POTADO
Mobile & Web App Development Company In Singapore
App Development Company in Singapore
Potado is an app development company that helps startups and big companies based in Singapore develop mobile and web applications, as well as applications powered by emerging technologies such as AI and IoT. Our international team of product managers, interface designers and app developers collaborate globally to deliver polished and reliable products to the Singapore market.
We deliver the best web and mobile apps by using the latest technologies and development methodologies. Combine that with a team of exceptional talent and and understanding of our clients needs. That's why Potado is one of the best app development companies in Singapore. Collaboration is very important to us and we believe in working closely with out clients throughout the entire process.
Why Develop an App in Singapore
Looking at a map of the world, Singapore might seem too small to be of importance, but don't be fooled, the small island is one the the most important tech hubs in the world. With an attractive business climate and innovative governance, Singapore already houses large tech companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Stripe, Grab, Bigo, Shopee, and Tiktok. Chinese companies such as Tencent, ByteDance and Alibaba are also planning to setup regional hubs in Singapore in the near future. Singapore has proven time and time again to be a leader in digital innovation and will continue to attract companies, engineers and entrepreneurs from all around the world. Now we know we would choose Singapore, but this is what a few startup founders had to say:
"We wanted to launch an app in South East Asia, and coming from a western environment, Singapore provided a really great base for us to launch. With a great business environment, innovative and talented app developers and engineers, and large venture funds it's no doubt Singapore is one of the best places to be in the world as a business owner."
"We wanted to launch our app in Indonesia because of the larger market, but we decided to first launch and test our concept in Singapore. Singapore is small, and that's good, because if you have a useful product, it's much easier to get a large enough portion of the population on the app as users. This gave us a chance to gain traction, learn from our users, and launch the app into bigger markets such as Indonesia and Malaysia."
Should You Develop an Android, iOS, or Web App?
One of the most important questions to ask before developing an app, is to decide which platform you will develop for. Before you develop an app you need to consider several factors from user location and behavior to cost and timeframe.
Once the app store was revealed we saw many companies release products that provided people with an experience a web or desktop platform couldn't. One such example is Instagram, and now there is Snapchat, Tiktok and many others. Facebook already allowed users so share images with their friends on the website, but Instagram took the experience mobile. They made it easier and trendy, everyone wanted it. Alongside their app on Android and iOS, Instagram also has a web app, so users can access the service from their desktop. So ideally, you want your app to reach users on any platform they use.
Singapore, and Asia in general, is a mobile first market so it's important to provide an excellent mobile experience but also provide your service on the web for those who prefer to use your service from a desktop computer or tablet. A web app is also a good alternative when attracting users who don't want to necessarily download an app, but want a quick, and convenient way to access your product. We have worked with companies to transform their digital offerings by taking their current service and finding ways to let their users access it on all platforms, including mobile and web.
Mobile App Development
When building for mobile, we need to consider that in Singapore, 75% of mobile phone owners have an Android phone while 25% have an iPhone. So Android is definitely the dominant platform, but 25% is still a large number, so both platforms are important. Usually you needed to develop an app for iOS, and app for Android, and another one for the web, all with different code bases. Today, technology has advanced enough to provide us with solutions to do more with less. There are cases when native will work better, but the important thing is that we now have the option to provide an equally good experience by utilizing technologies such as React Native and Flutter that allow us to target Android and iOS with one build. When developing software in Singapore we need to decide on the best tech stack for your company. So we would either suggest to build a native iOS and Android app, build an app using React Native, or build a web app.
iOS App Development
Apple's mobile operating system, iOS, is the architecture that powers the iPhones that we love so much. The minimalist, but elegant design is second to none. There is something about an Apple device that just makes it work so well. Not only does it work well, but it is easy for anyone to use. In Singapore, about 30% of people use iPhones compared to Android devices. The latter is often seen as the cheaper more customable option, while iPhones are known to have a heaver price tag. Because of this Android dominates South East Asia, while iOS earns larger user bases in places like Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, and United States.
30% of users might not be the majority, but it is still a large percentage of people. In Singapore that's about 1.7 Million people. You can quickly see how that number grows if you have a user base in multiple countries. So developing an app for iOS is essential for all businesses in Singapore that want to reach their full audience. These days users expect digital services to be flexible and easy to access, and with tight competition, if you aren't doing it, someone else will.
