Last Updated on March 10, 2021 by WebsiteDesigner.sg
A freelance mobile app developer in Singapore is one who develops specialised applications that targets mobile devices such as touchscreen phones and tablets. The most commonly targeted platforms are iOS and Android. A freelance mobile developer is someone who works directly with the client in terms of requirements gathering, app planning and development, testing and more. This article help you decide whether to choose a freelance app developer in Singapore vs other options.
Benefits of a Freelance Mobile App Developer
Here are some of the benefits of why you should hire a freelance mobile app designer in Singapore.
Cost
Mobile app development costs are expensive in Singapore.
According to this article, the costs of a mobile app developer from a company could range from $100 to $200 per hour.
This is the rough estimate of the cost for a company hiring a mobile app developer.
If that is the cost of hiring, you can expect a company to charge you a premium over the cost.
For freelancers, there is no fixed costs of operating their business. They can work anywhere and anytime.
For a business, they have to factor in rental of office space, CPF contribution for the employees and more fixed costs.
Support
A business is expected to support you during working hours unless specified in the contract. It will be difficult to get a company to respond if your app breaks during after working hours.
For a freelancer, it is easy as sending a message on WhatsApp or an email and you have a higher chance of getting a response.
Language
Hiring a freelancer based in Singapore will cost more but you will get someone who can speak your language and understand what you want.
Process
Fix a date to meet up online/offline
Depending on the regulations, it may not be possible to freely meet up for business meetings as before the pandemic.
Hence, many have sought out online solutions like Zoom or Microsoft Teams to schedule meetings with prospects.
Requirements Gathering
During the meeting, explain clearly to the developer on what app you wish to build.
Some tips for the above
- prepare presentation slides
- screenshot existing apps that have features you wish to implement
- list down apps that you like
This meeting is important and may occur more than once.
Conceptualising
After the meeting, the developer will take all the recorded requirements and materials to come up with some concepts and ideas for your app.
Usually this step will take a week or more depending on how complex your requirements are.
Next, the developer may come back with these items
- Sketches and mockups
- Presentation slides
- Clickable prototype in Adobe XD/Figma: this is mockup where you can click around as if it was the real app. But of course, there is no database linked to it.
- Minimal viable product (MVP) – a real working app with minimal features
Sometimes, the developer will ask for a fee before coming with these materials.
Contract
Finally, you like the mockup and want to proceed further. The app developer will provide a contract with the requirements listed down.
Here you get to negotiate the cost of the project.
Ways to protect yourself
- If it is a large project, split the project into multiple phases. Each phase will have a cost. This will prevent you from paying a lump sum at the start of the project
- Use an escrow like Upwork. Upwork protects the buyer if there is unreasonable amount of work done by the developer
Development
As a customer, you should be able to track what is ongoing during the project.
Usually the developer will use a project management tool like Trello which allows you to view the items that are outstanding.
Testing
Testing is an important phase for your app. If it is not tested properly, be prepared to get an avalanche of bad reviews from your users.
Frameworks like Jest, Selenium can help the developer.
Launch in App stores
Finally if you are confident that testing is fully completed.
The developer will prepare the app builds and launch them on App store and Google Play Store.
Remember to create your own accounts and only provide certain keys to the developer.
Technologies
React Native
React Native is a popular choice as it is owned by Facebook & has great community support.
It is used by big companies such as Facebook, Instagram, Wix, Tesla and more.
Flutter
Flutter is also another great option as it is owned by Google. It is still a new relatively new framework compared to react native. Notable usage would be Google Ads mobile app.
Cordova
Vue.js can be used to build web applications and wrap it up with a Cordova webview. This is great for quick prototyping however it is not suitable for big applications.
Objective C/Swift
Java Kotlin
Features
Here are some features that you may wish to have.
SMS
You can tap on your devices’ SMS system to send out messages from your app itself. Useful for quick message delivery.
Camera
If you wish to utilise the camera system, you can use various options such as Flash, Selfie Mode and more.
Calendar
If you wish to save your events on your phone via your app, it is possible. You can also save it on 3rd party calendars such as Google Calendar.
Contacts
If you want to build an App that can retrieve a phone’s contact list, we can do it for you. You will need the user’s permission before that can be allowed.
Image Manipulation
If you want your users to resize, scale, transform their images within your app, it can be done.
In App Browser (Webview)
If you are an affiliate marketer that wants to direct a user to a Store with your affiliate code, you can do it within your app.
Google/Facebook Login
Your users are able to sign in and authenticate with your App with one click using their Google or Facebook accounts.
Push Notifications
Your users are able to sign in and authenticate with your App with one click using their Google or Facebook accounts.
QR or Barcode Scanning
Your users are able to sign in and authenticate with your App with one click using their Google or Facebook accounts.
Augmented Reality
If you wish to use AR in your app, please note that AR is only available on iOS devices at the moment.
Face Detection
Your users are able to sign in and authenticate with your App with one click using their Google or Facebook accounts.
Ads Integration
You can monetise your ads using Google Admob or Facebook Ads.
Popular App Ideas
Business Information App
A static app to showcase your business products & services. Having an App will boost your reputation as a forward thinking company.
Middleman App
An app that matches both buyer and supplier and indicate how much commission you get for each successful match.
Ecommerce App
An App that lists your products and/or services and anyone can add to cart and checkout via Stripe.
Utility Apps
If you have a great idea like building a calculator for buying a new car, you can build one and use adMob or Facebook ads to monetise it.
Asset Tracking Apps
An App where your service staff are able to scan equipment qr codes after they have serviced or checked the equipment.
Geolocation Apps
An App to retrieve your user’s location and render the nearby products or services for the specific user.
Freelance mobile applications development in Singapore
As the regular web development in Singapore, the freelance mobile application development in Singapore offer high-quality services. The creativity and the proficiency of the freelance web designer Singapore are unparalleled, and the charges are perhaps the same that you will have when you hire other designers.
When you hire freelance mobile applications developers in Singapore, you offer yourself a set of services along with some benefits. They handle developing custom applications for e-commerce business, custom applications for better user experience, and custom applications on demand. They handle the iOS and the Android platforms and can easily apply compatibility features on their applications.
How much does it cost to develop an app in Singapore?
First, you will need to define what is an App?
Are you referring to a Mobile App or a Web App?
These are 2 different implementations of software where one may cost much higher than the other. In the current market, mobile apps will cost you at least 5 figures in Singapore dollar.
Why do mobile app development and app maintenance cost in Singapore so high?
- 2 codebases – Swift/Objective C (iOS) & Java/Kotlin (Android)
- Different phone models to target – new phone models are launched every year and each phone have different screen sizes and operating systems
What cheaper alternatives do you have?
- Instead of building your idea in a mobile app, test your idea in a web app
- Instead of hiring native app developers, hire hybrid app developers who can build mobile apps in React Native, Flutter, NativeScript, Ionic or Cordova.
- Learn how to build a mobile app by private tuition or an app developer course Singapore which we offer
- Learn how to become a top Mobile Game Developer in Singapore