The need to hire the services of an android mobile company has never been more crucial, these numbers will interest you. There are more than 5.5 billion mobile phone users in the world. And that is approximately 67 percent of the world population. Another interesting number is that mobile applications constitute more than 90 percent of mobile phone usage.

Mobile applications are imperative to every business and have the potential to grow your business dramatically. After all, it will forever remain within the arms’ reach of your customers and prompts them to use your service.

This article contains some of the important things you need to look for when hiring an android mobile company and what features you should integrate.

• What Are The Essential Skill For an Android Developer?
• How to Hire an Android Development Company
• Which Tech Stack is Right For Your Android App?
• What Are Some Common Mistakes While Hiring Android App Developers?
• How do I Hire a Good Android Developer?
• How Much Does an Android Developer Want?

What Are The Essential Skill For an Android Developer?

As Android apps continue to connect people across the globe and enable users to engage in more innovative and interesting ways, a career in Android development has become ever more enriching, fulfilling, and in-demand to the global economy.

Read Also: How Much Does it Cost to Develop a Wallet App Like Coinomi?

To become a successful Android developer, you need to develop several skills and apply them at the right place and time to provide the best experience to your users. 

Here are the 10 essential skills you need to succeed as an Android developer.

1. Android foundations

The most basic building block of Android development is a programming language. The most preferred languages to create Android apps are Kotlin and Java. You can use either Kotlin or Java—or even both at the same time—to develop apps.

You need to be familiar with the core concepts of one or both of these two programming languages, including basics and syntaxes, collection framework, concurrency and multithreading, generics, and functional programming. 

To design layouts (user interface) in Android, we use XML. Much like HTML, XML is also a markup language and stands for eXtensible Markup Language. After the creation of these XML Layouts, they are linked to Kotlin/Java files where business logic is written. 

To design seamless XML layouts and write business logic in an integrated environment, there exists a handy tool known as Android Studio. Android Studio uses Gradle, an advanced build toolkit, to automate and manage your build process.

To integrate Gradle into Android studio there exists a plugin known as the Android plugin for Gradle. Before you get started, you need to understand what Gradle is and how to use it specifically for managing external dependencies. 

Gradle and Android plugins run independently of Android Studio. This means you can build your Android apps from within Android Studio, the command line on your machine, or on machines where Android Studio is not installed (such as continuous integration servers). If you are not using Android Studio, you can learn how to build and run your app from the command line.

2. Android interactivity

User interaction with Android apps should be considered with utmost priority. Responding to events by using callbacks, implementing appropriate gestures such as drag and drop, providing the right keyboard for user input, and using pan and zoom in the right place plays a crucial role in providing a seamless user experience. These are really small but very useful in improving user interaction. Above all, this user interactivity takes place in an Android component known as Activity. 

An Activity is a single, focused thing that the user can do. Almost all Activities interact with the user, so the Activity class takes care of creating a window for you in which you can place your user interface. 

The Android device comes with various screen configurations. Screen orientation is one of them. It can be either portrait or landscape. Each Activity can exist in either portrait or landscape mode. When the screen is rotated the current activity is destroyed and recreated in a new orientation. The stability of an Activity should always be maintained when screen orientation changes.

3. Android UI

An application is incomplete if it lacks modern UI. An application may contain useful functionalities, but if it fails to adapt to modern UI guidelines, then it is ultimately doomed to fail. 

Using RecyclerView to implement lists and grids, using ConstraintLayout for designing complex layouts, applying animations to enhance user experience, using appropriate menus, following Material design guidelines and using vector drawables instead of raster graphics are a few of the basic rules that every developer must follow in their apps. 

While designing layouts one must not forget to consider the multiple screen type devices. The same app should look different for different devices. For example, the screen on a tablet should show dual-pane layouts to effectively utilize a widescreen.

While on a smartphone it should use single pane. This behavior can be achieved by using Fragments. Additionally, in several cases, you might need to customize Views that suit your need. This can be achieved by designing custom components for your Views.

4. Implementing navigation

Navigation refers to the interactions that allow users to navigate across, into and back out from the different pieces of content within your app. There are various UI elements that allow you to implement effective UI navigation. 

The most basic one is the app bar which is popularly known as Toolbar. On your Toolbar, you can add a popup menu, menu icons, and add a navigation drawer icon. This navigation drawer icon helps you to open and close the navigation drawer which is another element to implement effective navigation. The navigation drawer allows you to add additional menu items which can help you to swap fragments in your current Activity or perform some other relevant actions. 

