Stop asking “How much to build an app”!
Hi! How much to build an app?
This is the famous first sentence, line of conversation, we get on MomoCentral daily (Heck I am sure many developers out there get this same question too!). Somehow, clients seem to expect us to be able to pull out a magical number immediately from just this one, magical, first contact question.
Seriously, guys, what answer are you expecting? Even if you got an answer, it wouldn’t be an accurate one.
Let me put it into SIMPLE, layman, non-techie terms for you. What if I asked you
“How much to build a house?”
Precisely, you can’t answer. You would first need to gather information before being able to give a reasonable answer. If anyone gave you an immediate answer, you should be VERY VERY worried. It would mean the person is simply quoting numbers without understanding what you really want.
This is because from just one question, the person does not know if you want:
- a low-cost apartment, luxury condo or bungalow
- IKEA Furniture or imported Italian furniture
- Basic concrete flooring or high polished marble tiles
The list goes on and on….
We live in 2017! Yes, 2017!
There has been numerous posts about how much it costs to build an app, with amazing and detailed explanations of what affects the cost. Yet there are still companies out there to this day (tech startups included, btw) who expect an immediate answer to that question.
What you should do is arrange a time to talk to the person in more detail about the app you want to build.
Hi! I am looking to build an app for users to ________. (and let the conversation/discussion flow from there)
No, I am not talking about preparing 120 page spec documents. I am talking very, simple idea of how your app works. This can be done on paper sketches, Microsoft Powerpoint, or even a simple Word doc. It does not have to be accurate, but it would be a great starting point for discussions to get to a more accurate estimate. In fact it benefits you to perform this discussion as it would give you an idea of which modules are costing more, what can be changed to reduce the effort needed, and as a result reach a final set of features within your budget that would meet your user goals as well.
Here are some links that may help
(These are Google links but contains concepts that may help you get up to speed):
User Stories — a simple Word doc that describes what the different users will be able to do or want to do
Wireframing and Prototyping with MS PowerPoint — Yup! Make use of those powerpoint shapes, images and graphics to piece together a rough idea of your mobile app functions, buttons and user flow
Paper Prototyping — If powerpoint is too daunting, go with simple paper sketches of how your app will look and work screen by screen
Interactive App Mockup Prototyping (This one requires a lot more effort. You may want to use the above methods as starting points for discussions. Most designers can design the interactive mockups for you) — in short, you can put together real mobile app design mockups, screen by screen, into a clickable/tappable flow. This is as REAL as it gets.
And there you have it! I hope this helps!
Understand that we do sincerely want to know what you want built. However, it would take effort from your side to help us get onto the same page and understanding as well.
