How Long Does It Take To Build A Mobile App?

Mobile app downloads are unquestionably increasing at an exponential rate nowadays.

According to Statista research, by the end of the first quarter of 2021, around 3.48 billion applications were available on the Google Play Store and 2.22 million on the App Store for users to choose from.

Furthermore, 21% of respondents said they had installed one to ten applications on their mobile devices, excluding pre-installed apps.

As a result, users in the United States have an average of 20 applications loaded on their phones.

With so many applications available on the Play Store and App Store, development effort and timeliness are critical factors to consider when releasing an application to the marketplace if you want to edge competitors.

Consequently, one of the most common questions posed by application developers is, ‘How long does it take to make an app‘.

Various factors influence the length of time it takes to develop an application.

However, understanding what assets you’ll have access to, the purview of what you’re attempting to develop, and the skill sets you’ll be able to utilize along the way may help you estimate how long an application will take to develop.

To answer this issue, we must first understand the phases of mobile application development and the factors that may impact the development schedule.

The following is the average timing based on complexity and number of features:

• The basic app takes around 2-4 months to develop.

• Average app development takes around 4-6 months.

• Feature-rich, complex app takes around 9 months.

Variations in time can be caused by several factors, including the application’s complexity, final design, etc.

This post will further discuss the factors that influence the time to build a mobile app.

Key Stages of the App Development Process

1. Strategy

The initial stage in the creation of a mobile application is strategy.

You should assemble your team and discuss answers to questions such as “What are the goals/objectives of your app?” “What problem do you wish to tackle with your mobile app?” and “How effective and beneficial is your app for the target customers?”

Even though each app has a unique purpose of fulfilling, there is still an app-specific impact on a mobile strategy to consider during the development process. The “why” behind your mobile development efforts should be addressed with a well-defined plan.

This is where you describe the app’s purpose and target audience, research rivals and create goals and objectives.

The typical cost of a mobile app is $150000-$200000, with development taking between 4 and 6 months. Your mobile app development approach aids in focusing your vision on a clear image of your app concept.

2. Planning and Analysis

At this point, your app proposal begins to emerge and develop into a full-fledged project. Defining business cases and recording comprehensive functional requirements are the first steps in the planning and analysis.

Next, prepare a development plan when you’ve described your app’s requirements. Prioritizing mobile app objectives and categorizing them into deployment milestones is part of this process.

Finally, design your minimum viable product (MVP) and schedule it for the first launch, given the time, personnel, and cost limitations.

The planning stage of designing an app includes identifying the expertise required for your mobile app development process. The mobile platforms iOS and Android have separate development technology methods.

Therefore, you’ll need to recruit developers familiar with both platforms if you want to create a mobile app compatible with both platforms.

3. Design

An app’s layout aims to deliver a simple and hassle-free user experience.

The effectiveness with which users recognize and benefit from the features of your mobile app determines its success.

The goal of UI and UX layout for mobile applications is to provide compelling, engaging, and user-friendly experiences for their users.

While stunning UI designs might help with early adoption, your app’s user experience must be simple to keep people interested.

4. App Development

The planning stage of the app development process is quite significant.

Before beginning actual development work, you must define the framework, choose a technological approach, and set project milestones.

Furthermore, suppose your mobile app development project includes advanced technologies such as machine learning.

In that case, you’ll want to be sure your app development team has the knowledge and experience to create and execute them.

Using these technological approaches, your app should be able to provide unique and rich user experiences.

As a result, your application will provide value to clients, and your company will stand out from the competition.

5. Testing

Performing thorough testing throughout the development of mobile apps ensures that the apps are reliable, functional, and secure.

It would help if you first created test cases that verify all the application’s features or components.

Test cases walk your team through running tests, logging test results for software quality assurance, and monitoring changes for future testing.

6. Deployment

You must submit your mobile app to the marketplace for evaluation before making it available to the public.

To distinguish between testing and production versions later, use a different name and package identifier than the application’s testing version.

You must also follow particular standards, such as using icons, optimizing your app for the marketplace, writing app descriptions, etc.

Your app goes through a thorough evaluation process on the marketplace platform before making it public.

What Does it Take to Create an App?

While many businesses are attempting to benefit from mobile applications, many may not learn how to build one for their business.

However, if your organization is backed by a mobile app development process that has been validated and polished through time, success may become a reality.

The mobile development process spans six key phases; strategy, analysis and planning, design, app development, testing, and deployment.

How Long Does it Take to Get an App to Market?

Estimating the average time to develop an app involves a detailed understanding of the goals and objectives.