Another navigation element is a BottomNavigationView which allows you to switch between different Fragments in the same Activity by using tabs at the bottom of the screen. If you need to use tabs attached to the Toolbar and swipe between Fragments (different pages), then ViewPager should be your choice. 

User intention is the most important aspect of navigation. The user might want to launch new Activity, move back to the previous Activity or even share data to some other app. These intentions can be achieved by using Intents in Android. If you know your target Activity use Explicit Intent otherwise use Implicit Intents. You are always allowed to configure your intents. 

Above all, Android Jetpack’s Navigation component helps you implement navigation, from simple button clicks to more complex patterns, such as app bars and the navigation drawer. You might want to take a look at this component before you start implementing navigation in Android. 

5. Android testing

Users interact with your app on a variety of levels, from pressing a Submit button to downloading information onto their device. Accordingly, you should test a variety of use cases and interactions as you iteratively develop your app. The most commonly used testing libraries are Expresso, Junit, Mockito, Robolectric and UI Automator. 

6. Working with data

Data is an important part of your application and must not be ignored. You may need to fetch data from the server, query data from the local database, save user preferences and do file handling. 

To use a local database, use the Room database, which is part of Android Jetpack’s architecture component. You might want to share your database outside your app securely using ContentProvider. 

To save a small amount of data such as key-value pairs or typed objects you can use Jetpack’s DataStore, which uses Kotlin coroutines and Flow to store data. 

If you want to bind your UI components in your layouts to a data source in your app using a declarative format, use Data Binding Library. 

To handle files in your app, you can take advantage of massive file system APIs provided to you. 

Above all, to access the data over the network (i.e. while consuming REST APIs), use Retrofit 2 library, which is a blessing from Jake Wharton to all Android developers.

7. Notifications

Notifications are one of the best ways to increase user engagement. It appears outside of your app’s UI to provide the user with reminders, communication from other people or other timely information from your app. Users can tap the notification to open your app or take an action directly from the notification. You can create a notification, customize its layout, add action to it and even group multiple Notifications using Notification channels. 

8. Firebase on Android

If you hate being a backend developer, Firebase on Android is the way for you. Firebase is a mobile platform that helps you quickly develop high-quality apps, grow your user base and earn more money. Firebase provides several utility features to make the life of an Android developer easy. 

To make your app visible in Google search you can use Firebase App Indexing API. You can use cloud storage and cloud firestore to store data in your server. If you need to automatically run backend code in response to events triggered by Firebase features and HTTPS requests, use Cloud Functions. Next is the Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) which lets you push notifications to your clients.

Using FCM, you can notify a client app that a new email or other data is available to sync. Use Firebase Crashlytics, which is a lightweight, real-time crash reporter that helps you prioritize and fix stability issues. If you have ever used deep links in your app, try Dynamic links. With Dynamic Links, your users get the best available experience for the platform they open your link on. 

You might want to take a look at other Firebase features, such as Firebase Invites, Firebase Performance Monitoring, Firebase Remote Config, Remote Config and A/B Testing.

9. Android security

Android has built-in security features that significantly reduce the frequency and impact of application security issues. You can protect the user’s privacy by using permissions. Share data securely by using signature-based permissions. Handle data security by using internal storage, external storage and ContentProviders very cautiously. By default, never export your Android component, such as ContentProvider, Service or BroadcastReceiver, unless you need to. 

Android has limited the capability of WebView to minimum functionality to avoid web security issues such as cross-site scripting (JavaScript injection). But still you need to be cautious and minimize the frequency of asking your user’s credential. Instead, use an authorization token and refresh it at regular intervals.

10. Git: Version control system

Git is free and open-source software used for version control. Git lets you experiment with new application features and coding techniques with confidence. You can work on new crazy ideas for your project while your previous working copy stays safe and secure. The moment you may realize you are evolving your project in the wrong direction, you can restore your previous version, hassle-free and course correct.  

As the world moves ever more into the mobile landscape, Android app developers can be sure to find an audience for their creations, or bring great value to companies in need of mobile app development skills. 

How to Hire an Android Development Company

1. Portfolio of the Mobile App Development Company

A mobile app development company’s portfolio is a testimony for the company’s skill in building quality applications. It gives you a complete picture of the technical prowess and the expertise of the company. It showcases all the applications they have developed to allow you to choose if you want such a company to build your mobile applications.

