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Why Mobile Apps Convert Higher Than the Mobile Web

Every business and every website across all industries needs to establish a mobile presence. This shouldn’t come as shocking news to anybody.

We’re living in a mobile world. There are four billion unique mobile users across the globe. 

52% of all Internet traffic worldwide comes from mobile devices. Mobile usage controls 65% of all digital consumption in the United States. 

Every mobile category has been trending upward for years, showing no signs of slowing down in the near future. 

Most businesses and websites have identified these trends and adapted by making sure their websites are mobile-friendly. Sites that aren’t mobile-friendly basically can’t survive in this day and age. So this is definitely a step in the right direction.

But don’t make the mistake of assuming that a mobile-friendly website is the final solution. You’re just barely scratching the surface here in terms of mobile optimization.

The fact of the matter is this; you need a mobile app to fully optimize your brand, business, and website for mobile users. 

Why? Research shows that mobile apps convert higher than the mobile web.

As you can see from the graph, this statement holds true across all industries. On average, mobile apps convert at a 157% higher rate than the mobile web.

So for those of you who are relying solely on a mobile website to drive conversions, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. The only way to maximize conversions is with a mobile app.

At first glance, mobile apps and mobile websites might seem similar. How is it possible that one platform can convert at such a higher rate than the other? Especially when they are being accessed through the same device. 

In this guide, I’ll explain exactly why mobile apps convert better than mobile sites. By the end, you’ll understand the importance of building an app for your website or business. 

Better Personalization

It’s no secret that personalization drives conversions. This holds true whether a consumer is shopping in-store, online, or from any device. 

The best way to personalize someone’s experience is based on factors like:

  • Interests
  • Behavior
  • Location
  • Demographics

You can’t treat all of your customers the same if you want to maximize your conversion rates. A 19-year-old girl located in Hawaii shouldn’t be seeing the same content as a 50-year-old man living in New York City. 

A mobile app makes it easier for you to gather more information about users in real-time. Then you can ultimately use that information to personalize their experience.

With an app, you’ll be able to suggest products or services to users based on their browsing behavior or purchase history. 

Mobile apps make it easy for you to facilitate this because every unique user can have a profile with their account preferences. In addition to personalizing their experience based on behavior or actions, you can also use an app to directly ask your customers what they want.

Here’s an example of how Spotify uses its app to personalize content for its users.

mobile apps

Anyone can download and use the Spotify app for free. But Spotify also offers premium subscriptions. 

This strategy of personalized playlists for users will ultimately improve their experience using the app. In turn, this will increase the chances that people will convert to paying customers.

An app makes it easy for users to track their spending, view their purchase history, or monitor their status towards rewards in your customer loyalty program.

Can some of this be done on the mobile web? Sure. But it requires users to sign in to an account. This extra step can be tedious, especially from a 4-inch screen. With a mobile app, users will automatically be signed in when they open the app on their devices. 

Easier Communication

Communication is another key element that drives conversions. There is definitely a wide range of reasons and methods for a brand and customer to communicate, but all of these can be broken down into two main categories:

  • Communication initiated by the user.
  • Communication initiated by the business.

When you look at things this way. It’s really not that complicated. An email marketing campaign is an example of communication being initiated by the business. A customer form submission with a question or complaint is initiated by the user.

Both of these categories are better from a mobile app compared to the mobile web. Here’s why.

While you do everything in your power to make things as easy as possible for your customers, there will always be those instances where people need that extra level of service. 

Some people will have a question or problem-related to a previous purchase or a purchase that they are considering. Others will need some assistance with how to navigate or access content on your platform. Whatever the reason might be, you need to make sure that easy access to customer support is available. 

Live chat is the most preferred method of customer communication. 

While you can make live chat available on your mobile website, the user experience is much better overall when it’s integrated into a mobile app.

You can set up a specific section of your app dedicated to customer support. Users can communicate with you via live chat, email, ticket support, or phone, simply by selecting one of the options on your menu.

Now let’s talk about communication initiated by the brand. On the mobile web, this isn’t really possible. 

Sure, you can have an AI robot or chatbot pop up on the page. But that’s about as limited as it gets. The only other way to establish communication with mobile web visitors is by getting them to sign up for emails. 

With a mobile app, you have the freedom and flexibility to connect with users at any time via push notifications. Push notifications drastically outperform email communication.

