How to reduce the cost of a mobile app development project?

How to reduce app development costs with an MVP?

Let's start with the MVP. The Minimum Viable Product is quite often used in the software industry for two reasons. First, developing a "stripped-down" version of the product allows developers to evaluate its functionality and determine which aspects need improvement to meet user demands. Second, it helps clients validate their business ideas before investing money in an unprofitable project. Thus, it serves as a trial version of your app.

The MVP includes features that allow you to bring the product to market and conduct preliminary testing or user evaluation. In other words, it is a fully functional app that only includes the core functionality, meaning the amount of technology and time needed to create such a prototype is drastically reduced. Thus, building an MVP is a strategy to get a quality product without spending huge sums on development.

However, when outlining the MVP, be careful about what you decide to cut from the scope. After all, you don't want to end up with a product that can't function properly and is considered impractical. Here is a list of what can safely be omitted in most MVP scenarios.

Animations

Although animations can enhance the app experience, they are often complex to implement. If you can't imagine your app without animations, consider Lottie. It is a cross-platform library for iOS, Android, and web apps that generates vector animations and graphics in real time with minimal code. To prepare such animations, you can use After Effects, Sketch, or Haiku.

Push notification system

We admit that push notifications are extremely important for delivering time-sensitive messages to your customers. However, coding an advanced push notification system is often complex and time-consuming. So, unless you are developing a healthcare app that needs to remind users to take medication or any other app where such messages are essential, you can omit them at an early stage.

Complex user interface

A well-designed user interface is undoubtedly an integral part of an app, as it affects user engagement and satisfaction. A visually appealing yet intuitive and responsive design can increase customers' willingness to use the app regularly and recommend it to others, boosting your profits. However, the MVP version of the app doesn't have to be a masterpiece. It should be functional and attractive, and any advanced UI solutions can be implemented in later stages of the project.

An example of an initially optional feature is the rewards system for bets. This element is often used in betting apps to enhance user engagement and, consequently, customer retention. But since developing a rewards system requires a lot of time and effort, it may be wiser to implement it in the final version of the app.

Advanced support

In most apps, support is more than welcome, as it improves app quality and builds brand trust. This element allows users to directly report and resolve issues, increasing satisfaction and retention. However, in an MVP, modern support features like automated ticketing systems or chat can be replaced with less complex solutions, such as a contact form. While this idea is far from perfect, it allows you to spread butter on both sides of the bread — maintain a decent level of customer support at a much lower development cost.

The suggestions above are just examples of features that can be cut from the scope early in the project, as they may vary by industry. Determining which functionalities are essential and which are not is not always straightforward, so don't worry if you're still wondering how to approach this issue.

To make an informed decision, define the core goals of your product and assess your financial capabilities. Once these factors are determined, discuss them with your software development partner. Thanks to their experience in the industry, the company can identify the key aspects of the project and advise you on which elements should be included in your app's MVP.

Reducing mobile app development costs by working with third-party providers

Coding every software element from scratch is not the only way to develop an app, as some components can be provided by third-party vendors. Such ready-made services can reduce development cost and time, so if your budget is limited, consider supplementing your project with some of the solutions listed below. If you don't know how to choose a suitable provider, read the previous article in this series. Now let's look at the savings you can achieve by using external services.

Sportsbook providers

Using a third-party sportsbook in a betting app project is a simple way to save time and money on development. You have two options: supply only data and create the design yourself, or use a ready-made sportsbook along with UI components. The first option is more labor-intensive but allows you to make the app unique, setting it apart from competitors. The second option, on the contrary, speeds up development, allowing only minor UI changes.

Regardless of the option you choose, make sure the sportsbook provider offers proper documentation, customizable SDKs, and support in case of integration issues.

Push notification system

Another feature to consider when defining the development scope is the push notification system. Push notifications are designed to engage regular users and reactivate those who have downloaded the app but stopped using it. These pop-up messages provide significant value to the product, as they allow you to alert customers about special offers or upcoming events, driving traffic back to the app and increasing sales. However, since building an effective notification system requires considerable time, effort, and financial resources, third-party providers can come to the rescue. Using their ready-made tools can speed up the development process and reduce costs.