Portfolio also reveals the developers’ capabilities and the industries the company has built applications. For example, let’s say your company operates in the eCommerce industry. The first mobile application development company has built eCommerce applications that are used by many people. The second app development has worked on many automotive applications and is deployed in various types of cars.

Although both the companies are good, the first company understands the people your business caters to and what they expect in an application.

2. Quality More Than the Budget

No, the blog does not encourage you to ignore the budget completely. As a decision-maker, planning finances is one of the key factors that decide the course of your company. But quality mobile app development often costs higher than mediocre mobile apps.

You can’t settle for a third-rate application just for the sake of the budget. It eliminates the purpose if not hinders your growth completely. What if the price is double or triple of what you can afford?

No, don’t go for that either.

What we are suggesting is that you shouldn’t be too rigid on the budget you can spend. Don’t say no to hire the best mobile app development company for a quote a little more than your budget. Be flexible.

3. Technology-Driven Mobile App Development

Although new technologies are not making headlines every day, they are emerging at a much higher pace. It is only natural to leverage emerging technologies to your business advancements. Here are some of the proven technologies the mobile application development company you are hiring must serve.

a. AI Driven Mobile App Development

Artificial Intelligence is already helping a lot of businesses in their endeavors. The AI algorithm learns the users’ patterns that are indifferent to the normal eye and delivers an optimized experience for a better conversion ratio.

Conversational User Interface, with its robust conversation modules, engages the users effectively and customizes the application for a better experience. It also eliminates the initial hesitation every user encounters when they sign in to the application for the first time. Further, conversational AI can understand your customers’ queries and provide effective solutions.

AI has much more to offer to a mobile application: Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Sentimental Analysis, Automated Reasoning, and Customized Marketing, among features.

Even if you are unsure of what, how, and where you can incorporate AI to provide a better service, hiring the right AI Mobile App Development Company will enable you the assistance needed to choose the optimal AI development direction.

b. Blockchain Mobile App development

Blockchain is relatively new to the technological world, but the security it offers is matched by no other technology. But not many companies could have developed Blockchain applications as it is

If they have developed Blockchain Apps, even better. If not, analyze if the company understands everything about Blockchain.

The Blockchain App Development Company you hire must have a complete understanding of ICOs, STOs, Decentralized App Development, Exchange Development, Wallet Development, and many other concepts of Blockchain.

Blockchain apps’ trademark features are absolute data security and integrity, low overhead charges, high transaction speed, and transparency.

c. Data-driven Mobile App Development

Data-driven mobile app development is ideal for enterprises that expect their applications to generate volumes of data. Data-driven mobile applications, apart from helping the businesses to grow exponentially, they crunch the numbers and equip enterprises with insights on their services.

You can easily understand who uses your application, where most of their time, and where they don’t spend enough time, among other details. This information is crucial to shape your business strategies and to make changes to improve customer engagement.

d. Cloud Mobile App development

Hiring a Cloud Mobile App Development Company will empower your business with a working application quicker and at a low cost.

Cloud Mobile Apps are much similar to web apps but with specific UI optimized for mobile phones. And it will be connected to a database in cloud making the store and fetch cycle seamless.

Some of the advantages of Cloud Mobile App Development is that they are not platform-specific, available all the time, highly scalable, low maintenance cost, easy recovery of data, and applications need not be installed in devices as they can be used on the go.

e. IoT Mobile App Development

IoT mobile apps and devices work because they are being fed with streams of information from one or many devices connected to the internet. Sensors are fine examples of devices that send data constantly to the internet.

IoT apps are typically used to make decisions and control the systems reading the data in the mobile apps. Hire the IoT Mobile App Development Company that completely understands the requirements of IoT applications needed to be effective.

4. Platforms the Mobile App Development Company Serves

Your target audience is divided by a lot of factors: age, ethnicity, geography, and even by habits, but almost never by the devices, they use.

They are most likely to use both Android and iOS devices unless either of the devices is banned in their respective countries. The other scenario — when you have to hire an android app development company or iOS app development company respectively — is if your business is about an application that improves the functionality of just one of the platforms.

Most of the time, your business ought to have applications both for Android and iOS devices. You can also choose to build one application for both Android and iOS devices, hiring hybrid and cross-platform app development companies based on your requirement:

When to hire native App Development Companies

Android and iOS app development companies are also hired for a number of reasons. They are more secure, highly intuitive, and have fewer bugs.