You should pick a well-versed team in app development processes and is aware of the challenges. You may determine the scope and effort by looking at the features and other functional parameters.

Creating an exact timeframe is tough.

Apply the 10/15/50/20/5 rule to get an approximate estimate. What is the best way to read this rule? It’s not that tough, after all. Break the app development process into phases and assign a time limit to each stage.

For example, the requirement collection and planning phase will take around 10% of your overall time.

Another 15% of the time will be spent on the app’s layout and design. Finally, 50% of the time will be spent on the development stage.

Another 20 minutes will be needed for the testing step. Set aside the final 5% of your budget for the launch.

Some steps of the app development process can be accomplished simultaneously. While this is feasible in some projects, the basic guideline is that each phase of the timeframe must be staggered.

The app’s projected completion time of 40 weeks does not imply that it will be completed in 40 weeks. You must factor in time for feedback and unanticipated modifications.

What Slows Down the App Development Process?

So, what is it that slows down app development?

Of course, the intricacy of an app’s features impacts how long it takes to create it.

It is, however, not the only thing that slows down app development. The following are some other factors that slow down development.

1. Changes in Scope

Change is an unavoidable component in the development process.

As the app development process advances, even the most qualified and knowledgeable professionals will face unforeseen changes.

To make a successful app, you do not need to apply all the modifications. It is, however, vital to strike the right balance in deciding which ones to consider and which ones to discard.

When a project is still under development, it’s easy to get carried away with providing additional features. It’s never a good idea to encourage scope adjustments during a project.

Scope creep will force you to change your plans and spend more money.

Continual scope modifications might also negatively influence your team’s efficiency. Identify all objectives before the commencement of the project to avoid scope changes.

2. Hiring Inexperienced App Developers

Developers come from a wide range of backgrounds and have various technical skills. Skilled developers are just as important as building an application.

Recognize that developing a mobile app necessitates collaboration. This group must have a diverse set of abilities.

A manager, solution architect, application developers, UI designers, and quality assurance testers can make up a good team. To work on your project, your developers should have a lot of expertise. Inquire about their background in app development.

Inexperienced coders may take a significant amount of time to get up to speed and produce error-free code. Not only will you squander time, but you can also end up with a low-quality product.

3. Innovating with Emerging Technologies

The development of mobile apps is slowed by implementing emerging technologies into apps like deep learning, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, etc.

There’s no denying that these technologies improve the app’s usability, but good things come at a cost.

Using the most up-to-date technology, on the other hand, may slow down the app development process.

This occurs because the technologies are quite sophisticated and need time to integrate into the app.

How to Speed Up the Time of the App Development Process?

There will always be delays. You may, however, take proactive measures to expedite the app development process.

For example, you can follow the following guidelines to ensure that your app is delivered on time and within budget.

1. Creating a Roadmap for a Product

Your application’s vision and future are outlined in a product roadmap. It explains why, what, and how your mobile application works.

Your development team will be able to keep on track with the support of a product plan.

You can reliably monitor progress if you have a strategy in place. When the project slips behind schedule, you may immediately pivot.

2. Developing Your MVP

Creating a mobile app may be a thrilling experience. The majority of company executives aspire to be the next big thing. They aspire to be the next Ola or Facebook.

These lofty goals are admirable but don’t overdo them with features. Feature bloat occurs when a product contains too many features. Your app’s first version should be stripped down to its most basic elements.

Remove the “bells and whistles” and concentrate on the essentials. This cuts down on both the time and the expense of developing an app.

First, create an MVP and put it to the test with your target market. User comments will assist you in determining your future course of action.

If you receive bad feedback, you should take a step back.

3. Recruiting App Developers with Relevant Experience

We’ve already discussed how untrained developers may cost you money. Choosing the right workforce is critical to your project’s success.

Choose an agency with a good client portfolio. Request that they provide a variety of case studies from various sectors. These case studies should show how they worked and what they learned. Examine their previous work’s app design.

The app development firm should follow current design trends. It’s a significant red flag if a firm only shows work from 10 years ago.

Customers will rate top app developers highly. Examine their social media profiles. Is it possible for them to offer client references?

Make an additional effort. Please make contact with these companies and inquire about their experiences.

Final Thoughts

Some applications become overnight sensations. Most apps take months, if not years, to achieve popularity.

App development needs expertise as well as a logical approach.

To determine how long it takes to create an app, you must first comprehend the project’s overall scope and be familiar with the app development process.

Costs and timelines are affected by the team you employ and the complexity of your project.

This post covered how long to develop an app, what it takes to create an app, the average time to develop an app, and what slows down the development process.