Many companies are jumping into the world of mobile digital applications in an effort to attract more customers, and build better relationships with the ones they already have. In most cases, that means hiring a mobile development company to design and build the app.

Like any business project which requires a large outlay of capital, it's important for business owners to ask the right questions before agreeing to a financial arrangement with a mobile developer. Here are questions that should definitely be on that list. We suggest to read further about this at https://www.bizplan.com/community/questions/846/should-i-outsource-the-development-of-my-app-to-a-mobile-development-company/answers/12915.

Developers and Engineers' Location

One common trick among mobile development companies is to place a salesperson and/or liaison to the development team in a given market to claim that the company is local but in reality, the key developers and engineers are based in another country. In these cases, it will be much harder to contact members of the development team, obtain responses to questions and concerns, and receive high-quality customer service from the company. So make sure that a mobile development company that claims to be local actually is.

Costs of the Project

Obviously, you'll want to get a clear idea of how much the entire project will cost. Mobile developers may not be able to give you an exact figure before starting work on your app, but they should at least quote you some numbers regarding project costs, licensing expenses, etc. Also, be sure to inquire how amenable the mobile developers are to providing updates because apps can become obsolete within a matter of months.

Platforms 

You'll need to determine whether your business app will be available for iPhone, Android, Windows, and/or BlackBerry devices. If you desire your app to be compatible with multiple platforms, be sure to ask the development company to put this into their cost estimates. Most importantly, ask with which platforms the company's developers have the most experience. If you want your app on iPhones but a mobile development company has only designed apps for Android, you should probably consider going with someone else; you shouldn't be paying for their on-the-job training.

How Will Users Be Able to Download My App?

Obviously, any mobile app should be accessible through a business's website. Beyond that, you should know which third-party app sites will be selling your app to end users. Also if you want your app to be available on iTunes, and the mobile development company cannot give you a reasonable guarantee that it will be approved for iTunes sales, then kick the company to the curb.