All you need to know: How much does it cost to build your own web app from scratch in Malaysia?
Sigma School
17th August 2023
Alright, picture this scenario, after years of hard work, you finally started, you've just created your business and now you’re looking to create a brand with your web presence to connect with your customers.
After some research, you know that there are two different types of hosted web properties, websites and web applications.
Well, you already know a lot about websites but... what about web applications?
Are web applications popular?
In the current state of web development, web applications are very popular. It is no longer possible for a business to reach peak growth without a proper web application.
The Internet has become an inevitable part of our society. As of January 2021, there were 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide (that’s about 59.5 percent of the global population!) And of this total, 92.6 percent (4.32 billion ) accessed the internet via mobile devices.
These statistics support the idea that the development of web and mobile apps have rocketed in previous years. Think about it, how many people do you know that don't own a smartphone with apps or an internet browser installed, right?
Nowadays, many businesses hire web app development companies to create intuitive web apps that help them to reach their business goals faster. The cost of developing web apps depends on various factors, which we'll discuss in this article. .
But first of all…
So what is considered is a web application? Well, a definition from Google can help us out here.
“Progressive Web Apps use modern web capabilities to deliver an app-like user experience. They evolve from pages in browser tabs to immersive, top-level apps, maintaining the web’s low friction at every moment..”
What does this mean? Well, web applications mimic the behaviour and functionality of mobile apps. This differentiates them from what many consider to be a standard website.
They provide a far more seamless experience.
It’s important to note that while they are defined differently, a website and a web app are fundamentally very similar and contain many overlaps in purpose and functionality.
Web apps retrieve and store information by using server-side scripts (in scripting languages such as PHP), while client-side scripts (in JavaScript and HTML5) present the relevant information on the user interface.
Businesses need to exchange information and conclude transactions with their target customers. This information might take any number of forms. Common types of web applications include shopping carts, content management systems and online forms.
Web applications are built with completely different technologies when compared to standard websites and because of this, web applications have far more functionality than its standard website equivalent.
All web apps are web sites, but not all web sites are web apps. But why exactly are web apps better?
Website is a collection of documents made available online/on the internet by a web server and opened using a web browser. It usually includes several web pages (such as Home, About Us, Products, Contact, etc.) and contains elements such as images, text, audio, video, etc.
The primary purpose of the website is to provide information to users and are one-way informational feeds since they do not allow viewers to interact or communicate back to the site. The users can only view published content and cannot take other actions such as creating an account or shopping.
There are many types of websites out there, example:
Some great examples of websites:
Wikipedia
A web application is a piece of software that can be accessed by the browser. Basically, web applications are websites with functionality and interactive elements. It usually connects to the central server to deliver content to the user and react to it.
Web applications are more complex and difficult to build, and they require an experienced team of software developers to create them. Web Applications came to prominence with the advent of Software as a Service (SaaS) movement.
There are many types of web application out there, example:
Some great examples of websites:
Gmail
YouTube
Web applications have many different uses, and with those uses, comes many potential benefits.
Some advantages of using web application include:
Most web based applications are far more compatible across platforms than traditional installed software. So whether you use Windows, Linux or Mac OS you can still run the web application.
Web application development systems need only be installed on the server placing minimal requirements on the end user workstation. Maintaining and updating the system is much simpler, any client updates can be deployed via the web server with ease.
Due to the manageability and cross platform support deploying web applications for any platform in any type of work environment is easier. It is ideal where bandwidth is limited and the system and data is remote to the user. At their most deployable you simply need to send the user a website address to log in to and provide them with internet access. Thus it has huge implications allowing one to widen access to various systems, streamline processes and improve relationships by providing access to customers, suppliers and any third parties
With desktop based software, a stolen or damaged computer can be a very costly and time consuming situation and it puts your data at risk and requires you to contact your software provider and request for the software to be re-installed on a new device.
With a web based application, all the data will be stored in the cloud even when your computer equipment is damaged or stolen, it can very quickly be back to ‘business as usual’.
One can dramatically lower costs with the help of Web based applications due to reduced support and maintenance, lower requirements on the end user system and simplified architecture. By further streamlining your business operations as a result of your web based application additional savings can often be found.
Web applications are in favor right now and if you're ready to build your own web application, you're probably wondering how much it might cost.
Now, if you came to this article hoping to get an precise, exact figure for how much it will cost to build your web application, we’re sorry because you won’t find one here. If someone is able to tell you immediately the exact cost needed to build your web application, it’s a red flag because web app development doesn’t work like that, it’s impossible to name the final price without knowing all the details of the project.
The final cost of a web app development will depend on multiple variables and in the article below, we’ll share some of the main factors that affect the web app cost and provide enough information to help you roughly determine the cost to develop the web application of your dream.
So, what affects the web app development cost?
The first thing that developers need to estimate is a potential scope of work. If you want to build a web app from scratch, prepare answers for the following questions:
Whichever option that you choose, always remember to start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) before gradually evolving into the mature web app. MVP or minimum viable product, which is a term that is often being used in the startup world. Basically, MVP is the first product with basic functions, which allows you to continue to iterate and expand, or abandon it altogether.
Custom design is definitely going to take more money out of your budget but we will still advise you to go for it instead of using a free standard template. Why? This is because if you want your business to be recognisable, you just can't do it without a unique design.
Thousands of web apps are being launched every week, if your web app are not able to stand out, it basically just foredoomed your business to failure.
