How long does it take to build an app?

Where the weeks go

Building an app isn’t one long stretch of coding. It runs in stages, and you see the work at each one.

• Agreeing what to build. This comes first, before the clock starts. On a free call you tell us the idea, and if we’re a good fit we send a roadmap: what to build first, how long it takes, and a fixed price.
• Design. We work out the screens and how someone moves through them.
• Build. The designs become a working app. You get versions you can tap through as we go, not a folder of files at the end.
• Testing and fixes. We test it, and you try it too. What comes up gets fixed before launch.
• Store review and launch. Apple and Google each review an app before it goes live. That usually takes a few days, but it can take longer, particularly for a first release.

What makes an app take longer

• More features on day one. Every screen and feature is design plus build plus testing. How much the app does at launch is the biggest lever on both time and cost.
• Two platforms at once. iPhone and Android together take longer than one. Many apps launch on one first and add the second once people are using it.
• Accounts, payments and other tools. Logins, subscriptions and connections to things like maps, messaging or a booking system all add work.
• Slow decisions. When feedback on a working version takes a week, the build waits a week. The same goes for logos, wording and photos that only you can supply.
• Changing the plan mid-build. New ideas are welcome, but each one adds time. We price any addition up front as a change request, so you can decide whether it’s worth the delay.

How to launch sooner

• Start with the smallest useful version. Pick the one thing the app must do well, and launch that. You can always add more once people are using it.
• Start from a foundation. If your idea fits one of our launch-ready foundations, the slow, common parts are already built and tested. That’s how an app can launch in 2 to 4 weeks.
• Launch on one platform first. Choose the one most of your customers use, and add the other later.
• Have your side ready. One person who can make decisions, plus your logo, wording and images, keeps the build moving.

Our promise on dates

You get a launch date with your quote. If we miss it because of us, you get 5% off. Delays on your side don’t count, which is one more reason to have your decisions and content ready.