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If you’re looking to create a mobile application for your business, then you’re entering a market that is expected to generate $189 billion in revenue in 2020. You understand where the eyes of your audience are and you’re taking steps to move your product or service in the right direction.
But one thing you should not do is attempt to create the app yourself if you’re not a skilled developer with a mountain of coding knowledge. Coding is a whole new language and attempting to code mobile applications as anything less than an expert could cost you in both time and money. How long before you give up entirely? Or, even worse, what if you release your homemade app with a plethora of bugs and crashing issues?
Remember, you only get one chance to make a strong first impression.
That’s why you should consider hiring an app developer. The acquisition of someone fluent in coding with a vast level of experience designing and developing apps on the platform of your choosing is the key to ensuring that the first time your audience downloads your app, it will be an overwhelmingly positive user experience.
But what should you look for when hiring an app developer? What are the skill sets and experience levels necessary to ensure that your development and launch process go off without a hitch?
Anyone can lie on a resume. While it’s tough to have to be overly suspicious in this regard, it is necessary in the freelance app development world.
You want to make sure that the developer you’re considering isn’t padding their resume to score the job. You want plentiful and relevant experience from your developer which can be backed up with proof.
What kind of proof?
Any established developer will have an extensive portfolio of apps that they’ve worked on. Make sure that you ask to see any and all applications they had a hand in developing. Also, ask questions about their role in the development. Were they in charge? Assisting? Someone could say that they worked on the development of a stellar application when all they actually did was deliver coffee to the real developers.
Make sure you go in depth on their experience. You also want to see the kinds of apps they’re developing because you want to make sure that they have experience relevant to the kind of app you’re looking to make.
Also, ask to see a list of their clients, both past and present. It’s good to see the size of their previous clients. If they have a bunch of smaller companies that are nowhere near the size of yours as their only experience, then maybe they’re not up to the task of working on a higher level.
It’s important to choose carefully when deciding what platform or platforms you’re going to be releasing an app on. Android and iOS control 99% of the mobile market, so it’s usually a good idea to develop your app for both platforms in order to increase the size of your potential audience.
But the processes of developing apps for Android and iOS are vastly different from one another. That’s why you want to make sure that your developer is an expert in your chosen platform.
If you want to develop your app for Android only and all of their experience is in iOS development, then you need to continue your search. Your developer needs to come into this project as an expert. Your app is too important to trust to someone who is learning on the job.
You want to be sure that you can track your app’s effectiveness following launch. To do so, you need to have it connected to certain analytic programs. Your developer should be an expert in such things, so it’s something to bring up in an interview.
Ask about their experience with programs like Google Analytics. Most analytic gathering programs take under an hour to connect, so if they’re going to take more than a day working on that aspect of your development then it’s likely they don’t know what they’re doing.
It’s important to be able to track your progress. You want to know what is working and what is not so that you can redesign or course correct your app strategy when needed. Any good developer should understand this and have a plan already in motion for it.
Your developer should educate you in the regular upkeep of the app. Unless you’re hiring them full-time, you will need to be able to make changes as needed. As such, they need to provide you with documentation on how to app works, and what the process is to make changes at will.
The worst possible scenario you could encounter would be to have an app that can’t be updated. All apps need to grow and change with an ever-evolving market. Make sure that you’re not left in the dust.
Once you have identified a developer and decided that they meet the skills requirements, you should clarify that this is the person who is going to be working on your app. Ask if they outsource any of the development responsibilities. If they do, then you need to understand the capabilities and talents of the person doing the actual work and ensure they meet your standards.
For example, if you’ve hired an iOS development expert to create your iOS app and they’re outsourcing to an Android expert, that’s a huge problem that can negatively impact the overall usability of your finished product.
Hiring an app developer is one of the biggest and most important decisions that you’ll ever make for your company. It’s not a search that should be taken lightly. Ask the right questions and ensure that the development of your mobile app is in the right hands.
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