Some of the factors affecting cost

This is a question we get asked a lot, and the answer is that “it depends”.

As with any kind of software, the cost is largely proportional to the complexity and breadth of functionality required.

If you want a quote, you need to work out a list of requirements that you can pass to the developers so they can provide an estimate of both cost and the development timescale.

The requirements should answer these kinds of questions:

  • What data needs to be captured – if you don’t know the specifics, it’s useful to have an idea of scale, e.g. “screen X will need to display/capture 10 fields”
  • Any business logic
  • Any themes or specific UI requirements.
  • Which kind of devices it should work on (e.g. iOS and/or Android and any specific requirements around O/S version)
  • Any performance requirements (if any)
  • How it should behave offline (i.e. if there is no internet).
  • Any integrations with 3rd party systems, such as payment providers.
  • Will it need to send emails or SMS’s?
  • Security requirements, for example do you require user logins and what are the journey for signup’s, user management, what functionality or data different user roles can access.

The list above is not exhaustive; it is simply a starting point for discussion. The answers to those questions will almost certainly need to be challenged and fleshed out in conjunction with your developers.

The more accurate and comprehensive your user requirements, the more accurate your software provider can be regarding cost & timescale.

We like to think that as a company we aren’t just interested in taking our customers money and doing exactly what they ask. We always like to make sure our clients are not making expensive mistakes simply because they lack technical knowledge. With that in mind, one question we always ask is do you really need a native mobile app?

Typically, a mobile friendly website is almost certainly cheaper to create than a native app and can make use of a lot of the functionality on a mobile device. Features such as access to GPS data, the camera, push notifications, a launch icon on the Home screen and even offline access are all available with modern mobile websites.

Native mobile apps will almost always be quicker to use and there are underlying features which a browser-based application is just not capable of using, but the list is not as long as you might think.

One key take-away should be that if you don’t know whether you need a mobile app or a mobile friendly website, simply talk to your development partner about the problem you’re trying to solve and let them give you suitable options.

If you’d like to have an informal and free-of-charge chat with us about your requirements, please feel free to get in touch with us at hello@trifort.co.uk or give us a call on 0800 001 6933.