Save Money Developing Your Mobile App

We provide free mobile app consultations for your business. We have over 14 years of experience in app development and have been advising our clients on major technology initiatives for just as long. Please contact us today if you'd like us to help you establish the cost of a mobile application for your business.
And The Source May Surprise You!
It's Facebook! That's right, the social media giant has been kind enough to put a significant effort forward to develop a technology that gives you a nearly 2-for-1 mobile app development "bang for buck".

The name of the technology is called React Native. It's been in development since 2015, but recent advances and a robust ecosystem have truly made it the go to technology to decrease cost in mobile app development.

With a single code base to support both Android and Apple iOS not only will there be a faster time to market, but the often overlooked maintenance and upgrade costs will also be lessened substantially.

Of Course, There Are Downsides ...
Sometimes native mobile app development is unavoidable, but often times it isn't. Lets look at some scenarios where you might need a native module to get finish the job.
  1. You need features unique to the particular platform, for example, iMessage.
  2. You need something optimized to the device. This is typical for graphics.
  3. Third party libraries that exist for one platform and not the other. Functionality may have to be natively duplicated on the 'other' platform. This is known as a 'bridge' library.

The considerations above can be sussed out pretty quickly and if you're developing a mobile app for the first time, these limitations can usually be avoided. The good news is that React Native offers the best of both worlds. We can use common solutions for both platforms and whenever necessary, develop a native module to solve a native problem. We're not limited in the least.

Questions To Ask When Pricing a Mobile App
In our previous post, we discussed the cost of developing a 'typical' mobile application. Given the information in this article, the rough estimates provided here can be pared down if the company you choose to develop your mobile app is utilizing this new techonology.
  1. Which technology will be used to develop the mobile app?
  2. What is the cost difference between supporting one platform vs. supporting both platforms?
  3. Will native code have to be written for either platform?

Question two is likely the most important question for two reasons. First, cost is obviously important to any business, but the answer here will shed light on questions one and three. If the company you're getting estimates from is utilizing a cross platform technology, the cost between one vs. both iOS and Android shouldn't be too much higher. At most, we usually estimate about 1.5x more in a worst case scenario but have seen instances where the additional expense is negligible. Naturally, this depends on how complicated your mobile app is and if it needs native features.

To conclude, spending some time "sharpening your axe" up front is going to save a lot of time and money down the road. We have successfully delivered custom mobile apps using React Native and we continue recommending that technology in the vast majority of situations. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us for free mobile development information and guidance.