Complete Checklist for Hiring IOS Developers
Apple is always known for making things their own and doing them their own specific way. They hardly allow any third party developers to create on their platform. This was exactly the case when they launched their first ever mobile phone called the iphone. But less than 12 months into the mega launch, Steve Jobs foresaw the galaxy of possibilities and how allowing third party apps can not only result in greater user experience but also boost the company’s revenue.
The yearly cost of renewing your hosting on the App Store is 4 times more than the lifetime cost that you end up paying on Play Store. Despite the obvious disparity in cost, nearly 32 billion apps were downloaded from the ios in the last year.
Things to Curate before Hiring an IOS Developer
There are some basic necessary skills that any ios developer must have. These basic skills include proficiency in programming languages like Objective-C and having a strong understanding of UX/UI tools. Another key element for custom ios app development is integration of APIs. Apart from these basic skills and know-how, following are some qualities or lack of it that you can observe in your potential developer.
Ability to use libraries & frameworks:
You can tell developers’ level of expertise by looking at the range of libraries or frameworks with predefined codes they are using. There are some functionalities across all apps that require similar coding. Using these prewritten codes also known as libraries or frameworks can save a lot of time for your project and knowing these libraries acts as a huge advantage for your developers.
Expertise with Swift:
Back in 2014, Apple launched its own programming platform called “swift” to design intuitive apps that work the best with its ios. Good thing about swift is that developers can create the whole app from scratch on swift or use some codes to perform some functionalities and it will adapt to the existing Objective-C files just fine. At the moment among developers, only 5% use swift language but given Apple’s claims in terms of difference in speeds, it won’t be a surprise if that number goes on an exponential rise in the coming years.
Agreement on Updates:
Users these days want the latest versions of the operating systems. Every year, Apple plans to make the user experience better with some major and minor changes to its OS. With the roll out of newer versions, the older ones often become irrelevant. Your developer must be ready to adapt to any major or minor changes in the operating systems that might affect your apps. On the other hand, Apple also announced a few years back that they will be looking to discontinue apps which have not had any recent updates. This also means Apple wants you and your developers to stay on top of your game and provide regular updates and to make the user experience optimum. Any change in the OS or any attempt of security breach can lead to major bugs and performance lags. You must agree with your developers to roll out regular updates of your apps.
Monetizing Strategies:
Developers these days do not like to limit themselves as just the tech guys. From being a mere medium to reach out to consumers, mobile apps have become a prime source of revenue for almost all businesses. Your developers must guide you through in-app functionalities that offer great monetization opportunities to you. Apart from the ad revenue, developers must deploy strategies to increase revenue streams through in-app purchases and with affiliate programs.
Third Party Integrations:
From being a window of marketing to now becoming an online store, mobile apps have come a long way. Almost all products and services can now be purchased online through websites or apps. Knowing the third party API integration is another trait that your ios developer must have. Ensuring the usage of safe and secure payment gateways is very essential for any app. Apart from the payment interfaces, third party integrations like maps, embedded previews, in-app media players, AR/VR plug-ins and outbound social media share buttons are also very essential to any app. Knowing these functionalities is a testament of any developer’s abilities.
The Denouncement
The key to being the best in the business is to stay updated with the latest trends. If your developers know what is trending in the business, they will pretty much find their way to reach the industry standards. From then on, it's all about innovativeness. The trends keep changing but the urge to be innovative and to be ahead of the queue differentiates any ios developer from the herd. Knowing the basic language is obvious but if you can figure out whether or not your developers have the above mentioned traits, you will be able to align with the most suitable individual or agency.