The world is increasingly becoming digital, with about 5.35 billion people using the internet. In such a digitally-driven world, businesses must build a strong online presence to unlock the door of business transformation and reach the target audience. Web applications are a good way for businesses to keep the prospective audience engaged and stay at par with the latest industry standards.
Web applications are simply software programs that run on a web server. Although it’s easy to define it, it’s equally difficult to understand what goes into making the product. How much does it cost to build a web application? It’s important to know the factors that influence the app development cost, as once you know them you can easily plan out SDLC without wasting effort, time, or money. In this blog, we understand various factors that impact your web app development cost, different aspects of web application development, and their development cost.
Factors that Determine the Price of Web Application Development
The cost of web application development depends on certain factors. Without these factors, it will be impossible for top web application development companies to come across a fair budget. Listed below are the features responsible for determining the cost factor of a web application development service.
1. The Type of Web Application
The cost of your web application development service varies based on the type of web application you wish to develop. You also have to decide the platform that you aim to target.
If you are willing to develop a single-page application that can be accessed through the web as well as through mobile platforms, consider developing a hybrid application. Although this will reduce the cost of web application development, the user experience will be compromised.
Similarly, if you want to build web applications native to Android and iOS separately, you will have to pay more. However, the user experience, in this case, will be much improved. Therefore, whether you are looking for native or responsive website design, services will help determine the amount you must pay. Users might also wish to incorporate features like offline access, multiple screens, etc. All these features will impact the pricing structure of the web app designing services.
- Simple Web Apps: $30,000 to $100,000.
- Medium Complexity Web Apps: $100,000 to $150,000.
- Complex Web Apps: $300,000 or more
2. The UI/UX Design
The price of your web application development also depends on the UI design, interactive features, graphics, and all of those that can improve the user experience. A custom web application development company will allow you ample flexibility about the complexity of design, the number of elements, animations, and so on.
Designing the user interface is a task that demands a great deal of patience and effort. The more complex the UI elements are, the higher the price will be paid to the web app development company.
- Basic UI Design: ₹20,000 to ₹50,000
- Standard UI/UX Design: ₹50,000 to ₹150,000
- Advanced UI/UX Design: ₹150,000 to ₹500,000 or more
- Premium and Enterprise-Level Design: ₹500,000, or more
3. Skills of the Developer
Hiring an outsourcing software development company offers many benefits, one of them being getting access to a skilled team of developers with diverse expertise. Additionally, the company also provides established workflows, different engagement models, and time and cost savings.
The web app development cost varies widely and depends a lot on location and company reputation. On average, costs range from $50 to $200/hour.
4. The Geographical Location
The geographical location of the developers also plays a key role in determining the cost of the web development services you hire from a company. Web developers in countries like Canada, the US, and Australia charge exorbitant rates for web development.
On the contrary, the price is relatively lower in South-Asian countries such as India. Not only this, but a developer’s skills are also important in determining the price you have to pay a web app development company.
While the average hourly rate for developers in the US is $36–$62, in India, however, it’s $18–$39.
5. The Project Size and Timeline
If you are trying to implement a time-sensitive idea, you might have to hasten the process. If the timeline within which you wish the product to be delivered to you is short, the web development agency might have to hire a few extra resources to accomplish the task.
Therefore, it is evident that shorter timelines will cause the cost to go up. Alongside this, the size of the project is another factor that helps to determine Therefore, depending on the period of the development process, the amount you have to pay is nearly 20-50% of the overall development cost.
The cost of developing a web application also varies significantly depending on the project’s size, and complexity. Here is what it may cost you:
- Small Projects: $5,000 to $20,000
- Medium Projects: $20,000 to $50,000
- Large Projects: $50,000 to $200,000 or more
6. Post-Release Costs
As time passes, web applications might have to undergo several changes in the form of updating integrations and plugins, bug fixing, adding new features, code optimization, scaling, and so on. All these are added under one umbrella term- “maintenance costs.” While it is impossible to state the exact amount needed to develop a web application in India, based on the factors mentioned above, we can figure out a rough estimate.
Website maintenance cost requires nearly 20% of development costs annually. You can hire a professional monthly and pay something ranging between $1,200 to $2,500.
On the other hand, if you are knowledgeable about the concepts associated with web development, you can seek assistance from a skilled professional. You can pay them $12-22 per hour. However, these prices significantly vary based on your requirements and the developer’s experience and skills.
Are you ready to take a step toward increasing your market presence on global platforms? Get in touch today for a free consultation!
4 Quick Tips to Reduce the Cost of Building a Web App
Follow these tips to ensure the web application development cost doesn’t break the bank:
- Leveraging free and open-source frameworks and libraries to minimize licensing fees is crucial.
- Outsourcing development to regions with lower labor costs can reduce expenses without compromising quality.
- Utilizing automated testing tools reduces manual testing time and improves code reliability, which can save costs in the long run.
- Focus on developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to test key features before fully committing resources.
- Reuse existing code components and modules to save development time and reduce costs.
- Implement CI/CD pipelines to streamline development processes and reduce downtime.
- Utilizing automated testing tools reduces manual testing time and improves code reliability, which can save costs in the long run.
Types of Web Applications
Before outsourcing our web application development task to a company, we need to be sure about the kind of web application we want for our business. There are three main types of web applications that businesses can choose from. They are as discussed below:
1. Single-Page Applications
Such applications have only one page. This kind of application makes navigating the app incredibly effortless because all the functionality is available on a single page. The social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and some Google services such as Google Calendar and Gmail are examples of single-page applications.
Top Single-Page Applications Features:
- Smoother transitions to other apps
- Fast load times
- Responsive design
- Dynamic content updates
- Improved user experience
- Easier debugging
- Smoother transitions to other apps
2. Multi-Page Applications
As you can figure out from the name, multi-page applications are web-based applications with multiple pages.
Unlike single-page applications, where all the features and functionalities are available on a single page, multi-page applications exhibit features on different pages. When you click a link or button, a new page is loaded. This is the most commonly sought-after choice for web application development.
Top Multi-Page Application Features:
- Robust analytic capabilities
- Caching
- Faster Page load times
- Enhanced User navigation
- Ability to Scale up or down
3. Progressive Web Applications
These web applications look like mobile applications. Users can gain access to all the contents of such web applications through their mobile browsers. One can use technologies like CSS, HTML, and JavaScript to build such web applications.
Progressive web applications also exhibit features like push notifications, offline accessibility, etc.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution; different companies have different requirements. Choose the kind of web application that suits you best based on the goal that you want your business to accomplish.
Top Features of PWAs:
- Offline functionality
- Push notifications
- Background synchronization
- App-like interface
- Discoverability
- Easy installation
- built-in security
Also Read: Frontend Web Development Trends.
To Sum It Up
Developing an effective, secure, and user-friendly web application development is a complex process but it’s also essential to assert your online presence and stay ahead of your competitors. Knowing well in advance about work:web application development costs and the factors that influence it is going to help you in a lot of ways. You not only get to allocate resources judiciously but also can save you from budget nightmares and also provide you with the finest return on your investment in development.
If the process seems overwhelming, we suggest you seek a prominent digital transformation company that can help you develop a web application at affordable rates without compromising the quality. The company’s expertise and diverse experience in different web app models can help you build secure and scalable responsive web applications that suit your business goals.
