How to Find an iPhone App Developer [iPhone Q & A]

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This post is part of the iPhone Q & A series. If you have a question, send it over.

Catherine writes:

Are there app program developers that you would recommend? I have heard from a couple of them (one who wrote in on your blog) but I am not really sure (besides the fee and their resume) what I should be looking for to find a good developer at a fair price. Any ideas?

I have not worked with iPhone app developers myself, but here are 6 tips that might help you find a reputable iPhone app developer for your project:

  1. Look in the App Store. A good way to find a talented developer is to see who designed the apps you like in the iPhone App Store. Look in the app description under “Company”. Sometimes this will not be the company that designed the application, but a lot of times it lists the websites of the developers themselves. If that’s the case, check out the developer’s website and shoot them an email asking if they would like to work with you.
  2. Find professionals at a freelance jobs site. Post your iPhone app project to an online services marketplace, and developers will bid on your project. Check out these sites first:
  3. Start a dialog with prospective developers. If you find an available developer, talk about the details of your project and see how he/she responds. Do they reply in a timely manner to your emails? Do they sound like they know their craft? Ask to speak on the phone. Find out what programming languages they are familiar with and what kind of projects they like to work on.
  4. Ask to see a portfolio. Find out if the developer you’re considering has made other iPhone apps. If not, what other development experience do they have? You should expect to see proof of experience — that is, completed projects — before you hire someone to work on your iPhone app. Consider the iPhone app you want developed and whether your prospective developer seems capable of completing it.
  5. Choose a developer who’s worked on projects similar to yours. If your iPhone app will be graphics-intensive, look for a developer with graphics experience and an eye for aesthetics. If your app will be information-centered, look at how the developer organized data in their past work. Choose a developer who has a skillset that matches your needs.
  6. Hire more than one developer. You may want to consider hiring more than one developer to design and code your iPhone app. Sometimes a developer is more comfortable with design, and another with code. Think about hiring a designer to conceptualize your iPhone app, and then finding someone else to code it.

If you’ve worked with iPhone app developers, tell us in the comments what your experience was like. iPhone app developers, feel free to let us know about your work and whether you’re available to work on new projects.

Have a question? Click to email me.

27 thoughts on “How to Find an iPhone App Developer [iPhone Q & A]”

  2. Speaking from the point of view of an iPhone developer who is listed on a number of developer directories, the one that seems to be the most popular is TheyMakeApps (http://www.theymakeapps.com) – we get a lot of hit from them and I think that’s because their site is much easier to navigate than most other developer directories.

    Reply

  8. Nice post, but let me differ on freelancing portals thing, since you really need to do a lot of screening and weeding out from the hell bulk of bidders. Please note that more than half of bidders as well as buyers are non genuine on these portals, and you’ll need to do a lot of exercise to reach at the best short listed ones, also quality and post delivery accountability and availability is another big issue on these portals.

    These portals work on standard protocols and terms, and really lacks human approach, and for any software dev engagement, you first of all need to have mutual good relationship and seamless communication, which you’ll not find while working via freelancer sites, and since these are “freelancer” sites, most of the people working there are part-timers and your project is a part time job for them, and why would you risk your project to be developed on part-time basis by somebody, just to save some bucks??

    You can go through this blog of mine – http://iosappdevelopment.blogspot.com/2011/07/best-ways-to-find-out-great-iphone-app.html to see what my experience says on best ways to find out a best matching App development company for you.

    Feel free to contact me via sales at agicent dot com.

    Thanks,

    Reply

  10. We tried using elance, but the quality of the providers was poor. We just hired a development company we found on http://studiolist.org

    So far the results have have been good. I’ll be sure to follow up once the project is complete.

    Reply

    • Hey how are u? Momentum mobile.com, you said the cost was fair. I, like a million others, want to create an app. What were the fees you were charged? Also, did they create the app, test it and get it on the app store for you? You can email me at AM31477@aol.com. Thanks

      Reply

  14. Check out http://www.apptank.com

    You sign up and post your app project – developers bid and you hire the best developer for your project!

    It is as simple as that! I had an app that I wanted developed and I used AppTank. They really worked with me and helped me out – check it out if you are needing an App developed! It is free for people posting their ideas (except you have to pay the developer you hire!)

    Reply

    • Some of the links in these comments might be self-promoting, but none of them are irrelevant. I trust that readers can use their best judgment to decide on whether to use any of the services presented here.

      Reply

  19. In addition to the 2 sites mentioned above, thought I’d let readers of this post know about http://www.iPhoneAppQuotes.com. Different from phoneFreelancer where you post your job then get bids from developers that may or may not be experienced, iPhoneAppQuotes.com screens every developer in the network and has strict rules for allowing developers into the network. Therefore, as a business or entrepreneur looking to hire an iphone app developer, you are much more likely to get 3 accurate price quotes vs having developers low ball an unrealistic price to just get your deposit, then jack up the price when you are halfway done.

    Reply

  21. Hello,

    We have a similar story.

    After reading article-upon-article about people turning their app ideas into app store success stories, we became frustrated with our inability to find a developer to turn our own app ideas into a reality. We also sensed that we were not the only people out there with great ideas and searching for app developers. From that experience NewAppIdea.com was born. NewAppIdea is simply a meeting place where people with new app ideas can connect with expert app developers.

    We welcome you to visit and comment about our site.

    The NewAppIdea.com Team

    Reply

    • NewAppIdea.com (http://www.newappidea.com) is a meeting place where people with new app ideas but no programming skills can connect with expert app developers.

      It is free to register, post ideas and for developers to compete to create your idea.

      Happy Developing.

      The NewAppIdea.com Team
      New App Idea | App Idea Development

      Reply

  22. Chris,

    Thanks for your thoughts on finding an iphone app developer. I myself am an attorney and had a great idea for an iPhone app. I tried using guru.com and others and got bombarded with so many developers, mostly from overseas. Some I was able to speak with, but unfortunately they did not understand my concepts.

    Anyhow, I thought I would share with your readers about a site I found called: http://www.iphoneappcoder.com they helped me find the right iphone app developer and now I have 3 iPhone apps developed. What was more impressive is that all the people who contacted me were from the US and I could understand them well. 🙂

    Pretty cool.

    Reply

    • Hi Chris,

      I hope you don’t mind but i’m looking for some info on making an App.

      I See that you have made 3, probably more since this blog..

      Myself, I’m a firefighter and have an APP that i’d like to get developed.

      I have no idea of cost or how to get it off the ground!

      Cheers,

      Rob Thorne…

      Reply

      • Rob, are you still looking for developer to develop your iphone app? if yes, then you can contact me via sales at agicent dot com. FYI – we are a professional mobile and enterprise software development company, and would be glad to assist you out in any of your project. 🙂

        BRs
        -Agicent

        Reply

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