How Long Does a Mobile App Development Project Take?

In Brief:

It is obvious that companies are striving for more attention with 3.96 billion active mobile app users worldwide. Mobile apps provide to clients and business operations, continuously fastening market transformation. In fact, it is predicted that demand for and revenue from mobile applications will reach 613 billion USD by 2025. Therefore, it is essential to look into every element that could affect the process of designing a mobile application. This blog explains the timeline for any general mobile app development.  

Types of Applications

Web Apps

Web applications perform similarly to native apps but are accessed through the web browser on your mobile device. They are not independent programs in the sense that you must download and install code onto your device. Actually, these are responsive websites that change their user interface depending on the device the visitor is using.  

Technologies Used: HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby etc. 

Hybrid Apps

Hybrid apps are another option. The interface of these online programs is identical to native apps. They may have a home screen app icon, a responsive design, rapid performance, and even the capacity to operate offline, but they are basically web apps that have been made to appear native. 

Technologies used: HTML5, Ionic, Objective C, Swift etc. 

Native Apps

Native apps are designed specifically for a specific mobile OS. This means that you may create native Android or native iOS mobile apps in addition to all the other platforms and devices. Since they are only made for one platform, Blackberry apps and iOS apps cannot be used on Windows phones or Android phones. 

Technology Used: Java, Kotlin, Python, Swift, Objective-C, C++, React, etc. 

Stages of App Development

The Research

Your mobile app likely began as a simple concept or just an idea. The majority of your effort is still ahead of you after the initial spark. The first thing you should do is look into the current app ecosystem to check if your concept has already been implemented. No matter how excellent the app idea is, if you merely copy an already-existing product and don't consider innovating & fixing difficulties with your mobile app development solutions, your work will be for nothing. 

Strategy & Planning

An app's core concept is insufficient to begin development. Typically, you should set aside time early on to develop the concept of your mobile app. Consider the features your app need, what you can add, and how they should all interact. To have a workflow to refer to while you're working, you can graphically build the back-end database and even print it out if that helps. Consider the user interface, the available buttons and screens, and how users will probably interact with them. 

Design

This is a vital step when the developers must decide whether the front-end design and the back-end systems are compatible in order to establish the viability of the app. Therefore, it will be necessary for the designers and the coders to collaborate in order to guarantee that the visual front-end design is supported by reliable back-end solutions. 

Simply defined, the back-end handles details like data integration, data storage, version setup, and user management, among others, whereas the front-end design and development handles things like wireframing, UI design and development, and caching. To assist in computing the results that are shown on the front-end UI, all of them require coding. 

Testing

Test your mobile app design frequently and from the beginning. It's quite beneficial to have a global tester base so you can tap into their comments for everything from the earliest feasibility studies to the advanced beta testing you conduct with the app's initial release. Consider testing your initial developed version on a small group of willing testers and periodically asking them to provide feedback forms. As you refine the final design during the last stages of development, this feedback can help. Early on in the development process, it is typically easier to fix than later when the product is complete. 

Launch

The manner in which you launch an app might influence how successful it is in the long run just as much as any of the earlier processes. You need to make a significant effect right away to achieve lift-off because most apps experience a spike in downloads early in their release, followed by a slow tailing off of purchases. Select a launch date and begin promoting it on your company's social media platforms well in advance. There is no set length for a product lead-in, but you want to find a balance between having a marketing campaign that is too short and doesn't generate enough interest and one that is too long and causes the public to lose track of you. 

Mobile App Development: The Timeline

The process of creating an app consists of the five major processes mentioned above, and it can take anything from two months for a small app with few features to four and a half months for a large app with numerous features. Remember once more that this is only a rough estimate and may change considerably depending on the team's talents, the style of operation, and the amount of testing time. 

Some businesses might not have the financial resources to engage their own internal team of designers and developers to see their mobile app development through to completion and release. Because of this, for those that employ an outside team, the time it takes to develop an app may differ depending on the experience and expertise of the app developers, particularly in testing the app internally to remove as many issues as possible before it's time for beta testing. It's also crucial to have access to the development team for a few months after the app is out because occasionally bugs might not be discovered until the app has been downloaded by thousands of people. So here patience is the key! 

To Sum Up

This was our opinion on the timelines for developing mobile applications and some strategies for shortening the process. Please feel free to contact us at Amplifyre if you still have any questions about mobile app development or if you are looking for the best developers or designers around the world. Good Luck!