Learn/Cost and planning
What an app costs, and what to build first, before you write anything.
Everything before a line of code exists, plus the bills that arrive after. The honest version: the build is rarely the expensive part, and the first version should be smaller than you want it to be.
Start hereHow much does it cost to build an app?The numbers nobody can negotiate, and the ones that depend entirely on you.20 guides, grouped by what you are trying to find out.
What will this cost me?
The store fees are the only numbers nobody can negotiate. Everything else depends on who builds it and how much of it you insist on having first.
I have an idea. What do I do with it?
The gap between an idea and a first version is mostly deciding what not to build. These cover that, including whether the idea is worth building at all.
How small should the first version be?
Smaller than feels comfortable. The point of a first version is to find out whether anyone wants it, which does not require the feature you are most attached to.
Should someone else build it?
Agencies, freelancers and in-house teams each fail differently. The deciding question is usually who maintains it in a year, not who writes it this month.
What happens if it works?
The problems of success: more users than the first architecture expected, and a bill that grows with them.