jehnubis

Hello,
I have many ideas for apps. Mostly applications. Would it be better for me to buy an app by hiring a developer or learning myself from scratch? Browsing through sites like elance.com and freelancer.com it seems like its pretty affordable. How should i protect my mobile app ideas if i lean towards the developer route?

How much would total cost be (start to finish) if i were to hire someone?

thanks

seomaster5

well you should try it by yourself what could be better then this? I always try to do the things by me if somehow i could not do so then i ask for other to make me understand in my opinion do it by yourself.

RaymondB

jehnubis have you considered marketing mobile cms website builder? This really helps local businesses broadcast their presence in the web and for sure you have a lot of propects for that. Just a suggestion... :-)

Friendly advice, useful tips...
Raymond B.

Roy Jones

If you develop your app yourself and learn from scratch then you'll be able to develop it more conveniently and as per your requiremnets.

Chris Gylseth

Roy Jones makes a good point that if you develop it yourself you will have the ability to continue development and, provided you learn how to do it, you'll get it exactly the way you want it as no one can see the images in your mind as clearly as you. On the other hand, more experienced developers might come up with solutions that work and look better than what you had envisioned.

It is very hard to give an accurate estimate of developing an app. An article I read a while back described it well: Think of developing an app as buying a car. You can get a cheap car and it might get you from A to B, or you can move up in price and quality all the way to the luxury segment - and with all the differences in price in between. My point is that it largely depends on the complexity of your app, and some things that may seem easy to do can be much trickier than you'd expect. One of our biggest frustrations is when a client has the expectation that something is just quick and easy, but what they're asking for is involving a range of features, and maybe even products, to work together, making it more complex. It's hard to find accurate information on app pricing as it all depends on the clients or developers specs for the app, but to give you a pointer I read in a forum talking about the pricing of an app a comment from one of the Instagram developers. He said that just the hours the put in (not counting any profit) equated to about $250k. This is in line with what we see with our clients, but we usually take on clients with fairly large projects.

Let me give you some things to think about that hopefully will help you in your decision making:
1. Regardless if you develop it on your own or not, do at least acquire enough knowledge so you more accurately can explain what you want to the developers. The better prepared you are, the easier it is for them to create what you want, which in turn will save you time and money.
2. Create a flowchart or wire frame that explains what the app is supposed to do, and how the different elements are related together. This will function as a roadmap.
3. Find developers that are LOCAL. While sites like Elance certainly can get you in contact with cheap developers there are many stories of poorly executed or unfinished projects. The University of Oslo released a research in which they found that the failure rate of developer projects outsourced outside your own country/culture was as high as 50%. This is in large due to cultural and linguistic barriers. Moreover, even in projects that don't fail you risk spending more time explaining what you want than it would take to either do it yourself or have someone local do it.
4. An added benefit if hiring someone local is that you can meet their team, see their facilities/workspace, and have face-to-face meetings on a regular basis. Technologies like Skype are great for communication, but nothing really beats an in person meeting.
5. Meet regularly so the developers can show their progress, and so that you can suggest changes before they move along too far. Implementing changes early on is much easier than having to go back and recreate it, and will consequently save time on development.
6. Hire a team, not an individual. Committing your project to an individual can be very risky. He or she may get sick, change jobs, stop answering your calls, or a number of other things that could cause your project to come to an immediate stop, and you loose all your time and money invested up until that point. A team will be able to continue work even if one person drops out. A team generally also has a broader knowledge base and would therefore be able to create a better end product.
7. Create a code repository, meaning a place where the developers store a copy of the code that you also can access. That way you will always have access to the code even if the team stops working for you, and you can take it to another team.
8. Cheap hourly rates does not necessarily mean that it will be cheaper in the end. It can mean that they are less experienced, or you might end up spending a lot of time just communicating what needs to be done so the hours get way high compared to a more experienced developer.
9. Make sure that you have a legal agreement in place, and that the agreements includes that you have the ownership of any code produced for you.
10. Bear in mind that a software project is never finished. There's always bugs to fix, updates to stay compliant with the various operating systems out there, new features you want to add, etc.

