Businesses need mobile apps now for effective digital interaction. They are becoming dominant constantly as more and more people are using mobile phones in their daily routine. People want a quick and prompt solution to their problems, and apps are the best in this regard. Businesses can provide their services, goods to their loyal customers through mobile apps on the go.

According to Statista, by 2025, people will likely spend approximately 270 billion US dollars on mobile apps.

That is why focusing on mobile app development is of utmost necessity for every business now a day.

But app development is not everyone’s cup of tea. It requires a proper vision, planning, and maintenance to make a commercially successful and productive app. From an app idea to the development process, one needs to focus on every step of application development. And effective app development is only possible when you know how to manage it on a budget.

Hundreds of apps are being developed globally. There were 3.14 million apps in the Google Play Store for consumers to choose from till the last quarter of 2020.

But do you really think that all these apps were successful? Obviously, no! Many applications end up in the graveyard of application stores due to a lack of proper planning and marketing. And it mostly happens due to a lack of budgeting.

Managing an app development on a budget is not that difficult, nor is it that much different from any other project. You will only need a detailed plan and effective budget allocation for everything.

So, how to manage app development by maintaining a budget effectively? Let’s discuss this in detail.

App Development on a Budget

App developers often struggle with the cost calculation of applications. It takes a lot of time to master the art of managing an app in a particular budget, and it is considered an art. Consider the following

Set Your Goals and Have Clear Vision

You cannot maintain your app development budget unless you don't have a clear vision of your goals. It is crucial to set your Priorities, decide the app functionalities and features, Project deadlines for every phase, etc. And it is all possible when you know your goals clearly.

You should know:

Your app's target audience or people interested in using your app.
Your competitors and how they are successful
Your application’s USPs.
Problems your app is going to solve.
A particular unique function that your app will perform
The results you want; both in the short-term or in the long run

By knowing all this, you may end up eliminating the confusion that may pop up in your head right after you start your development project. It will help you gather the following information:

A demographic of your target audience and how your competitors are targeting them
Technology stacks according to your app's features and functionalities.
A solid app monetization model and strategy
The clarity on UI/UX Design
App marketing and promotion strategy

Eventually, it will help you in allocating your budget effectively in the areas of your priority.

Deciding App Pricing Model

Applications are developed to make money. That is why it is important to plan the app's Pricing strategy to make money from your app. Your app’s pricing model greatly influences your development budget. That is why it is necessary to understand clearly what basic app pricing models are. Following are three basic app pricing models:

Free

These apps are free to download, and mostly they are used to facilitate customers with better communication, customer retention, and customer services. Shopping apps, booking apps are examples of it.

Freemium

These apps can be downloaded for free but have limited functionalities and features. Customers can pay money to unlock the high-end features, hence resulting in increasing the app's value.

Paid or Premium Apps

As the name suggests– paid or premium apps are not available for free. This price model is better for some specific apps like science or research apps. However, the popularity of paid apps has declined over the years due to free and freemium models of apps.

You can allocate your app's development budget according to these pricing models. Free apps are the most cost-effective as they have simple functionalities and easy to download. You can recover the app development cost through in-app paid advertisements.

Similarly, the Freemium model is also an effective pricing strategy that will let you earn money through premium features and functionalities. But you have to invest in it a little bit. So set your budget according to your pricing model.

In Paid or premium apps, you have to allocate your budget to market your app among a niche audience. It will take effort, research, time, and money investment to achieve the results. But if the app is powerful, no one can deny buying it.

Create MVP of App First

App development is not a gamble. It takes a lot of costs to build an app and also maintaining it. So before you rush to jump in the process, consider launching an MVP or minimum viable product instead. It is a low-risk, cost-effective, and efficient way to develop an app on a budget.

Simply MVP of an app is a minimal version of an application with the most primary features. It is launched for evangelists and early adopters to get their feedback and add more features afterward.

MVP is necessary to get validation of the app from your audience with minimum effort. There are a lot more benefits of MVP like:

You can secure your funding by not investing all of your money on developing the final products and at the same time testing them.
MVP lets you save your money on developing the features and adding functionalities that are not even useful. It results in app development cost optimization.
MVP lets you test the market response to check your idea. Hence it also results in refraining you from over investment of money if the app does not click the masses
Flexibility is also a factor here. It is always easier to alter the MVP of the app without touching the basic logic or architecture of your app. So you can quickly go back and iterate features based on user feedback.

Selecting Feature and Functionalities of App

It is so easy to integrate and incorporate every other feature, technology, and function you come across in your app to make it impressive. Little do you know that these features and functionalities can eat up your budget and make your final product confusing.

The app development cost and timeframe both are dependent on app specs and features. That is why it is crucial to be sure about what exactly app functions you want and what features to include in your app development. It is the only way to manage your app development on a budget.

Now the question arises, how to select the app features that fulfill your audience's requirements and do not bother your budgeting?

Consider:

● Thinking from the user's perspective while selecting your app functions and features

First of all, think like a user when you select your app’s features. You can evaluate the functions and features a common user wants by putting yourself in their position. It will also help you finalize your UI design as you will get to know how people will interact with the UI of your app.

