Guides

App development guides

Plain-English guides to planning, building and launching an app: costs, timelines, platforms, app stores and what to send a developer. Written from the work of building our own apps and apps for clients.

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Showing all 9 guides

Cost

How much does it cost to build an app in the UK?

What drives the price of an app, and how to plan a budget for building, running and looking after it.

9 min read
Planning

How long does it take to build an app?

The stages from idea to launch, what makes a project take longer, and how to plan around a fixed date.

8 min read
Mobile apps

Native vs cross-platform apps: which should you choose?

How native and cross-platform apps differ, and how to decide which fits your app, budget and users.

10 min read
TV apps

How to build a TV app for Roku, Fire TV and Samsung

What makes TV apps different, how each platform works, and how to plan one app across several TVs.

11 min read
Launch

How to get your app approved on the App Store

What Apple checks during review, common reasons apps are rejected, and how to prepare your submission.

9 min read
Mobile apps

Subscriptions in apps: App Store, Google Play and Stripe explained

When you must use store billing, when you can take payments on the web, and how to keep it all in step.

12 min read
Planning

What is an MVP and do you need one?

What a minimum viable product is, what it is not, and how to decide what goes into your first version.

7 min read
Planning

How to write an app brief

What to put in a brief so a developer understands your idea and can give you a realistic plan.

6 min read
Web

Website or web app: what’s the difference?

How websites and web apps differ, what each is good for, and how to tell which one you need.

6 min read
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