How to Choose a Mobile App Development Company: Selection Criteria & Tips

The wrong partner for mobile application development can lead to costly delays, post-release issues, and poor user experience. But with thousands of companies out there, how do you find the best app development company for you?

This article covers how to choose a mobile app development company by telling you what to look for and avoid. Follow along to hone your checklist and boost your chances of finding an excellent technical partner.

Assess Expertise

A good development partner won’t just offer technical skills; they’ll be familiar with your industry-specific requirements, too. The following are items you can check to help you determine how to choose the best app development company.

Domain-specific knowledge

The mobile development company should have an in-depth understanding of your industry, including your user's unique problems, expectations, and regulatory landscape. For example, an app for the healthcare sector will need to follow data privacy laws and other guidelines when working with electronic health records.

Similar mobile development projects

One step down from the industry, look for a company that’s developed products similar to yours in terms of:

• Type, such as data management and reporting, workflow optimization, or data aggregation
• Specific technologies, like target integrations or AI for mobile development

Additional services

Check for extras beyond a mobile application development service. For example, you might need help training your team or researching the market. Or you may need a vendor who’ll integrate extra services into your existing app, as we did by incorporating AI into an existing healthcare app for a US partner.

Review Past Projects

Previous work allows you to see the types of apps a developer has built and how successful they are.

Relevance and highlights

A good services vendor will prioritize the client. Look for detailed case studies that highlight business impact alongside problem-solving abilities and technical expertise.

App specialization

A development company with niche experience can offer solutions to make your product stand out. For example, they may implement gamification in your logistics platform or understand how to safeguard financial data in a hospitality app.

As an example, we developed a mobile hospitality app with top-grade security. This case study describes how security and penetration testing helped minimize vulnerabilities, which is critical in an app that deals with personally identifiable information.

Forward-thinking approach

A vendor’s willingness to explore and implement new technologies demonstrates their forward-thinking approach. The best mobile app development companies will think five or ten years ahead, suggesting ways to innovate your app.

Long and repeat partnerships

How long do projects typically run for, and how many are with returning clients? A high percentage of repeat customers is a strong indicator of vendor reliability.

Ratings and testimonials

Look for a company with high ratings and positive feedback on review platforms such as Clutch and GoodFirms. Companies often leave exhaustive information about what they did and didn’t like.

Analyze Tech Stack and Skills

Technical expertise is key to getting an app that meets your performance, reliability, and security standards. Look for the following:

• Coding languages and frameworks. The team should clearly understand mobile-friendly programming languages for your target operating system(s). For instance, Swift is ideal for iOS apps, Kotlin suits Android development, and React Native allows for cross-platform development. Our case study for a cross-platform mobile app highlights the technologies we used.
• Cloud platforms. Experience with major cloud providers ensures a scalable and secure app infrastructure. Pay attention to a vendor’s preferred platform architecture (microservices or monolithic), tenancy (isolation) type, containerization capabilities, and integration with CI & CD tools.
• Design and UX choices. The developer’s website is your first indicator that they understand the importance of good design. Skip companies that look like they’re stuck in the early 2000s.
• Databases. Your choice of database will significantly impact your app's performance, scalability, and data management capabilities. Assess the development company’s proficiency with SQL (for structured data and complex queries) and NoSQL (unstructured data) databases.
• Cybersecurity. Developers should employ robust security mechanisms such as encrypted communication, role-based access control, and AI-based intrusion detection tools. Check that they also enforce data handling policies and data anonymization software to comply with privacy laws such as GDPR and HIPAA.

Once you have a vendor shortlist, you can contact each to discuss their development approach.

Evaluate Mobile Development Processes and Methodologies

Most developers follow a strict process, but some companies go beyond sequential steps. The best app development company will suggest the right setup for you. Here are some practices to look out for.

• Agile methodology. Agile development methodology focuses on collaboration, customer feedback, and rapid releases. Unlike the linear Waterfall model, Agile allows continuous adjustments and improvements, making changes easier during mobile app development.
• Flexible project management. Regular but non-intrusive meetings are essential for effective project management. For example, a Scrum framework allows teams to work in easily manageable sprints. Clearly defined sprint goals help both you and your vendor monitor progress without micromanagement.
• DevOps practices. DevOps practices automate testing and infrastructure management, accelerating the production cycles and improving the quality of the end product.
• Shift left approach. The shift left approach involves integrating automated security checks and risk mitigation strategies early in the development process, ensuring better security and code stability of your mobile app.

A reliable software development company will consider your current workflow and help integrate the right development process for speed and clear communication.

