Mobile applications have already overtaken desktop and web apps, so nowadays businesses are becoming more interested in building their own mobile apps as the primary way to interact with customers. Having a mobile app in addition to a web presence any business can improve its accessibility and enhance customer engagement. According to statistics, people spent about 3 hours every day using their mobile phones, and it’s easier for them to access the information from one device which is always at hand.If you already have an idea of your app and intend to get it to the market or just think about it, the first question you may ask is “How long does it take to develop an app?”. From Redwerk’s vast experience in providing Android and custom iPhone app development services, we can say that it depends directly on the app requirements and complexity. Many factors affect on project’s timeline, and they should be considered during project estimation. For a deeper understanding of this issue, we made a detailed review of aspects within the production process from the ground up.
Factors that affect the timeline of developing an app
Three main factors that affect the timeline of building any mobile application are:
- Functionality
Obviously, the more complex the app, the more time does it takes to develop it. Building a simple app requires less time and resources than an app with a complex system, but it doesn’t mean that they concede. Such apps are even more popular than those that contain a lot of unnecessary options. - Targeted users & devices
Creating an iOS, Android or cross-platform app is an independent process that requires the work of different specialist and their knowledge. The building of separate iOS and Android apps will take more time and costs than cross-platform, so you should focus on what devices your target audience uses and choose the appropriate operating system before starting development. - Timeline
If you have strictly defined frames when your mobile app has to be delivered, but they do not meet to real development time terms, the only thing you can do in this case, not to lose the app quality, is to limit the functionality in earlier versions of the app. Furthermore, irresponsible developers may break deadlines and established budgets, so you should protect yourself by working only with reliable software companies on the time and material basis.
App development process
The development of a mobile application from scratch consists of 5 basic steps: planning, design, development, testing, and release. Each stage requires a different time for its implementation and directly depends on factors, described above. Some stages can be done simultaneously. Let’s look at each of the steps in detail to understand the project timeline better.
1. Planning
At the planning stage, it is not enough to have only an idea of the app, since you already need to decide on the initial app concept on which to build the full scale of the project. Before proceeding to other stages, it is essential to make a broad analysis of app requirements and estimate the necessary resources and time spent on the performance of each task. After planning is completed, you can roughly understand what the end-product will be and how long it will take to finish it.
2. Design
Design is what makes the first impression to a user, especially an app’s icon and the first screen. With the help of design, you can directly affect on user and feelings your app conjures. Color, fonts, wireframes, animations – everything should be perfect if you want to gain users trust and make it convenient for them to use the app. All app features and technical aspects should be taken into account. As practice shows, it can take a long time to come to the general opinion, but at this stage, it is worth spending a little more time to make sure that the app meets all design trends.
3. Development
After extensive planning and design, it’s time for coding. With a team of skilled middle or senior developers, this stage may take several times less than if junior developers are working on your project. Choosing an experienced team, you also care about the quality of the developed software and minimize the time spent on testing and fixing of bugs. Working with professionals saves not only your time but also your budget. So, how long does it take to code an app?
All in all, the development of both Front-end and Back-end parts of the application can take from 1 to 6 month.
4. Testing
When it comes to the testing stage, you should understand that it requires increased attention. To ensure the quality of your app, it is essential to conduct full-scale testing of the product and find all bugs and vulnerabilities for their further fixing. Performing both manual and automated tests will allow you to achieve greater efficiency when testing the app, so it may take from 2 weeks to make your product bug-free.
5. Release
The final stage! If all previous development stages are accomplished successfully – your product is fully ready for the release. But there are some additional time restrictions for publishing mobile apps. In the AppStore, it takes up to two weeks to review your app for public download, and the Android application will be reviewed within a day. If the app passed moderation, you could celebrate the completion, but you will have to spend some time on app revision in case the store rejects the publication. After that you will enter the most exciting part, which is the release, but this is another story.
Totals
As you can see, the building of the mobile application is a long process which timeline depends on many factors. To sum up, a building of a simple app can take about 300-600 hours, a middle app – 700-1200 weeks, high complexity app might take more than 1500 hours. To get more accurate estimation, you need to have detailed app requirements so that the development team could count the right timeline.
Redwerk’s Experience
Being on the IT market since 2005 and providing mobile application development services for companies around the world, Redwerk team has worked on hundreds of projects, so knows all the pitfalls of building a high-quality mobile app of any complexity. Thanks to impeccable reputation, we have the opportunity to work with promising startups and already reputable companies, each time improving our skills in new technologies and knowledge in various industries. Our team successfully developed the government app YouTown, mobile media apps for WorldNow company, School Observation App for the education industry, restaurant reservation management app for Quandoo company, CleanAgents mobile app for professional cleaning services and many other products. In particular, this extensive experience helped us create equally successful internal projects, such as mobile spam filter SpamHound and unwanted call blocker CallHound, Electoral.io multiplayer game, FaceDJ and some other apps which are now in the development.
If you already have the requirements for your app, Redwerk will be happy to provide you with a detailed assessment of your project as well as offer our iPhone and custom Android apps development services to implement your idea on the high level!