In fact, a recent study found that push notifications have a 90% average open rate, compared to 23% for email. 

70% of people feel that push notifications are useful, and 40% of users engage with a push notification within an hour of receiving one. Push notifications have a 7x higher engagement rate compared to emails.

The only way to communicate with users via push notifications is through a mobile app. 

Utilize Mobile Device Features

Since mobile apps are installed directly on a device, it gives you access to certain elements of a user’s smartphone or tablet. I’m referring to features like:

  • GPS
  • Camera
  • Contact lists
  • Compass

Not only does this make your app more interactive than a mobile website, but it also makes things easier for the user. 

For example, let’s say your app requires users to add a credit card as a payment method. After all, how else are you going to make money?

There are 16 digits in a credit card. When you combine this with the user’s name, card expiration date, and card verification code, it’s quite a bit of information to manually type on a small screen.

If they make a mistake and the card doesn’t process, it can frustrate the user and cause them to abandon the purchase. 

But with a mobile app, you can access the device’s camera and let the user take a picture of their card as a faster alternative. Uber does this with its mobile app.

Now a payment method can be added to a user’s account in seconds. 

This method eliminates user error and makes it less likely that a customer will abandon the purchase process due to frustration. 

The opportunities are endless here. Let’s say you run a small business with multiple physical locations. You can set up your app to integrate with the GPS of a user’s device. This will allow them to find the nearest store, and potentially provide them with turn by turn directions to get there. 

Do you want your customers to recommend your company to their friends and family? By accessing the contact list of a user’s device, it’s easy for them to share promotion codes or referrals with other people.

From the mobile web, this would require people to manually enter phone numbers and email addresses. So it’s less likely that they’ll go through this process and convert with the extra steps.  

Offline Access

This is arguably the biggest difference between mobile apps and mobile websites. Simply put, users must be connected to the Internet to access a mobile site.

If they don’t have a Wifi connection, then they need to use data from their mobile plan. If they are in an area with no data service, or if they don’t have an active data plan, then accessing a mobile site is just not possible.

Lots of mobile apps might need an Internet connection to perform certain tasks. However, apps still deliver plenty of functionality while users are offline. 

For example, let’s say you have a banking or real estate app. Users wouldn’t need an Internet connection to do something like calculate taxes, determine their loan limits, or plan installment payments. 

Depending on how you set up your app, users can even access cached information from when they were previously connected to the Internet.

Netflix is a global leader in streaming video connect. Normally, you’d need Internet access to stream content. But through the Netflix mobile app, users can download videos to their device and watch them at a later time while offline. 

So a user could download a movie at their home while connected to Wifi, then access the content while they are on a plane, train, or somewhere else where an Internet connection is unavailable or unstable.

Don’t assume that all users want to use their data plan at times when they aren’t connected to Wifi. You should also look beyond smartphone users.

Roughly 164 million tablets are sold worldwide each year. The majority of those tablets are Wifi-only plans. So offline access is crucial to those users who don’t have the option to use data when they aren’t connected to Wifi. 

Users Spend Majority of Mobile Time on Apps

In order to maximize conversions, you need to reach people on the platforms that they are using the most. If you look around, it’s clear that nearly everyone always has their eyes locked to a mobile device. Even when they aren’t on their phones, they always seem to be within an arm’s reach.

But what exactly are people doing on those devices? I’ll give you a hint; they aren’t browsing the web.

90% of the time on mobile devices is spent using apps. Just 10% of mobile usage is spent on the web. 

People can’t convert unless they are accessing your content. There is a much greater chance that they’ll access your content from an app than a web browser.

Why is this?

Mobile apps are just better. Since they are already loaded directly on to a user’s device, all people need to do is click on it to access information. Driving conversions is all about eliminating friction from the process, we’ll talk about this in greater detail shortly when we discuss checkout optimization.

By having an app installed on their device, it already takes two steps out of the process. To access your mobile website, users need to open a browser, search for your site, then click on it to reach the homepage. 

To access your site from an app, all they have to do is make one click and it’s open. This literally takes seconds. 

We already discussed the benefits of personalization. With an app, the user is logged in to their account. Whereas they would need to do this manually from a mobile website. 

So it’s no surprise that mobile app usage significantly outweighs and outperforms mobile web browsing. 