Above all, hiring a native mobile app development company is ideal if your business requires the following:

• 1. Unique and Specific Features

Native app development allows developers to create unique and specific features for your applications without too many hassles. Your application is also built to take advantage of the platform’s uniqueness to the fullest, providing a better UX and responsivity.

• 2. Incredible Performance

Although the cost of hiring a native app development company is higher, native apps offer superior performance. They completely fit into the structure of the platforms and the users love them for the seamless experience.

When to Hire Cross-Platform App Development Companies

Hiring a cross-platform app development company can save up to 70 percent of your budget for two applications. But cross-platform app development is always preferred if your business requires the following:

• 1. Simple Applications

Cross-platform application development is the best option if you need a simple application. Because the same codes are to be used in all the platforms, cross-platform apps with complex functionalities may fail to provide a robust user experience.

• 2. Speedy Development and Deployment

Simple cross-platform applications can be developed comparatively faster and deployed without any hassles. This makes it the best option to build B2B applications where deployment timing is the crux.

Although not an everyday incident, complex cross-platform apps can glitch and lag because of the platforms’ differences. But this is expected to be solved soon with upgrades in the cross-platform development frameworks.

5. Code Standards

As a business representative, you should understand and be able to talk to the software development company you are hiring about the code standards. This is also one of the musts of web and mobile app development which companies happily ignore and regret later.

Here is why you should always discuss code standards with your app development services provider.

• 1. Highly Efficient

A mobile application developed following the code standards right from the beginning of the development will have far fewer bugs and errors to fix. Code standards help developers to identify the errors way early in development allowing them to rectify them on the go.

This greatly increases the efficiency of the mobile application development by reducing the number of testing iterations the developers have to go through and increasing the development speed.

• 2. Reduces Code Complexity

A mobile app developer will not be taking care of the project end to end. If there is so much time, sure. But most of the time, a team of developers will be working on software, and every developer has his/her way of coding that is different from the others.

Suppose a mobile application development is divided into six modules, and the work is split among the team of six developers. If every developer works in his preferred way, it is going to be a nightmare for the rest of the team to understand, for it is not just one, but six different types of codes.

Following the code standards, on the other hand, will make it look like the application was built by one developer, although it was the work of a team.

• 3. Easy Maintenance

Maintenance doesn’t follow the application right after its release. It takes time to identify faults, improvements, and changes to be made in the application.

How would it be if developers look into the codes and are bewildered by its structure? It would make maintenance extra hard and time-consuming just to understand the codes.

Following the code standards makes the codes easy to understand and paves the way for effective maintenance.

• 4. Increase the Stability of the Software

Mobile Applications crash for various reasons: poor exception handling, server overload, network, memory management, and many reasons. And one way to lower the application crashes is to follow the code standards as it makes the applications more stable.

• 5. Saves Cost in the Long run

Hiring Android, iOS, and web app development companies lose its purpose if the success is only short-term.

Mobile and web application development should assist the companies throughout the term to make an impact. And long-term implies increased maintenance, upgrades, and support. If these services are billed by hours taken for service completion, be ready to pay a hefty sum. Because the developers can take a lot of time just to understand the codes.

With code standards, codes are easily readable and thus cost equally less.

6. UI/UX Design Driven App Development Factor

The user experience of your application is what appeals to your customers.

You could have built the most powerful back-end and seamless database connectivity for your mobile and web applications, but is that what entices your customers?

In a way, it does. It makes the information fetch cycle almost instantaneous and executes the users’ commands quicker than other applications. But these are not often noticed by your customers as they are considered to be prerequisites. They are only noticed when they are super-slow and are not working properly.

Here is Why You Should Look at User Experience Designs before Hiring a Mobile or Web App Development Company

• Increased Traffic

UI/UX design is what defines if a user will come back to use your application and services again. Even if you have zero competitors in your domain, poor UX design will eventually bring down your sales.

A better UX design, however, increases your mobile application traffic exponentially. It will also reflect positively on your services and thus increase your sales.

A good interface is marked by intuitive and relevant controls, easy-to-the-eye interface, clutter-free navigation, clear shortcuts, and flexible to add features.

• Retain Your Target Audience

The first step of every business is to attract customers, and the second, to retain attracted customers.

