The number of apps available in both the Android and iOS app stores is really something amazing. According to Statista, the Google Play store had 3.55 million apps available for Android users, while Apple App Store had roughly 1.6 million apps for iOS users inside their app store.
What if you or your team have already tested a few mobile applications, and neither has the specific features or integrations you need? Or that they need to use several apps to get a task done? Or maybe you have an idea for an entirely new type of mobile app?
In all those cases. getting a custom mobile app built exactly how you want could be a good choice.
How are custom mobile apps different from regular ones, what are the biggest benefits of getting one, and are there any downsides you need to keep in mind? Read on to find out.
What are custom-made apps?
Custom apps are basically exactly what it sounds like: apps are applications that are built from scratch to fit a given company’s specific requirements and business strategy. All aspects of the app are then tailored to fit the business goals and requirements:
- The operating system on which the app should run and supported devices
- Type of the app (whether it’s native app, hybrid app or cross-platform one)
- Application design and user experience
- Features included
- Security measures, etc.
That way, you can have an ideal mobile app that will have exactly the design and features you want it to have. As those apps are created with a specific target audience in mind, they also typically have functionality that general apps don’t – such as sophisticated features to help organizations’ employees with specific work tasks.
Plus, custom applications can also be modified later to fit new goals or objectives – for example, you can ask the development team to add new features to it. That way, you are getting an app that can grow together with your organization or change as your target mobile users’ needs change.
When it comes to how you can build those apps, you have two options.
If you have enough skilled mobile developers in the company and you can ensure that the extra workload won’t affect their work duties or the project is a simple one (for example, a custom calendar app) then you might want to develop the app in-house. In most cases though, businesses hire a third-party mobile app development company to design such an app for them, especially if their project is a complex one (such as building a progressive web app or a mobile enterprise app).
Why might you need a custom application?
With several thousands of business applications available on the market, it might feel like there’s nothing easier than finding an app that will help employees with a given task. Once you use those general business apps for a while though, you start to notice that there are a few problems connected to using those apps for work:
- They often only have basic functionality (since the app needs to be tailored to a general audience) and no sophisticated features you might need.
- Integrating the apps with other tools or platforms you use in your company can be pretty troublesome (especially if you don’t use the most popular systems)
- The application versions for different mobile platforms might have different features (so one feature that is available on android apps might not be inside the ios apps)
- The team might have to use a few different applications to have the features they need (and so they waste plenty of time toggling between apps)
- There’s always the risk that the app providers will suddenly increase the subscription prices, remove some of the features you use often, or stops supporting the app altogether.
Searching for one app that has the features you need or using several different mobile applications during the day isn’t exactly efficient or convenient, though. Therefore, when companies need an app with unique features or want to turn the 10 apps they use into one, they often turn to bespoke or custom apps.
If you want to give customers a way to use your service faster and easier, plus also give them a personalized experience, then developing a custom mobile app is also the way to go.
What are the biggest advantages of Custom Mobile App Development?
As custom mobile apps can be tailored to meet the exact needs of each brand, a growing number of companies are now opting for custom development when building a new app for their employees or customers.
But building “your own app” also comes with a few other advantages that you might find appealing. Let’s look at some of the most notable benefits of going for a custom mobile app solution.
Personalized User Experience
Many mobile solutions are made as “one-size-fits-all” solutions, so you can’t exactly count on having a personalized experience there. With a custom app meanwhile, you can build, test, and then adjust the design or functionality to make sure that it meets (and even better, surpasses) users’ needs. After gathering enough data about your target audience for the new app, you can further tweak the UI designs to make sure that the app is as intuitive to use as possible and it has exactly the features your users will need.
Plus, you can add to the custom app features such as push notifications, tailored recommendations, discounts, or special offers that will all be personalized to every single user. In this way, you can provide a more unique, relevant experience, boost user engagement and also ensure they will keep using the app.
100% control over the application
Full control over the development process is one of the biggest advantages of custom mobile application development. The app design, features inside, integrations, security methods, or user experience – all of those will be added exactly the way you want it. That way, you can get a mobile app with exactly the functionality you need (and ONLY those features) and fully meets the employees’ or customers’ needs.
