there are lot of developers available but it doesn’t mean they are all quality qualified ones who understands your business needs.

By considering your business needs and doing a research, you can prepare a set of questions to be asked during the hiring process. Some questions are mentioned below.

• Are you a certified app developer?
• Have your app even been featured in an app store?
• Can you show the list of satisfied customers?
• Can I see samples of your most brilliant apps?
• What technologies are you most familiar with?
• What platform are you most comfortable working on?
• Are you able to work on latest Android versions and APIs?
• Do you know the process of getting an app published?
• Can you help market and promote the app?
• Can you think of features that can generate significant revenues?
• What kind of tests you do for quality assurance?
• How do you charge for developing a mobile app for both iOS and Android?

These are just a few of the most preferable questions you can toss at candidates. Definitely, you can think of more queries depending on the type of project, target market and business strategy.

What are the different Hiring & Engagement Models? 

It is really important to have knowledge in different hiring model if you need to hire the right employee. There are various types of models available in today’s job market. Below mentioned are some of the popular recruitment models used in the job market today.

(1) On Demand Hiring: This is the popularity gaining model in today’s market.  Here the hiring process is based on hourly basis and project basis.

(2) Contingency Hiring:  This is the most widely used model. This model is based on some Terms & Conditions with clients and employees as per the requirement.

(3) Retained Research: In this model, a retained recruiter works based on a contractual relationship with the clients/employees for assignment search. Here the employer must pay an upfront fee for the consultant to search for the right candidate.

(4) Exclusive Requirement: In this model, there is an agreement of exclusive requirements between recruiter and client. Here the recruiter is supposed to assure the employer to fill the position within the period of requirement or particular date.

(5) Recruitment Process Outsourcing: Here an external service provider works for the internal recruitment process for the company. RPO recruiter is completely responsible for everything including sourcing, schedule interview process, joining process and the closure of requirements.

Engagement Models

(1) Part-Time Model: Here the recruited person works for 4 hours in a day and 20 days in a month.

(2) Full-Time Model: The employees are supposed to work for 8 hours in a day and 20 days in a week.

(3) Hybrid Model: In this model, there is time and material based on resources that are required by you to complete the process.

Which Model to Choose ?

We would prefer you to choose contingency hiring. Depending upon specific hiring needs, the contingency recruiter set different test to find the appropriate employee.

They also keep a database of prospective candidates in order to get enough support while selecting a candidate for their client. They focus on IT network which is an added feature for suggestion.

Design your App

The design of an app values the user experience which is an important factor for the success of an app. To design an app, you need a designer who conceptualize your idea on your app. Later this design is made to reality (functionality & usability) by a developer/ programmer.

Hence in order to create an app from the scratch, you also need to hire a designer apart from hiring a developer.

How much does it cost to hire an app developer ?

Cost of developer varies with country and the platform they work.

Cost based on the types of application

Support from Freelancers/ App Development companies

Support is an important task which you need to face after the deployment process. We would prefer you to select an app development company rather than freelancers on developing an app because a freelancer may change his/her profession and move to another industry/place and becomes inaccessible to provide support to your app.

On the other hand, if you hire an app development company, they can provide you better support than freelancers. As time passes, your app may require updates, functionality improvements, and so on.

Hence it is really critical to have a good relationship with a mobile app development company. This quality relationship cannot be expected from independent developers.

Hire App Developer Checklist

Durability & Delivery

It is really hard to find a freelancer who can perform all the roles like managing the product, design the UI, write the code, testing, etc. But if you hire a company, there will be a well-flourished team that can carry the project from start to end.

These companies have a project manager who ensures that the project is being taken care and save you from any worries or inconvenience caused. This helps to strictly meet the deadlines and deliver an extraordinary project on time.

Read Also: Tips to Hire an iPhone App Developer

Conclusion

Before you set eyes on the app developer or an app development company that suits your needs, do your in-depth research. Have a candid conversation with your candidates about their app success and portfolio that supports their claims.

Your app is the representative of your business and helps you engage with your prospects. So you don’t want to risk giving the project to just anybody. Above all, your app developer must understand your vision and discuss app features, functionality and UX that align with your business requirements.

Redbytes is an IT firm who appifies your business requirements. We are here on the field since 2009 with various projects in different platforms like android, iOS, windows etc.