Hope this provides some helpful insight. Should you have any more questions, let me know and I would be happy to help.

Sparnas

I recommend for you to build apps yourself . It's really easy, for example to me was enough about 2 months and now I can create really good apps for androids

Mr Bill

From start to finish...without any details at all about what you want to build, what it will look like, how many pages, what sort of functionality, what sort of graphics...etc (as in all the details anyone would need to give you a total firm cost from start to finish) I'd estimate somewhere in the region of between one and one hundred thousand dollars. Maybe more, maybe less.

steffanmax

Learn basic HTML then you can start to create your first app.. takes a day or 7 to learn.

BUY APP REVIEWS

Mr Bill

That is absolutely untrue. HTML will not help you one tiny bit when coding an app. An app (whether it be iOS or Android) will take a bit longer than (1 or) 7 days to learn.

.

Buy the source code and reskin it if you want to play the game fast...
check iOS and Android App Source Code, Scripts and Components | Chupamobile for codes, and start creating

Cray

Code it yourself! The knowledge that you'll learn might even make you a millionaire! v

Dropshipping for a living.

.

Worse advice ever - mate.

This is like someone that want's to open a restaurant and the advice is : Learn to cook

I see so many people that learn to code, spend 6 months doing it. and then 6 months to launch an app and then they make $10 per month.

Learn the business mentality , outsource
I talk about this in this video

steffanmax

And thats why i have coded over 50 apps in html, even games.. (IOS, Android, and even windows phone)

We must be living in two different worlds.

BUY APP REVIEWS

.

Awesome. So while you learn to code, improve the bugs, tweak the app... I hire a coder that can do it all.
So let me guess, you do the coding, the launching, the ASO, the marketing...

Yes. we live in 2 different worlds.

Mr Bill

We certainly are! So you're saying that someone who knows nothing about html or building apps can learn html in 1 to 7 days and make iOS apps using that skill? You may be able to make apps but I bet you didn't do it with 1 day's knowledge of html.

Edit: P.S. Apple now accepts HTML as an app for the store? Even if you use WebView elements they still frown on pure WebView apps (so I'm lead to believe). I'd be fascinated to know how to turn HTML into Objective C...my lessons haven't got to that part yet.

subisa852

It would be best if you can develop the application for mobile devices rather than buying it. The main reason why it is a good plan is you can update or improve the apps over time to make it better since you know the software architecture very well.

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karenfisher252

You should just get a developer (a really good one) and get your app developed. Copyright your app technology to protect your ideas.

crescendo

Learning is not a bad idea. All you need a serious crash course in programming. Otherwise the simplest option is to buy source code and make changes put in new graphics and upload application.

Fairusd

Yeah I agree on learning it on ur own. It's a skill set you may find useful in the future.

JodyRossDeane

Don't bother developing it yourself unless you have months of spare time to go through all the trials and errors. Stay with what you are good at.
I've developed 4 apps so far since last year and it's been quite a journey I can tell you.

a1z277

I think if you aren't a programmer you should hire someone to do it for you, codeclerks.com may result useful for your purporses.
Best regards.

gknugurlu

Better to learn it yourself. You may have good ideas and this can cause you to give away your ideas. If it's not something specific then you can give it to someone to do it for you. You can hire at Odesk app developers. If you are thinking of developing several apps and got ideas, then put in some work to learn it.

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ZedyDiamond

Develope you app yourself. It's much better to learn more incase something happens in the future. Also hiring a developer is very expensieve when you are looking for a professional app. So no HTML and that easy stuff..

anoopsparx

tomhardy, i am agree with your thoughts.

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GerardCoyne

If time-to-market is important for you, hire a developer and have your app published asap. The learning curve for mobile app development is very steep, so you could also commence your own development journey in parallel.

danielmartin040

Hello tom hardy,
Thanks for sharing a top ten list of mobile application development sites these sites will gives me more helps to choose a best mobile apps development company for my business.

