The mobile world is booming at an unprecedented scale so as the competition among product owners and service providers. It has become critical for businesses to capture the market by rolling out apps on different platforms.
Working on a constraint budget can be a blessing in disguise. Creating apps in a limited eco-system can bring forward unique ideas and solutions that wouldn’t have been possible in the first place.
Here are 5 easy strategies to build a successful app on a shoestring budget.
#1 Go for M.V.P
Before staking everything for your dream phone app, its wise to put your time and money on to create a minimum viable product (MVP). An app that is developed under MVP guidelines will roll out with just enough features to your potential target audience who in turn can offer feedback, reviews, and suggestions for the next stage of the app development. It’s cost-effective, saves time and is an ideal alternative to the full-featured app. The reason why many fully functional apps fail is due to incorrect market assumptions and improper analysis. A minimum viable product not only saves money but a lot of headaches too when there’s uncertainty about how an end-user would react to your app. A final product could be built by identifying the key pointers and gaps. The early prototype with minimal resources relies on constant feedback for improvement and is a win-win situation for everyone associated with the app. Extend features to mobile apps after evaluating the performance and reports of your MVP product without worrying about the cost too much.
#2 Choosing the right model
For an efficient model to kick in, it’s important to prioritize the list of features you would like to have in your application. Based on the list, devise a strategy on how you will be monetizing your app. Then the next step should be to select an app development pricing model that is budget-friendly. It’s better to negotiate on fixed terms than hourly if you are running on a shoestring budget. Whether you’d like to negotiate hourly or on fixed terms, As a matter of fact, businesses are attempting to cut the development cost of various apps by trying different tools and frameworks.
PhoneGap: PhoneGap uses JavaScript for the development of cut-priced business apps in CSS3 and HTML5. This helps developers bypass the more complex codes without affecting the app compatibility with multiple devices.
Conduit: Conduit allows seamless social media integration, generates feedback/reviews, lists E-commerce options and provides robust data through analytics. With support for android and ios platforms, it also offers affordable application development on windows.
AppMakr: With AppMakr, you don’t require to know every facet of your app or the knowledge of writing code. The AppMakr tool assists you to build a simple application on a low budget and includes minimum features such as push notification, customized icon and RSS feeds.
For models to be executed without extra constraints, it’s crucial to gather insights on what features need to go way in order to receive a performance-based app of your budget.
#3 Keep it simple
A simple design attracts more users and is less expensive. That doesn’t mean that it’s easy to craft. An app that offers hassle-free navigation with immersive user experience often trickles down from complex ideas to simpler ones.
Simplicity demands clarity and allows users to understand what you are trying to help them achieve. Your design ultimately becomes the key to user satisfaction and user success.
#4 Choosing a platform
When you are walking on a shoestring budget, it makes sense, in the beginning, to focus only on one platform. Building your app for all platforms in the initial stage has more chances to burn your wallet and you wouldn’t want that. Confused as to what should be an ideal platform to tackle? Here are some stats. Android app development turns out to be more expensive due to the large variety of screen sizes and devices and is estimated to house more than 1k gadgets. On the bright side, iOS has a specific range of devices that are limited to an OS version. For.e.g the latest iOS version supports iPhone 6 and later mobile devices. Whatever decision you’ll make in the end, you will be alienating a certain amount of users in the end.
#5 Right Partnership
It’s important to find the right partner who can assist you with the app development. The successful partnership could be forged between a freelancer, startup, organization, entrepreneur or cooperation. This helps your app idea to reach out to a group of people who work collectively for the desired objective. If your product is innovative and has potential, it will definitely make funding rounds. Partnering with an organization that has already established itself tones down extra layers of management which saves a lot of time in the development phase. On the other hand, managing a project with a freelancing team often turns out to be a long term venture meaning added cost over a period of time. The lack of an established process here can be detrimental. Any partnership you choose will present itself with unique sets of challenges. You can also outsource your project to an established company that thrives on clear communication lines and have pre-decided milestones scheduled.
Conclusion
Hire a mobile app development company that provides affordable solutions for your mobile app. Be open about your budget and clearly talk about financial restrictions.
A better option is to partner with a mid-sized agile team that can build a mobile app with a limited budget within the stated timeline. Choose to hire a team with established managerial frameworks, productive communication culture, and a clear milestone schedule. mobile app development solutions.
The future of low-cost business apps looks bright. Developing countries posed some challenges for mobile app developers in many countries due to lesser network connectivity. But that will not be the case anymore post 2020. Since the average global internet speed is getting faster, the app market in low-income countries will bring innovative mobile app development solutions to its end users.