How to Choose the Best Mobile App Development Technology You’ve got an idea and you know that it could make you rich if only you could get it off the ground. Now all you need to do is decide which technology to use to make your app, but there are so many options! What should you choose? Should you build your app in-house with your own staff of programmers? Should you hire an external company to do it? Should you build it using HTML5 or build from scratch using Objective-C? How about cross-platform development, is that better?
Intro
The mobile app development market is huge—and it’s only getting bigger. According to ABI Research, in 2016, consumers spent $43 billion on smartphone apps and games. That’s more than double what they spent just three years earlier! Because of that, mobile app developers have never been more important. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as simply hiring developers programmer or Mobile App Development Technology without doing your homework first.
Why Hire an App Developer?
The first thing to consider when hiring an app developer is why you need one in the first place. Mobile apps are a big business—but so too are mobile developers. In fact, there are hundreds of thousands of mobile app developers out there; just do a Google search for mobile app developers and you’ll find more than 10 million results (and those numbers will only continue growing). So how do you know who’s best?
New Technologies
No one can say which technology will ultimately be most effective, as they are still new and evolving. If you’re trying to decide what mobile app development technology is best for your business, consider these tips: Ensure that your developers are familiar with it. Do they enjoy using it? Does it support their productivity? Compare options side-by-side.
Old vs. New Languages
If you’re trying to decide whether it’s time for your team to upgrade from your current mobile app development technology, there are a number of factors to consider. First, take a step back and look at how many developers you currently have in-house—if you have 15+ developers on staff and they’re growing in numbers every year, an older platform may be holding them back from reaching their full potential. If that describes your team today, then it may be time for an upgrade.
Toolsets
Hiring developers and programmers is a big job in itself. If you want to hire one or several dedicated developers, make sure you know which toolsets they’ll need (for example, if you’re hiring mobile app development professionals, they’ll need knowledge of both native apps and HTML5). Do your research before you hire someone—don’t just go by past experience; ask them about their current work habits and practices.
Platforms
Once you know what kind of app you want, it’s time to figure out where you want it: on a mobile operating system such as iOS or Android, or both? On a social network, such as Facebook? Or on your own website? Platform considerations are critical when deciding which mobile app development technology is right for your project.
Frameworks
Choosing between programming languages, frameworks, and technologies is similar to choosing a wife or husband—you can’t choose wrong. But you can choose poorly based on faulty assumptions or incomplete information. If you have no development experience yourself, it’s likely that one choice will feel more comfortable than another. But if your developers are giving you input into these choices, listen up! Your team understands better than anyone which tools make their jobs easier and where development bottlenecks could arise.
Programming Languages
There are a lot of programming languages out there, but some are better suited for mobile app development than others. If you’re looking for native functionality and top-notch performance, you’ll want to hire developers programmers who use Objective C and Swift for iOS apps or Java and Android SDK for Android apps. Other popular options include HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript—which work well when developing web apps that can be accessed on any device—and Python and Ruby (for back-end code). However, these aren’t as widely used in mobile app development. As for open source vs. proprietary software? In general, it depends on your budget and what your end goal is; however if you have plenty of cash to spend on hiring developers programmer, then go with an open-source solution so that you can customize it as needed without having to pay licensing fees.
Native Apps vs. Hybrid Apps
The main difference between native and hybrid apps is that, unlike hybrid apps, which are essentially mobile websites built using mobile app development technology, native apps can be downloaded from an app store. Native apps are built using platform-specific programming languages and tools (Objective-C for iOS or Java for Android) to achieve faster load times and more engaging user experiences. Hybrid apps allow developers to reuse much of their code across multiple platforms. Hybrid is a mix of cross-platform and native functionality: A developer builds their hybrid app in HTML5 or another programming language that’s then converted into a native application for each platform that it will run on.
Your Strategy
Always hire developers or programmer who specializes in specific technologies. They are more skilled and cost-effective, plus they have strong knowledge of their area. If you ask a generalist developer or programmer, they may recommend what they’re good at which is typically much more expensive than choosing a specialist. Generalists can be good if your project is unique and you need someone who understands technology but can also think about business and user needs as well. The solution for most people is to hire multiple specialists with each person being an expert on one technology or another (i.e., front-end web development, back-end development, database management). This strategy will save you time and money because you don’t have to learn all those technologies yourself.
Conclusion
You’ve read a lot of information. You’ve carefully considered your options. Now, it’s time to make a decision. Whichever mobile app development technology you choose, you’ll want to hire qualified developers and get started as soon as possible. If you have questions or concerns about any of these technologies, share them in the comments below and we’ll do our best to help! There are two ways to hire freelance programmers: through an agency or directly from freelancers. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. With an agency, you can find multiple developers for specific tasks—you might need one programmer for building a backend API and another for front-end design work. However, working with agencies is more expensive than hiring freelancers directly. The key difference between hiring freelancers directly is that when you hire freelancers directly from Upwork (or other freelance sites), they come with reviews from previous clients.