There are many push notification system providers on the market, ranging from mainstream ones like OneSignal and Google Firebase to slightly less popular but still functional ones like PushBots. Some of them offer much more than just push notifications, such as in-app messaging, notification storage, A/B testing, and marketing analytics. With such a variety of functional push notification systems, there is no need to go over budget and project timelines to build one from scratch.

Support

As much as you want your app to be perfect, issues will always arise that need to be addressed. App support prevents such problems from escalating by fixing discovered bugs, providing users with account assistance, and answering their questions as soon as they appear. A well-configured support system is crucial for building trust and ensuring a positive user experience.

Therefore, to avoid low ratings on major marketplaces like the App Store and Google Play, and a drop in downloads, you must include support in your app. Its form depends on the project scale, the type of app being created, and the amount of funds allocated for development. Complex apps with high traffic are more prone to recurring errors and generate a large number of requests, thus requiring extensive technical support. If you are facing such a situation but lack the human or financial resources to handle it in-house, you should consider using reliable and more cost-effective external services.

For apps with low traffic, customer requests are less frequent, so a comprehensive support system can be replaced by simple feedback collection mechanisms. A well-documented FAQ, a contact form, or a short survey included in a push notification are just a few examples of how to approach this. All these features are much easier to integrate and manage, reducing overall development costs.

Live chat

Providing users with chat functionality is recommended for apps operating in various industries. With this feature, you can easily respond to customer complaints and questions, shortening the conversion path and improving their overall service experience. Moreover, you gain the opportunity to learn user opinions and improve your product based on the feedback received.

But despite all the benefits, developing a chat feature can consume a lot of your resources. Therefore, if your app requires advanced support to handle a large number of simultaneous requests, and time and budget are somewhat limited, consider integrating a ready-made chat. Such a solution is stable, but its integration is much cheaper, allowing you to reduce costs or shift funds to deploy more relevant features.

Geolocation

If your certification authority requires advanced geolocation, it's probably best to rely on a provider rather than do it yourself. The list of reliable geolocation API software includes IP2Location, GeoSurf, MaxMind, and many others. With third-party geolocation services, you can ensure security and regulatory compliance, tailor content and advertising, and manage digital rights cost-effectively.

Address lookup

An autocomplete widget is used in apps that collect addresses for delivery or other location-related purposes. It is used to speed up and simplify the filling of order forms by providing "on the fly" suggestions for address, zip code, city, or locality name as the user types. Given that there are many proven address autocomplete APIs on the market, developing one from scratch will only increase project timelines and unnecessary costs.

KYC

Know Your Customer (KYC) is a standard procedure in the financial sector used to verify customer identity. Like geolocation, KYC regulations may vary by region. If you are developing a FinTech app and your certification department requires an advanced KYC process, a suitable API can help you meet the requirements and avoid fines. Additionally, it can protect your business from fraud by identifying suspicious users and separating them from legitimate ones. Thus, investing in a partnership with an experienced KYC provider can pay off, as you can launch your app anywhere and comply with all regulatory requirements without extra time and effort.

There are many other capabilities that third-party providers can offer to reduce mobile app development costs. The above are examples of ready-made solutions that have been frequently used in apps across various industries, so we assume they may also suit your project.

But the search for ways to reduce the overall cost of a mobile app doesn't end here. Let's check whether developing an app with cross-platform technology can lower its cost.

Can a cross-platform solution save you money?

Many companies, especially startups, choose cross-platform technologies for app development because they allow you to quickly and inexpensively reach a large number of users across multiple channels. In the battle between native and cross-platform app development, the latter outperforms the former in terms of cost and time required to create a product. However, is it a miracle solution that can reduce the app's price without sacrificing quality? To answer this question, we need to examine the issue from different perspectives.