What’s more, you don’t have to worry that, at some point, the developers of the app you are using will remove some of the features entirely or force you to move to a higher-tier subscription plan. With a custom app, you are the only person who can decide how the design you should change or what features should be added or removed – and when.
Flexibility
As the business environment changes, your business goals or objectives may also change. If you use a ready-made app though, you might find that it doesn’t fit your strategy anymore. Of course, you could try looking for a new one, but how much time and effort will it take you? You’d have to move all data to the new app and teach the employees how to use it too.
Custom applications meanwhile are built with flexibility and scalability in mind. Whenever you need to add any changes to the application, you just need to contact the development team that was working on the application earlier on and tell them what you need to change in the app. New features? Custom integration to match the new business you are using? All of those can be done for you to keep your app evolving together with your business.
Much better productivity
According to one survey, 60% of employees use mobile apps for work-related activity. Since those apps enable employees to access data wherever they are, as long as they have a mobile device with them, the popularity of those shouldn’t that surprising. Is it really necessary to use several applications just to finish one task though? That’s neither convenient nor efficient – not to mention, cheap. But when using regular apps for work-related tasks, there’s often no other option since it’s hard to find one app that has all the necessary features.
To some extent, custom application development can be a solution here, as you can design one application that will include most of the features you need and this way, save your team the hassle of switching between multiple applications throughout the day.
What you need to keep in mind is that the more features you want to add to the application, the more it will cost. So it’s best first to research what specific features should be included in the app to help your employees, or customers the most rather than add anything you can think of. You can then keep adding new features as you get more feedback from the app users.
Enhanced security
As the number of mobile devices and apps we use increases, the probability of falling victim to a cyber attack also grows. And the consequences can be dire, especially for businesses that get their business data breached. That’s why securing mobile apps your team uses, and the customer data within those apps should be a top priority for all businesses today.
It’s not that easy to keep an eye on security when using third-party applications, as you don’t have much control over how secure the app’s code or database is.
When building a custom application meanwhile, you can discuss with the development team what security methods would match your requirements the most and then implement those in the new application. Whether you need multi-factor authentication, biometric recognition features, or advanced data encryption features, mobile app developers can help you add those to the new app.
Easy integration with existing infrastructure or legacy systems
Business mobile applications usually come with a few in-built direct integrations through which you can connect the apps to other business tools. However, those integrations are usually only for the most popular business platform. In all other cases, you might either find it impossible to connect the mobile application to the system you are using, or it will take you extra effort to pass the data from one application to another.
Custom applications can solve this problem for you as well. During the project discussion stage, custom mobile app developers will ask you whether there are any tools or platforms you want to use together with the new mobile application.
Then, they will design the new app to integrate easily with all the business tools you want to use alongside it. If you need any new integrations, you can reach out to the development team and ask them to add them to the app as well.
Cons of custom mobile app development
While there are several advantages to having custom applications built, there are unfortunately also a few drawbacks connected to custom development. So while thinking you should reach out to mobile app developers to create a custom app for you or not, keep in mind that custom apps:
Takes a longer time to develop
When deciding on a custom application, you need to be prepared that the entire mobile application development process will take some time. First, you will need to meet with the development team a few times so they can learn more about your goals and expectations for the new app. Preparing the app designs, wireframes, and the prototype or MVP version will also take time.
The developers can only begin crafting the actual app once those stages have been completed – and the development process might take even over a year if the app project is especially complex. So if you are in a hurry to have the app ready and launched or you first want to test how the users will like the mobile app, then it might be a better option to first go with an MVP version of your app before building the entire app.
The upfront investment is higher
Any custom solution, no matter the industry, will be more expensive than the regular version – and mobile app development is no exception. Depending on do you want to build a simple mobile app to help with one task or a full-fledged enterprise app, the roughly estimated costs might be from $14,000 to anything above $100,000.
The final price will mainly depend on how many features you want the app to have, how much time the design will take and how large the development team for the project should be.
If you have a tight budget though, then you might find our previous article, “How to Lower your Development Costs with a Mobile and Web Development Company” handy. Inside it, we discussed the main factors that can drive up the app development costs and shared a few tips on how you can make the project a bit more budget-friendly.