Create a step-by-step list of your app's features and functionalities to know how individuals will progress through the app's elements.

● Going through different apps having similar features

Apps ideas may differ, but the features and functions of most apps may have similarities. So before you start development, go through some similar apps to get an idea of what features and functions they have integrated.

You will be able to eliminate those features that are not necessary according to your app’s idea hence save a lot of money and time. Secondly, you will be able to provide your development team a point of reference.

● Differentiating Must-Have and good-to-Have Features

While selecting and allocating a budget for a particular feature, learn to differentiate the must-have and good-to-add features. Seek answers to these questions:

Will my app be successful if I release the app's MVP without a particular feature?
What features are necessary to complete a task in-app?
Are there any features that are non-essential but can increase your app's interactivity resulting in more app downloads?

These questions will let you differentiate apps must have and good to have features, and you can finally allocate a budget for them.

Deciding a platform - iOS or Android according to your budget

Every business must have its app available on iOS and Android platforms. The Android vs. iOS battle is not new, but both platforms have their own significance. Although, it is necessary to select both for your app.

There are strict rules and guidelines developers have to follow while creating an app for both platforms. So, let's discuss which platform you should go for your app development on a budget.

Keep in mind the following scenarios:

How Android app development hurt your budget?

- Maybe Android shares a big chunk of the market share, but it may hurt your budget. You have to research all different screen resolutions, sizes, resolutions, and ratios to optimize your app, which is time-taking and tedious.

- Developing an Android app is time-consuming due to testing an app on so many different devices. It eventually disturbs your budget as well.

- The above two factors (Fragmentation and testing) results in a higher cost of android app.

How iOS app development affects your budget?

- To develop an iOS app, you need The Xcode (integrated development environment (IDE) for iOS development) that you can only use on Mac systems. So the hardware investment may become trouble for your project.

- Strict guidelines and restrictions in publishing iOS apps are one of the major concerns for your budget. Your app may get rejected after a review if it does not meet Apple’s standard. It results in a waste of resources and time.

- iOS apps don’t have enough room for customization due to standard guidelines. That is why it is not possible to eliminate any feature that you cannot afford to integrate into your app. hence, results in inexpensive development.

Development cost

There is a lot of confusion among developers about the development cost of Android and iOS apps. Relatively Android development costs a bit more because of the various screen sizes of anonymous devices. It stretches the timeline and development cost as well. However, iOS app development also requires a heavy investment in hardware and developer fee.

Also, the Google Play Store and Apple App Store both charge publishing fees, i.e.

You need to register on Apple App Store as an Apple developer by paying a $99 fee per year.

Similarly, you also need to create a Google Publisher Account with a one-time registration fee of $25.
Keep in mind these costs and expenses while selecting an app development platform.

Choosing the right app development company

Managing app development on a budget solely not depends on what features it has or how it will function. But it also depends on what approach you are considering to develop your app. Whether you want an in-house team for your project or you want to outsource your app development.

In-house development vs. outsourcing is an endless debate. But the most cost-effective approach is outsourcing.

Why is that so?

Well, there are a lot of reasons why you should go for outsourcing to save your time and money.

It is cost-effective

If you want to hire an in-house development team, you must have a proper space, a skilled developer, a QA team, and a research analyst as well. In addition to that, you have to pay attention constantly to their concerns and manage payrolls.

Outsourcing will eventually let you get rid of this entire headache. You just handover the agency your project, check out the final product, and you are done.

It Increases productivity and efficiency

A development agency knows all the tricks and tips to develop an efficient app. So, you will face no issue of dealing with human errors or investing in extra resources. It helps you in focusing on other significant works.

Seamless time and project management

Outsourcing agencies handle your project most professionally because they have resources and an efficient team at their disposal. They make sure to deliver the project on time and within the available budget.

You will get consistent technical support and services

Outsourcing your project lets you get consistent support and services even after you have developed your app. It results in saving expenditures in maintaining your app after development.

Now the question is, how one knows that the specific app development company is best for them?

Well, the following are ways to analyze if the company is right for app development on a budget.

It provides a free consultation regarding the calculation of your app’s cost, impact, idea validation, etc.
It has a professional design and development team who can customize the app’s design according to your needs.
It provides high standard Quality Assurance and app testing services to make sure your app is free of technical glitches, errors, and bugs.
It must provide technical support and services even if the app is launched on app stores.

Well, if you want to outsource your app development project, there is nothing better than Appedology. We are Corona, California-based app development agency that strives to provide businesses and individuals with the best application they are looking for.

Conclusion

It is a myth that app development is costly, and you cannot manage if you are on a budget. Through proper planning and the suggestions we have mentioned above, you can pursue your app development on a budget.

If you want to develop a successful app without exceeding your budget, contact Appedology, a Corona, California-based app Development Company any time. We are helping hundreds of clients with their application development venture within their budget with satisfactory results. You can email us or call us to get a free consultation.

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