How Development Works: From the First Call to Publication
A detailed look at the stages of development: what happens at each step, how long it takes, what is required from the client, and how revisions are handled.
Development goes through four stages: task analysis, planning, iterative development, and launch with support. The client is expected to be involved about 2–4 hours a week — mainly on approvals. Below is a detailed look at what happens at each step and where difficulties usually arise.
Stage 1. Task analysis — before work begins
It starts with a 30–60 minute call. We figure out not what kind of website you want, but what business task needs to be solved. These are different questions, and the answer to the second one often leads to a different solution.
What we find out: who your customers are, how they currently find you, what stops you from selling more, and which processes eat up your employees' time. Sometimes the conversation reveals that an app is not needed — improving the website is enough. We will tell you that directly.
Outcome of the stage: an understanding of the task, plus a preliminary estimate of the timeline and cost in writing.
Stage 2. Planning — 1–3 weeks
First the structure: which screens or pages are needed and how the user moves between them. Then a prototype — a schematic representation of the interface without color or styling. The prototype is where logic is cheapest to change, so it is important to review it carefully.
After the prototype is approved, the design is created: all screens in their final form, button and field states, and adaptation to different screen sizes.
What is required from you: texts and materials, and feedback on the prototype and layouts within 2–3 days. Waiting for approval is the most common cause of timeline slippage.
Stage 3. Development — from 2 weeks to several months
We work in iterations of 1–2 weeks. At the end of each one we show what is ready: not a report on percentages completed, but a working part of the product that you can open and check.
This approach means you see progress constantly and can adjust course before it is too late. It is fundamentally different from the scheme where a contractor disappears for three months and delivers a finished result that does not match expectations.
How revisions are handled
Revisions within the agreed scope of work are included in the price. Changes that expand the scope — new screens, additional features, reworking approved logic — are estimated separately, and we always tell you about it before the work starts, not in the invoice.
Stage 4. Launch and support
Before launch, the project undergoes testing on real devices. For apps, a publishing stage is added: preparing descriptions and screenshots, submitting to the App Store and Google Play, and passing review. Apple's review takes from a day to a week and sometimes requires changes — this is a routine situation.
After launch there is a warranty period of 1 to 12 months depending on the contract: anything that does not work as described in the specification, we fix for free.
How much time it will take on your end
| Stage | Your involvement |
|---|---|
| Task analysis | 1 call of 30–60 minutes |
| Planning | 2–4 hours a week: reviewing layouts, preparing materials |
| Development | about 1 hour every 1–2 weeks for a demo |
| Launch | access to accounts, checking the final version |
What most often causes delays
- Slow approval of layouts — the most common cause; a week of waiting shifts the entire schedule by a week
- Missing texts and materials — there is nothing to fill the finished design with
- New requirements in the middle of the project — every change requires revisiting what has been done
- Delayed access — to the domain, hosting, developer accounts
- App Store review — from a day to a week, beyond anyone's control