At Potado we develop iPhone apps using Swift for native apps and React Native for Cross-Platform apps. Swift is an open source programming language developed by Apple. It can be used to develop apps for iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple TV's as well as wearables like the Apple Watch. Javascript is the language of the web, but with it's strong community and versatility it continues to thrive in the app development world. React Native is powered by javascript, so our React Native developers are able to use Javascript to create well engineered mobile apps.
Android App Development
Android is one the most popular mobile operating systems alongside Apple's iOS and a few others. In Singapore about 70% of mobile phone owners use an Android device. So if you plan on building an app for just one device and want to target Singapore, Android is the way to go. Android not only dominates the Singapore market, but also most of the neighboring ASEAN countries. Japan, Australia and New Zealand are the countries in the Asia Pacific region where iOS tends to be more popular than Android. Running a successful app is a numbers game so you always want to try and target as many devices as possible to make your service accessible to everyone, but 70% is a pretty good start if you feel Android is a good fit for your business. You can always develop for other platforms at a later stage.
Our team using advanced methodologies to build Android apps that dominate the market. We follow the latest UI interface design guidelines to ensure our apps look great and are easy to use. If you need a team that understands how to use the latest functionalities you are in the right place. At Potado we develop our native Android apps with Kotlin and our cross-platform apps with React Native. We might still use Java for a few legacy projects but where possible we have moved over to the new and improved Kotlin.
React Native App Development
As mentioned briefly above, we love developing apps with React Native here at Potado. It's out default development tool we recommend to clients in most cases. Sure Flutter is also an attractive cross-platform development framework, but there are some cons to it, making React Native a more attractive option. So React Native is owned by Facebook and Flutter is owned by Google. Google might be more popular, but in terms of development tools, Google has been known to just shut down projects, so that's a high risk.
React Native also uses Javascript as the main language while Flutter uses Dart. Sure Dart is a new language developed by Google and it is really good, but it's extremely niche and only used for Flutter development, while the entire web is built with Javascript. This means more developers know javascript and the community is much larger. A strong community means a strong support system. Also many companies don't just develop a mobile app, but also a web application. By using React Native for mobile and React for web, you can have the entire project built in one language. This is very helpful, especially if you plan to scale and hire developers.
Flutter App Development
Flutter is a Google created solution to cross-platform applications. We develop Flutter applications for our clients that want to have their app on all platforms with one code base. For new projects we typically recommend our clients use React Native due to the larger community, but Flutter is a really powerful tool. Flutter decided to use the Dart language instead of Javascript in order to improve upon the flaw javascript has. So although the tooling is powerful, Javascript is more popular in the developer community so it's much easier to find developers versed in this language.
The main difference between Flutter and React Native is that React Native creates a bridge between Javascript and Native code while Flutter builds the components natively. This has a lot of potential performance wise. This also means Flutter provides app developers with a open canvas to create components any way they want, while React Native uses the native components of Android and iOS.
Web App Development
Web apps are also a popular option if that's where your users are. We build web apps that work responsively across all platforms. We use technologies such as React, Node and Python for web projects. We develop tools that help with automation, scraping, data analysis, and have are experts at machine learning apps, iOT (internet of things), API's, as well as blockchain apps.
A web app can be saved to the home screen of your mobile device just like an app, and it can even be published to the Google Play store by converting it to a progressive web app (PWA). This is great because you provide users access to a service without making them download an app. Sometimes you want to interact with an app and share it but not necessarily save it to the home screen, so a PWA would be the ideal solution. If you just need a website with a mobile experience this is also a great choice as an alternative to mobile application development in Singapore.
React JS Development
Web app development is typically broken into 2 categories. Frontend development and backend development. Frontend development involves the actual layout of the application. We typically use React on the frontend. To develop these apps, our React developers build reusable components with style and function and then link that to data from out database.
Node JS Development
Backend development involves what happens in the background. We typically use Node or Python on the backend. Our Node developers create functions that do certain tasks for us and we call them API's. These can then be called on the frontend of or scheduled to run every day, hour, minute or second.