And the second phase is where UX design comes to play.

Even if you are a company with zero competitors, you don’t want your customers to get repulsed whenever they open your mobile application

Hiring the best android and iOS app development company will equip you with the best UX design which your customers will look forward to using again.

• Customer Engagement

Customer Engagement is one of the deciding factors for an application to become a massive hit.

Defined by the interaction between the application and customers, customer engagement is what prevents your customers from switching to your competitors.

To put it in better words, the ideal UX design will engage your customers in a way that makes using your mobile app a pleasure rather than a chore to get things done.

• Stand Apart from Your Competitors

B2B, or B2C, or whoever your mobile application addresses, you shouldn’t be a just-another-application delivering the same thing as your competitors.

You have to stand out from the crowd and distinguish yourself to become one of the forerunners of your industry.

Hiring a good Mobile Application Development Company implies that your application is being equipped with the nuances needed in the UI/UX design to make you stand apart from your competitors.

7. Privacy Measurements

Privacy is the foremost concern for mobile applications, especially in our digital age fraught with hackers preying on data.

As bad as it sounds, a lot of applications have already fallen prey to loopholes and gaps in codes leading to private data leakage. This didn’t just spoil the reputation and reduce the revenue of the companies, but pushed to the brink of closure, if not shut down entirely.

As a business owner, your customers trust you with their information. Even if it is not for your reputation, you are in charge of your customer data. It is only fair to protect it irrespective of the difficulties you face.

To ensure the safety of your mobile application, hire a mobile application development company that can add extra layers of security to your application.

Not to mention, every country has its own laws to ensure their citizens’ data safety. The mobile app development company you are hiring should also possess the knowledge of what is accepted universally to build your applications with the metrics.

8. Communication Matters

Communication ensures the right track of development. Your ideal mobile app development company would give you a detailed timeline of how they will approach the development and when you can see the first working module of your application.

Effective communication allows you to know everything that goes behind mobile app development. Problems the teams face, where the development is at a given time, and if more time is needed to complete the project.

Mobile app development is time-consuming. Without communication comes the lack of transparency and you can’t be waiting in the dark until the company completes the mobile app development.

You might require a change in the middle of development, the trend might die down, the market might change — anything can happen. But with effective communication, your mobile app development can easily overcome the difficulties.

9. Investigate their Dedicated Developers

Skilled mobile app developers make up the best mobile app development company. Their prowess directly reflects upon the portfolio and the success of the company.

But who is working on your application? And what is the experience of the team working on such applications?

When you choose to hire a mobile app development company, it is possible for the company to assign your project to a fresh team.

In most cases, the heads of the team verify the quality of the application, but a project built by rookies might not have followed the code standards. It might even have a lot of bugs.

And brings a necessity of a developer’s skill investigation before choosing the company.

10. Investigate their Client References

When searching for the right mobile application development company for your android and iOS app development, you will come across a lot of companies that are yet to make a name for themselves.

If the companies are highly promising and if you can verify their skill, you can hire them for your projects. But that’s not always recommended as there can be a lot of ambiguity in the project development and there is a considerable risk.

The safest and most preferred option is to hire companies with positive client references.

Client references are testimony to the mobile app development company’s dedication, skill, timely delivery, and overall quality. It also saves you the trouble of interviewing and analyzing the company’s developers individually to test their skills.

Reputed companies have established structures to approach the. They have experienced teams working on various facets of app development and can complete the faster while keeping the quality high. A lot of companies have nameless client references you cannot verify. They may be honest, but there are chances for it to be faked.

Relia software has worked with Google, Toshiba, and many other emerging companies. And likewise, hire the companies whose client references you can verify. GoodFirms, Clutch, and AppFutura are some of the reliable platforms to check client references.

11. Maintenance and Service

Mobile applications that don’t remain evergreen and require maintenance regularly to function effectively. You will need to release updates periodically clear the bugs, adding more features, improve the services, and by user reviews on what they need.

When such is the case of mobile applications, hiring a software development company that remains indifferent to your requirement after deployment is not advisable.

Always hire a mobile app development company that provides maintenance and other assistance even after the final release of the application. Relia Software also provides maintenance and is always on standby to help its clients in all ways.

12. Industries the Service Provider is into

Not all mobile applications are the same. Every mobile application is built targeting a specific group of individuals who form an application’s major user base.