The cost of building an online e-commerce store and unique and complicated software systems will differ greatly. Building something of which there are tons, like an ecommerce website or a simple online brochure requires no special knowledge and therefore doesn’t cost a lot.
The more specific your business niche, the more difficult it’s for developers to figure it out, thus they’ll spend more time on web development, which will lead to an increase in the cost of your project.
Don’t expect to get a top-notch website in a couple of weeks as writing clear and correct code is a time-consuming process.
If you’re limited in time and have strict deadlines to deliver, expect the increased web app development cost too. Which is pretty obvious, right? Developers will have to work harder to meet the deadline and it will require more effort from them.
First, think carefully about how many specialists should be on your team. If you build a web application from scratch, you’ll need the help of the following experts.
The work of these experts cost different amounts. Here’s what their roles will be in the project and their average salary according to data from JobStreet.
Every project will need a leader, he or she who will be responsible for making the most important decisions and will pave the way to the team’s goal. In web app development, the position is known as a project manager.
Project manager will oversee the project and serve as an intermediary between you, the client, and the development team.
Average Project Manager Salary:
3- 7 Years Experience: RM 9,700
7 Years Experience and above: RM 10,000
Good design is a crucial step for your web application to succeed. Before web app design is implemented in code by web developers, it is manifested in layouts and wireframes.
And even before this process, a thorough user experience research is conveyed in order to understand the expectations of the future web app’s target audience. Without this input, a web app can fail to address the needs of its users. This is exactly why you need to hire talented UI/UX experts.
For an early stage MVP, you probably won’t need a UI/UX designer with years of experience, you can hire a junior one which will cost you cheaper.
Average UI/UX Designer Salary:
0- 3 Years Experience: RM 2,700
Web apps always have at least two components – back-end and front-end and technically there should be at least one web developer responsible for each of the two.
But...
If you choose JavaScript as your core technology for both the front end and back end, then one strong developer will be enough to handle everything (in the early stage). Otherwise, you’ll need more than one developer. And the more technologies are involved, the more developers you’ll need.
Here at The Hacker Collective, we’re big fans of JavaScript, and it’s always our top recommendation when choosing the technology stack for a web app because:
Average Web Developer Salary:
0 - 3 Years Experience: RM 2,500 - RM 5,000
3 - 7 Years Experience and above: RM 5,000 - RM10,000
Now the final question, how much does it cost to develop a web application? To answer that question, you need to carefully structure the costs of your web application.
To help you come up with a better cost estimation, we divided the web application types into the following 3 categories to provide you with a frame of reference:
Well, the title speaks for itself. Simple Apps won’t do much.
It basically are sites with basic functionality, simple landing pages; widgets or simple components for an existing website. Minimum content, minimum interactive elements and only will require 1-2 web developers and 1 UI/UX designer working on it for 1 - 2 months.
Team cost:
2 web developers - RM 3, 000 monthly -RM 6,000/ month total
1 UI/UX designer - RM 2,700 monthly
Total cost: RM 6,000 + RM 2, 700 = RM 8, 700/ monthly
Mid-complexity apps are custom web applications of a high level of complexity which are usually advanced e-commerce retailers or marketplace-based web apps. These apps have more features and more complex design, aimed to bring their owners a stable profit and help automate their company's business processes.
For a mid-complexity app, it will roughly need 3 to 6 months for development, and it will requires roughly 3 to 4 Web Developers, 1 UI/UX designer and a Project Manager to ensure everything goes smoothly.
Team cost:
4 web developers - RM 3, 000 monthly - RM 12,000/ month total
1 UI/UX designer - RM 2,700 monthly
1 Project Manager - RM 9, 700 monthly
Total cost: RM 12, 000 + RM 2, 700 + RM 9, 700 = RM 24, 400/ monthly
Enterprise apps are ordered by large corporations and promising startups with a good outset. In this case, clients are willing to pay a greater amount to build it and spend more than 6 months to build it as they are building complete web apps, that automate core business processes within large companies, or advanced startup projects.
Enterprise apps will need to be built by a team of 10 - 15 experts (2 UI/UX Designers, 8-10 Web Developers, 1 -2 Project Managers ) and it is going to take at least more than 6 months to fully build it.
Team cost:
10 web developers - RM 3, 000 monthly - RM 30,000/ month total
2 UI/UX designer - RM 2,700 monthly - RM 5, 400/ month total
2 Project Manager - RM 9, 700 monthly - RM 19, 400/ month total
Total cost: RM 30, 000 + RM 5, 400 + RM 19, 400 = RM 54, 800/ monthly
*Every development project must find the right team mix for the respective project requirements. For a larger project, you can save some cost by cut down the number of headcount for development team and have just enough for maintenance purpose.
Now you know how we estimate web application development costs, and, hopefully, you're ready to collaborate. And we, in turn, are ready to provide you with professional assistance in creating high-quality web apps.
But… What to do if you don’t agree with the price of building a web app?
Don’t worry! Here at The Hacker Collective, we develop projects of any complexity and our rates are priced way below average.
How can we do that? That’s because most of our tech team are our own students. We take pride in training our students and when they graduate, they have a strong technical foundation, real-world technical skills, teamwork skills, and excellent problem-solving skills.
They’re more than ready to help you build your dream web application, with lower than market rate price.
Don’t believe us? Let's schedule a call with us! We promise you’ll get exactly what you hoped for (and even more!).
Email us directly at hello@sigmaschool.co!
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