Python Development
Python is a powerful programming language that can be used in many areas. In web development, Python is often used with the Django or Flask framework to develop functional frontends. You can also develop games and desktop applications with Python, but the reason we love Python is because of how powerful the language is in science and mathematics. This makes it an excellent programming language for development AI/ML models and for big data and analytics projects. So most of our teams python development will be on the backend side, we do use it for some frontend projects.
Our App Development Process
Having a simple, transparent and result driven process is what sets us apart from other companies in Singapore. It's also one of the major reasons people hire app development companies instead of freelancers to develop their apps. We work closely with out clients and have them as involves as they want to be. Being able to use and test the app during production builds trust and ensures us to ensure that we have tested every feature and the final product is bug free on launch date. We define our process as follows:
Consult
The first step when starting a project is to discuss the project, share thoughts, and brainstorm ideas with our clients. Because of our understanding of the Singapore and ASEAN market we can provide some useful insights not just about app development, but also about strategy and marketing. We will decide on the features required and also discuss platforms, technologies and monetization to draw up a specification sheet which will allow us both parties to have a document that clearly states the requirements for the project.
Wireframe
Now that we know what is required, our team will start to draw wireframes. Wireframes are basically rough sketches that allow us to decide on the pages and features we will rely on. Our development team will also start planning the database structure for the app. We work very closely with our clients here until we have a wireframe they are happy with.
UI/UX Design
We all know the importance of good design. If someone opens an app with an outdated look or bad user experience, the chances of them coming back are slim. Our UX designers make sure to keep up to date with the latest design principles for all platforms. Once we have sketched out designs we will present them to the client and iterate until we have a design to sign off.
App Development
Now the fun starts. Our development team will work with the specifications and designs to bring your project to life. This is the longest stretch of the project so we like to allow our clients to test with us to see the app develop day by day. Our team utilizes Git and stores and backups our code to secure it will always be safe.
Testing
Once the app is done, we will let you and your team all sign up and use it with us. We will test all features and edge cases and fix any bugs that pop up to make sure the app is well polished and ready for launch day.
Launch
When we have the go ahead, we will publish the app on the domain, or respective app stores. e will also assist with setting up the store listings and graphics. Once the review is complete the app will be live.
Maintain
Once the app is running, we are here to offer continual support for as long as you need. We will work with you to maintain your app and ensure that any issues are resolved and we will also be able to update and add new features as you grow. This can allow you to focus on growing your business and establishing strategic partnerships while we manage all the engineering for you.
Work With A Top App Developer In Singapore
Our Singapore team of app developers are ready to take on any challenge thrown our way. We will work with you and your team to build out an app that you and your users will love. Singapore is one of the best places to develop an app because the development cost is not as high as places like the Unites States, but the quality is just as good, if not better! So what are you waiting for, if you are ready to make something great feel free to reach out to us anytime. Here is what some of our past clients had to say about us:
"We wanted to hire an app development company in Singapore to build our startup a minimal viable product to pitch to investors. We were lucky to raise some initial funds through friends and family so we could hire Potado. They built our app for iPhone, Android and web and we were very happy with the result, especially because of how smooth and clean the app worked and looked!"
"Our app was already build for Android and we needed to get a web version for mobile and desktop as well as another version for iPhones. We worked with a dev team to build our Android app and it took over 8 months. We assumed it was because the app had many complex features like maps, chat and animations. When we worked with Potado they managed to build it even better in just over 8 weeks! We ended up getting them to completely rebuild our Android version as well. Great experience."
"We had a website that needed to be rebuilt and we worked with the team at Potado to get it done. They did an excellent job improving the UI and making the website easy to use. We were so happy with the results to decided to work with Potado to build an internal app for our company. They app is used for communication and we will continue to be working with them to add new features."
"If you need a team the has great communication, business sense and a strong engineering department, look no further this is the one! We build an app for our startup with Potado and were able to go on to receive funding thanks to both the great MVP as well as the advice we received about doing certain functionality in a more user friendly way."
"I had some designs made by a graphic designer then reached out to Potado to develop the app. They did just that, and did it really well. It worked smoothly and more than that they added some improvements to the designs with really sleek animations. I was pleasantly surprised to find a development company that could do a better job than a designer!"