Tag Archive for: freelance developers

Pros and Cons of Freelance Development

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Taking a Closer Look at Freelance Development

Despite the past year, our economy still retains pockets and niche markets that are extremely active and lucrative. One of these markets, for instance, is the app market and mobile app market. Since our economy, and our whole society, is becoming more and more virtual by the day, applications present a rich opportunity. In a world where more and more people are working from home and connecting with one another through smart devices; strong applications that users love find booming success. As such, many first-time appreneurs are entering the marketplace, making this an extremely exciting time. However, first-time appreneurs should be cautious in building and launching their first app, specifically in deciding whether to choose agency or freelance development.

Deciding between agency and freelance development is one of the first decisions you’ll make after fine-tuning your app concept, and it’s an important decision to make. Freelance developers are often attractive to appreneurs on a budget, as they often have lower rates. On the other hand, agencies often have a whole team of designers and developers with professional resumes and expertise. Understanding the differences and pros and cons will help you make the choice that’s right for your app.

Opening The Curtain of The Agency

There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to agency development. For instance, it’s often misconceived that an agency might not be as flexible in designing and developing your application as a freelancer. However, that simply isn’t true. Contrary to this belief, most agencies have a wider range of flexibility with access to more resources and a wider breadth of personnel and professionals.

Additionally, another popular misconception of an agency development team is that there’s no value in the higher cost. While it’s true that an agency may cost more upfront, building an application is an investment. As such, you can still apply the age-old principle, “you get out what you put in.” Where an agency costs more upfront, the yield on that cost is a quality guarantee, projected deliverables, and an assured project completion timeline.

The True Cost of Freelance Development

Similar to the above, the true cost of a freelancer is higher than their upfront rate. Since freelancers generally cost less to hire than an agency or firm; they also bring with them a myriad of potential red flags. With a lower hourly rate, there’s a chance that a freelance developer takes on more projects than they can realistically complete to make up that wage difference.

In another example of poor freelance management, a freelance developer may exaggerate their experience and technical expertise. This could lead to a ‘finished product’ that is riddled with bugs, errors, and other technical issues.

A Quick Summary

There are a lot of considerations to make before choosing an agency or freelance development route. With an agency, your project has a quality guarantee; plus you can rest assured that your project will be finished and delivered on time. For more information on agency vs. freelance development, or anything else mobile app development, keep browsing NS804. NS804 is the proud mobile app designer for the everyday appreneur.

What An App Development Company Offers Over A Freelance Developer

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Are you thinking of hiring a freelance developer for your upcoming app? While this may seem like a good idea, there are several pitfalls that you need to consider. Moreover, consider the benefits of working with an app development company. We delve deeper into why this may be a better option for your app development endeavors.

1. The Difficulty Of Finding The Right Freelance Developer

With a big project coming up, you’ve decided to trawl the web to find freelance developers. And, you may feel confident that you’ll find the right people due to all the freelance and gig websites available. Sites such as PeoplePerHour, Toptal, and Upwork make it possible for recruiters to hire a plethora of talented individuals. And yes, many of these individuals have impressive portfolios and skill sets that make them seem very promising.

But are these freelance developers the right candidates for your project and enterprise? Well, that largely depends on how seriously you take app development and the stature of your organization. After all, your app represents your company, and a shoddy app can hurt its reputation. 

Freelance developers can potentially handle smaller and simpler apps, but seldom can they pull off more ambitious projects. Moreover, many freelancers only work on projects within a set timeframe and then move on to the next gig. If you run into problems with your app, these freelancers may not be available to fix these issues.

Another problem you may encounter is that many freelancers only specialize in popular programming languages and frameworks. If your company uses niche or in-house development tools, these freelancers can’t assist you in any meaningful way. Thus, it’s a massive risk relying on freelancer developers, especially if you’re creating apps on a professional basis. But you can mitigate risk and achieve positive results by working with an experienced app development company.

2. Work With An App Development Company That’s A Good Fit 

While you may have eschewed that potentially promising freelance developer to work with a development company, this doesn’t mean that you should rest easy. You may have tracked down a renowned studio that’s made several impressive apps that have done well in the app stores. But this doesn’t mean that this app development company will be a good fit for you!

For example, this renowned studio may specialize in mobile games and have little experience developing enterprise apps. Therefore, if you’re planning on making an enterprise app, it’s better to look for a development company that has actually developed enterprise apps on a long-term basis. 

We advise that you practice due diligence before hiring a development company by doing your homework. Start researching companies by visiting Clutch.co, which is a B2B directory of IT businesses and developers. Moreover, read tech blogs and journals to learn more about existing and up-and-coming development companies making waves in the app world. 

Create a shortlist of companies you’d like to work with, then gather referrals, request demos, and conduct interviews with all of them. These procedures will give you adequate information about which company will suit you best.

3. Software Development Best Practices Are Important

Work with an app development company that adheres to software development best practices. A competent developer will ensure that your app works flawlessly across devices and doesn’t put user data at risk. Also, they’ll be well-versed in both Android and iOS development and capable of meeting all criteria set by the platform holders. 

Keep in mind that apps can be rejected after being submitted to Apple and Google Play if they don’t meet their respective standards. And such a scenario will only increase delays and drive up development costs.

