What Questions To Ask Potential Appe Sites

You have an idea that needs an app. The excitement is real as you contemplate the advantages that mobile or web-based applications could bring – a more accessible client base, increased revenue, improved niche authority, and a more focused user experience. A wealth of evidence now exists to suggest that there's never been a better time start your app business.

The numbers are in your favour. Mobile app revenue from in-app advertising as well as paid app revenue has seen a sustained rate of growth over the last 5 years.

Revenue growth has also continued at a steady rate throughout the pandemic – one of the most economically impactful global events since WW2.

"In the third quarter of 2020, gross app revenue in the Google Play store amounted to 10.3 billion U.S. dollars worldwide, a 33.8 percent increase compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The Apple App Store generated 19 billion U.S. dollars in consumer spending on in-app purchases, subscriptions, and premium apps in the most recently measured quarter." Source: J.Clement

It's a similar story when we look at the data on combined app downloads from both the Google Play and the Apple App Stores. The overall pattern shows download numbers grew consistently through the latter half of the decade, actually seeing a spike in downloads as a result of the pandemic.

What does all this mean for you and your idea? Simply put, now is a great time to start development. Demand is high, and growth is ever-present in a sector that is riding out the storm of current economic issues.

Of course, where there's growth, there's inevitable competition. To have the best chance of success in this competitive market, an app has to be built to the highest standards. This is why your choice of app developer is most likely the primary factor in the success of your app.

To make the most informed choice possible, the right questions must be asked. It'd be a disaster to collaborate with a developer on a product, only to discover that their philosophy and their processes don't match up with your vision.

It's possible you haven't worked with an app developer before, and this is your first app idea. Maybe it's not, but you want to make sure you get the decision 100% correct for maximum return on investment. It helps to be prepared.

The team here at Appetiser keep seeing the same questions on this subject repeated time and time again. That's why we've thought long and hard to devise a set of unique questions that will help you the most when considering such a significant commitment.

The 5 key questions

1. Have you helped any startups grow, and can you prove it?

Success in helping a startup grow requires different skills than developing apps for already established companies and clients. App dev companies must take on a much bigger coaching and leading role to help guide a startup client through the development process and beyond.

Roamni is a great case in point. As well as engineering an app that is now in partnership with Formula 1, we were present every step of the way in stakeholder meetings, helping them raise enough capital to fund their idea.

2. Do you have any mobile app success stories?

Proven success with previous developments is a great way to judge if a company understands the formula for designing and growing unique mobile experiences that users respond to. Trusting your idea to a developer without this experience could lead to issues during the process.

We are dedicated to refining our understanding of what makes a mobile app truly great. One of our proudest achievements to date is how our custom mobile app generated $100,000 in daily revenue and helped Youfoodz – a Brisbane meal delivery company – redefine the healthy eating experience in Australia.

Youfoodz needed to expand into the mobile app market to help them stay competitive and provide the seamless ordering experience their users demanded.

The result? A fully customised and intelligent app that can accommodate over 100,000 orders per day, gaining a 4.8-star rating on the App Store as well as increasing repeat orders by 50%.

3. Do you have any proof of innovation in the space?

Our industry never stands still. Change happens at a rapid pace and to stay ahead of the wave, an app development company must strive to innovate and challenge itself constantly. Those who stand still will soon get lost in outdated systems and thinking, impacting the quality and future-proofing of their products.

A desire to innovate and constantly improve and adapt in an ever-changing space is at the heart of everything we do here at Appetiser. We exhibit innovation and make an impact in three components of our company; our people, processes and products.

Our team is at the heart of our company. We foster an environment of learning and self-improvement not just keep up with the latest tools and techniques but become better colleagues and experts.

Many members joined us from the research and development departments at Samsung and Kyocera. We've also engineered 7 patents across the team, including one valued at $17m by the telecoms giant, Telstra.

Our product designers and devs participate in extensive workshops where they build unique, world-leading products. Our product designers are challenged to create cutting-edge designs for progressive mobile app concepts for international contests. Their dedication and creativity ranked Appetiser #7 in the world in design on Uplabs, the only Australian company in the top 100.

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At Appetiser, we aim to revolutionise and modernise the app development process by giving the control back to the visionary. We view our clients as partners with whom we work closely while facilitating full transparency through open communication channels. This encourages innovation, open discussion and helps us meet any problems head-on.

Geavi – a GPS encryption app with audio-visual integration – is a pioneer for social change and personal safety that creates recorded evidence of incidents automatically from your pocket. We aim to increase people's safety by empowering them with new technology that makes those around them accountable for their actions by creating video evidence that can easily be stored and shared with their family and friends.

