Once you get an idea, budget, and solid road-map for app development the only thing left to do is to find the best app developers for your needs. Don’t underestimate the importance of this step – even a really good project can shatter into pieces because of delays, poor communication skills, and countless mistakes made by incompetent specialists.
Who is the best mobile app developer?
The best app developer(or team of developers) is the one who can fully meet his commitments on time and at the same time be the best bang for the client’s buck. Every employer looks for that kind of employees but the problem is – nobody knows how to hire mobile app developers correctly, what to look at and check beforehand. So before shaking hands with prospective developers here are few things to help you move satisfactorily through all the stages of the recruitment process.
1. Define the goals of your project
The key condition of project success is understanding what you actually want. It’s even more important for you rather than your app developers because if you don’t know where your project should be going there is no way how developers can figure out that. If you have already got on with identifying goals of a project let’s move on to the next steps:
- Do you need one freelance mobile app developer or a team of developers?
- What conditions of employment would be more preferable for your project?
2. Whom to hire: individuals vs team
Well, if you want to get something real simple, like some kind of “one-page” or “demo” product – that’s one person job. And only in the case when you already have a pool of specialists who can deal with all other tasks.
Large and difficult projects call for an integrated approach and, therefore, a team of developers. No matter how good individual can be he or she will always have area of expertise he or she isn’t that good at. Just because one can’t know anything and do everything alone. As elements of the team, individuals complement each other and add up to a greater whole. So if you want to build complex app, of course, it’s better to opt for a team of developers.
3. Terms and conditions of employment
Here you actually have two options – to hire full-time employees or go outsource.
The first one means you need to put a team together by yourself: interviewing candidates, checking their background and skills, finding and renting the office for those employees or making some room in your current office and so on and so forth.
Well, that seems to be too much of a hassle.
The second option is kind of a time and money saving thing. Here you’re getting rid of headache of recruiting, educating, building and maintaining team. You just get sealed, packed and ready to go solution for your business – a ready team, that knows what to do, how to do and so on. It’s the same as when you want to cut down the forest and hire folks with chainsaws and diggers instead of buying just an axe.
Also, consider the most important thing – price tag. Opting for full-time office employees can cost a pretty penny not to mention post production support and maintenance of your app.
Basic criteria for selection
After you are done with deciding on the form of cooperation with development company it’s time to find out if the company (or individual) you’ve picked is experienced enough to do the job. Here we listed a few bullet points for you.
Competence and skills
CV or portfolio + successful cases – that is a “must have” set for every developer. Pay particular attention to the expertise an individual or development company can provide. Is it relevant to your niche and needs?
Specialization and approach
Of course, if you want to build native app for Android or iOS there is no way how web-app developers can help you. Check app developers’ specialization at the first place, but be careful here – if you are getting answers like: “We will do anything you want us to do, just let’s make a deal” it means something is wrong.
On the one hand, it’s really great when app builders aren’t afraid of work and can handle a project notwithstanding its complexity. But on the other hand it can be a matter of concern – true experts are those who don’t rush and try not to leap at every opportunity they are granted with. They know their strength and try to get all the details about the project in order to understand if they are capable to fulfill all the requirements. That’s how it works most of the time.
Price tag
Here is a little tip for you – higher price doesn’t mean you will get faster and better results. It’s just a price, that’s all. The thing you need to pay your attention at are testimonials, and case studies.
Speaking of app development pricing in the context of outsourcing services we feel obliged to mention hourly wages.
If you hire mobile apps developer or team of developers from U.S. then expect to be charged at rate of $100 to $250 an hour. Speaking of outsourcing companies from the Eastern Europe, here the hourly rate for app development ranges from $50 to $100. And the lowest prices can offer outsourcing companies from India ($10 – $50).
Search algorithm: How to find mobile app developers
Be ready to devote your time and attention to this process. It can be a cumbersome one, but if done right all your efforts will pay you off in the future. So, here is what you need to do:
- Create and post the vacancy on major thematic resources. First and foremost, choose big job boards and resources that feature specialists with a high level of expertise in the domain related to your project. It could be social media, forums and communities, and also business-oriented social services (like LinkedIn).
- Carefully go through the resumes of individuals or agencies’ portfolios you receive. Pay particular attention to those skill sets each individual or company possess.
- Interview job candidates in an online format. It can be a simple Skype or Google Hangout call. Be sure to conduct an interview with a competent specialist by your side who can assess each candidate objectively. Try to get as much information from the interview as possible.
- Candidate selection phase. Having assessed all candidates (individuals and companies), their ability and commitment to work on your project choose the best one.
The value of competent advice
Don’t hesitate to ask for a help from other experts when hiring developers for your project. Before shaking hands with particular candidate (or company) you can ask competent friends opinion. Also, you can get dozens of helpful advices from users on the reliable online resources, like:
- StackOverflow;
- Quora;
- Reddit;
- StackExchange;
- Google Groups;
- CodeRanch;
- Programmers Heaven;
- FindNerd;
- Chegg.
Just tell the people out there that you are now on the lookout for great coders for your project and need some help with that. Also, you can ask to look at portfolios you have and examine them. Or you can ask about feedback to a particular development company working approach.
Common misconceptions about hiring mobile app developer you need to avoid
“High price tag means high level of expertise.” High hourly wage value can only be justified in case of notable big name brand. In other cases, high price tag doesn’t necessarily mean you will get a team (or individual) with the highest level of expertise. Surely high skilled specialist or company knows what they are worth of, but here it’s better to trust testimonials, reviews, and other clients’ feedback than just a price tag.
“I don’t need any assistance to hire mobile application developers.” That’s the most common one. Often entrepreneurs and business owners are afraid to disclose the information about their projects to third-party persons. That’s why they usually don’t ask for help from professionals while hiring. In order to hire really great app developers, you have to check their coding skills and programming expertise in advance. Of course, if you can do it by yourself that’s great, but in most cases, you will need some help with that.
“They are excellent coders. It’s all I need to know.” Ok, you have finally found good programmers, but don’t forget to check how they work as a team. Are they adherent to the deadlines? How they communicate with other clients and how they solve arising problems?. This is a common situation when individuals (or team) have excellent skills but still are devoid of any communicative and self-organization skills.
Lunapps – the best mobile app developers for hire
If you don’t want to be caught with all those issues we are here to give a hand. Lunapps is a solid team of certified native app developers who are ready to build the custom mobile app in accordance with your business needs. We’ve been developing apps for a long time and perfectly know what pitfalls might be waiting for every entrepreneur out there, and what’s more important, know how to avoid them.
Having a great experience with native app development for iOS and Android and a team of dedicated experts we provide a turnkey project management and comprehensive app development within specified time-frames. If you have any questions regarding app development or want to get a free consultation, please, contact us now.