While there are features that remain constant in all the applications, there are specific features tailored to the accessibility of the targeted audience.

For example, consider an education application for children and adults. The navigation of the application may remain identical both for adults and children, but the UI/UX and depth of the features ought to differ to appeal to different audiences.

Likewise, every industry has a customer base that they serve. Real Estate, Retail, E-Commerce, Agriculture, Education, Construction, Instant Messaging, and every other industry has its own rules and definitions.

Hiring a mobile application development company specialized in your domain implies that they understand your customers’ needs and tailor the application to address every requirement.

Which Tech Stack is Right For Your Android App?

Developing a proper mobile technology stack is a crucial component of the approach. And when it comes to Android app development, there can be a lot of debate about whether technique, technology, or framework is best for your project.

Before deciding which tech stack to utilize for Android app development, you need to know what features are available and what further features will be released in the near future. You must also select whether you require a native or cross-platform software solution. The cost of your Android app is largely determined by the app’s complexity, number of features, and design, but it is rarely affected by the programming language you use.

You must first determine what talents and experience your Android developers should possess before beginning your search. To discover the right developers for your project, you’ll need to submit a clear job description.

All in all, the tech stack is a collection of specifications, details, and technologies. The appropriate combination of tools and criteria enables the creation of a top-notch Android mobile application. For most business owners, deciding on the right tech stack is a difficulty. So here’s a quick rundown of development steps to consider before beginning your app development project:

Consider your requirements and business needs

Consider the type of program (native, cross-platform, or hybrid), data usage, and hardware access. The following factors can help you limit your app’s language and framework options. Choose a monetization model and specify the main goal of your app.

For example, if you’re selling subscription plans, you’ll want to make sure your functionality and design reflect that. On the other hand, if advertising is your primary source of revenue, you should concentrate on the app’s performance.

Determine the type of collaboration

There are various options for developing your mobile app. You can hire freelancers, in-house developers, or outsourcing app development.

Think about app security

If your app requires access to personal information, you’ll want to make it impenetrable by addressing all security concerns, among other things.

Specify integrations and compatibility

Consider what third-party integration you might require before beginning your app development process. Furthermore, you may need to interface an existing website or backend system with your app, influencing your tech stack selection.

• 1. Java for Android app development

Java has been around for a long time. It was first released in May of 1995 and is still used today. The Java Development Kit, Java Runtime Environment, and Integrated Development Environment are included.

Java has surpassed C++ as the most popular programming language for creating enterprise apps. It’s commonly used in building online apps, government apps, and big data technologies like Hadoop and Apache Storm.

• 2. Kotlin for Android development

The initial version of Kotlin was released in 2011, but it took over five years for it to be officially launched. Kotlin is a clear competitor to Java in terms of Android app development. However, it’s also used by JS, Swift, and Python developers. Big firms prefer to hire Kotlin engineers to build Android apps. Uber, Evernote, Pinterest, and other well-known apps were created using Kotlin.

What Are Some Common Mistakes While Hiring Android App Developers?

Here’s a list of instances to avoid throughout the hiring process if you want to hire Android developers for the position.

Don’t hire Android developers who don’t have a good sense of product design

Working with Android developers who have experience with product design can save you a lot of time and money during the development process.

For instance, you might want to make a sign-up page for your app. At first appearance, a sign-up screen appears to be nothing more than a user and password selection screen. However, in practice, you’ll need:

• To figure out which types of authentication you’d like to enable (Facebook, user, password, Gmail, etc.).
• To guarantee a validation where it is needed (for example, if a user inserts their email, check that it is a valid email)

Don’t hire Android developers who don’t have experience in UI and material design

A user interface is more than just a collection of visuals. Yes, it should appear lovely and professional. It should, nevertheless, be straightforward to comprehend.

You might hire a designer to help you create an Android app, but it won’t always be enough to ensure that your app has a high-quality user interface. Because the app is likely to evolve during development, you may need to update the UI due to product modifications or new features.

Using a designer for every minor tweak or adjustment can be costly and slow down progress. Fortunately, Android provides many “out of the box” UI solutions in the form of tutorials and libraries for a variety of circumstances, and Android developers should be familiar with these scenarios and libraries based on previous experience and popular apps.

Using standard UI patterns is beneficial since it will appear similar to many applications that your average user is already familiar with and because implementing the UI should be straightforward and quick, thanks to Google’s excellent resources.

