Hire an Android or iOS App Developer to Bring Your App Ideas to Life
iOS and Android share the market of mobile applications, taking up over 99% of all mobile operating systems. If you decide to build a mobile app today, your choice will revolve around these two platforms.
This article explains how to not waste 100+ hours searching for a mobile developer that is freelance or a company providing IT staff augmentation services.
Everything You Need to Know about iOS and Android Developers
For starters, an important question that probably interests you most is how much it would cost to hire a mobile app developer (Android/ iOS)? The price depends on a number of factors:
- Outsourcing location
- Technical proficiency and specialization
- Seniority level and years in the profession
- Seniority of iOS/ Android developers you choose for the job
- Type of company you decide to work with
- Cooperation model (fixed, time & material, etc.)
The average hourly development cost is around $50, while tech expertise and the quality of the services provided might be even better than in the USA and the rest of Europe.
Before you start frantically searching for developers, the first thing to do is to understand what requirements these developers should meet.
Android Developer: Roles & Responsibilities
Before you hire app developer, make sure the candidate has the following technical skills:
1. High proficiency in Java or Kotlin
2. Android SDK
3. Android Studio
4. APIs
5. UX & UI Design
6. Databases
Hire an iOS Developer: Roles & Responsibilities
The skillset of iOS developers includes the following requirements:
1. High proficiency in Objective-C or Swift
2. Apple Human Interface Guidelines
3. Xcode IDE
4. APIs
Factors to Consider Before Hiring an Android or iOS App Developer
The table below sheds light on some of the hard skills, which usually include proficiency, expertise level, knowledge, and technical skills.
5-Step Process to Hire an Android or iPhone App Developer
The process to hire an app developer is challenging for any business. In this part of the article, we talk about the main steps involved in the process of finding the best developers.
1. Choose From Among Hiring Options
Let’s review the key options and define their benefits and downsides.
- Freelance developers
Freelancers are usually cheaper than hiring a full-time developer, but the lower price hides a lot of downsides, such as:
- Lack of control
- Difficulties with project management
- Problems with deadlines
- Absence of quality guarantee
- Final product may not meet your requirements
While freelancers might be a good choice for a one-time job, they are not the best option for long-term cooperation.
If you are still ready to take the risk, there are a number of places where you can find a freelance Android developer, such as Upwork, Freelancer, Authentic jobs, etc.
- In-house developers
Hiring in-house developers eliminates a lot of risks, as you get better control over deadlines, quality, and final results. If you hire a developer to be a full-time member of your team, you will get full control over all operations, your employees can work together, and developers have higher involvement in your project as they work only on a single project.
- Outsource developers
Outsourcing might be the best option with relevant experience quickly and don’t want to deal with bureaucracies.
You can choose between two cooperation models:
1. Dedicated team of developers
2. Staff augmentation
2. Finalize Your Goals and Developer Requirements
Before you make the final decision, there are a few things that you need to take care of first:
- Define the dominant platform for your target audience
- Select a monetization model
- Identify project peculiarities
- Finalize budget and deadlines
3. Match with Developers & Carry out Technical Interviews
To shortlist the best candidates, carry out technical interviews and check portfolios and overall company reviews. Customer reviews can shed light on the processes inside staff augmentation firms and their strong and weak sides.
1. Client-related questions
- Can you provide a list of existing and past clients?
- Can you relate to the clients from a similar business industry?
- How did you add value to the project concept?
- What level of involvement do you require from your clients?
2. Software development-related questions
- What software development methodology and frameworks are used?
- Which guidelines and programming standards do you follow? Explain.
- What are the core features of the project?
- What extra functionality do you recommend that I include?
- What similar features and software have you implemented already?
- How do you perform app testing?
- How do you provide post-launch support?
- How do you react to and fix issues on the project?
- How about project’s security?
- Do you help with app submission to the app store?
- How do you provide post-launch support?
3. Communication-related questions
- How will you communicate during the development process?
- What level of English do you and your team have? Can you speak English fluently?
- How will you keep me updated about progress and issues?
- How will you communicate during the development process?
- What communication tools do you use?
4. Start Working with a Trial Project or Small Task
It might be better to start the cooperation with a trial project or a small task and sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement instead.
5. Finalize the Agreement and Sign a Contract
At the final stage, you will need to finalize the terms of the agreement with the vendor you’ve chosen and sign an agreement.
Benefits of Addressing Staff Augmentation Companies like MLSDev
So, when should you start looking to hire a developer?
Working with a third-party iOS or Android app development company can bring a number of benefits to your business. Let’s review some of the most important benefits that IT staff augmentation companies have to offer.
1. Expand Your Business to New Areas
2. Improve Your Product with an External Opinion
3. Reduce Your Risk of Project Failure
4. Get Specific Expertise
5. Improve Employee Productivity
6. Reduce Expenses
7. Speed Up Your App Development
Note: This is a summary of a guide.
Check out more details about hiring professional iOS or Android app developers in this complete article on the MLSDev blog.
