Mobile app development: what to know

What the job involves, what changes the price, and what to ask a pro.

What mobile app development is

A developer designs and builds an app for phones, covering the screens, features, testing and submission to app stores, for one platform or both. You need it when you want customers, staff or members to use your business through an app on their phone.

Signs you need it

  • Customers ask for an app to book, order or track their account
  • Your staff need a tool on their phones to log jobs or check schedules
  • Your current website is hard to use on a phone for the tasks you need
  • You want a loyalty program, reminders or messages sent to users
  • You have an app idea that needs a prototype before a full build

What the pro does

  • Defines the users, the core features and the screens the app needs
  • Designs the screens and the flow, and shares them for review
  • Builds the app for iPhone, Android or both, and connects it to any data or accounts
  • Tests the app on real devices and fixes what it finds
  • Prepares the app store listings and submits the app for review, then supports the launch

What changes the price

Every job is different, so we do not publish prices. These are the things that move the quote up or down.

  • The number of screens and features
  • Whether the app is built for one platform or both
  • Whether the app needs accounts, payments, messaging or maps
  • The number of integrations with outside services
  • Whether design work is done from scratch or from a set of existing designs
  • Whether ongoing updates and support are included

What a written quote should spell out

  • The features and screens built, listed one by one
  • Platforms covered and the device testing included
  • Any outside services used and the accounts needed
  • App store submission and listing work
  • Support period and how updates are handled

Questions to ask before you hire

  • Who owns the app and the store accounts when it is finished?
  • Which phones and operating system versions will you test on?
  • How are accounts and payments kept secure?
  • What is the process for app store review, and who handles it?
  • What support do you give after launch?
  • Can you show me apps you have built and published?

Red flags

  • Puts the app store accounts in the developer's name only
  • Promises an app in days without a clear list of features
  • Will not show any published apps or past work
  • Stores customer data without explaining how it is protected

What you can do yourself

Write down the users, the main tasks they will do in the app and the screens they need, then sketch the screens and rank the features by importance. Open your own developer accounts with the app stores, since you should own them. Hire a developer for the build, the testing and the submission.

Licenses and permits

A license is usually not required for mobile app development. App stores have their own developer account rules, and apps that collect personal data may have legal requirements that depend on your state, so check with your state or local licensing agency.

Mobile app development questions

Do I need an app or a mobile website?

A mobile website is usually simpler to build and works in any phone browser. An app is worth it when users need offline use, notifications or frequent use.

How long does an app take to publish?

It depends on the features and the review time of the app stores. Ask the developer for a schedule that includes the review step.

Who pays the app store fees?

You do, as the developer account holder. Ask the developer to explain the fees and the accounts before you sign.

Pro reviewers

Pros who offer mobile app development remotely can improve this guide, like Wikipedia. We check every edit before it goes live. Every approved edit is credited in the edit history and on the pro's profile.

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How it works

  1. 1. Describe the job

    Pick the service, add your ZIP and a sentence about what is going on.

  2. 2. Pick the pros you want

    See screened pros who serve your ZIP and choose who you want to hear from.

  3. 3. They reach out

    They contact you the way you chose: phone, email or in-app messages.

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