Many of the new UI patterns are inspired by Google’s Material Design principles, which debuted a few years ago. Mobile devices, especially small ones, are compatible with Material Design. Furthermore, Google gives numerous icons for free, and there are usually enough icons to fulfill most of your demands.

They also offer tutorials and free tools, such as a color palette for materials. The best Android developers complete the majority of the design work themselves, and their apps appear to be professional and easy to use.

Don’t hire Android developers who don’t have experience with app release on Google Play

A good Android app developer has a large number of apps available on Google Play. There is some vital work to be done when releasing an app, and it’s critical that your candidate has done it before.

Proguard is a tool that exemplifies the significance of this stage. This program may obfuscate your code and remove unneeded libraries and classes, resulting in a smaller, more secure application. However, proper use of Proguard necessitates prior experience. It’s not an easy operation, and doing it poorly can expose your code and increase the size of your program.

A seasoned developer always knows that it should only be used when publishing an application. Because your program is still not visible to the general public, there’s no reason to obscure it while testing it before releasing it.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you must sign an application before it can be released. This is to safeguard and prove your ownership of the app. The procedure requires a file containing a hash key. When publishing to Google Play, this file is required.

It is, nevertheless, required for publishing version upgrades. If you lose this file, you won’t be able to update your app, so a skilled Android app developer should know to put it somewhere safe. They should adhere to best practices in terms of security and backups.

Finally, while submitting an app to Google Play is a relatively simple procedure, understanding all of the Play Store features will greatly assist you in improving your app and increasing downloads.

Don’t hire Android developers who don’t own at least one app on Google Play

When you’re looking for an Android app developer, you’ll probably want them to show you some of their previous work so you can get a sense of how experienced they are with the platform. For the same, you should look if they have their own apps in the Play Store.

That’s a crucial point to remember since it shows you that the developer knows how to upload an app to Google Play, as we discussed before, and that they’re building Android apps because they enjoy it and not just for the money. So working with an Android developer who is passionate about what they do should be a top priority.

Don’t hire Android developers who don’t have full-stack development experience

Most apps these days, especially those that deal with social media, require the use of a database. It’s likely that your app will require one as well.

Hiring an Android developer who isn’t familiar with databases may necessitate hiring a second developer solely for that purpose. It may be necessary to engage another developer if the work is difficult. But, in most cases, you won’t need that in the first versions of your program because your database will be fairly basic.

Android developers should be familiar with databases. A developer can utilize a simple API to manage a database with a variety of services. Firebase is a popular service in this area. Google’s Firebase is one of many services that make mobile development much easier.

Don’t hire Android developers who provide poor time estimations

When you begin working during the trial period, your applicant may be asked to do a task, and they may estimate how long it will take. When completing a simple task, the ETA should usually be accurate. And, most likely, throughout the trial, you’ll want to give your candidate minor tasks to perform during the trial period.

You should pay attention to whether they performed this assignment within the timeframe they specified, and if they didn’t, you should receive sufficient justifications, which shouldn’t happen for tiny tasks.

Providing a precise ETA for large activities, on the other hand, can be difficult to forecast because there may be additional product changes, features, and bugs along the route.

Android developers should perhaps complete the task before the ETA expires and notify you if it takes longer for whatever reason—preferably not at the final minute.

Don’t hire Android developers who don’t update you as frequently

Even when allocating minor responsibilities, it’s crucial to keep an eye on whether your applicant keeps you up to date on significant developments and does so on a regular basis.

You may choose that your developer keeps you updated on a regular basis or only when something major happens.

Whatever it is, you should pay attention to whether your candidate is providing you with the information you require. Working with a developer who updates you too frequently or seldom might slow down and reduce the efficiency of your collaboration.

Don’t hire Android developers who provide you buggy builds

After you’ve assigned a task to your candidate and they’ve completed it and informed you on the build, you should thoroughly test it to search for errors. This is because it should reveal information about the developer’s capacity to detect and solve issues, or, in other words, their ability to test their products.

That’s a very important thing to check because Android developers must be able to recognize bugs before releasing new versions and know-how to test their products properly. If they don’t, they may provide you with a buggy product, and if you don’t notice, it may reach end-users, who may complain or leave negative reviews on Google Play Store.

As a result, you should pay special attention to the initial build your candidate sends you, extensively test it, and determine if it is easy to recreate errors.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Android has good testing libraries, both for logic and user interface testing, and it’s worth seeing if your applicant has used these before. Although the trial time may be too short to use testing libraries, it is something that every Android developer should be familiar with.

