Do you have a brilliant app idea but lost on how long it will take to develop? You are welcome to our blog post on how to develop an app, considering the timeline.
Now let’s break down the timeline for mobile app development.
Introduction
We are still in the go-go days of mobile apps because never been a time in history since now have more people used mobile phones and mobile apps.
According to Sarah Perez, mobile users sped at least 4-5 hours every day on their mobile apps. This is good news for businesses who are considering utilising mobile app solutions for streamlining operations and sales.
Mobile phone users are also leaning towards the use of mobile apps to augment a huge part of their lifestyles. For example, uber app usage for ordering rides has become very convenient. Also, food ordering via food ordering apps has proven essential for making life easy for people around the world.
With the prevalent use of mobile phones, it is undoubtful that they offer opportunities and growth potentials for businesses, but hey, how do you develop an application?
This blogs post is for individuals and businesses who are interested in developing a mobile app. It is suitable for companies who want to demystify mobile app development timelines.
Also, the blog outlines the essential development stages and provides tips to optimize timelines,
Demystifying Mobile App Development Timelines
Three important factors influence the timeline required to fully develop an application. These are;
- Simple apps features
- Mid-level application features
- Complex application features
Tabular explanations of the different levels of mobile app complexities
| Limited functionalities Utility or informational app basic uiMinimal backend connectivity | Description | Typical Timeline | |
| Simple Apps | Limited functionalities Utility or informational app basic minimal backend connectivity | 2 – 4 months | Use our cost calculator to know the development cost |
| Mid-level Apps | Moderate functionality (e.g., social media, productivity, e-commerce)More complex uiBackend integrations (user authentication, payments) Additional features (messaging, location services) | 4 – 8 months | Use our cost calculator to know the development cost |
| Complex Apps | Significant features (marketplace, gaming, enterprise software)Cutting-edge functions (AI, AR), Complex backend systemsComprehensive UIThird-party integrations | 8 months – 1 year or longer | Use our cost calculator to know the development cost |
From the table above, you can see that the timeline to develop an application are different for each app type.
It is largely because different features come with additional prices. Those with simple and straightforward features are excellent for small business. While those with complex features attract the highest cost of mobile app development.
Key Stages of the App Development Journey:
Moving forward on the things it takes to develop an application, let us see the prominent stages of app development.
Idea Formation & Research
This first stage is for the idea formation and quality research. This is where you will need to identify your target audience and do a competitor analysis. Make certain comparisons, for example, look at the features and functionality of the mobile app.
You can get an app for a business like yours and take a look at the key features. Also note how these features drive the business. with this, you will know what to include and the functions to prioritise to build an application for your business.
Design Sprints & Prototyping (user experience focus)
The is one of the important steps for developing an app.
Having gotten the idea of your app and conducted an extensive research, move over to the design. This is in other words, the user experience of your mobile app-very important.
Here, you must find answers to the following questions;
- Who are your customers?
- What competitive apps do they use?
- What are their preferences in mobile apps?
- Will they embrace just a visually appealing app or with extra design elements?
The design of your mobile application needs to be user centric, straightforward to use and easy to navigate through. You may even consider adding automation features for better user interface designs.
Development (front-end, back-end, API integrations
Now you need to start the actual development. You must have shared your idea, and app design with your chosen mobile app development company. Or your mobile app development company would handle it from the ideation stage to this point.
The front-end developers will implement your designs and bring them to life. They will also add all the relevant features of the app.
Professional front-end developers will not develop an application with a complex interface. They will also make sure that the clicks are straightforward.
During the development stage, the mobile app development company prove its authority and professionalism.
We have our laid down processes for both front-end and back-end development. Depending on the mobile app complexity, we may need to integrate third party tools for extensive functions.
Importantly too, when we develop an application, we prioritise the mobile app security (back-end development), for best results and scalability, we may integrate with third party cloud-based services.
Testing & QA (ensure a smooth and bug-free app)
Testing and quality assurance are two very crucial parts and process of our mobile app development life cycle.
We usually implement different types of mobile app testing techniques, especially functional and performance testing.
Our testing methods are aimed towards ensuring that everything works as expected. This also includes how well the mobile app works on different devices.
Deployment
The next stage to consider when you develop an application is the deployment and launching stage. At this stage, your mobile app should be submitted to App Store and Google Play Store, depending on the OS.
This must only be done after verifying the security, the performance and the functions of the app. Ensure that everything is working well, without errors or flaws.
You can even get feedback from users or early testers before deploying the complete app.
Monitoring and Optimisation
This is a post-deployment stage. It comes just after the other steps for developing an app have been implemented.
At Prometteur, what we do is, we go through the reviews and feedbacks from the app users. We collect their feedback and suggestions and then use them as insights for better strategies.
We may also use the user feedback to optimise the products.
Develop an Application: The Factors Affecting Your App Development Timeline
Let us discuss the key influencing factors affecting the timeline for mobile app development.
App Complexity: Features, functionality (simple vs. complex)
When answering the question, “how long does it take to build an app?”, one of the first things to consider is the app complexity.
Some mobile apps require simple features while others require complex ones.
When they are simple, you will not require extensive designs and functions. This will impact the app timeline to develop the application.
Mobile apps with complex designs and features will require extensive designs and coding. This will demand more development time.
