Write a one-page brief before you talk to anyone
planning State who the app is for, the single job it must do, and what success looks like in three months. If you cannot fit it on one page, the scope is not ready yet.
Resources
Read this before paying anyone.
Guidance we give clients anyway, printed here for free.
Four blunt answers
How much does an app cost?
It depends on scope, and anyone quoting a figure without a brief is guessing. We give a written estimate after an initial conversation, broken down by phase.
Do I need native apps or will a website do?
If your users need offline use, device hardware or push notifications on iOS, native or cross-platform usually wins. Otherwise a well-built responsive web app is often cheaper to run and update.
Who owns the code?
You do, once invoices are settled. We work in repositories registered to you wherever possible.
Can you guarantee store approval?
No. Apple and Google make those decisions. We prepare carefully against their published guidance to reduce avoidable rejections.
Separate the first release from the wish list
planning List every feature, then mark each as needed for launch, useful later, or nice to imagine. Most first releases need fewer than a third of the original list.
Test your words before your colours
design Show five people your labels and buttons as plain text. If they cannot predict what each does, no visual style will rescue it.
Design for large text from day one
design Set your phone to its largest text size and open your favourite apps. Notice which ones break. Plan layouts that wrap rather than truncate.
Prepare your privacy declarations honestly
release Both major app stores ask what data your app collects and why. List every third-party library and what it sends. Inaccurate declarations can lead to rejection or removal.
Keep store assets in a shared folder
release Icons, screenshots for each required device size, descriptions and support URLs. Gathering them at the last minute is the most common cause of delayed launches we see.
Own your accounts
security Developer accounts, domains and hosting should be registered to your organisation, with two-factor authentication, and shared with suppliers as team members, not handed over.
Keep a simple access register
security A spreadsheet of who has access to what, reviewed when someone leaves. It takes ten minutes and prevents most handover problems.
Measure speed on a mid-range phone
web Test your site over a throttled mobile connection, not office broadband. Large images and unused scripts are usually the culprits.