How to Hire iOS Developers? A Step-by-Step Guide

Mobile apps are known to reap rich benefits for businesses across the globe irrespective of their type. But for business organizations to leverage the full benefits of the mobile apps, they have to hire competent developers related to the technology.

Since the dawn of smartphones, iOS and Android have been the flag bearers and the leading mobile OS platforms. In fact, iOS and Android have a combined market share of 99.6%, making them the most sought-after operating systems of the world. Moreover, despite the fact that there are 20.38% of Apple mobile devices, iOS users spend more time online premium features, paid apps and non-digital products. Thus, it is safe to conclude that iOS app development is a high revenue market.

Now to gain more revenue, as a business owner, you will need a competent iOS mobile app. And for developing a competent iOS app, you need to hire iOS app developers.

Therefore, this blog will give you the ultimate and foolproof process to hire an iOS developer according to your business requirements. Besides this, we will also discuss the concerns of the business owners that refrain them from opting for iOS app development.

iOS App Development- Client’s Concerns

Many misconceptions are going around in the tech market that confuses the business owners and makes them skeptical about the entire iOS app development process. We have listed some of the top concerns below. Let us have a look.

Size of the app

Some business owners believe that the regular size of iOS apps is too large that it will distort the overall user experience. Moreover, some of them also believe that smaller apps are not accepted at the App Store.

But in reality, there is no restriction in App Store as far as the minimum size of the app is concerned. Although, the maximum size limit of an app package is 4 GB.

Not having enough widgets

There is a widespread misinterpretation that iOS mobile and a web application do not allow to embed enough app widgets. On the contrary, with iOS 14, Apple has fully embraced the idea of having customizable widgets for building creative home screen themes, icons, wallpapers, etc. In addition, the user can now also include functionalities like Siri integration with widgets.

Limited user space

If the user is using iOS 11 or later, they can manage the space in their device by deleting the apps they no longer need. Thus, there should be no qualms for the business owners that the user experience of their app will suffer because of limited space.

No guarantee of app getting published

The app publishing principles of App Store is pretty straightforward; they focus on rendering safe experiences for the users and provide a great opportunity for the developers to be successful. Therefore, as an IT business owner, you just have to make sure that the iOS app developers abide all the rules that are mentioned in the guidelines. And for this to happen seamlessly, you need to find iOS developers who understand the art and science of iOS app development.

Why Should You Opt For iOS App Development?

There is no doubt about the fact that there is overwhelming competition in the app development industry. Thus, the business houses must deliver successful and innovative mobile solutions to the users.

iOS mobile app development has emerged as a lucrative option as it is easier to deploy cutting-edge, dynamic technologies here. We will now look at the reasons why businesses should opt for iOS app development.

Business-centric

Hiring iOS app developers is profitable. This is because; iOS devices and applications are preferred by senior managers, head of departments, tech specialists, etc. These are the people who spend more on in-app purchases.

Thus, when you have clients who are inclined to pay more for in-app purchases, your app revenue will automatically increase.

Smooth and consistent user experience

If your aim is to develop an app for a larger customer base as a business owner. Ios app development should be your ‘go-to’ platform. The iOS environment in the devices provides good app speed and accurate arrangement making the apps more intuitive.

In addition, if you hire iPhone app developers with the right skills and experience, they will build an app that is highly competent with hardware depending product as well. Thus, compared to other mobile OS platforms, there are high chances of developing feature-rich applications with iOS app development and rendering a smooth and consistent user experience.

Loyal customer base

Apple has a well-established community of users who admire the quality and the performance of the device and iOS applications. It is also said that once smartphones user uses apps on iOS, they can never be satisfied with any other mobile OS. iOS apps offer flawless performance and fabulous user experience and these are the prime reasons why iOS apps have a large and loyal customer base.

Roles and Responsibilities of iOS App Developers

Now as a leader of a business organization, you must be aware of the different responsibilities that iOS developers are expected to perform. Astute knowledge regarding this will help you find iOS developers in the right way and get the best out of them.

The work scope of iOS developers includes everything from writing a code to participating in the process of planning, wireframing screens, UI building, etc. Although, the skills required for iOS developers depend on their overall experience. Below are the three categories in which the iOS developers are broadly classified:

Junior iOS Developers

The entry-level iOS specialist falls in the category of junior iOS developers. The entry-level iOS developers are supposed to work with more experienced developers to enhance their skills and knowledge.

They begin with executing the less complicated tasks and are expected to become mid-level specialists in a year of less. The experience of junior iOS developers is less than two years.

Middle-level iOS Developers

The middle-level iOS developers have experience between 2-5 years and are hired for both simple and advanced tasks. So if the business organization is hiring iOS programmers will middle-level experience, they will not have to invest in their full-time mentorship.