4. Why You’ll Get Better UX Design From An App Development Company

The average freelance developer will only have a limited amount of skills. Most likely, they’ll know several programming languages and frameworks but lack adequate design experience. They may be able to handle some rudimentary UX design work but won’t deliver the kind of design that will make your app truly stand out. Therefore, you’ll also need to hire an experienced UX designer to ensure you’re making a well-rounded quality app.

Now you’ll have to coordinate both your developer and UX designer, meaning that you’re creating more work for yourself. But if you’ve hired an app development company, they’ll handle all development and UX design. Thus, leaving you free to focus on other aspects of your app business. Moreover, a competent developer will deliver cohesive UX design on all target platforms and screen sizes.

5. Tackling Both Android & iOS Development

Ideally, you’ll want to work with someone that can handle both Android and iOS development. It’s not uncommon to find freelance developers that only focus on a single platform. Even if they develop for both platforms, they’ll usually have more experience developing for one over the other. And they may even cut corners by using frameworks that make it easy to target both platforms with a single codebase but lack native-like performance and UX.

An experienced development company, such as NS804, delivers native apps for both Android and iOS. Our know-how, skills, and tools allow us to squeeze out maximum performance from both platforms.

6. Developing Complex Apps

Complex apps require a highly skilled developer to make them come to fruition successfully. Hiring a solo freelancer developer to handle such an endeavor would be a big mistake. Any app with a significant amount of complexity requires a lot of code and content, which is way too much work for a single developer. An app development company will have enough staff on hand to complete a complex app on time.

7. Scaling Your App

Perhaps you’ve hired a freelance developer to create a simple app or minimum viable product (MVP). But you need to scale and turn it into the app you’ve always envisioned. However, your freelancer has moved onto other projects and isn’t available to help you grow our app. And even if they were available, it’s unlikely they can handle projects beyond the scope of a solo developer.

You’ll need to hire several freelance developers or work with a development company to handle such a monumental task. But you’ll have more peace of mind working with the latter since a company can offer further assistance even after you’ve scaled your app.

8. Meeting Goals And Milestones

Never lose sight of your most crucial goals and milestones. When working with freelancers, you can never be sure that they fully comprehend these. And if these freelancers work remotely in different parts of the world, this only complicates matters. But if you work with a development company that operates as a registered business, then you’re dealing with a more accountable entity. Moreover, they’ll help you meet your goals since they’ll want to build an ongoing business partnership with you.

9. Assurance Of Quality And A Smooth Development Process

Ultimately, you want your app to be a testament to the quality that your company can deliver. While it’s possible to achieve adequate results by hiring freelancers, it’s not the smartest choice. You’ll achieve better results and enjoy a smoother development process by working with an app development company. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you develop outstanding mobile apps that never fail to impress.

4 Major Obstacles With Android Freelance Projects

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Major Obstacles Emerge With Android Freelance Projects

When it comes to mobile app development there are a few paths you can take. A modern, and popular option is to go with a freelance developer. However, as with any freelancing industry; it can be difficult to find the right match. Almost like dating. This is specifically true in the Android freelance projects market. Since Android is such a versatile Ios that really allows developers a sand-box-like feel, experts can make Android apps that are top-notch. Unfortunately, though, the average Android developer is likely not an expert.

That’s not to say it isn’t worth pursuing app development for Android, rather, that if you hire a freelance android developer – you should take caution to vet them thoroughly, and require multiple references.

Four Major Obstacles Faced in Android Freelance Projects

Getting to the heart of the matter, if you do choose to develop an Android project with an Android developer; you should be aware of these common obstacles that may emerge, and take mitigating preparatory steps.

Finding The Right Developer

This was already alluded to above, but there is an art to finding the right freelance developer, no matter the ios. In fact, there’s an art to finding the right freelancer period. Regardless of industry. However, there are ways to vet the freelance developers that you come across, such as requiring references and a proven portfolio.

Even with all of that, however, freelancers have a tendency to disappear. Create a written contract to further ensure yourself against the risk of using a freelance developer over an agency.

Ideas Don’t Belong To Anyone

While this may seem like a pleasant and idealistic statement, in the world of mobile app development, and western business in general, this is a very stark contrast to the way we operate. In some regions recreation or mockery, in the sense of copying someone’s success, is the highest form of flattery. However, in mobile app development – standing out and paving new paths is one of the best ways to be noticed.

No matter where you lay on the principal of the matter; protecting your informational property in the mobile app world is absolutely vital. Don’t let someone take your brilliance and make it their own.

Android Freelance Projects Take Longer

There is a library of reasons that freelance projects take longer in general, but specifically android freelance projects. Some of that has already been touched on in this article, with flakey developers who vanish, or timelines being extended beyond a reasonable limit. The list truly goes on and on. However, with the help of an agency app developer; your timeline will be strict and your app ready to launch before you know it.

Outdated Looks, Styles, Tones

Finally, the last risk that comes with hiring a freelancer for your android project is an outdated look, feel, and style to your finished application. This is simply because freelancers aren’t always up on the latest trends and preferences in the mobile app development market.

Final Thoughts

For more information on mobile app development through an agency vs a freelancer, visit NS804 today. NS804 is the mobile app development agency for everyday people.