What startups should know when going mobile

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Myth 1: Native app is a waste of time and money

Absolutely wrong. It may seem that developing a cross-platform app is profitable from all points of view. You code it once and it fits any OS and any device. But reality confirms the old saying “Jack of all trades, master of none”. If you take a look at app markets for both Android and iOS, you’ll notice that the most popular apps are native ones. Today, 'cross-platformity' is the choice of startups that either don’t have enough money or don’t have a marketing strategy for each platform. They also choose to use some HTML5 constructors instead of hiring dedicated developers for each platform. As a result, code, usability, layout, and other aspects will suffer.

Myth 2: Your back-end infrastructure is already optimised for your mobile app

The short and simple answer is no. A lot of companies are sure that their infrastructure can easily handle a mobile app. In reality, you’ll have to tune your hardware to the chosen mobile APIs, to take into consideration possible traffic amount and other loads. Usually, when everything is done correctly, traffic may increase by as much as 200%. Thus, you’ll need to take care of such things as database refactoring and server modification in case your app goes viral.

Myth 3: Creating a mobile app on your own is as fast as outsourcing it

My opinion is that if you’re going to develop an application by your own means, you’ll spend much more time on it. When startups are told that creating a mobile app will take something like three months, many of them decide to do it on their own. The problem is that even if you have a couple of internal programmers who know HTML 5, JavaScript and, hopefully, some mobile framework, it doesn’t mean they can develop a mobile app. In this case some niche knowledge is a must, and the same goes for mobile testing and QA.

When you outsource this process to another company you save yourself not only time and effort but money as well. The speed of the development process should not be your primary goal; quality is more important.

Myth 4: When outsourcing, you don’t have to do anything

You must actively cooperate with the contractor. No matter how reliable and professional the development company is, they won’t be able to take into consideration all the details of your business. You need to contact the outsourcing company almost daily to stay on top of every detail of the project.

Myth 5: If you start working with a contractor, you can’t change it

A lot of startups are afraid of beginning to work with outsourcing companies in fear of getting stuck with them in the event that something goes wrong. Professional outsourced companies manage their collaboration so that the client knows what each rand is spent on. I believe that outsourcing advantages outweigh disadvantages. To minimise possible risks, all details should be noted in the contract. Thus, you’ll be able to end cooperation if anything goes wrong and choose another vendor.