How Much Does It Cost to Develop an E-Commerce Mobile App

The main reason behind the successful running of a business is a well developed E-commerce mobile app. But before straightaway diving into developing an app, a business should have a clear insight of the expenditure to be incurred in the entire process of development.

Why Develop an E-Commerce Mobile App?

Any company that wishes to expand its customer base should invest in a mobile app as it is one of the best marketing tools in today’s world. It is an era of competition where every organization is striving to move forward by increasing its clientele. Since the immense growth in Information Technology more and more people are becoming techno-friendly. Customers love to do their shopping on the go.

A mobile app enhances the convenience of buyers as they can directly order products from their mobile devices without any hassles. Additional features such as shopping cart, faster checkouts, wishlists and order tracking provides the well-developed e-commerce websites an edge over those who don’t have a mobile app.

An app provides the users a personalized experience of the e-commerce platforms and increases the recognition of a brand. It also provides easy accessibility for smartphone and tablet users.

Cost of App Designing

The interface is what attracts customers. The more attractive your interface the more will it appeal to the audience. If an app doesn’t have a user-friendly design, it can drive away potential customers, thus decreasing your client base drastically. Afterall, the competitors are just a tap away.

In order to carry out the designing the app, it is better to go for a professional designer instead of doing it by yourself or work with a freelancer. Since there are so many different elements requiring varying levels of emphasis, a designer would be able to handle them tactfully.

Moreover, there are lesser chances of design matrix errors if the entire work is handled by a professional. Various elements to be designed require a precise strategy and a professional attitude. A designer will make sure that the user convenience is kept as the top priority and will make the navigation system easy for the users.

A professional designer is fully aware of the designing guidelines put forth by both Play store and App store. The design should be versatile so that it can easily work well with a wide array of Android and iOS devices. Depending on your goals the costs can increase or decrease accordingly. Keep in mind that if you wish to cover a large range of Android devices and different versions of the Android, it will cost you a lot.

On an average, app designer charges $20/hr to $50/hr depending on the platform and the basis of requirements. The rates can vary with the addition and subtraction of features such as improved material design, total app screens, graphics effect. Only the designing exclusive of other processes can cost a business around $2K to 30K depending on the features included.

Cost of Platform:

It is essential to choose a platform that well suited according to your target audience. Android, iOS, are main two different platforms, and any application based on either of these platforms incur different costs. The more the time required developing an app, the more are the costs. Hybrid apps are cheaper than native apps, but native apps are superior as far as the quality and reachability are concerned. Once the platform is finalized the technical specifications take us the rest of the expenses.

Cost of Development

The cost of development of an e-commerce app ranges from $5,000 to $50,000. The costs per hour of the developer can rise up to $150 if the person is responsible for designing, developing, fixing bugs, and testing the app. There are certain software licenses and types of equipment to purchase that can significantly add to the cost and raise the overall budget.

For example, integration of the application with various social media platforms can cost somewhat around $500 – $1,500. The entire infrastructure including the databases can cost you $1,000 – $5,000. $1,000-$4,000 should be kept aside for the in-app purchasing.

Cost of App Stores

The present annual charges of Google’s Android Market are $25 lifetime and App store charges $99 for the entire year. It is quite budget friendly considering the fact that Google’s Android Market is a leading app store and Apple App store for iOS mobile applications.

Total Cost

Since an Android app has to cater to needs of various devices and run smoothly, you will get only what you pay for. Even though estimating the total cost of the development of an e-commerce app depends on various factors and is difficult to predict, roughly we can say that it would cost you around $20k- $150k depends on requirements. The hosting and server also play a crucial role in determining the overall cost of developing an e-commerce mobile app. Along with the server charging and hosting expenditure, the platform also charges a fee.

Features of a Good E-commerce App

There are some must-have features a good e-commerce app should possess. Let us take a look at them.

1. Simple Registration

Customers will immediately leave your app if the registration process is at all time consuming or tricky.

2. Payment Options

A good e-commerce app should support a variety of payment options including but not limited to credit cards, debit cards, online wallets, net banking, etc.

3. Integration of Social Media

Customers will promote your products if they find an easy way to connect to the social media platforms. Also, the registration can be done via this integration which makes the process even simpler.

4. Nice User Experience

If the users are not satisfied with your app it just takes a few taps on the screen to uninstall an application. An efficient functioning with easy navigation is a must for any e-commerce apps to keep the users hooked.

5. Shopping Cart and Wishlist

A wishlist enables customers to select their favorites and organize them at one place before proceeding to checkout. A shopping cart organizes the products selected and results in a hassle-free shopping experience.

Conclusion:

Developing a good e-commerce app doesn’t mean being hi-tech. It is about what you offer to your users and how useful the features can prove to your customers. If you invest judiciously in an e-commerce mobile app, there is nothing that can stop your business from soaring high.