A development company must stand out in a competitive field by harnessing unique features that set them apart from the competition. The margins between failure and success are fine. Collaborating with an exceptional app developer will only go on to help you and your business find success.

Our specialisation in growth marketing as a complement to app development provides us with an advantage – as we posses the 'full-stack' tools to make your app a success. Tools that not only create a fantastic product but also optimise that product. We position ourselves at the forefront of design, development, marketing and innovation that we believe makes us truly unique in our field.

Our development baseplate

To help maintain excellence, we've implemented a detailed development baseplate that's used to guide and improve the standards of technical development at Appetiser. This baseplate contains the code for common functionalities found within most apps such as logins, registration and user profiles.

The dev baseplate is very much the starting point for technical app development. An e-commerce app has a different set of requirements when compared to a social media platform overall, yet they still share some commonalities. Our baseplate provides all of this and prevents the need to build from the ground up at the start of every project. Within the latter stages of development, other common functionalities like notifications and reports can then be customised or removed completely if not needed. Depending on what operating system we are developing for (IOS, Android, web); the baseplate has a different structure to match the specifics of that platform.

The baseplate has the dual effect of making development times much shorter – therefore lowering the cost to the client – and ensuring standards are maintained across all our projects. The effect of the baseplate on production times has been so profound that an equivalent of a months work across the three platforms has been reduced to less than a week. Another We've not experienced a single technical failure since its implementation.

4. How focused are you on design for user experience?

App development is not just about code. High-level design and the implementation of exceptional user experience will result in high user retention. In turn, this will lead to improved revenue and maximised growth.

A total commitment to design thinking and high regard for user experience runs through everything we do here at Appetiser. For us, data-driven design and UX are intrinsically linked – one informs the other. We consistently test and experiment to collect enough data to make informed design decisions that are not simply based on ideas alone. One of the biggest advantages of working with a large team of specialists across different fields is that knowledge and experience can be shared across development boundaries.

Our design baseplate

In parallel to our dev baseplate, we also have one for our designers. Think of our baseplates as canvases. The two key elements of app development (design and technical development) lean on the baseplates in similar ways to ultimately benefit our clients. Our design baseplate features the initial building blocks onto which extra design elements are added. It works similarly to the developers baseplate described above and contains the most common elements intrinsic to app design. This includes templates for the user interface, menus, data input forms, page outlines, notifications and pop-ups.

The design baseplate not only contains the traditional visual aesthetics of an app – it's also vital in creating and maintaining a high level, consistent customer experience. The baseplate guides our experts to stay focused on our core design values within the design process itself and improving user experiences across the board.

With the framework in place, our designers are free to create designs that represent our client's brand and tell each unique story in the most effective way possible. It allows for perfect alignment of our expertise and the client's vision.

*The results using our baseplate have been nothing short of outstanding.*

5. Can I get feedback from previous clients?

There are multiple ways to get information from previous developer clients. It has never been easier. Don't stop at simply reading the case studies on a website. Gather client feedback through directories such as Clutch.io and Google reviews. Take your time to deep dive into the history and successes of a dev company. This will provide you with a more rounded view of their capability.

*We are proud of the feedback we have received from our work so far. The response has been nothing short of emphatic.*

We always go the extra step and are happy to offer direct contact with our previous clients. This way, you'll never have to make an important decision off the back of second-hand information.

If an app developer has worked on projects with enterprise previously, it's a good signifier that the dev company has been thoroughly assessed and deemed to have passed the stringent test. Enterprise companies exist on another level of prestige and financial might – they do not choose their partners lightly.

We've had the pleasure of working alongside more than one enterprise in our history. Our largest clients in terms of net worth are Cimic Group (CPB contractors) at $10 billion. We have also developed for Accent Group at $1 billion (pre-COVID) and Pointsbet at $700 million.

In the end

In business as in life – knowledge and understanding are the keys to success. The more information you possess, the better equipped you are to deal with whatever is thrown our way.

Extracting the right information is a key part of your decision-making process. There are many intricacies to a working collaboration with an app development company. The needs of both parties must align for the process to run smoothly.

The right developer for one project is not necessarily the perfect match for another. Be clear about your main concerns, focus on your key objectives and ask the questions that will allow you to make the most effective decision for your needs.

If you're looking for app development in Melbourne, Sydney , Brisbane , Adelaide or Perth , get in contact with Appetiser today!

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