Lisa Paredes Woeller

Hey guys!

I'm looking to have a custom app built. I'd love to get your feedback from y'all that have been there done that. Can you recommend from experience a particular firm or recommend the best place to find kick bootay app developer? Also, how long did it take for your app to be completed? I realize that no two apps are the same and your app could be a complex fun game and others simplistic... but I'm just wondering.

~Lis

*Edit update: Feel free to add to this thread anytime with tips for others to see -- as I am talking to a dude who can help me with my app. I shall come back here and post about my app adventure in the near future.

jbsolutions

Hi,

This is a big question. My background is in development and I've been part of and launched a lot of startups. My last startup was just bought this past Jan and we focused exclusively on iOS. I've worked on projects that have lasted anywhere from 8 weeks to 2 years.

I've probably built about a dozen iOS apps though startups and this usually includes full server architecture along with product planning, feature research, etc. On my own I've also done about 1/2 dozen of apps to scratch various itches.

In simplest terms, I think there are three paths to take:

1. The expensive path.

To 'do it right' (at least to have an app built when a strong code base) you have to pay money. I only contract for iOS work and when I do it's around $175-$225/hr. I usually have projects that range from 8 - 16 weeks and this can come out to a pretty good chunk of change.

You can get good developers in the US for $75/hr and up. I've also worked with a lot of good devs in South/Central America, Poland, some areas of E. Europe. These guys tend to be about $50/hr and up (a good deal if you can find the right team).

This is just mobile, mind you. I've worked on original app/company ideas that are always custom and this has always included non-mobile teams to provide the data for the mobile app - so there's cost in that as well. You can build mobile apps with no back-end and just use (I'm speaking about iOS only here) CloudKit or whatever alternatives there are for Parse now (since it's shutting down).

But overall, the expensive route is for 'the big time' usually.

2. The inexpensive path

You can also have some shops in India, Pakistan, Indonesia, few other countries in Asia, that will build you an app for $2k-$5k. I always advise people not to do this. The code - in my experience - is usually so bad that I just advise people to take the hit and start over (and pay for a 'real' dev) or forget about it.

What ends up happening is you _can_ get an app that runs. But, unless you stay with that team, you usually want to add features and the next team either continues adding horrible code to existing horrible code or they just totally fail and can't do anything because the initial code is so bad.

I'm not saying this to pick on devs from these companies, but I've come in on quite a few projects that took this route and you get into the code to finish something up and just shake your head. I've *never* seen good, maintainable code come from this approach. Cheap is crap in this case.

3. Prebuilt apps

Sites like Chupamobile are prob the way to go if you do no or are not a pro developer. I've bought stuff from them and most of the code is pretty good. Not totally ideal, but a lot better than the inexpensive alternative mentioned above.

They also have proj managers that will help make the changes for you with one of their devs. Since they're based out of Italy, there is some translation weirdness and time zone lag, but it could definitely be worse.

Also, these apps will get you out of the gate usually, but that's just the beginning. There's all kinds of marketing that needs to be done as well. That's probably harder than getting the app in the store. You'll have to get into ASO for this as well as review sites and other methods to get downloads.

The app stores now are a lot harder than they used to be and not very friendly to indie developers anymore. They're all dominated by the big guys - just look at the top 25 free downloaded apps in either store.

There's still room for indie devs, but unless you have your niche really carved out and an audience that's going to sell for you, app installs are hard.

Bottom line advice: check for pre-built source first and go from there. That will be your best cost advantage. Think about how to market it too before you buy or start any code. Who is your target audience/market, etc.

This will all help before you commit to any money being paid. I can't stress this enough as I've seen tens of thousands (probably hundreds actually) fly out the door for people and companies that just couldn't make it work.

Good Luck!

Lisa Paredes Woeller

Awesome information! Thanks for sharing. :-)

Acodez

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getbread

Go to freelancer.com post your project and interact with bidders until you find the right person. You don't have to paid $225 an hour and just because someone is from India or Pakistan doesn't mean they won't do a good job.

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akki26

actually this is a very big question as app developers input is a very expensive as compared to output...................

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