Better UX and UI

While a mobile-friendly website is necessary, it’s still limited in terms of its functionality. That’s because a mobile site relies on web browsers to perform even basic functions.

I’m referring to things like the back button or refresh button. You can’t design a mobile site to override the functionality of a web browser. 

But with a mobile app, you won’t have any of these types of restrictions.

You can set it up so users can use functions like swiping, tapping, or holding down on the screen to improve their experience. This design freedom can ultimately improve the user experience. 

At the end of the day, consumers prefer apps to mobile sites. These are the top reasons why:

The number one response was convenience. Based on this information, we can definitively say that apps are more convenient than the mobile web. 

People don’t convert when things are inconvenient. If it’s tough to navigate, access information, or perform basic functions, people will just look elsewhere for their needs. 

But when you make everything as easy as possible for users, by giving them a mobile app, it increases the chances that they’ll convert. 

Speed

Refer back to the last graph about why users prefer mobile apps over mobile sites. The number two reason on that list is speed.

Mobile apps are faster than the mobile web. Why?

It’s simple. Websites rely on web servers for storing information. So it can take a bit longer for content to load on a device since the speed is contingent on factors like the browser performance, the web hosting provider, the hosting plan, and the physical location of the server. 

Just a one-second delay in loading time can cost you a huge percentage of conversions.

 

You would think that three seconds is pretty quick. But as you can see from this infographic above, it’s just not fast enough. 

Slow loading times result in higher bounce rates, higher abandonment rates, and lower conversion rates. 

On the flip side, mobile app data can be stored locally on each unique device. This means that retrieving the data to load content happens nearly instantaneously. The mobile app framework also runs faster than traditional website JavaScript code. 

The backend performance of the app ultimately results in faster speed for users on the front end.

Furthermore, the fact that app users can have their preferences stored will speed things up as well, making it easier and more likely that they’ll convert. 

Increase Engagement and Retention

Mobile websites don’t have any way to really drive engagement. The capabilities are limited, and you’re restricted in terms of when and how you can connect with the visitors.

We talked about this earlier when we were discussing communication. With an app, you can use a push notification to stimulate engagement. You don’t have this luxury on your mobile site.

Apps make it easier for you to retain your customers as well. With features like a customer loyalty program or referral program, it entices people to stay active on your app.

When a customer sees that they are being rewarded for spending or conversions, it makes it more likely that they’ll continue to convert. 

If you also give people an incentive to refer to family and friends, then those same people will continue using the app moving forward. Sharing content, driving engagement, and raising retention rates is much more difficult from a mobile website. 

Checkout Optimization

Checkouts are the ultimate form of conversions. Sure, a conversion can also be defined by an action such as a download or opt-in, but checkouts result in dollars.

Mobile apps are designed for checkouts. In many cases, checkouts can happen in a matter of seconds. You won’t get this benefit on the mobile web.

From a mobile site, there aren’t any shortcuts. A website visitor needs to find the product, add it to their cart, enter their payment information, shipping information, and checkout. This process can take minutes, and there is so much room for error.

But a mobile app can already have all of this information saved. The user can simply add the item to their cart, and finalize the checkout with just one additional click.

All of the billing and shipping information will already be saved to their account. By reducing friction in the checkout process, conversions will skyrocket. 

Earlier we looked at data related to mobile conversions as a whole. But this graph specifically covers eCommerce conversions between mobile apps and mobile websites.

As you can see, the app outperforms the mobile browser in every category. 

Users view more products per session, have a higher add to cart rate, and ultimately covert at a 130% higher rate. 

Better Branding

Getting users to download your app is a huge win in terms of your branding strategy. 

With a mobile website, people are only exposed to your brand when they navigate to your site. How often does that happen? And how long does that last for? If you’re lucky, someone might visit your site once a week, and stay on there for a few minutes per session.

But people use their mobile devices all day, every day. They’ll see your app, brand name, and logo on their screen all of the time. This gives them more of an incentive to open your app and convert.

Even if they aren’t using the app daily, they are still exposed to your name and brand. This makes it more likely that they’ll convert in the future since your company is constantly on their minds and in front of their eyes.

Conclusion

You need to have a mobile-optimized website. But with that said, a mobile website is limited, and doesn’t drive conversions as well as a mobile app.

