Important questions to ask your mobile app designer

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10 Crucial Questions To Ask Mobile App Designers Before Dishing Out Your Cash

Presuming you currently have a pretty good idea of what you want your Mobile App to look like and will more than likely be composing your own content for your mobile app or having it composed for you, here are 10 questions you need answers on to assist you in creating a useful and viral App without it costing you a fortune or delaying or limiting your initial goals.

1. Is the cost estimate based on the complete project or by the hour?

Accepting a per hour rate arrangement gives you very little control over costs unless you put a costs cap into impact using a contractual agreement. Now some will ask – What if I have to exercise the cost cap? What if your Mobile App is just partly complete? Inevitably, you will need to dispense more cash to actually get it finished and this is a stress point you definitely want to prevent before you begin your brand-new service.

2. When the Mobile App is complete who will retain control over the code and the mobile platform?

If the app designer uses a particular design service or coding platform, exactly what are the costs and turn-around time? If you'd rather assume control over your project and the changes you need done over any point in time, do they offer access to and training on modifying your mobile application?

3. Exactly what is the expected completion date for the app?

You want to remain in a position to be able to plan your launch (Yes, your app will do a lot better if you have a marketing plan). Having this info will give you time to arrange your marketing efforts and focus on all other strategies that tie in to "going live".

4. Exactly what is the agreed payment structure?

Do they require you to pay upfront for the project? Half now, half upon conclusion? Make sure you hold back a portion of the complete cost until your app is complete and you are fully satisfied with the outcomes. Speaking of outcomes – are you 100% certain your app designer understands exactly what you want built? We’ve seen a lot of companies and individuals end up with something that doesn’t do what they expected only because they didn’t have a clear written specification and had workshopped that specification before it was signed off. DO NOT START your project until there is total clarity.

5. Will your developer send your Mobile App to the online search engines or will this be your obligation?

If this is your responsibility, do your research to guarantee you cover all the necessary steps. (Keywords and META tags need to be done prior to submission of any website launch pages.).

6. Who will be responsible for search engine optimization of the app pages?

This is usually an add-on service because it has become so specialised. Not everyone is good at SEO and your money is better spent on getting the right company to do your SEO for mobile apps. You can see our specialist SEO offers here. So ask if your designer includes it or is it an additional expense, or if you will need to contract it out to a third party.

7. Who will hold the master key to your app site?

Don't leave this vital component of your project and marketing method in the control of a 3rd party.

An App site is a significant component of your marketing method and company success. Do your due diligence in choosing an App designer and do not think twice to ask lots of questions so everyone completely understands both your and your developer's roles in the app design process.

8. Will your designer teach you how to read your App logs/stats so you can comprehend the how, what, where and why of your users?

Statistics will form a vital role in determining changes in your role out and marketing strategy. Make sure you understand the ins and outs of the numbers and what they mean.​

9. Has the developer developed other apps for your specific niche market?

It's not always necessary, but if they have experience developing similar apps then you stand a good chance that they have resolved the issues that came with that particular niche app.​

10. Has the App designer provided a portfolio, reviews or references from others in your niche market?

Again this is not a necessity, but ​experience in anything does count when doing it again.

Bonus information you need to know: Once the app is complete who will maintain and manage it? This is an important point that will save you a lot of headaches. Just like mobile responsive websites, mobile apps need to be updated to prevent code becoming outdated or take advantage of new technologies. It’s also quite common to find issues in the mobile app store, such as bad reviews, when your mobile app starts giving problems to users on the latest mobile devices.

I hope you found value in this article. Feel free to comment below or share it on social media or with someone you work with. They might find the answers they need for their mobile app design project.