Find a professional app developer near you

Nearly any business can hire an app developer to create a mobile app or web app to communicate with customers and bring an idea to life. Apps provide an engaging, interactive and intuitive user experience. 

Here are the steps you can expect when you engage an app developer:

Planning

Before the development officially behinds, your app developer will start with planning to find out your vision for the app and the best way to make it happen. Your web or mobile app developer will start by talking about platforms - do you want a web app development for an iPhone app or an Android app developer? Many developers specialise in just one platform, so this is an important first step. 

Next, your app developer will ask questions to find out more about the project, what you’re looking to build, and confirm whether it’s going to fit with your budget expectations. During planning, you’ll discuss details for the project, like timelines and approvals for each phase.

User experience (UX)

A good app developer understands the importance of UX and will take the time to explore best practices for your audience and industry. They’ll ensure your app is intuitive, interactive, and follows standard user principles to make it easy to use. 

The UX process may start with wireframing mockups in black and white using a program like Balsamiq. Although you’ll start to see how the app is structured and designed, it won’t look much like the finished product, yet - it’ll mostly consist of flat image mockups with no interactive elements. This process is important throughout the design phase, but it’s ongoing throughout development, testing, and the lifespan of the app. 

Your app developer may recruit test groups or collaborate with early adopters to get feedback on the app and make adjustments to the design and layout as needed.

Design

Design is about matching your company brand, but it may also involve working with a graphic designer to develop a unique look and brand for your app - it all depends on your goals and how you plan to use the app. 

Your app developer will work with UX and design principles together to create a polished, professional, and usable end result. They’ll take the approved mockups and bring them to life with colour, sourcing icons, images, and more. 

If you only need a very basic app, you may be able to get away with a WYSIWYG app builder, where you can design the app and launch it in one go. But if not, you’ll need to move onto development.

Development

The development process generally involves using computer programming and coding languages to build your app to look and function like the agreed-upon design. The coding languages used vary depending on whether you need your app to work on iOS, Android, or web platforms. 

Once your app is coded, your android app developer or iOS app developer will spend time testing every component in sandbox and live environments to find bugs and iron out potential problems before it’s released. Once you’ve approved the app, your developer will submit it to the App Store, Google Play, or upload it to your webserver to make it live. 

Then if all goes well with your launch, you may plan to develop versions of your app to work across multiple platforms (web, Android, and iOS).

Support

Most apps will need ongoing support from an app developer. They’ll need to deal with bug fixes, functionality updates, operating systems updates, and provide customer support. You may engage your app developer for a few hours here and there as needed, or go on a regular maintenance plan to keep everything in order.