How long does it take to develop a mobile app?
Discover how Netgen develops high-quality mobile apps efficiently, guiding your project from planning and design to launch and beyond.
The time it takes to develop a mobile app can vary greatly, depending on a number of factors. These include the complexity of the app, intended features and functionality, the resources available to the development team, and the size of the development team.
It usually takes several months to a year or more to develop a mobile app, though it may be possible to develop a simple app in a few weeks.
The software development cycle
Mobile app development follows a process known as the software development cycle, which is usually divided into six phases:
- Planning and research – The first phase can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on how much research is required. During this period, the timeline of the project is established. There are tools and methodologies that can help the team accurately estimate and visualise the project’s timeline.
- Design – The timeline for the design phase can range from a few weeks to several months, depending on the number of screens and features that need to be designed.
- Development – This is the longest phase and can take anywhere from several months to over a year, depending on the complexity of the app and the number of features that need to be developed.
- Testing – This phase can last from a few weeks to several months, depending on the number of features and platforms that need to be tested. Depending on the development methodology being used, testing may be done either during or after development.
- Deployment – The penultimate step in the software development cycle, deployment can take a few days to two weeks, depending on the app store submission process and any additional deployment tasks that need to be completed. Time also needs to be allocated to hypercare, when issues are rapidly resolved through patches and bugfixes.
- Maintenance – After the mobile app has been launched, the software needs to be maintained. It’s during this period that patches are launched and new features may be developed and added. This phase lasts indefinitely.
Contact Netgen to develop your mobile app
Netgen uses React Native as the framework for all of our mobile apps. This allows us to share the codebase between iOS and Android, so no matter what platform you intend to launch on, we can deliver on time and within budget. Get in touch today.
