8 Weeks vs. 8 Months: How Long Does it Take to Develop an App?

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Async Labs
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To answer “how long does it take to develop an app” usually depends on “what does it take to create an app of different complexity”.

Nowadays, it is entirely unthinkable to live without tech devices and all the benefits it brings to our lives. There are more devices in the world than there are people.

Different devices come with various apps, a handy tool that enhances human productivity, enjoyment, and life in general. Except that they are a significant part of our lives, companies use apps to attract new users, streamline production, increase work ease and improve the business.

When it comes to application development, the most important question, along with a budget, is how long it takes to make an app. The duration may vary based on the project’s scope, app size, features, planning, organization, and process implementation.

First, let’s see what it takes to complete the app.

How long does it take to develop an app?

To answer the question, How long does it take to develop an app, it is crucial to check what it takes to create an app of different complexity”.

Customers today are looking for simplicity, functionality, mobility and convenience. And to build a quality application, you need to carefully plan, apply reasonable strategies, and understand the app development process. This will help you determine the time duration of app development.

If we speak about simple and smaller apps, it can take two to four months to develop an app. For medium complexity apps, such as collaboration tools, you will need more time — at least six months or more. Sophisticated and more complex apps with advanced features (AR, AI, unique interface, machine learning) will need at least nine months of development.

How to make an app in 5 steps

If you’re interested in the app-making process but unsure where to start, here is a step-by-step guide we created.

1. Discover and define

Time frame: 2 weeks — 1 month

Before you start anything, set a goal. Conduct market research, state your app’s purpose, focus on your actual end-users, gather information about them, check who your end-users are, and what value they want to gain from your app.

2. Design phase

Time frame: 1–1.5 months

The product design phase helps determine how the application may look and function to meet the user’s needs.

Design is all about UI (user interface)/UX (user experience) design and visually appealing and easy-to-use mobile functionalities.

Designers create prototypes and wireframes. Based on wireframes, they create interactive yet straightforward user interfaces for applications during the UI design stage.

3. App development

Time frame: varies from 2–10 months

During this phase, developers and designers work together to ensure that the built app meets users’ needs and works smoothly on both back-end and front-end parts.

4. Testing

Time frame: 2 weeks

The QA team has to test the app to eliminate bugs before they reach production servers, minimize users’ chances of encountering bugs, and ensure an optimal user experience.

When the prototypes are ready, let the users use the app and give you feedback. It is crucial to set the testing plan, test the app as soon as possible and send detailed feedback to developers.

5. Launching an app

Time frame: 1–7 days

The final stage of the app development process is app launch. After being well tested, it will take almost a week to launch the app.

Since developing an app is a complex process, there is no unique and straightforward answer to how much time you will need to create an app. But if you follow these proven business strategies and conduct them step by step on a high level, you are on a good way to make a quality app in the shortest time.

How to save even more time and launch your app faster, find out in our blog post 8 Weeks vs. 8 Months: How Long Does It Take to Develop an App.