The only way to maximize conversions is with a mobile app. Here’s a quick summary of why mobile apps convert higher than the mobile web:

  • Apps offer better personalization.
  • It’s easier to communicate with an app.
  • Apps can leverage mobile device features.
  • Mobile apps have offline access.
  • People spend more time using apps than mobile web browsers. 
  • Mobile apps deliver better UX and UI.
  • Mobile apps are faster than mobile sites
  • Apps drive engagement and increase retention rates.
  • Mobile apps are optimized for checkouts.
  • Apps improve your branding strategy.

As you can see, there is really no debate or comparison. Apps beat out mobile sites in every category. More specifically, all of these metrics point to higher conversion rates. 

If you’re ready to take your mobile strategy to the next level, we’re here to help. You can use BuildFire’s platform to create a mobile app to ultimately get more conversions.

How to Increase Agency Profits With a White Label Mobile App Reseller Program

Every agency needs to do two things right in order to survive and thrive. You must sign new clients and then find ways to retain them.

In a nutshell, that’s the foundation for any successful agency. 

Today’s digital landscape has made the demand for creative agencies higher than ever before. Businesses of all shapes and sizes across every industry are seeking professional help from marketing firms, web development agencies, branding companies, web designers, and advertising agencies. The list goes on and on.

The most successful agencies are able to leverage market trends to make more money. 

By offering additional products and services that your current and prospective clients need, it puts your agency in a position to generate high profits.

With mobile trends on the rise, the mobile app industry is booming. Historically, helping clients create apps was reserved for mobile development agencies. You needed to have a background in tech, coding, and app development to enter this space.

But times have changed. Today, any agency can get its share of the mobile industry profits with a white label reseller program. The best part about being a reseller is that you can do it with zero app building experience and without ever needing to write a single line of code. 

Use this guide as a reference to learn more about the benefits of these programs and how your agency can profit by becoming a white-label mobile app reseller.

Attract New Clients

As I said before, the demand for agencies is seemingly at an all-time high. Every business has recognized the importance of establishing a digital presence. Lots of those companies need help from third-parties to reach their goals.

On the plus side, it’s nice knowing that there is a high demand for your services. But this high demand has created an increase in competition as well.

A recent study identified the biggest challenges for agencies in 2020. 

As you can see from the graph, increasing competition ranked first on the list. Adapting to new technology is the second biggest challenge faced by agencies in the coming year. 

By becoming a white label app reseller, you’ll be able to address both of those barriers at the same time.

You need to find ways to stand out from your competition. If you’re offering the exact same services as everyone else in the market, signing new clients is going to be nearly impossible. 

But the more services that you offer, the more appealing you are to prospective clients and new leads. Businesses who want to develop a mobile app won’t even consider your agency if you don’t offer that service.

30% of small business owners are planning to build an app in the future. Your agency can’t afford to ignore one-third of your target market. 

Businesses seeking agencies are always looking for an all-in-one solution. Working with separate firms for web design, marketing, and app development is too complicated. If your agency can meet all of these needs under one roof, new clients will be much more inclined to sign with you.

Reduce Time to Market

You’ve already decided that you want to be part of the mobile app industry. There are lots of different ways to enter this space. But being a white label reseller is the quickest and easiest.

The alternative methods of developing apps for your clients are much more complex. 

Your existing in-house talent probably won’t be able to take on this additional workload. They may not be qualified for it either. In this case, you’d have to find experienced developers and train a completely separate department. 

To build these apps properly on your own, it could potentially pull your focus and efforts away from your core services. This is a long and grueling process, especially if you don’t have any experience with coding and development. 

But with a white-label mobile app reseller program, you can offer app development services immediately without hiring new staff or hurting the quality of your existing services. 

Time is of the essence. Your target audience wants to build an app today. So if you wait six months or a year to offer these services, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. Prospects won’t wait around for you. They’ll simply find another agency that can provide what they’re looking for.

Furthermore, a white label reseller program will make it easier for your clients to get their apps to market faster as well. Here’s a look at how long it takes to build an app. 

Several factors affect the mobile app development timeline. But as you can see, the majority of apps can be built in less than six months. 

However, using an app builder instead of coding from scratch will ensure faster development. 

You and your clients won’t even have to worry about publishing the apps. If you use BuildFire’s platform for your reseller program, we’ll handle all of that for you. 

