Custom mobile application development for iOS and Android
Custom mobile application development for iPhone and Android. We build the app once and publish it on both stores. For businesses that need what a website cannot do.
A fixed price after a short planning step. You own the code and the store accounts from day one.
- Fixed price
- Set after a short planning step, whose cost comes off the build.
- Built once, runs on both
- A fix reaches iPhone and Android at the same time.
- Accounts in your name
- App store accounts are yours from the start.
Many app ideas should be a website instead
If you need information, a form and a phone number, build a website. Nobody has to install it, there is no app store review, and it costs far less.
Ask one question. Would someone open it more than once a month? A crew logging jobs daily will. A customer checking an invoice twice a year will not. Then you pay to look after an app nobody opens.
When an app is the right answer, there is a clear reason. It must work without signal, send alerts people act on, or use the camera. Those are good reasons, and we will build it.
If a website would do, see how we build websites. If the app would mainly stop leads from slipping through, read CRM integration first. It costs far less. Software work is quoted per project, as the pricing page explains.
How the price is set
Before we price it, we spend a couple of weeks learning how the app will be used. Who uses it. What happens with no signal. What it needs from your other systems. Then we write down what we will build and give you a fixed price.
This planning step has its own price, which comes off the build. Pricing a $40,000 project after a one-hour call is how projects go over budget.
How custom mobile application development works with us
Four stages. The first one saves clients the most money.
Deciding whether you need an app
Before we price anythingMost people who ask for an app really need a website that works well on a phone. That costs far less. It skips app store approval. And customers do not have to install anything, which is the hardest thing to ask of them.
An app is worth it when you need what a website cannot do. For example: working without signal, sending alerts, using the camera or GPS, or a crew who use it every day. Tell us how it would be used, and we will help you decide before you spend anything.
One app for iPhone and Android
Built once, works on bothWe write the app once and it runs on both iPhone and Android. That costs about half as much as building two apps. A fix reaches both at the same time.
A few parts, like using phone hardware, sometimes need separate code for each phone. The planning step decides which parts.
App store approval, and staying approved
Getting in, and staying inApple and Google reject apps for reasons most people do not expect. We handle the submission and fix anything they reject.
Then it happens again every year. Phones update, the store rules change, and an app nobody looks after stops working. Usually for customers with the newest phones first.
Measuring whether it is used
Usage, crashes, updatesWe track crashes from day one. So you hear about a problem from us, not from a one-star review. We also track the two or three things the app is for, so you can see if it is working.
Most apps we take over have neither. Nobody can say if the app is doing its job.
What you get, written down before you pay
All of this goes in the agreement before you pay anything.
In the build
- Planning, a written plan and a fixed price before we start
- iPhone and Android from one build
- App store submission, including fixing any rejections
- Crash and usage tracking from the first version
- Handover of the code and both store accounts
After launch
- Monthly maintenance, or a full handover to your team
- Phone updates watched before they break the app
- Changes priced up front, never by the hour
- You can move to another company at any time
- Nothing switches off if you stop paying us
Not included
- An app that does not match what you asked for. We raise it before pricing
- Publishing the app under our account
- An app with no tracking, so nobody can tell if it works
- Hosting fees for something that runs on your own accounts
Not sure if you need an app or just a better website? Talk it through with us, for free.
Three things to ask before you hire anyone
- Ask whether a website would do
- A company that never suggests the cheaper option is selling you the expensive one.
- Ask who owns the app store account
- It should be in your company name before the first submission.
- Ask about the next phone update
- Ask what happens to the app when iPhones update next year. There should be a clear answer.
Common questions
What does custom mobile application development cost?
A fixed price, after a short paid planning step. Its cost comes off the build. Prices vary a lot. An app that just shows information is a very different job from one that works offline and takes payments. The planning step tells us which you need.
Do I actually need an app, or would a website do?
Often a website would do. Tell us how people would use it and we will give you a straight answer. Apps are worth it for working offline, sending alerts, using the camera or GPS, or a crew who open it daily. Someone who would use it once a year will not install it.
How long does it take?
Twelve to twenty weeks for a first version. App store review adds a week or two at the end. That is the one step we do not control.
iOS, Android, or both?
Usually both. Because we build it once, the second one costs little extra. If most of your users have one kind of phone, we will find that out in planning and you can start there.
Who owns the app and the store accounts?
You do. We set the accounts up in your name from the start. An app published under an agency's account is hard to get back if you part ways.
What happens after launch?
Someone has to look after it. Phones and store rules change every year. Either your team takes over with a proper handover, or we look after it monthly. An app nobody looks after usually breaks within about 18 months.
Do you do business mobile application development, or consumer apps?
Mostly business apps. Apps for a crew, a franchise or customers you already have. Apps that must win over strangers in an app store are more of a marketing problem than a building one.
Can you take over an app somebody else built?
Usually. We read the code first. Then we show you the cost of keeping it versus starting over. Sometimes the honest answer is the more expensive one.
Related: Software overview · SaaS · CRM integration · Websites
Store requirements come from Apple's review guidelines and Google Play's policies, both of which change more often than people expect.
Tell us how the app would be used. We will help you decide if you need one.
We reply in writing within one business day, even when the honest answer is that a website would do.