Just this week we went live on our new App. It’s available on iPhone, iPad and Android and rolling out onto Windows phones for all five of you (yes you know who you are 😉 !)
In case you are thinking that developing an App is a bit of a luxury think about this:
• More than 11 million Australians, around half the population will be using a media tablet by 2016.
• Behind Singapore, Australia has the highest smart phone penetration in the world at over 37 per cent and we’re also consuming more apps, research has revealed. Australians have on average 25 apps on their phone (eight of which are paid), versus 23 for the US and Britain.(OurMobilePlanet).
We want to reach our audience where they are online. They are on mobile. Downloading Apps like crazy.
Questions to ask a yourself before approaching a prospective developer
- What do you want your app to do? Is it to view videos, get real-time information, play games, buy products, social. Get specific on what you want it to do and how. If there is video involved you will need to be clear about whether the vendor needs a media server to deliver the videos and a system for uploading new videos as they come online. Apple is very specific about their video formatting and your app ca
- Who is your target audience? Age, sex, social demographics etc
- Do you have the internal human resources and ongoing budget to keep it up to date? Apps need updating. IOS Systems get updated all the time and you need to stay optimised speed wise and up to date with your content.
- What device platform is it essential to launch from? iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows
- What is the minimum viable product (MVP)? What is the minimum functionality that you would be happy to launch with.
- Why would they use your App? Ask yourself, what can they do on the app that they can’t do on mobile web or desktop.
- What’s your budget? Seems obvious but this pretty much will drive so many decisions further along the track so its good to be realistic now.
- How will you advertise the App to your target audience? Which channels do you use to tell your audience about the app.
- When do you need to launch the App? Timing is everything and there are limits to what can be done on a short timeline. The App launch may also coincide with something else you are doing and the alignment of launch is vital. Your vendor needs to know why the time is important.
If you can answer those questions that will help you take your idea to an App developer, and it can also shape your decision-making whether there is a bespoke developer needed or whether you can use a more templated style of App development software.
Questions to ask a prospective developer
- How many iterations of the App will I see before it goes live that is included the budget?
- How much will it cost?
- Who owns the App IP?
- Detail an estimated timeline of development
- Is graphic design included?
- What are if any, estimated ongoing costs?
How your prospective developer will cost out your quote
Most developers are time based. That means that most of the their costs are based on how long it takes to do the job. They will normally break it down into the following areas:
- Project planning
- Graphic Design
- Coding
- Testing & delivery
- Ongoing costs estimate
Where we landed
We found that our scope of works could be covered with a ‘off the shelf’ product. We are really what the team from Subsplash (AKA The Church App) has put together.
How about you. I may have missed something vitally important here. What would you add? Comment below.
