Customer behaviour is mobile
Booking, ordering, looking up information happens on the phone — and your web app, no matter how mobile-friendly, is not on the home screen.
Mobile App Development
Mobile App Development That Shares the Same Data Model as Your Website
Most SeoMata mobile apps are built on the same back-end and data model as the marketing site or custom web app — one source of truth, one team, one runbook. Native or cross-platform, iOS + Android, with the discipline you would expect from a production app team.
30+
Apps shipped
iOS + Android
99.5%
Crash-free sessions
standard target
< 2.5s
Cold start
p95 on mid-range Android
4.6+
Avg App Store rating
across last 10 launches
What "mobile app development" covers
Mobile app at SeoMata covers native iOS (Swift / SwiftUI), native Android (Kotlin / Compose) and cross-platform (React Native / Expo) builds. We default to React Native / Expo for most service-business and B2B apps because it lets us share roughly 80% of the codebase with a Next.js web app — same TypeScript, same data model, same auth.
When the product needs deep native APIs, advanced performance (gaming, AR, audio / video manipulation) or platform-specific UX, we go native. Both paths get the same production discipline.
This page covers when mobile is the right investment, what we ship, the default stack, our process, and how cost and release frame up.
~80%
Code shared (RN)
with the web app
0
Console.log to prod
we ship real apps
< 1 wk
New release cycle
after MVP
When to build
Six signals you are ready for mobile
You need device features
Camera, GPS, push notifications, biometric auth, offline mode — features that browsers either cannot do or cannot do reliably.
Operations team in the field
Drivers, technicians, sales reps, field staff — they need a focused app, not a desktop tool on a phone screen.
You sell repeat-purchase
Loyalty, subscription, on-demand re-order — an app drives 2–4x repeat purchase vs web for the same user.
You have a brand to defend
The home screen icon is its own marketing channel. Customers who add you to their phone come back more often.
You already have a web product
Once the web app exists and the data model is solid, building mobile on top is a 30-40% lift, not a separate ground-up project.
Types
Six app types we have shipped
Booking + ordering apps
Service booking, restaurant ordering, on-demand requests with push, payment, scheduling, loyalty.
Member / patient portal apps
Login, secure messaging, file access, appointment management, payment. HIPAA-aware variants available.
Field operations apps
Driver / technician / dispatcher apps with offline mode, GPS routing, photo + signature capture, sync.
Multi-tenant marketplace apps
Two-sided marketplace mobile experience for SaaS, gig, or marketplace businesses; shared back-end with web.
Dashboard + reporting apps
Executive or manager dashboards with on-call alerts; data viz tuned for mobile.
Loyalty + brand apps
Loyalty cards, push notifications, in-app messaging, brand engagement — for retail, hospitality, beauty.
Stack
Default mobile stack
React Native + Expo (cross-platform)
Default for most service-business / B2B apps. Shares ~80% code with the Next.js web app. Expo Application Services for OTA + builds.
SwiftUI (iOS native)
When iOS-only or when deep platform integration matters. Used for some HealthKit / WatchKit / advanced animation projects.
Kotlin + Compose (Android native)
When Android-only or when device-specific APIs (e.g. Samsung Knox, Android Auto) matter.
Firebase / Supabase / custom API
Firebase for push + analytics; Supabase or custom Next.js API for data + auth. Shared with web wherever possible.
Clerk / Auth0 / Firebase Auth
Auth choice depends on regulatory + UX requirements. Same auth as the web app whenever possible.
PostHog + Sentry + Crashlytics
PostHog for product analytics, Sentry for errors, Crashlytics for native crashes. All wired before first beta.
Process
Six-stage mobile app process
Discovery + spec
User research, flow mapping, device feature inventory, integration plan. Output: written spec + screen-flow map.
Foundation
Repo, CI/CD via EAS or Fastlane, auth, base navigation, analytics + crash reporting. First TestFlight / Internal track build in week 2.
Vertical slice
One end-to-end flow shipped (login + key action) so the team can run on real devices early.
Build out + integrations
Remaining flows, push notifications, payment, GPS, sync — wired against staging.
QA + perf + accessibility
Cross-device QA (Android matrix + iPhone matrix), Lighthouse-equivalent perf testing, accessibility (VoiceOver / TalkBack), App Store readiness.
Submission + launch + 30 days
App Store + Play Store submission, launch monitoring, weekly checkpoints for 30 days.
