App Development
App Development Services
Most app projects fail on scope, not on code. We start by working out what the first version should not include.
- You own the code, the repositories and the store accounts
- Scoped in a paid discovery before anyone quotes a build
- Fixed-price phases, not an open-ended hourly rate
- No lock-in — the project can be handed to another team
The problem
The failure is almost never technical
Apps overrun because the first version was specified to include everything anyone mentioned. Each feature seems small in a meeting; collectively they turn a three-month build into a year, and the launch that would have told you whether the idea works keeps receding.
The second common failure is a quote given before anyone understood the requirement. A number produced from a two-page brief is a guess, and guesses are corrected later through change requests — which is where the relationship usually breaks down.
We work the other way round: a paid discovery that produces a specification and a real number, then a build against it. If the number is more than you want to spend, you have a specification you can take elsewhere.
How it works
Discovery first, then a build with a real number
1. Discovery
Fixed price, one to three weeks. What the app has to do, for whom, and what the first version deliberately leaves out. Ends in a written specification and a build quote.
2. Design
Screens and flows agreed before code is written, because moving a screen in a design file is cheap and moving it in a built app is not.
3. Build in phases
Each phase fixed-price with a defined output you can see working. You are never asked to fund a stage before the previous one has been demonstrated.
4. Testing and store submission
Device testing, then submission to the App Store and Play Store under your own developer accounts, with the review process handled.
5. Handover or support
Code, repositories and documentation handed over. A support arrangement is available and is not a condition of the build.
Not sure which option fits?
Send us the brief. You will get a scope, a timeline and a fixed price within 24 hours — no obligation.
What you get
What is included in a build
Everything below is yours at the end, whether or not you continue with us.
- A written specification produced in discovery, before any build commitment
- Source code in repositories you own from the first commit
- Apps submitted under your own Apple and Google developer accounts
- Documentation written for a developer who has never seen the project
- Any third-party services set up in your accounts, billed to you directly
- A defined warranty period for defects after launch
Scope
What we build, and what we will turn down
Business apps, internal tools, customer-facing apps with a straightforward backend, and web applications where a browser is the right place for it. Cross-platform by default, native where there is a specific reason.
We will say no where a project needs specialist capability we do not have — real-time video infrastructure, regulated fintech, medical device software, anything safety-critical. Taking that work and learning on your budget would be the wrong outcome for both of us.
We will also say when an app is not the answer. A surprising number of app briefs are better solved by a website, an existing platform, or a spreadsheet that somebody maintains properly.
Ongoing cost
What happens after launch
An app is not finished at launch. Operating systems update, store requirements change, and a build left untouched for two years usually needs work before it will submit again. That is normal and worth budgeting for rather than discovering.
Support is offered monthly and is optional. Because you hold the code, the repositories and the accounts, another team can take the project on without our involvement — which is the arrangement you want if the relationship ever stops working.
Third-party services — hosting, notifications, analytics, payments — are set up in your accounts and billed to you directly, so there is no margin on top and no dependency on us to keep the app running.
Pricing
What it costs
Discovery is fixed-price and quoted from a short conversation about what you are trying to build. It is deliberately the only thing you commit to at the start.
The build is quoted after discovery, phase by phase, from a specification you have read and approved. We would rather give you a number we can hold than a low one that grows through change requests.
If the build quote is more than you want to spend, the specification is yours. Take it to another team — that is a legitimate outcome and it is better than a project that starts underfunded.
Free proposal
Tell us the goal. We’ll send the plan.
Share your requirements and a strategist gets back to you within 24 hours with scope, timeline and a fixed price. No obligation, no sales pressure.
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Response within 24 hours
Usually much sooner during business hours.
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Talk to a strategist
Not a call centre — the person who scopes your work.
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Fixed pricing upfront
You approve the number before anything starts.
Prefer to talk?
[email protected]Questions
Questions about app development
Still unsure about something? Talk to a specialist — no script, no sales pitch.
Because a number produced from a short brief is a guess, and guesses get corrected later through change requests. Discovery is fixed-price and short, and it ends with a specification and a figure we can actually hold.
You do, from the first commit. Repositories, documentation and store accounts are all yours, which means another team can pick the project up without us.
It depends entirely on scope, which is what discovery establishes. Anyone giving you a timeline before understanding the requirement is quoting an average rather than your project.
Cross-platform by default, because it costs less and covers both stores. Native where there is a specific reason — heavy device integration, demanding performance, or a platform capability that is not otherwise reachable.
You keep everything produced to that point: code, designs, specification and documentation. Phases are fixed-price and separately committed, so stopping between them is a clean break rather than a dispute.
If you want us to. Monthly support is available and optional, and it is not a condition of the build. Some ongoing budget is worth planning for either way — operating systems and store requirements change.
Works well with
Pair it with the rest of the stack
Ready when you are
Ready to work with the pros?
Get a free proposal in 24 hours — scope, timeline and fixed price. No obligation, no lock-in contract.
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