Low Risk, High Reward

Any time you consider entering a new market or expanding your services, the cost is always a factor. You must ask yourself if the price is worth the risk before you spend money on something, especially if you don’t have any experience in a particular industry. 

Fear of failure is a common reason why agencies don’t expand or enter new markets. 

But being a mobile app reseller through a white label program is a cost-effective way to increase profits at little to no risk. You can add this service to your agency even if you’re on a tight budget. 

In most cases, the only cost is the monthly fee for the platform that you’re using. Your clients can easily offset those costs.

You won’t need to worry about hiring developers or expanding your team. You don’t need any new hardware, or have to deal with the costs associated with managing that equipment. 

As a reseller, you don’t need to develop your own tools or system. Everything is already done for you. 

A white label reseller program is by far the most cost-effective way for your agency to build and manage apps for your clients. With little overhead costs, the opportunity for profits in this space is virtually limitless. 

Set Your Own Margins

This piggybacks off of my last point in terms of high profits. With an app reseller program, you have complete control over your own pricing. 

It’s a common misconception that you are bound to certain price restrictions with a program like this. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

The reseller programs don’t come with price restrictions. You can market and offer these services on your own terms, based on the value you’re providing to your clients. 

Think of it like any other tangible product. A retailer selling shirts may buy them in bulk for just a couple of dollars each. They can slap their logo on them to resell for hundreds of dollars per shirt.

You’re essentially doing the same thing as a white-label app reseller. Your logo and branding will be on everything. The product is yours to do what you want with. 

The beauty of providing app development solutions as an agency is that you have so many different options for how you’d like to approach your pricing strategy.

One way to set this up is by offering the mobile app service completely separate from your current offerings. So theoretically, a client could build an app with your agency without signing up for your other services. 

You could also offer an all-in-one bundle for app building included with your existing services. This is a great opportunity for you to add value to your total package and charge higher rates.

Whether you’re a web designer or marketing agency, there is a massive opportunity for high profits with both of these pricing strategies. You can even offer a combination of both techniques to give your clients as many options as possible. 

According to a recent study by HubSpot, here are the average agency profit margins. 

As you can see, these figures are all over the board. But the average falls in the 11% to 25% range. While that might be a standard industry benchmark, it’s pretty low if you ask me.

You can aim to be in the 30% to 50% or more range by becoming a white label app reseller. 

There is lots of money to be made in this space if you can price your services accordingly. 

Recurring Revenue Opportunities

Signing new clients is excellent. But agencies make their money by retaining their clients in the long run. The most successful agencies in every industry have a low churn rate and find ways to retain their clients for years.

The best way to do this is by continuing to provide value to your clients. 

Mobile app services are the perfect solution for recurring revenue over time. This goes far and beyond the initial set up fee and launch.

You can continue charging your clients for maintaining the app on a monthly basis. There is also a huge opportunity for other ongoing services like updates, submissions, and maintenance.

When someone builds an app, they don’t just set it and forget it. The process is never complete. You can always make changes to improve the performance of an app.

In fact, roughly 30% of apps are updated at least once per month. 

Furthermore, more than 80% of apps are updated at least every six months. Each time your clients want their app updated is another opportunity for you to make more money.

You won’t always have the same opportunities with other standard agency services. 

For example, let’s say your agency specializes in web design and development. Once you build, set up, and optimize a website, there really isn’t a need for the client to keep paying for your services in the long run. 

Sure, maybe they’ll need help once a year or so with a redesign. But there isn’t always a need for you to actively add value on a monthly basis.

Or maybe you have an advertising firm. Your agency handles all social media ads and PPC campaigns for a client. You might be able to sign them on for six months or a year for your services.

But once you lay the groundwork down, the client could continue running those ads on autopilot once your contract is up. They won’t necessarily need to resign from your agency. 

With white label app development services, you can generate monthly recurring revenue for the lifetime of the app. 

No Coding Required

As a white-label app reseller, you and your clients will be using an app builder for development. The benefit of this system is that anyone can use it, regardless of their technical skill level.

Whether you build the apps or let your clients build them on their own, nobody needs to know how to code. 

The ease of use is what makes this so appealing for everyone. There isn’t much of a learning curve for you, your staff, and your clients. 

As a result, the service is straightforward to pitch. You won’t have to put your clients through a rigorous training program or anything like that. You’re also not restricted from selling only to clients who know how to code.

