It is no secret that we increasingly use mobile phones compared to the computer. In fact, if we eliminated the time that we are on the computer for work, I am sure that, the vast majority of people, spend more leisure time in front of the mobile, than in front of the computer. This is what businesses know, and that is why, more and more, there are companies launching their own applications.
There are even businesses that arise only from a Mobile Application. Whatsapp, Instagram are examples of this.
But how long does it take to create a Mobile Application?
In this article, We are going to place ourselves in the situation of entrusting the development to someone who dedicates himself to it, be it freelance or a company. If you want to know how much it would cost you to learn to create an application yourself, you can consult this article where I talk about it.
Types of Applications
If you ask any application developer how long it takes to create a mobile application, the answer that will surely give you will be: depends. In the same way, if you ask an architect how long it takes to build a house, once again, the answer could be, it depends. It depends, it is the correct answer, but tranquility, we will develop a little more the answer beyond this depends. At the end of the day is the reason for this article.
There are many types of applications, namely about 3 and a half million in Google Play and about 3 million in AppStore. Have all of them taken the same development time? Obviously not. Some will have developed in a couple of weeks, others in a couple of months and others will have taken more than a year.
Anyway, if we want to place ourselves in a media, which is the goal of this article, we could say it takes about 4-7 months to create a mobile application. Everything will depend on different factors that will vary this time. These factors are what we will see in the following points.
Number of platforms
One of the first things we have to take into account when creating a mobile application is that applications are developed for specific operating systems.
What does this mean? What if we wanted to reach 100% of the people who have mobiles, we would have to create a version of our application for each existing mobile operating system, that is, for each system, an independent development.
Luckily, as we can see in this chart of market share, we can see that almost 99% of today’s phones work on Android or iOS. So we can develop the app for these two systems or start by launching the first version on a single system.
The development time for each platform is more or less similar. This means that, if we develop in a single platform, we probably have a version available to launch before.
Why surely? Because these two developments can go in parallel. That is, one person may be working on the Android version while another develops the iOS version. Everything will depend on the resources we have available, that is, the people we have working on it.
In the case that a single developer has to take care of several developments, we will have to multiply the time for each platform that we want to support. That is, if the application for Android has an estimate of 4 months and we also want to add the version for iOS, surely we have to add another 4 months. In total, double, 8 months.
Complementary applications
Another aspect that may affect the development time, is the fact of needing some type of administration panel or application complementary to the final application itself.
Many times, in addition to the application itself, it will be necessary to develop some type of web platform, for example, so that the application data can be managed. Whether for user control, order management, if products are purchased, or moderation of comments. Everything will depend on the type of project.
Sometimes, these types of platforms also allow you to see the route that the dealer that comes to bring you your shipment is following. This way you can see on a map the exact path that the dealer is following.
How can this be done? Well, it requires another mobile application, in this case private, that is to say, only the distributors have it installed, which allows identifying the GPS position during the journey.
So, in these cases, not only would a mobile application have to be developed. It would also have to create a web platform for management and another private mobile application for the delivery drivers. In short, more development and therefore, more time.
4. Screen sizes
Developing mobile applications is synonymous with developing applications for all types of screens. In a certain way, the web, also today, requires development for different screens.
In the same way that, when the creation of a website is considered, mobile phones are taken into account, what is called Responsive Web, in mobile applications, a similar approach must also be made.
However, in mobile applications, the approach is usually a little different. While on the web content is usually reorganized to fit a smaller screen, mobile applications go a little further and the entire structure of the interface is often changed.
Generally, two types of interfaces are usually contemplated: the interface that the mobile application will have and the interface it will have for tablets.
In this case, we see the example of the Skyscanner app, an app to find flights. At the top, we see how the results of the flight and the details are different screens for mobiles.
On the other hand, if we look at the interface for tablets, the results and details of each flight are displayed on a single screen.
Obviously, all these changes require more development time. Neither are we talking about multiplying the time by two, but the adaptation of an interface for tablets, in addition to mobile, can lengthen the development in a couple of weeks.
5. Functionalities
One of the aspects that will most determine the creation time for an application will be the functions that it has to do.
What is a function? A specific task of the application. For example, in a second-hand product purchase application, we could have the function of searching for products, uploading products, chatting with sellers and scoring buyers and sellers for example.
Each of these functions has a development time. Some more and others less, but what is clear is that the more things that have to carry out our application more development time will cost.
Keep in mind that applications usually have a few functions and very specific. For example, normally a product or service that has web and application will have much more diversity of functionalities on the web than in the app.
We can not pretend to fill an application of infinite possibilities in a device that occupies the palm of a hand.
This is why it is also a good idea to initially create an application with the minimum possible functions. Those that really are the heart of the app. This is known as MVP, the minimum viable product.
Lean startup method MVP, measure, learn and create
The idea behind the MVP concept is to create a super simple version of the application and gradually add features as it is verified that they are really useful for users.
This way we will be able to save the time of initial development and also make sure that we are adding something that users really use.
Complexity
Another factor that is associated with the functionalities and will also have a great impact on the development time, is the complexity of them.
There are functions and functions. There may be features that are simple to develop, which may be done in a few hours. However, there may be others that require days and days of development.
When it comes to knowing the time it will take to create an application, the difficulty of the functions is more important than the quantity.
For example, we can think of Shazam. It is an application that lets you know the information of a song that is playing. You can be anywhere where there is music, open the application and in a matter of seconds, it will tell you what song it is.
Well, apparently the idea of Shazam seems simple. After all, it is nothing more than an application that performs a single function, recognizing a song. However, this unique feature is very complex and by itself will account for a large part of the development.
Another example of a very important feature in applications, and that can mean an increase in development time, is the possibility of using the application offline.
For example, in a task application, you can create tasks, edit tasks or delete tasks without having to be connected to the Internet and automatically, when the mobile phone has a connection again, all the changes in the account are saved.
Conclusion
The time it takes to create a mobile application varies greatly depending on the project. Anyway, we could say that the average would be in about 3-5 months.
All the points that we have commented previously are those that will decide if our application will be ready before or later.
In order to accelerate this development time, we could cut the platforms in which we want the application, cut the support of tablets or decrease the functionalities. After all, try to create an MVP initially. Later we will be able to add all the features that we left on the road initially.
The good part of the software is that it can be updated at any time and therefore it can always evolve towards better.
