Building a quality mobile application while on a tight budget can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. Perhaps you have an innovative idea you’d like to share with the world, or you want to help your company broaden its digital influence. Whatever the case, money, or rather the lack of thereof, shouldn’t be what’s stopping you from venturing into the world of app development!
In this article, we’re going to discuss a couple of cheap, but high-quality solutions to help you get things started on your journey of creating your first mobile application from scratch.
So, without any further ado, let’s get to the bottom of it!
1. Outsourcing quality talent
Finding a talented app developer has become easier (and cheaper) than ever. Freelancing platforms can be an excellent place to look for developers of different skill levels, degrees of experience, and most importantly, hourly rates. You can find someone to work for you at almost any price, as you’ll be dealing with an extremely competitive market spreading out to a global scale.
We suggest you hold long and detailed interviews before you hire your developers, though. While there’s quite a wide scope of talented and knowledgeable individuals willing to work with you, you may also encounter some low-quality bids that would end up as nothing but a huge waste of time. So, be careful.
Besides that, if you decide to go the freelancer route, make sure to do your business via the most popular platforms (freelancer, Upwork, Fivver). In this way, you’ll ensure you’re getting what you’ve paid for, avoiding scams and low-quality work.
2. Focus on the most important functionalities first
Once you start developing your idea, it’s easy to get carried away and start coming up with constant upgrades and enhancements to make it all even better. However, when it comes to actual app development, and especially if you’re working on a tight budget, it’s best to keep the app’s features to a minimum. Once its main layout is finalized, you can slowly start adding more complex functionalities, designs, and features to make it truly shine.
In this way, you’ll be able to have a finished product extremely quickly, which could help you balance your budget much easier, especially in the long run. So yes, you should keep it simple, at least at the beginning. You don’t need to make it completely cross-platform right away, and it doesn’t need a complex UI as soon as it launches. Make it functional before everything else, and worry about adding other, less significant features later.
3. Remember to consult with a graphic designer
Now, no matter how small your budget is, somewhere down the line you’ll need the assistance of a graphic designer, especially if you’re making an app for your company. An attractive UI can make a difference between success and failure when it comes to mobile apps. Ensure your app suits your brand properly by incorporating relevant colors, fonts, and other visual cues into its interface.
Again, the cheapest way to go about this is via freelancing deals. Always look at the designer’s portfolio and ensure they’ve worked on similar projects since UI design requires specific skills and knowledge to be done properly.
Hiring a graphic designer early on can help you reach your goals faster and start getting increased ROI as soon as you launch the product. We suggest you hire them before you’ve started the actual app development process. In this way, you’ll be able to save some money and avoid sizeable opportunity costs, which is incredibly important in the long run.
4. App builders and software
Alternative to freelance developers and designers, you could make use of various online app-building tools and software. These usually come in different pricing models and frameworks, so do your research until you’ve found something that suits your needs and your budget.
Now, it all depends on the complexity of your idea and the monetization method you’ll be using to make it profitable. Not all app-makers and templates are cheap, but you’ll certainly find something that lines up with your budgeting needs if you look hard enough. You can read more about these development tools here if you’re interested.
5. Learn how to code
If you’re not creating the app for business-related matters, but you have an interesting idea that you’d like to see in action, you could always simply learn how to code. Take up a programming course, watch and read all of those online tutorials and guides, and develop the app yourself!
Yes, it might take you years to achieve this, but as long as you’re persistent and ready to learn, you’ll certainly succeed! Besides, coding skills are in demand today, which makes programming a profitable hobby.
Of course, this only goes for those people who have an idea they’d like to bring into reality one day (it doesn’t matter when). It’s not meant for business owners nor company managers who work on time-sensitive projects every day.
6. Acquire the necessary marketing skills
Once you have your app ready, you’ll want people to use it, right? Well, you can’t do that without a proper marketing strategy! Do some research on digital marketing or seek assistance from an expert to help you get a successful launch.
Promote your app on your social media, place it in ads, and find cheap ways to get people interested. Only then, your hard work and persistence will start to pay off.
Again, you don’t need to hire an expensive marketing agency to get the word out there. Use your own business skills and online resources until you’ve reached all of your goals and objectives.
The bottom line
Creating a mobile app while being on a shoestring budget can be quite a challenge, but it’s absolutely doable. As long as you have a clear vision ahead of you, you’ll be able to bring your idea into life in no time whatsoever.
We hope our short guide helped you come up with your own app development plan, and we wish you good luck in all of your future endeavors.
Kim Marks 
Nicola Holder