Make sure you choose a development platform that has all of the tools you need to succeed. Training manuals and how-to guides will be a big help for everyone. You can simply rebrand these materials and pass them along to your clients. 

Furthermore, the best white label platforms also offer premium support. If you choose a platform like BuildFire, you’ll benefit from a dedicated white label support team that can be reached via phone an email. 

Upsell Existing Clients

We already discussed how mobile app development services will make your agency more appealing to prospects. But when you become an app reseller, you won’t necessarily get new clients that same day. 

You’ll still need to promote those new services appropriately so clients can find you. This can take some time before new leads start coming in.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t start profiting from your app development services immediately. 

In addition to attracting new clients, you should also look at your existing customers for revenue opportunities. There’s a good chance that these businesses are interested in building an app as well.

You already have an existing relationship with them. They are familiar with your brand and services. In many cases, these businesses have already benefited from your current offerings.

If you’re able to add even more value to their companies, then they will be excited to hear about a new opportunity. 

Leverage these relationships. You already have an open line of communication and billing information on file. Upselling these clients will be a breeze.

In fact, the chances of selling to an existing customer are up to 14 times higher than selling to a new prospect.

mobile app reseller

Furthermore, existing clients are 50% more likely to try a new product offered by your company. They will also spend 31% more money than a new lead. 

So you don’t have to worry about waiting for new clients to profit as a reseller. Those new leads will come with time. But in the short term, you can start pitching your app services to the businesses you’re already working with.

Based on all of these numbers we just discussed, there is a high probability that they will be eager to try it out. 

Your Own Branding

Branding is another top benefit of your agency becoming a white label app reseller. 

Your brand name, logos, and everything else will be all over the platform and the app, even on the back end. So your clients won’t know where you got the platform from. 

This means that you aren’t given a cookie-cutter solution. You’ll be able to configure the platform so that it fits the needs of your agency and its customers. 

For example, if your agency targets a specific type of business or industry, you can set up the platform so it appeals to those clients. 

You’ll be able to manage all of your clients’ apps and even clone apps to make the process more scalable if you’re building lots of similar apps for different businesses. 

Your clients will be able to log in to make real-time changes as well. When they do this, your agency’s branding will be all over their dashboard. 

In addition to the professionalism associated with this branding, it’s also an opportunity for you to get more business. 

Research shows that 90% of agencies name referrals as the best source for generating leads. 

Clients talk. Prospects will communicate with colleagues who publish apps, wondering how they were able to build it. Depending on the relationship they have, your clients might even show them how they were able to build it using your platform.

As a result, new leads will be exposed to the dashboard with your name all over it. So it’s a great opportunity for you to gain more business. 

Conclusion

Agencies need to adapt to the latest trends. Understand what your clients need and find out how you can offer it to them.

Mobile trends are at an all-time high and aren’t slowing down any time in the near future. 

Your current and prospective clients are looking for mobile solutions. So if they can’t get it from you, then they’ll just find another company to meet their needs. 

By becoming a white label mobile app reseller, you’ll be able to attract new clients while simultaneously retaining and generating more profits from your existing customers. 

This is the fastest way for an agency to enter the mobile market. App reseller services are cost-effective and have the opportunity for massive margins. 

No coding is required from you or from your clients. Plus, the platform will be completely branded with your agency’s name and logos.

Now that you understand the benefits of becoming a white label app reseller, it’s time to find the right platform to use. Here at BuildFire, we have the perfect mobile app reseller program for agencies. 

Contact us today for a free consultation. We have the tools you need to scale your agency to the next level. 

Researching Mobile App Agencies? Ask About These Hidden Costs

So you’ve finally decided that you’re ready to build a mobile app. That’s exciting news! Maybe the app is for your e-commerce shop or intended to improve your internal business communications.  Who knows? Maybe you have a great idea for an app and want it to become the next Snapchat.

Regardless of your scenario, you need to figure out exactly how you’re going to develop your app. Finding a mobile app development agency is a logical place to start.

There’s just one problem. You’ll likely find hundreds of different agencies to choose from. How can you possibly know which one is the best for your app?

Fortunately, you’ll be able to eliminate some options right away based on things like their location or reputation. But once you start narrowing your choices down, the cost of your app will likely play a major role in your decision-making process.

Unfortunately, not every agency is always transparent about their pricing. 