For example, imagine when you need to develop and application with complex features like; artificial intelligence, view synchronisation and complex algorithms.
Firstly, these will take time to integrate and secondly, each integration will require careful processes.
Design & User Experience (UX): User-friendliness and visual appeal
If you are working on a complex application with complex algorithm, you will also need an extensive user interface. This includes the utilisation of navigations, animations, automations, visuals and personalised graphics.
Integrating all these into your design and user interface will definitely impact the app development timeline.
In many cases, what follows all of these are user feedbacks and modifications. Somehow, it extends development timelines.
Also, your mobile app development service provider may want to strike a balance between, aestheticism, the features and functionalities. Again, this will take a longer development time to achieve.
The reason for an extension of timely delivery with such complexities with UI design is because, after every design, there needs to be robust testing and feedbacks. Thiess are followed by implementations and improvements for user satisfaction.
Technology Stack: Platforms, Programming languages, and frameworks
When you develop an application, there are some technical tools involved. For example, we have programming languages, frameworks and third-party tools.
Some programming languages take longer lines of code to write and they may also take time to edit. We recommend that you utilise programming languages like Flutter which offers hot reload for real time code edit and integrations.
Also, you may be creating an android or an iOS app, each app comes with certain standards. Apple for example follows the iOS app standards and require some complexities to be standard enough. This will of course impact the mobile app development delivery timeline.
On the other hand, android application development is targeted at larger user base and devices. Because of this, it takes more time to deploy since you will need to ensure that your app is working on different devices.
So, iOS or Android application development, how long does it take to make an app and how can you shorten the timeline?
At Prometteur, one of the best ways to reduce the long steps for developing an app is to go for the no or low code mobile app development.
You can develop an application for both android and iOS with this method to compete anywhere in the world. The app development process with no or low code builders is usually way faster.
Team Size & Expertise: Experience level of developers
This is yet another factor that plays a critical role in affecting how much time you need to develop an application. This factor is actually kind of tricky to understand.
If you have an experienced team, it may lead to faster time to market and it may also lead to delays in delivery. This is because while they will demonstrate efficiency, they will also follow best practices which often takes longer time.
Also, considering the size of your team should factor in. It usually affects the speed as larger teams tend to work faster while smaller teams work slower. With larger teams, more people work on the project which makes things faster. Meanwhile there may be issues of communication and coordination.
Develop an Application by Optimizing Your App Development Timeline (Actionable Tips)
Develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) first
There are so many factors that determine the success of your mobile app in the hands of your users. They can be very dynamic and if you rush to push out your app, you will end up on the wrong side. So, what do you do now?
Do not activate all features and functions on your first release. Release some features and test the market. Take a look at WhatsApp.
At their initial release, they did not include the call and video features. Until at a later stage when they were sure of the acceptance and success.
Another approach to this is to consider what your users really need and using their feedbacks to make improvements. It is very crucial that you always consider your users experience and your mobile app efficiency in mind.
Releasing an MVP will help you to consider your users’ needs as well as the best qualities for your app. It reduces the occurrence and reoccurrence of back and forth which causes serious delivery delays.
Consider Hybrid App development for a wider reach
There are different ways to get your mobile app to your users but one of the best ways is through hybrid app development.
The most common tools to build an application with hybrid features and functionalities include; Ionic, React Native, Flutter, and Xamarin development.
Hybrid app development reduces the mobile app development timeline because a single code can run on different systems. This is like using one stone to kill two birds.
Partner with an experienced app development company
Another way to optimise your mobile app development timeline is to work with an experienced app development company.
With such a company, you can get the best mobile app development services in the form of;
- Adequate project planning
- Precise estimates
- Calibrated processes
- Technical proficiency
These are core skills that are only akin to experienced teams and they serve as advantages in optimising mobile app development services including delivery.
Another important reason to hire experienced mobile app developers is the issue of industry expertise.
For example, here at Prometteur, we have different mobile app developers with 8years+ experience in different industries. They know the unique challenges in those industries and how businesses can use digital technology solutions to overcome them.
We take advantage of this and ensure that we build an application that offers great value for clients like you.
Implement Agile development methodologies for flexibility
Are you asking how long does it take to make an app in 2024? At Prometteur, we use agile methodologies for the management of mobile app development projects.
The impact of this is to easily focus on adaptability and quick iteration. But that is not all.
Out project managers have a unique way of breaking down complex tasks into simpler, tiny and manageable parts.
This speeds up the whole process and ends up boosting the timeline to build a customer-centric application
Utilize automated testing tools
Mobile app testing is an essential part of the mobile app development lifecycle. It is best practice that you test early and often, even at post launch stages.
There are two methods of testing; manual and automated. The manual process is plagued by human errors, and repeated tasks and happens to be too slow. In most cases, this method impacts how long it will take to create an app.
For a better mobile app development timeline, we augment out testing strategies with automation testing. By this approach, we are able to reduce or even eliminate human errors, improve speed and accuracy.
Conclusion:
From what we have discussed so far in this blog, although to develop an application can be either simple or complex, with the right plans in place, you can effectively streamline the process.
Follow the strategies outlined in this blog and you can never go wrong about your mobile app development timeline.
Need to develop an application within the set timeline? Contact us now and let us discuss your project.
