App development in DenverMost businesses asking for an app actually need a website
That's an odd thing to lead with on a page selling app development. But the app stores are full of business apps nobody downloaded, and we'd rather have the honest conversation before you spend the money than after. When an app is the right call, we build it properly.
iOS & Android · 30–60 days typical · Denver since 2012
The conversation nobody has with you
Before you build an app, answer this
An app lives behind two enormous barriers a website doesn't have. Someone has to find it in a store, then decide to install it. Every single time you want to reach them, they have to have already done both.
Would your customer use this more than once a month?
If the honest answer is no, you almost certainly want a fast mobile website instead. Nobody installs an app to book a plumber once every three years. They search, they tap the number, they call.
Apps earn their place through repeat use. Weekly orders, daily crew updates, ongoing memberships, tracked progress. Frequency is what justifies asking somebody to install something.
You want to look modern
An app doesn't signal credibility the way it did in 2014. A fast, well-built website does more for how a business is perceived, and it costs a fraction as much.
- • Customers buy from you once or twice a year
- • The main job is being found and called
- • You want to publish content or show your work
- • Budget is tight and results are needed soon
You need something a browser can't do
Push notifications, offline use, camera or GPS running in the background, or a workflow your team uses every day in the field. These are real technical reasons, not preferences.
- • People use it weekly or daily
- • It replaces hours of manual work
- • It needs to work without signal
- • It's the product, not the marketing
Then let's build it properly.
What we build
Four kinds of app that actually get used
Tap one to see it on the phone. Each of these earns its install because somebody opens it regularly.
Three routes
Native app, web app, or a progressive web app?
These get used interchangeably by people selling them, and they're genuinely different products with different costs. Knowing which one you need is most of the decision.
Built for iOS and Android
Downloaded from the app stores. Full access to the camera, GPS, push notifications and offline storage. Fastest and smoothest, and the most expensive.
- Real push notifications
- Works with no signal
- Store listing and reviews
- App review process to pass
- Two codebases, or one cross-platform build
A website that installs
Runs in the browser but can be added to the home screen and works offline. No app store, no download friction, no review process. Increasingly the sensible middle ground.
- No store approval needed
- Updates instantly, no re-download
- Cheaper than native by a wide margin
- Limited push support on iOS
- Findable in search, unlike a store app
Software in a browser
A customer portal, a booking system, an internal tool. No install at all — people log in. For most business software this is the right answer and nobody misses the app.
- Works on any device with a browser
- Nothing to install or maintain per device
- Easiest to change after launch
- Needs a connection
- Usually the cheapest to build
A lot of businesses that ask for a native app are better served by a progressive web app or a web tool bolted onto their site. That's a web development conversation, and usually a much shorter invoice.
Money and time
What app development actually costs
Apps are a different economic category from websites, and it's better to know that now. Published 2026 research puts a focused first version of a web application or SaaS product starting around $50,000, with production systems carrying payments, user roles and analytics regularly exceeding $500,000.
Smaller, tightly scoped apps sit well below that. But there is no honest version of this where a real app costs the same as a website, and anyone quoting you a few thousand dollars for a native app is either misunderstanding the scope or planning to hand you a template.
Scope and screens
What it does, who uses it, and what the first version deliberately leaves out. The single biggest cost driver in any app project is feature creep, and the cheapest place to cut is here, before anything is built.
Build the core
The one workflow the app exists for, built end to end and working. Not every feature — the spine. You should be using a rough version of it before the polish starts.
Test on real devices
Not a simulator. Actual phones, actual signal, actual thumbs. This is where most of the surprises live, and skipping it is why so many business apps get one-star reviews in week one.
Store submission
Apple and Google both review submissions and both reject things. Listing copy, screenshots, privacy declarations and age ratings all need preparing. Budget time for at least one rejection, because it's normal.
It is never finished
Operating systems update twice a year and can break things. Apps need maintenance in a way that a static website simply doesn't. Factor that in before you commit, not after.
Typical projects run 30 to 60 days, and larger ones considerably longer. Every app is quoted per project, because pretending a package fits every app would be its own kind of dishonesty. More on app costs · website pricing.
Straight answers
App development questions
How much does it cost to build an app?
Published 2026 research puts a focused first version of a web application or SaaS product starting around $50,000, with full production systems regularly exceeding $500,000. Smaller, tightly scoped apps cost considerably less. We quote per project, because scope varies more in app work than in anything else we do.
How long does app development take?
Typically 30 to 60 days for a focused first version, and longer for anything with payments, user accounts or third-party integrations. Store review adds time at the end, and you should expect at least one rejection because it's routine rather than a sign of a problem.
Do I need a native app or would a website do?
Ask whether your customer would open it more than once a month. If not, a fast mobile website almost always serves you better, because an app requires them to find it in a store and install it before you can reach them at all. Apps earn their place through repeat use.
What is a progressive web app?
A website built so it can be added to a phone's home screen and work offline, without going through an app store. No download friction, no review process, instant updates, and it stays findable in search. For a lot of businesses it delivers most of what they wanted from an app at a fraction of the cost.
Do you build for both iOS and Android?
Yes. Whether that's two native builds or a single cross-platform codebase depends on what the app has to do. Cross-platform is cheaper and suits most business apps; native separately makes sense when performance or deep device features really matter.
Who owns the app when it's finished?
Ask this of anyone you're considering, and get it in writing. Your store accounts should be registered to your business, not to the developer, because that's the piece that's genuinely painful to recover later. Same principle as owning your domain name.
What happens after launch?
Apps need ongoing maintenance in a way websites don't. iOS and Android both push major updates roughly annually and can break things that worked fine. Budget for that from the start rather than discovering it when the app stops opening.
Can you build an app for my existing website?
Usually, and it's worth asking whether you need to. If your site already does the job on a phone, an app often duplicates it for a large cost. If there's a genuine workflow that needs offline access, notifications or device features, that's a real reason and we'll build it.
Do you only work with Denver businesses?
Denver metro is home and where most of our clients are, and we also work along the Front Range including Colorado Springs and out of state. App work is largely location independent anyway — most of it happens on calls and shared screens.
What if my idea turns out not to be worth building?
We'd tell you. Talking somebody out of a $50,000 project they don't need is a worse quarter for us and a much better outcome for them, and it's the reason people come back with the projects that are worth doing.
Keep going
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Describe the problem, not the app
Tell us what's costing you time or losing you customers, and we'll tell you honestly whether an app fixes it, whether a web tool does the same job cheaper, or whether you just need a faster website. You'll get a straight answer either way.
Rather just talk?
1-800-481-8638
Denver, Colorado · Answered within one business day