As more businesses try to save money on app development, more cases emerge of the pitfalls of offshore outsourcing. It is always best to work with app development companies that are located close enough for you to be able to check their credentials – and meet with them in person.
For instance, The Financial Review posted a story in August 2012 about a company that paid an app developer in the United States $US8000 to create an app within 45 days. After six months of development the app still did not meet their low expectations, so they decided to cancel their app with the offshore developer and do what they could have done from the start – use an Australian development company. By the way, I’m not sure that the app developer was ever really in the US…
Building rapport and a strong relationship with your developer is useful too. It is essential that they ‘get’ what you are trying to achieve, and are not just focused on designing a beautiful app which will win them awards. Conveying concepts and concerns is often difficult when you are only communicating with your developer through email, especially if English is not their first language.
An ongoing relationship with your developer also allows for support and easy updates or changes at a later date. If your relationship ends with your developer once the app is deployed to the iTunes App Store and/or Google Play, you will be left to figure out for yourself what to do when something needs to be updated. This can cause all sorts of (costly) headaches down the track.
How can you find the best local mobile app development team?
To help narrow down which app developer is right for your business, consider asking them the following questions:
1. What do you charge and exactly what do I get for that price?
Although the cost of the app is an obvious question, you may only be getting an app for iPhone for that price. Ask what it would cost to create an app suitable for all platforms – iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android Mobile, Android Tablet and Mobile Web – so that you can reach everyone. Also ask if you will be getting a ‘native mobile app’, considered superior to other types
2. Can you show me some apps you have built for businesses like mine?
Developers may have a great vision for your mobile app development or may have developed other great apps in the past. What you want is for them to demonstrate other apps that they have previously created in the same industry as your business, so that you know they can deliver on their promises
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