If you don’t know what questions to ask an agency, then you could end up building an app that costs double or triple the amount that you initially thought. 

Don’t get me wrong; this is not necessarily because agencies are trying to deceive you. While there are certainly some bad apples out there, this won’t be the case for the most part. 

Some important mobile app development factors just might not be included in your initial bid from a developer.  So it’s in your best interest to get all of this information clarified from the beginning to avoid unpleasant surprises down the road. 

So use this guide to help you get a more accurate bid from the mobile app agencies you’re considering for your app development project.

Here are some of the most common hidden costs you need to ask about: 

Pre-Launch Hidden Costs

The simplest way to break down hidden costs is by pre-launch and post-launch. So the first thing we’ll do is cover the questions you need to ask an agency related to the development process. 

What Platforms Are Covered?

There are two platforms for mobile app development; iOS and Android. The total cost to develop an app for each platform will vary, with Android development being slightly more expensive than iOS development. 

So this question is simple. When you’re consulting with a development agency, just ask if the bid includes iOS, Android, or both.  Assuming you’ll want your app exposed to the widest possible audience, you want to find a bid that includes development for both platforms.

If you don’t ask, your final product may only be half of what you expected, and the additional costs could ultimately double to deliver what you need.

You should also inquire about the type of development the agency is going to use when building your app for each platform. If they are planning to build a traditional native app, then they will have to build two separate versions for each platform.

This development process will add unnecessary costs to your bid. 

Look for a development agency that can build hybrid apps. In this case, you can build for iOS and Android simultaneously, without having to develop two separate apps. 

Finding out if your prospective developer offers hybrid development can save you from a significant amount of hidden costs as well. 

What Technology is Required?

According to a recent study, the average cost of a mobile app ranges from $38,000 to $171,000. 

Obviously, there is a huge difference from the bottom of this price range to the top. That’s because all apps are not created equally. 

As you can see from the graph, a huge portion of that price is related to features and infrastructure. Both of these factors are related to the technology needed to make your app work.

It’s like asking about the average cost of a house. If you want to buy a one-bedroom house with 500 square feet in the middle of nowhere, it will cost significantly less than a six-bedroom, 4,000 square foot house by the ocean.

Apps are the same way. The price will depend on the features you want, and the technology required to meet those needs. 

All too often, I see people who want to build an app focus all of their attention on app features. There’s nothing wrong with this, but you need to understand the technology behind those features as well, and how that technology will impact the cost.

For example, if you want to save user information, make sure your bid includes a database server. If you want to conduct user analytics, make sure your bid includes an analytics server.

An app that allows users to log in will need an authentication server and an app that sends push notifications will require a push notification server.

The list goes on and on. Each new feature will require a supporting piece of technology, which ultimately increases the cost. 

So ask your development agency if all of the technology is included in the bid. Otherwise, you could be surprised to see some hefty upcharges when everything is complete. 

How Long Will it Take to Build?

Depending on the agency, your development timeline could impact your final cost. It all depends on how they set up your bid.

For example, if they’re charging you a fixed monthly rate until the development is finished, your app could end up becoming much more expensive than anticipated if they fall behind schedule.

Here’s a look at some different steps in the development process.

mobile app

As you can imagine, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to how long it takes to build an app. 

We’ve previously published a guide on mobile app development timelines. During our research, we discovered:

  • 24% of apps take 1-3 months to build
  • 48% of apps take 4-6 months to build
  • 16% of apps take 7-9 months to build
  • 12% of apps take 10 or more months to build

So for the most part, there’s a good chance that you can build an app in six months or less. 

If an app development agency is telling you that this process will take longer, make sure to ask if the bid is related to the time frame. You want to make sure that the price is fixed, regardless of how long it takes to develop. 

How Will the App Be Secured?

While it may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you’re thinking about app development, security is certainly one of the most important features to consider. 

But again, not every development agency will include this pricing in their bid. So you need to ask if your quote covers all of the necessary firewalls and encryptions. 

Security is not something that you can overlook. Here’s why.

Let’s say you’ve budgeted $20,000 to spend on an app. However, you realize after it’s been built that the bid didn’t include security. But you’ve already maxed out your budget. Now what?

You can’t launch an app without the proper security elements. So if you can’t find a way to come up with the additional cash, you’re stuck.