Quality
Quality bar every mobile app meets
Crash-free target ≥ 99.5%
Crash-free sessions monitored in Crashlytics + Sentry; regressions paged.
Cold start < 2.5s p95
On mid-range Android; iOS typically much faster. Measured on real devices.
Offline mode where it matters
Field apps, ordering apps, viewing apps all handle network loss without data loss.
Accessibility (VoiceOver + TalkBack)
All critical flows operable with screen reader; dynamic type respected on iOS.
Push notifications
APNs + FCM wired; opt-in flow respects platform conventions; segmented + scheduled supported.
Analytics + product events
PostHog (or equivalent) events on every meaningful screen; funnel + retention queries set up.
App Store + Play Store ready
Screenshots, descriptions, age rating, privacy nutrition labels, App Tracking Transparency, data-safety section, all completed.
OTA updates (Expo) or staged rollout (EAS / Play Console)
Bug fixes in hours, not weeks. Staged rollout on Play Console to catch regressions early.
Release
App Store, Play Store and release engineering
Mobile release is structurally different from web release. You cannot push a fix in 5 minutes — App Store review takes 1–3 days, Play Store takes hours, OTA updates (via Expo) are minutes but limited to JS-only changes. We design the release pipeline around that reality.
Standard SeoMata release flow: every commit triggers an EAS build for internal testing, every merge to main goes to TestFlight (iOS) + Internal Track (Android) for the client team, and tagged releases get submitted to App Store + Play Store. Staged rollout on Play Console (10% → 50% → 100%) catches regressions before they hit everyone.
For app updates: critical bug fixes use Expo OTA when possible (JS-only patches, no store review). Anything touching native code or APIs goes through the full release. We document which kinds of changes need which path.
App Store + Play Store metadata — screenshots, descriptions, privacy labels, age rating, App Tracking Transparency, data-safety form — is part of the standard scope. We do not throw the app over the wall and ask you to submit it.
Investment
How mobile-app cost usually breaks down
A typical cross-platform (React Native / Expo) MVP — clear scope, 6–10 screens, 2-3 integrations — lands between USD 35,000 and USD 80,000 in 8–12 weeks. Native iOS + Android together typically adds 40-60% on top of the same scope, which is why we default to React Native unless there is a reason to go native.
Larger marketplace, multi-tenant or B2B apps run USD 100,000–250,000 for a defensible v1, 14–22 weeks. Field-operations apps with offline + sync sit in the middle, typically USD 60,000–120,000.
Post-launch operational cost is typically USD 2,500–6,500 / month on a retainer if SeoMata stays on. The retainer covers backlog work, crash + error monitoring, App Store + Play Store metadata maintenance, OS-version compatibility (new iOS / Android each year), and quarterly architecture review.
Hybrid bundles — web app + mobile app + maintenance — get a 10–15% bundle discount. Most clients combine.
Common mobile-app scoping questions
React Native or native?
Default React Native + Expo. Pick native when: you need deep platform APIs (HealthKit, ARKit, Android Auto, Samsung Knox), you have performance constraints React Native cannot meet (gaming, AR, advanced video), or you are iOS-only and want to ship the most polished iOS experience possible.
Do you build PWAs as an alternative?
Sometimes — for apps where push notifications are nice-to-have and install rate is not critical, a Progressive Web App can be the right answer for 30-50% of the cost. We will tell you up front when a PWA is enough.
Do you handle App Store + Play Store submission?
Yes — full submission, metadata, screenshots, privacy labels, age rating, ATT framework, data safety. We do not throw apps over the wall.
What about updates after launch?
OTA updates (Expo) for JS-only patches — hours from fix to user device. Native changes require store review (1-3 days iOS, hours Android). Staged rollout on Play Console catches regressions.
Will the app share code with our web app?
Yes — about 80% on a React Native build that targets the same back-end + auth + data model as your Next.js web app. We design the data layer to be shared from day one.
Do you do app design too?
Yes — mobile-first design system, screen-flow design, Figma + content-true mockups. Part of standard scope.
Ready to scope a mobile app?
Start with a free 45-minute scoping call. We will listen to the problem, the platform preference, integrations, and constraints, then write back with a one-page architecture sketch and a rough budget range — usually within 5 business days.
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Next step
Get a Free App Strategy Review
Request a free app strategy review. SeoMata will help you assess whether the right next move is a website improvement, automation layer, or a full mobile app build — before spec or budget locks in.