This column is authored by Ray Parker, Digital Marketer, Iqvis

Brand recognition and reaching out to customers is the key to success for any business. The ever-changing business scenario and innovation in technology has changed the face of marketing. Imagine yourself in the early 80’s and 90’s when you were handed brochures and pamphlets distributed by brands to make consumers aware of their new product line.

Today, almost every company is heading towards business app. The reason is quite simple that the people are connected to the internet all day long on mobile. Whether it be a news, updates about the company or addition of new product line, users are informed instantly without an extra effort.

Whether it’s a small business, a startup or well-established company, having a mobile app is necessary. Most of the small enterprises are worried about the cost of developing a mobile app. However, mobile app development solutions vary a lot depending on the features, type of app or the platform on which it is developed.

If you want to stay ahead of the competition, the catch is to get your app developed. Don’t worry about the cost because, in the long-run, you are going to reap the benefits at large. Here are some of the tips to reduce your app development cost.

Document Your Requirements

As discussed earlier, cost of mobile app development depends on the number of requirements. The more the requirements are, the higher the cost of app development. Before opting out for mobile development solution, make sure to have clear goals on what is required by your company.

Make sure to have proper documentation on what is required by the company. It will also help you and your team to understand the requirements and have a clear picture of business’s objective. Any kind of changes or errors are unavoidable, but with proper documentation, it will be the least of all.

Experienced resources and business analysts will help you decide what you want, and what can be postponed. In the end, you will get the clear picture of what will be included in the final version. Have a look through and give final approval of whether it meets your business objective or not.

Outsource the Project

When it comes to app development, most of the enterprises will opt out for the cheapest development company. However, it is not going to work. Either the agency is having no experience or the quality of app development is not up to the standard.

For mobile app development, outsourcing your project will save you from the hands of inexperienced developers and low-quality app. The benefit of outsourcing your project is that you will be able to hire the best talent, regardless of location or time.

Another benefit of outsourcing the project is that you only have to pay for the documented work hours. Comparing it with the cost of the in-house team, you have to bear extra expenses apart from their monthly salaries such as electricity cost and other utilities.

Ignore the Extras

It is not possible to have every feature packed into one app. It is a fact that you need some early followers and traction on your app. But why waste money on something that people are not interested in. It is, therefore, necessary to test the target market, their involvement, and overall feedback.

Developing a featured product right from the beginning can lead you to waste your time, effort and money. It will also puzzle the users on the core purpose of the app. For instance, if you want to develop an educational website, why would anyone be interested in deals available on different websites? Make sure to be as relevant and minimal as you can be to save time and cost.

Cross-Platform Development

Cross platform development is an ideal way to develop mobile app under low cost. It requires a single codebase that can be deployed across multiple platforms without spending extra on hiring resources.

However, keep in mind that it can only save you if your app is not complex and does not use native interface or hardware integration. Ask your team of developers whether the app can be implemented using cross platform development and will it perform up to the required standards. If the answer is yes, go for it.

Pre-Built Solutions

Creating a template from scratch can be quite expensive. However, you can make use of pre-built templates that need to be modified a little according to your requirements. A number of third party solution providers offer ready to use solutions for the nominal fee or free of cost.

Instead of creating your own custom push notification functionality, you can use third party plugin for Android and iOS. Moreover, you can also go for Google Cloud Platform, offering you backend services including processing data from multiple users, user authentication scaling your app and much more.

The problem with such services is that it may cause instability or errors in the application. Make sure to consider the problems and use it wisely. You can also take help from an experienced developer who might have knowledge of what can utilize to what extent.

Constant Supervision

There are a number of chances that your development team and project manager may overlook the problems. For this reason, make sure to supervise and observe keenly to remove any discrepancies. The sooner you identify the problem, bug or error, the easier it is to fix. Cost of app development can be reduced, if you are on constant invigilation and constantly communicating with your team.

Cutting back on app development cost is not a tough job. Simply follow the above steps, you can reduce the cost of app development. Moreover, opting for the best app development solution is easy if you know what it takes to develop an awesome mobile app for your business. Moreover, planning and documenting in the early stage can be very useful to keep your team on the same page. Defining goals in the early stages of mobile app development will help you reduce cost and save time.