John Jonas Phil VA

It takes time and practice to be really skilled at coding. I'm STILL learning how to code (HTML/CSS/Javascript/Ruby) and I'm still not confident I'd be able to build an app. If you're not a patient person (like me) building your own app can be frustrating when you see how many steps you have to go through just to get an app built.

However, I think it's important that you learn how to code if you want to sell apps in order to:

1) know the difference between great ideas that are feasible and great ideas that are not feasible. Some problems can be solved by an app, some can't. Knowing a bit of code helps you see the difference
2) tell your developers exactly what you want to see in your app.
3) sell your app better. When you know exactly how your app works, it's easier to sell it to anyone who asks
4) build apps better than your competition. Sometimes it's small things like faster response time or intuitive design that can give your app the competitive edge.

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steffanmax

i am making a living off doing it, you are doing the same.. maybe we should listen..

No i'm not doing all that, but still its a good start, you can make a living and be all that, and still only spend 10 hours or less a week.. (when you have done this for x amount of years)

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Chris Gylseth

Both of you are right, but from different angles. What I mean is that an app can be developed rather fast even by a beginner, but any high-end development will require a combination of more time and experience. As an example, we had a client that took an introductory course to programming and within a few days developed a sports related app. The app had no great design, but worked. He came to us because he, with his limited knowledge, could only make the front end work, and he needed to be able to retrieve the data, store it in a database, manipulate the stored data in various different ways, etc. There were also several features he needed that he was not capable of doing himself, so he needed a seasoned team to help.

Chris Gylseth

I think it's important to highlight that 'an app' is a VERY broad term, and can include anything from a simple web or mobile based one-function feature to a more complex system that ties in to databases, permissions, transactions, etc. Generalizing app development would be very wrong, but it is what happens and also why so many think that they can hire a developer for next to nothing because 'it's just something easy to do'.

As developers we face three type of clients:
1. Those that don't know anything about development
These are typically harder to work with because they want everything under the sun, want it now, and thinks it's going to be very cheap. In some cases they know they ask for more complicated work, but have a hard time relaying what they really want (not just an overall picture).
2. Next type of client is the one who has 'some developer experience'. They may have developed a simple database, an app or similar, often by using tools that do much of the job for them. These can be the toughest type of clients because they 'know' that what they're asking for is easy. Problem is, what they ask for is most often not as easy as they think because there's a number of factors they have not considered. Even adding a new feature to an existing app may take time as you have to make sure it will tie in with all other operations and not mess it up.
3. The third client is a dream to work with. They know what they want, and how to explain it. They've done their homework and may even have flowcharts and/or wire-frames to help the developers see the complete picture and how all pieces are tied together. Going back to my example with the sports app in my previous post, this was the case with our client. He knew what he wanted, but he needed suggestions to design, suggestions to improve user experience, and help implementing it.
4. Oh, and of course, we LOVE when clients actually have the funds to back their ideas.

Having said this, while learning to code may not be your ultimate goal, at least do enough to be the type of customer as in example 3. Also, expect it to take twice as long as you or the developers anticipate from start. The reason is that you will get new ideas along the process that you want to have them change or incorporate. In other words, if you need something deployed quickly, be prepared to hire more people or pay for more hours. Truth be told, if you have even a mild inclination towards thinking you might be asking for something of a moderate to large complexity, and the app developer tells you it's nothing big and something they can do in a matter of no time, be VERY careful about hiring them - they may not know what they are talking about, and thus may not have the knowledge you want to hire.

rinkyangel

Hello All,
Thanks for sharing a great thought.....

danielmartin040

Hello,
I am Looking a best mobile application development company for my business.

rinkyangel

Hi danielmartin040,
According to me Tomhardy has shared a top ten mobile application development service provider company list, I hope that list will help you.

danielmartin040

Thank you very much Tomhardy!!!
appschopper.com is a really best mobile application development company, who provides best service for mobile apps at affordable cost.