Performance requirements

For most apps, the performance level of cross-platform technology is sufficient. However, betting or financial apps require fast processing of huge amounts of data coming from various sources and are therefore much more demanding in this regard. Real-time delivery of important information about bets or exchange rates is a vital condition for maintaining the app's functionality and usefulness. Apps with these qualities can meet user needs and receive positive reviews on marketplaces.

Unfortunately, cross-platform apps may be inefficient in this regard, as they typically run in a single-threaded model and require additional rendering. When analyzing the performance of native and cross-platform mobile apps, a native iOS app turned out to be 60% faster than a hybrid one.

If you are building a complex and performance-demanding app, such as a sportsbook, a cross-platform solution may be too cumbersome and deter customers from using it. Thus, even though it reduces development costs, in the long run such a solution will be disadvantageous. However, it should be emphasized that cross-platform frameworks like Flutter are constantly evolving, and their drawbacks compared to native technologies may be eliminated soon.

Use of third-party components

If you decide to use third-party components in your product, you should know that integrating them into a cross-platform app can be somewhat problematic. This is due to the lack of sufficient documentation for implementing selected features in cross-platform software. Thus, despite having ready-made elements, the development team may face difficulties connecting them to a cross-platform app, which can significantly increase the workload and extend project timelines. Naturally, delays in app release can affect your business revenue.

UI/UX design

Thanks to a single codebase, changes to the UI of a cross-platform app are automatically updated across different platforms, so the visual layer of the app remains consistent on different devices without additional development effort. In apps based on native technology, any UI changes require extra work, so using a cross-platform framework works in your favor in this regard.

Overall, can cross-platform technology reduce mobile app development costs? As always, it depends on the situation. Since each project has its own goals and requirements, there is no single correct answer to this question. To be safe, it's best to discuss this with the development company and decide whether this solution suits your needs.

General tips for reducing mobile app development costs

In addition to the above tips and recommendations for reducing development costs throughout the process using MVP, third-party providers, or cross-platform technology, we have other "hacks" that may be equally helpful in this regard. We hope these tips will help you develop a mobile app in the most efficient way.

Reuse UI components across all apps

Creating custom UI components can be very time-consuming. Therefore, when developing an app, try to identify repeating elements and make them customizable. This way, you can reuse them throughout the app without coding them from scratch every time. Another advantage of this solution is that if any changes are needed, you don't have to manually edit each individual element, as changes can be deployed globally across the entire app. This method makes it easy to maintain design consistency and thus makes the app more user-friendly.

Use system components when possible

This is beneficial from two perspectives. First, users are accustomed to specific solutions for their platforms, so you can avoid reinventing the wheel and use systems that everyone likes. Second, you don't need to spend time developing new components and then testing them. Another advantage of this solution is that there is very little chance of something going wrong with these components, as they have already been implemented and tested in other software. Thus, by following this small rule, you save time on design, development, and even testing.

Present the big picture to the team

Despite seeming obvious, this step is often overlooked, negatively affecting the workflow. Presenting a detailed vision of the product to the development team is the foundation of any project. Therefore, it is crucial to define the key assumptions, main goals, and core features of your app as early as possible and communicate them to the team. Ideally, the project manager should act as a mediator between you and the team. With this understanding, the team can plan subsequent project stages and perform individual tasks more efficiently.

Stay consistent in your choices

Changing your mind can be very expensive. So, carefully think through your expectations and make sure the adopted product design reflects your vision as accurately as possible. To do this precisely, focus on business analysis, product discovery, and design workshops, during which you can discuss potential issues and risks with the development team. This approach can save you from additional costs associated with mistakes and rework that could have been easily avoided.

Avoid unifying the app at all costs

If you decide to create two native versions of your app, you can expect certain differences between them. This is because different platforms have slightly different UX/UI. Unifying software for different operating systems, such as Android and iOS, requires extra work to create custom components. We are saying that you should absolutely not do this, as users are accustomed to specific platforms and expect apps to work in certain ways.