In addition to asking about the cost of security features, ask your agency to be specific about the type of technology they will use to keep your app safe. If they are only using basic security, you may need to come out of pocket down the road for advanced protection, which is a scenario that you’d obviously like to avoid. 

Hidden Costs Once Your App is Live

Developing a mobile app is like owning a house. If you only think about the initial purchase price, then you’ll be disappointed to learn that you have to pay for insurance, utilities, and regular maintenance. 

The cost of building an app doesn’t stop once it’s live. So talk to your development agency about the prices associated with the situations below. 

Making Changes

Even the best and most popular apps on the market come out with updates on a regular basis. 

Sometimes this is because you intentionally decide to build it out in stages.  Other times, it’s just because you find ways to optimize it over time by improving the user experience.  Or if you have an e-commerce mobile app, these changes could be related to reducing friction in the checkout process to increase sales. 

And don’t forget updates that will inevitably be needed in order to keep up with the latest technology, such as new OS released by the mobile platform. 

The bottom line is this—your app is going to need changes.  So how much will these changes cost?

Ask your development agency.  Find out if the quote includes updates. Will you be charged per update? Do they charge you a monthly or hourly rate to be on call?

At the end of the day, these costs are unavoidable. So try to find a development agency that gives you fair and transparent pricing for updates so you can plan accordingly. 

Scalability

While it may not be something that you’re dealing with all of the time, your mobile app is going to have traffic spikes from time to time. Don’t worry; this is a good thing.

It means that people are using your app. However, this traffic increase can overwhelm your capacity, causing servers to go down. Unfortunately, this is one of those things that just happens.

That’s why you need to understand how your app is supported by a load balancing and auto-scaling perspective. 

Auto-scaling ultimately reduces costs because it will always adjust the number of required resources based on the current workload of your app. 

You don’t want to cut corners when it comes to the pricing here. Otherwise, there could be instances where your app is crashing or unavailable. That’s obviously something you want to avoid.

But with that said, you don’t want to overpay for resources that you’re never going to use or only going to use on rare occasions. 

So talk about your scalability options with your mobile app developer. Ask specifically about the workload and costs associated with scaling. See if they have a cost-effective option, such as the load balancing and auto-scaling described above. 

Support

Will your app development agency continue to maintain the app for you after it’s been built? Who do you call when stuff happens? How much will this cost?

These are important questions to ask as well.

Ideally, you want to find a mobile app developer that’s able to maintain your app and infrastructure post-launch. That’s going to make things easier for you in the long-run.

However, make sure you get a quote for how much this will cost. 

In most instances, there will be a fixed monthly fee associated with supporting your app. Just ask about it ahead of time so you’re not surprised by the bill down the road. Compare this cost to the rates offered by other developers you’re vetting as well. 

Conclusions

When you’re narrowing down your choice of mobile app developers, just make sure you take a close look at your bids to make sure that you won’t be surprised by hidden costs down the road. 

At first glance, you may think that one agency is significantly cheaper than the other. However, upon further inspection, it might be because they didn’t include the costs related to technology, security, or support.

Being able to distinguish between pre-launch and post-launch costs is crucial from a budget standpoint as well. 

When you’re shopping around for a developer, just be sure to ask these questions. So use this guide as a reference for figuring out which questions to ask. 

 

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Mobile App? (You’ll be surprised!)

LAST UPDATED: December 4, 2017

The mobile revolution has ushered in an exciting era for business.

Websites and social media platforms are no longer the only way to build brand equity and generate sales.

Building custom mobile apps is now the new money move for businesses.

And it’s no surprise.

In 2017, there have been 197 BILLION app downloads. That number will explode by a factor of three in a couple of years.

Exciting stuff? You bet.

Chances are, you may still be relying on your website to fulfill your business goals.

Perhaps the seemingly hefty time and money investment of an app have kept you back.

The truth is, you can easily catch up. A mobile app can be built without too much hassle these days.

This brings us to the critical question:

Just how much money will a custom app set you back?

I’ll tell you right off the bat. There’s no magic formula to determine the cost of building an app.

Platform matters. Complexity matters. Talent matters.

And so do a dozen other factors.

In this article, I’ll get into all the variables that will affect the cost and some exact figures. This way, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting into.

But first…

Continue reading “How Much Does It Cost to Build a Mobile App? (You’ll be surprised!)”

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