Nick Logan

Really depends on your time, focus and your interests. If you find challenging creating your own apps and continue developing them, than you should invest your time (and money) and learn it. But if you want to stay on marketing side, than better invest your time and money for a good marketing strategy and make others to do programing work instead of you. It really is a 'time and money' game.

vinegrafted

Do you have a company to suggest for reselling mobile websites to local businesses? Maybe one that will allow a white label?

Robyne001

Hi,

I think if your budget is less, like below $1000 then in that case you should learn and develop an app by yourself, although if you don't have budget constrain then you can hire professional developer to create a mobile app and you can focus more of developing a concrete app business idea.

Etoot

Create an aap in an house rather to buy from other source............

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david7h6

Hi Jehnubis,

I suggest you hire someone on elance to contact all the developers on Google Play. (Just pick the category you're willing to invest in). Start by contacting 100 developers. This should not cost you more than $20 - $30 on elance.

You can send an email that says something like:
Greetings, I would like to offer you $500 for your app.

If he accepts, ask for detailed information on his app like revenue generated, analytic, etc...

You can then transfer the app from his developer account to yours.

I suggest you hire the developer to maintain the app for you. You should add appbrain to monetize your app and create a free and paid version (no ads).

I used this exact same method last year and the app is still generating revenue today (with no work from my part).

David

sidmatthew

Hi jehnubis,

On internet there is so much resources available from where you can learn "How to build Mobile Apps?". First understand the flow of mobile apps development, Once you learn this then hire one developer and designer who can work on your mobile apps ideas.

I think this is the best choice.

howarddavidson

There are websites that help developers sell completed applications or in some cases semi-completed. You should check them and see if you can find what you need. If the price is right why bother creating an app on your own especially if you don't have much experience or time.

howardjdavidson.com - Howard Davidson, marketing guy in Arlington, MA writes about marketing, advertising, social media and brand strategy with a touch of sarcasm.

howarddavidsonarlingtonma.com - My secondary blog

gferrand

Depends greatly on the idea and what you are trying to develop. Follow what you are passionate about. If you think creating software might be of interest, then you should learn, but if you just want to learn how to make an app for the business side of it, I think it'll be tough.

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Steve Zones

some other websites include seoclerks.com

Hudson White

Mobile application development is the trend these days, and there are many good mobile app development providers in the market. Here I’m giving you a list of some good mobile app developers:

WillowTree Apps®, Inc. We make mobile beautiful.®
Custom Mobile Apps Development by BlueRocketBlue Rocket | Mobile Is Our Mission
Software Outsourcing Company India, Custom Application Development Services Dallas Texas, Offshore Software Development India, Outsourced Software Product Development Portland OR
Mobile App Development, iPhone Application Development Company
Enterprise Mobile App Development Company USA | iPhone App developers | Android App developers
Software Development Company, Web Design Development, Mobile Application Development, SEO Services - Netsmartz

Hope this list will help you..

mukeshcs033

I have a wonderful ecommerce site and i want to convert it suitably for all mobile devices but i dont get a perfect tool. Can anyone suggest the best way to convert my website into mobile version.

Emily Abbes

If you're keen to learn then you should start all by yourself, but if you want to make money out of your Mobile app then you should opt for experienced devs.

DLL

I agree....not only will you have your app, but you will have a new skill....

clevelandslim

This basic supply/demand dynamic also means that many developers ask for some pretty insane terms. Some demand deals that involve a huge upfront payment in exchange for a few weeks (or even just days) of work.

JTV

I think some of the people here are not being realistic about the notion of ‘just learning to develop an app’. Yes, it would be ideal to be able to write your own content and publish it. But just because you are able to generate an app does not necessarily mean you make a ‘good app’. What if your first product is flawed? It might stain your reputation.

This is not to suggest that you cannot and should not learn, just a statement because I find it pretty strange that people are being so cavalier about this.

smartren25

AS stated learn HTML 5 & you should be able to start doing your own!