Vishal BhatiaIntroduction
The importance of web applications cannot be denied even in the era where mobile app development seems to dominate audiences and businesses throughout the world. They’ve become a vital business component in the IT industry. Web applications help keep the audience of the brand in place. It also helps to achieve the objective of businesses faster.
Many businesses hire web and app development companies to create web apps to meet the demand of their business. Due to the existing prevalence of web applications, the question is no longer if there’s a need for companies to have web apps; instead it’s to know the cost of developing these apps to meet the goals of the company.
The cost of developing a web application varies with different factors which we’ll discuss in this article. We’ll also take a look at the phases involved in web application development as well as the benefits. Let’s take a look at the different ways a web application is beneficial to any business.
Benefits of a Web Application
Brand Awareness and Development
Web applications make it easy for businesses to envision their market share growth; it’s no longer possible to effectively do this without a web app. The major objective of having a web app is to make it easy and practical to reach new customers and market the business alongside its services.
They also play a major role in brand development. A web app makes it easy for organizations to communicate effectively with prospective customers. It also increases the possibility of selling products, services, or both.
Customer Support
With web applications, there are options available to improve customer support. They are mostly the first contact the potential customers have with the business. Web applications can be accessed at any time regardless of location; this makes it easy for prospective customers to reach the company.
Increases the Business’s Competitiveness
The business market is very competitive, so it’s vital that organizations stay on top of their game. Web applications help organizations remain competitive in the market; it also helps in gathering potential customers.
Participants Involved in the Web Application Development Lifecycle
Highlighted below are the required participants involved in the development of web applications to ensure it runs effortlessly:
- Web App Owner
- Web App Development Project Management
- Front-end Developers (UX / UI Designers)
- Android Developer
- Back-end Developer
- iOS Developer
- QA Tester
- System Administrator
Factors Affecting the Cost of Developing a Web Application
Primarily, the cost of developing a web app is comprised of the number of work hours, multiplied by the rate (hourly) of top app developers in the USA or a custom web development company. The number of working hours that a mobile app development company in USA will need to develop the web app will depend on the complexity of the app.
The web app development cost depends on varying factors which, when determined, will make it easy to calculate the project’s required cost. Let’s take a look at these factors.
The complexity of the Web App
This is the most vital factor that affects the cost of web app development. The number of functionalities and features you want your app to have will factor in the total cost of development. For example, a website that provides information about the services of a company will cost less to develop than a web app that offers online payments, customer support, and various integrations.
Web and app development companies Rates
The web development services market varies with different professionals with diverse price ranges. The price range differs with the type of vendor. A custom web development company which has over 200 employees will charge more than startup web and app development companies. The rate you pay will be distributed among different specialists to develop your app.
If you’re looking to hire into your development team, you should hire a project manager, top app developers, UI / UX designers, and QA engineers. On the other hand, take note that the cost of professionals also differs with location in case you want to hire an outside custom web development company.
Nature of the Business
The nature of the business also affects the cost of development. If the niche of the business is too specific, a mobile app development company will have a hard time figuring it out. This will result in more time spent in the development process, which will increase the cost of development.
Urgency
If there are strict deadlines to meet, the development cost will increase.
Post-launch Expenses
This involves bug fixes and updates. Despite the efficiency and brilliance of the top app developers in the USA, bugs are inevitable. It’s essential to consider this factor when summing up the cost.
Web Application Development Stages
There are four main stages of web application development:
Visualizing the Project Idea
In this stage, the mobile app development company and management establish the goals of the project. This process involves identifying the limitations of the project. After this process, there should be a clear plan for the function of the application.
Formulating a Plan
This stage involves determining what features and functionalities will be added in the web app as well as the time it will take. In this stage a proper plan for the project with time frames for different tasks is determined.
Development Stage
As soon as the plan and functionality requirements are determined, the project development can start. The mobile app development company will begin the coding and testing process.
Testing and Support Stage
This stage focuses on mainly testing the app, bug removal, and resolving network issues affecting the app.
Wrapping Up the Cost of developing a Web Application
Based on the complexity of the project, the three simplified estimates are highlighted below. These costs are just estimated to give you an idea of the cost of web app development depending on complexity:
- Basic Web Apps
These are apps that have static information showing the company and its services. The development of basic web apps is estimated at $3,000+.
- Medium Complex Web Apps
These have pages that include static information as well as functional units and third-party integration. Its development cost is estimated at $10k+.
- Complex Web Apps
All web apps with high user load, multi-user roles, and custom statistics are complex web apps, and their cost is estimated from $25k+.