The mid-level iOS app developers can work on a task independently and may even guide their junior staff on it.

Senior iOS Developers

The senior iOS developers have the experience of numerous successful iOS applications and their competencies can be diverse. Thus, as a business organization you should hire an iOS app developer with experience of 5 years or more if you are looking to develop a complex app.

The iOS developers belonging to this grade of experience hold a strong hand in managing the business process, leading product testing, participating in market research, conducting API integration, etc.

Skill set of iOS Developers

The modern-day iOS app development realm is evolving very fast. Thus, the business organization needs to understand the skills required for iOS developers before hiring them.

The skillset majorly comprises of in-depth knowledge about modern programming languages such as Swift and Objective C. There are many advantages of knowing Swift and Objective C; we have listed some of them below:

Swift

• Programs written in Swift are highly readable
• Swift has advanced operators thus, it reduces the coding effort
• Thanks to the advanced features, Swift eliminates many common coding errors
• You will get better App Store Optimization (ASO) with Swift since Apple prefers it

Objective C

• Objective C has powerful extensions and is excellent for object-oriented programming
• The language is the mainstay of Cocoa programming and Apple uses Cocoa pretty heavily
• Objective C renders a greater advantage if you undertake a native iOS development project

Along with the knowledge about the programming language, there are other skills required for iOS developers as well. They are:

• If you opt to hire iOS programmers, they must be familiar with Xcode
• Experienced iOS developers should also know about APIs like UIKit, Cocoa Touch
• The iOS developers should also have a strong hand in ‘Core Data Framework’
• Hire iPhone app developer who has a complete understanding of ‘ Human Interface Guidelines’ of Apple

What Are the Hiring iOS Developer Options for Clients?

There are mainly three ways in which the business houses can hire iOS programmers. They are:

• Hire freelance iOS developers
• Have an in-house development team
• Hire an outsourcing iOS app development company

After knowing the main classification of the hiring options, we will study the pros and cons of the options and when business houses should opt for them.

Hire Freelance iOS Developers

If you wish to hire remote iOS developers, the most important thing is to select them from a credible platform (Upwork, Fiverr, GitHub). The process of hiring freelance iOS developers includes the process where an in-house project manager directly interacts with remote iOS developers.

Thus, by this, the iOS developer becomes the part of the time but takes part in online meetings only at important junctures during the app development process.

Pros:

• As a business owner, you have the chance to hire the best iOS developer from a global talent pool
• Freelance iOS developers charge less than an in-house team and they do not need a physical workplace
• There are high chances to find an iOS developer with rare expertise and experience
• The freelancers are paid hourly, thus you don’t have to pay them anything if there is no work
• No legal documentation and other paperwork is required by the HR department while hiring the freelance developer.

Cons:

• While hiring remote iOS developers, there are high chances of them missing deadlines as there is no supervision
• The security of your entire project is constantly under threat
• No 100% guarantee about the credibility of the freelance developer. They might disappear one day and never come back
• Culture, language barriers and time zone differences are some of the perils working with freelance developers
• Freelancers have a bad reputation of switching projects mid-way if they are bored
• As a business owner, you cannot expect 100% commitment from the remote iOS developers as they work on multiple projects

When to Hire a Freelance iOS Developer?

It is advised to hire freelance iOS developers when you need to get some specific tasks done as a business owner. The tasks could include bug fixing, adding extra features, etc. Business organizations should also understand that if you hire remote iOS developers to work on the project from scratch, the chances of getting quality work are abysmal.

Hire an in-house iOS development team

If you constantly need an iOS app developer or a team for your project, then hiring an in-house iOS development team is preferred. One of the greatest perks of having an in-house iOS app development team that the communication is on a very high level as everyone is on the same roof.

Pros:

• The hired iOS app developers in an in-house team have time to study the product and become experts in the field
• The in-house iOS app development team is easy to manage and flexible
• Both senior and junior developers can work better in tandem and the knowledge transfer process would be easier
• The hired employees can work together 24/7

Cons:

• For an in-house team, salaries are obligatory even if there is no task assigned to them
• You have to pay for office rent, taxes, hardware and software systems, etc.
• You have to manage sick leaves, vacations and other perks of the employees in addition to their salaries
• To assemble an in-house iOS development team is a task as the talent pool is far smaller as compared to freelancers

When to Opt For In-House iOS App Development Team?

If iOS app development is the core of your business, you must hire an in-house iOS app development team. As the new-age tech world is evolving rapidly, your iOS app would require constant upgrades, feature additions, etc. Moreover, an in-house team will ensure that the application is working seamlessly, is secure and the end-users are happy.

Some businesses take pride in keeping the majority of their functions internal. They want to extend the culture of their company through their product and this case, having an in-house app development team will fit in pretty well.

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