Over the years, web applications have witnessed phenomenal growth. They are efficiently making their presence felt in brand promotion. Mobile-friendly web apps are more profitable than websites. Therefore, various brands go for Web App development to gain a competitive edge in the market. They are gaining more prominence as they play a pivotal role in generating traffic for your business.
Building customized and feature-packed applications involve huge cost and resources. The cost majorly depends on the development framework and scope & size of your web app. However, if you are looking for a definite figure, you cannot find one, because the app development cost depends on several factors.
According to Ibisworld, the market of the Web Design Services industry by revenue will be $11.0bn in 2022.
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In this guide, I’m going to address the factors that determine the web application development cost.
What Factors Affect the Web App Development Cost?
Scope of work
The app functionality is a decisive factor. The app cost relies on various factors, like if you are building a single-page or multi-page application, a simple or complex application, and also its integration with other systems.
The more cultivated the application, the more time and cost it involves in Web App Development.
Besides, we cannot ignore the code quality. Databases, mobile compatibility, and API integration make the app sophisticated. Thus needing more time and affixing to the overall budget. Writing high-quality under strict deadlines may vary the project budget.
Eventually, remember that we do not set web app project requirements in concrete. They may diversify with time, drawing new design elements and features. Adding modish elements depends on the audience’s needs.
The more uniqueness, the more expertise it requires, leading to the high development cost.
The complexity of Design & Features
Why are some web applications so complex? Is complexity an inherent feature, or is it the aftermath of rising customer demands and the usage of modern development tools?
In case, you want to include additional features apart from the primary requirements like user registration, admin panel, and payment gateway.
Thus, supplementary elements, design complexity, and animated features add to the cost of building a web application.
At first, you won’t realize it, but discussing it with a web app developer will give you a clear idea.
Web applications like payment apps and eCommerce apps are complex in nature. Amazon comprises a shopping cart, a shipment feature, checkout, and a payment gateway, thus it is complex in functionality.
A single-page application takes 3-4 hours with an estimated cost of $90-$400. A few e.g. are Google Maps, Gmail, Paypal, Netflix, etc.
For multi-page or complex applications, the time taken is around 50-100 hours, and the development cost is around $1500-$10000. E.g. Amazon, eBay, etc.
Resources
Web application development cost depends on the hiring blueprint of software developers:
Your project requirements may determine the cogency of the above options. Let’s discuss their pros and cons.
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Freelancers:
Pros:
If you have a small project, hiring remote developers or freelancers could be a good choice. They offer low-pricing solutions and can also help you with software upgrades.
Cons:
They work at their convenience. You never know when they stop working.
In-house team:
Pros:
The in-house team is a part of your company that works remotely.
If you have multiple or long-term projects, having an internal development team will be the right option.
Cons:
The hiring process is lengthy and formidable. Involve additional expenses like software, hardware, or internet connection.
Outsource a company
Pros:
You can outsource a web development company for a lower project cost and high-quality product. The biggest advantage is they take care of the entire project cycle, from project development to management to delivery. Choose a company that fulfils your business requirements.
Cons:
There could be data leaks, cultural differences, and reliability issues.
Integration with third-party systems
You may also require integrating your website with third parties. The goal is to simplify and expand business operations. Third-party integration includes social media, a chat system, a shopping cart, a news feed, and a payment gateway.
E.g. You should have a secure payment system to handle a greater amount of payments. Change the address from HTTP to HTTPS for security.
Businesses may also require third-party APIs to access their features, data, and functionality. APIs eliminate the need to develop personalized software for the company.
E.g. If you are developing an eCommerce web app, you’ll require maps. Developing a map application is not practical, as it requires years to develop. It is cheaper and more effective to connect Google map API with your application.
These integrations may save time and cost. Additionally, they provide companies to focus on their core operations.
Web app Hosting
Website hosting cost will add to the overall web application development cost. It is an essential aspect of owning a business as it increases website presence and unlatches advanced features.
To activate your web app, you need a domain name and a hosting provider. Companies use cloud hosting services like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.
Determining your web hosting cost is essential to making a notified purchase decision. You can use shared hosting or a Virtual Private Server (VPS) depending on your website budget and type.
Also, bear in mind that if the features of the web hosting plan increase, it will also lead to an overall increase in the project fund.
Different Language Versions
A multilingual web app development expands the customer base beyond the geographical location. Besides, it helps to rank the web app in SERP in different languages. The design and layout are consistent even when a website switches between languages.
Writing content in multiple languages involves huge time, resources, and effort. Hence, you can use feature-rich and advanced plugins like Polyang, Weglot, and WPML for content translation.
Booking.com is a prime example of a multilingual website. Its content is obtainable in 35 different languages.
The website translation will intricate the website structure. It will append to the comprehensive cost of building a web application.
What is the cost of building a web application?
The question that comes up is “How cost estimation is done for a web app development project?” Every company makes different estimates depending on their project requirement.
In this section, I have shown a rough estimation of the development cost of applications as per their complex features.
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Simple web applications
Such an application involves less development time, and therefore, the cost. These web apps have simple features, functions, landing pages, less content, and minimal interactive elements.
Static web applications also fall into this category, since they are built using HTML & CSS.
- Development time – 1 month
- Development cost – $15,000- 50,000
Medium Applications
They have comparatively more content and interactive pages than simple web apps. The web app development process is challenging. Particularly, such apps are suitable for businesses that aim to expand their reach and grasp new business opportunities. Dynamic web apps fall under this category.
- Development time – 3-4 months
- Development cost – $50,000 – 150,000
Complex Applications
Complex applications are more convoluted to build and hence are the most extravagant.
A greater amount of resources, time, and money is involved in such web app development.
- Development time – 6 months
- Development cost – $60,000 – 250,000+
Expenses after the release of the application
Businesses should also consider expenses after release. These disbursements involve product testing, bug fixing, and application maintenance.
For a single pen test, the penetration testing cost for a web app can vary from $15,000 to more than $100,000.
The app maintenance involved data storage, servers, and CDN and this can cost up to $12,000, depending on the app’s complicacy.
Conclusion
Even in the tech-motivated era, we optimize only a fraction of websites according to the mobile-first approach. Hence, web apps are trending more than websites. Building an engaging website application from scratch will incorporate the development time and efforts of every resource in the team, like UI/UX designers, developers, Team Lead, and QA Engineer.
According to PRNewswire, the market of web apps is expected to reach up to $10,149 million by the year 2027.
In this fierce competition, every business owner must think of building a web application. Moreover, it is also crucial to consider the factors affecting the cost of building a web application.
FAQs
What is the average development cost of a web application?
The cost depends on the project’s complexity. The average web app development range from $5,000 – $50,0,000.
The best front-end web development tools are Novi Builder, SaaS, NPM, and InVision Cloud. The most demanded backend web development tools are MongoDB, Apache, Grunt, Redis, and NGINX.
Which skills are required for web app development?
The essential skills needed to become a web developer are HTML & CSS, JavaScript, and its frameworks, like Angular, React JS, and Vue.js. Other than this, they must possess expertise in Responsive Designing, CMS, and Restful services & APIs.
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