Assess Communication and Collaboration Practices

A partnership for software development is built on trust, which in turn takes effective communication. Look for these signs of a vendor with a good communication focus.

• The right tools. Instant messaging, video updates, and task tracking can cut time spent in meetings and keep you aligned on project status.
• Continuous feedback. The key to success is a continuous feedback loop between developers, project managers, and clients. When selecting a mobile developer, consider how often they can provide updates and progress reports.
• Change management. The concept and functionality of your mobile app may change during development. A structured change management process will allow the provider to quickly adapt to your requests.
• Time zone alignment. If you’re outsourcing to a different region, what’s your communication window? Overlapping business hours mean you can deal with issues quickly. If the time difference is bigger, a company should be willing to assign a separate manager who will handle your requests at a convenient time.A dedicated project manager. A dedicated project manager or Scrum Master ensures your project progresses smoothly at every stage. This person will coordinate tasks, address issues, coach developers, and keep communication transparent.

Without knowing what practices improve production, it’s impossible to understand how to choose the best mobile app development company. In addition, efficient communication ensures that you are always informed about the project's progress and costs.

Evaluate Services and Partnership Model

Outsourcing saves you the cost of vetting engineers, acquiring expensive software, and dealing with management issues. But software is still expensive to build, even with the best mobile development company. Check for all of the following to optimize your investment.

Project audit services

Your app’s features, design elements, integration, and architecture all impact development costs. For example, complex AI-based technologies require more algorithm training and refinement. A project validation or audit will double-check that your idea is financially viable.

Business validation

The best development partner will be able to validate your concept and business strategy with a Proof of Concept (PoC) and Minimum Viable Product (MVP), saving you investment in software that users don’t actually need. An MVP-first approach also allows you to gather early user feedback before the direct full-scale development.

Cooperation type

Companies usually provide two types of teams: a dedicated team (outsourcing) and an extended team (outstaffing). A dedicated team works exclusively on your mobile app, making it ideal for complex or long-term projects. An extended team will complement your in-house engineers, filling skill gaps when needed.

Project documentation

How will your prospective partner document costs and plans? At the minimum, documentation should cover:

• Project requirements
• Expectations and success criteria
• A test strategy that outlines test objectives, methodologies, quality assurance (QA) processes, and risk mitigation techniques

Company location

Outsourcing can offer significant cost savings while maintaining high-quality standards. For example, developers in Ukraine have lower rates than in the US or Western Europe, yet possess excellent programming skills (15th place globally, according to Coursera’s 2023 Global Skills Report). However, you’ll need to consider time zone differences, business days, and language barriers and check whether your vendor has a plan to accommodate them.

There are two basic development pricing models:

• A fixed-price model is suitable for short-term, predictable projects with well-defined requirements.
• A time and material (T&M) model charges you for actual hours worked, which gives you more flexibility but may require you to track things more closely.

At Techstack, we use the time and material model. You pay for the actual time spent on your project and maintain control over the project’s progress. This includes comprehensive post-launch support.

Consider Post-Release Support and Maintenance Services

No matter how good your QA is, issues always arise after launch. The right developer will have services to solve problems and support your product post-release.

• Bug fixes. Proactive bug tracking and regular system audits can help identify potential issues before they hit your users. The developer must also ensure that your app is compatible with new versions of Android and iOS.
• Functionality improvements. Developers will need to update the design and functionality based on user input and competitor’s apps. You might even find a partner that conducts regular market analysis to stay ahead of the competition.
• Security patches. Regular security patches are essential for protection against malicious intent. More importantly, developers should ensure that updates don’t introduce new vulnerabilities.
• Performance optimization. Continuous performance monitoring is crucial to identify bottlenecks affecting the app's efficiency. The company should also maintain the backend to ensure the app can handle a growing user base.

A committed post-release partner helps you adapt and improve over time, ultimately contributing to the long-term success of your mobile app.

Choose the Best Mobile App Development Company for Your Project

Knowing how to choose a mobile app development company can vastly improve your product's chances of success.

Relevant experience, robust project management practices, continuous feedback loops, and post-release support are key indicators of a reliable company. Positive feedback and relevant case studies best demonstrate these things.

At Techstack, we offer all this and more. We’re an established mobile app developer with 10+ years of experience working with clients to build innovative solutions in healthcare, logistics, and renewable energy. Our technology experts can build your mobile app from scratch, integrate it with advanced technologies, refine your UX design, and discuss the best way forward with 1-to-1 consultation.

Want to learn more? Explore our services or get a quote.