How do I Hire a Good Android Developer?

It’s time to find out how to interview programmers to hire. Let’s say you find several developers whose skills match the requirements of your project. How do you make sure they are doing their job well? The only option is to interview them.

Step 1. Define your goals and requirements for the project.

First, you need to briefly describe your idea and how you see it in implementation.

Step 2. Select the best CVs and Arrange an interview.

• Find an experienced company with an impressive portfolio of successful projects. Besides, many software companies host their open-source projects on GitHub, which you can check out too.
• Compare which reviews prevail – negative or positive. This allows you to make your choice if this team (or individual developer) is right for you. So you will not be disappointed in your choice.
• Choose developers that best suit your needs. There is enough fish in the sea.
• Go through their resume and select a candidate profile that stands out.

If you see that this company has everything listed in their development experience, you can safely arrange an interview via video call.

Step 3. Take the interview.

Here we will give you some popular and essential questions to ask in the interview.

• Learn about the experience

• Ask about the latest projects, clients, and years of experience.
• Ask for links to the latest projects.
• What was the last project you worked on involving Java/Kotlin?
• What would you do if you were working on a project that was behind schedule?
• Have you ever worked on a project that failed due to someone else’s mistake?
• What industries do you have the most experience in?

Even if you do not understand the topic, you can assess their level of knowledge. It will also give you an understanding of their interpersonal skills. Some programmers find it difficult to convey technical information to non-technical people. If you find someone with good communication skills, they are worth considering in your position.

• Ask about hard skills

• What app development tools, methodologies, and frameworks do you use?
• Could you advise regarding my app concept monetization?
• What operating systems can you build applications for?
• What is the most complex app functionality that you have implemented already?
• How do you react to and fix issues on the project?
• How do you test an app?
• What is your tech stack?
• How do you implement the app’s security?
• Ask about soft skills

• How many team members do you have? ( If it is an outsourced team).
• Will you be able to collaborate with a non-technical leadership?
• What is the level of English you and your team have?
• Does my timezone suit you?
• How will you keep me updated on progress and challenges?
• Do you have enough Android developers to complete my project? (If it is an outsourced team).
• How do you improve your knowledge and experience?
• Speak about job expectation

• Can we sign an NDA before proceeding with project details?
• Is the job offer strong and interesting enough?
• What is your hourly rate?
• What functionality would you extract in my project?
• What are your payment processes?
• Could you recommend some additional features to my app?
• How do you estimate a project and its accomplishing terms?

Step 4. Hiring team

Remember that cooperation with a specific company should be comfortable. You should contact the project manager or Android developer directly, depending on whether you plan to work with – a freelancer or a company. Make sure your communication is fluid and easy.

Read Also: Why Are Mobile Apps Better For Products Selling Companies?

Find a great professional, allow him to grow and improve, and listen to his recommendations and experience. Then you will receive a truly high-quality project on time. Without conflicts and spending extra money.

How Much Does an Android Developer Want?

As you can imagine, there is no one definite rate. Android developer salaries depend on many factors, namely:

• country of residence,
• individual skill level of a person (junior, middle or senior),
• professional experience,
• companies, etc.

But all of them will be only approximate and may vary depending on the above factors. Here is a comparison table for you for a better view and understanding according to the Glassdoor and Qubit labs surveys for 2020 and 2021. Below you will find average salaries per year.

Region	Junior	Middle	Senior	Average rate per hour
India	$ 2 800	$ 11 200	$ 18 000	$15 – $25
The UK	$32 600	$46 000	$60 000	$110 – $300
Ukraine	$ 8 400	$18 000	$ 30 000	$20 – $50
The United States	$ 64 000	$ 96000	$ 140 000	$150

From which country to choose a specialist, the decision is yours. As you can see, it is more expensive to hire android app developers from the USA than from Eastern Europe. And they are more reliable than in Asia.

Summary

We have covered everything major that you should look for in a mobile application development company. If you can tick every check on the list, then you have little to worry about after hiring the company. One thing you have to do from the client-end is to ensure that you explain your needs clearly to the company and double-check if the company has understood what you want.

Also, get regular updates on the progress and raise your concerns the very instant they arise. It will put you at ease and gives the company the right instructions on how you expect your application to perform.