You’ll have to spend time discussing your needs with the development team
If you decided to build the new custom app with your own development team, then the benefit here is that you can go to the research and development stages almost straight away. Since the developers work together with you, they know the brand goals, values, and target audience, so they will know how to design the app to match those.
External teams need some time to understand your brand values, vision, and goals though – so you’ll need to meet them a few times for discussions or workshop sessions. Furthermore, with custom development, virtually every aspect of the new mobile app can be tailored to meet your needs. To know which parts should be customized and how though, you’ll need to explain your requirements clearly to the developers, so they can select the best development method.
While those meetings will probably take some time (especially if the app project is complex), they will make it easier for the development team to understand your needs and design an app that will look, feel and work the way you want it.
Additional expenses of custom app development
Many businesses are still surprised to learn that developing a new custom app isn’t the end of the costs. Regular backups, performance optimizations, updates, bug fixes, and testing – all of those have to be included in the custom app budget as well. If you can handle those tasks in-house, then you might not need to worry so much about maintenance costs.
When this isn’t possible though, it would be best to schedule regular maintenance sessions with the development company that was working on the custom app to ensure it will stay in top condition. And that, unfortunately, means more costs on your side. Neglecting maintenance can lead to performance or security issues though, which can lead to lower user satisfaction.
Ideally, you should discuss the maintenance and app support needs with the development company right at the start of the project to know how often you might need to perform the maintenance and how much it will cost.
When is it worth creating a custom application?
Using custom applications can give you exceptional user experience and app performance, foolproof security, and the flexibility to adapt the application to your needs at any time. That said though, developing one takes plenty of time and costs a pretty penny as well. So when should you consider designing a custom application?
From our experience, building a custom solution might make the most sense in the following situations:
- Want to build a truly unique product: When you have an idea for a new mobile app, but it requires specific features or needs to be aimed at a particular group of people, custom development is usually the best option. After looking at the project requirements, mobile app developers can recommend you the best way to build the app and then adjust every part of the application to fit your needs.
- Need an app that you can scale up in the future: Many clients turn to custom application development when they have outgrown the general business applications and can’t find a new one that would match their needs. As custom apps can be made exclusively for your organization, and you can upgrade them as your company and customer base grow, a custom app will work together with your team far longer than an off-the-shelf solution would.
- This app needs to be designed for industries with strict regulations: Fintech, ecommerce, or healthcare applications need to be designed with special care and attention to detail, as they store plenty of especially sensitive data inside them. In that case, it’s better to decide on custom development to ensure that the mobile apps are as secure as possible and comply with all industry regulations. Similarly, if you want to build a mobile enterprise app that will be used to store and access business data, a custom application is usually the best option.
What can INVO do for you regarding custom mobile app development?
If you have decided that a custom application would best suit your needs, the next question is how you will build the app. An in-house development approach might be worth it if the project is simple and you have enough developers in the company to handle it. Many development companies also have a “team augmentation” service, through which you can temporarily hire one or more developers to work together with the in-house team. This is a good option if you want to run the project in-house but need to fill one or more skill gaps in the main team.
If the custom app project is too complex to be done in-house though, or you don’t have enough developers to manage it, then you should consider hiring a mobile app development company for the task. Once they understand your main goals and objectives, they can design a mobile application that meets all of them. Additionally, you can count on the mobile app developers to share a few tips on how to make the project progress smoother and faster.
You’ve got a great idea for your own app but don’t know where to start? How about talking to our consultant? At INVO, developing custom software, mobile app, or website from scratch is one of our specialties, as several of our clients can attest. In case you want to run the project with your own team but need a bit of expert guidance first, we’ll be happy to assist as well.
Send us a project brief through the contact form on our website, and we’ll schedule a meeting so we can learn more about you – and your project.
Dive into custom mobile app development
Having your own, custom-made mobile application can be a game changer for your business. However, the development process itself can get tricky at times. So before investing time, effort, and budget into a custom app project, we would recommend you to consult your needs with mobile development experts first.
At INVO, we’ll be happy to help you with whatever custom mobile development needs you might have. Be it just a push in the right direction or someone who can manage the project from start to finish, you can count on INVO to help you build your dream custom app.
