How to Choose a SaaS Development Company
In today’s world, building a SaaS product has become a sign of success. There are a myriad of products, apps, and services allowing founders to build SaaS on their own. However, there comes a time when you might need the help of a SaaS development company.
There are many factors that can help you choose a SaaS development company, such as:
- Expertise in your industry
- Seniority of the team
- Technologies they master
- Reviews and communication
In this article, we will discuss these factors as well as other interesting insights on choosing the right SaaS development company to reach your goals. Shall we?
Building a SaaS product: what to consider
When building a SaaS product you need to consider different fronts and needs for the success of your startup in the short and long term. Some of the things you need to be attentive of are:
- Product Strategy
- UX/UI
- Infrastructure
- Technologies to use
- Distribution
Let’s take a closer look at them.
Product strategy
Your product strategy should dictate most of the decisions you make going forward. Everything from the design, the infrastructure, and the technologies to use should rely on the insights of the product strategy.
You need to have a deep understanding of the industry and audience you will be targeting. Your solution should answer a real problem your target audience is facing in a simple and straightforward way.
This understanding will allow you to make conscious decisions that align with your user and industry. Moreover, you can choose design patterns as well as technologies that will resonate with your ideal user.
Working with a product manager will help you create the ideal requirements for your product. Then, your internal team or an outsourced one can start bringing them to the real world and start validating your product with real users.
UX/UI
With the correct requirements, your UX/UI team can start validating the ideas and assumptions you have made. The first step is focusing on the user experience, the flows and paths users should follow in order to reach success in the app.
If you cannot create a clean and intuitive path to go through your SaaS product, your users probably won’t use the app to solve their problems in the way you intend. Still, all of this needs to be validated.
At Bixlabs, we offer the build of a prototype to make sure you can validate your product with real users before committing to high fidelity wireframes or development. This service helps confirm you are in the right place with minimum investment and protects you from building a full MVP without knowing if it actually works.
Infrastructure
In order to have a SaaS product that stands the test of time, you need a solid infrastructure. The growth of your app, adding more features, and supporting more users depends mainly on the infrastructure decisions you make at the beginning.
You can work with technical leaders to create a solid infrastructure. Should you fail to lay solid foundations for your SaaS product, you might find yourself having to rebuild elements of your app or having issues when including new features and fixing bugs.
Technologies to use
Choosing the right tech is essential for the success of your SaaS product. Today, we have a lot of great technologies that can help you create something of value. Building, for example, your MVP with react can provide a lot of benefits in the long run. It is a tidy technology that is relatively easy to maintain.
If you are going for enterprise level SaaS, you might need to consider, for example, using .NET for your product. Because of this, you need to understand your business, industry, and audience.
Distribution
How will you distribute your SaaS product? Your product needs users, feedback, and more. It is key to think about distribution beforehand so that you can gain some time. SEO strategies often take about six months to bring the first results. Social media needs consistency in the long run.
If you can devote a part of your time and initial strategy to distribution, you will have a warm audience once your SaaS product is ready yo launch.
How to choose a SaaS development company
Choosing the right SaaS development company can be the difference between success and failure. Here are the main things to consider:
- Expertise in your industry
- Seniority of the team
- Technologies they master
- Reviews and communication
Expertise in the industry
Choosing a SaaS development company with a track record of building successful SaaS products in your space can be a game changer. Even though many companies can diversify their industries of expertise, working with a partner that has developed in your industry before is a great advantage.
If you are planning on building a B2B SaaS web application in compliance and security, for example, you want to find a partner that has done it before. They will be able to bring their compounded experiences and learnings to your product, providing way more value.
Seniority of the team
Seniority goes way beyond mastering a specific technology. In order to build a successful app, you need a team that can provide value beyond their coding skills through counseling, communication, and creativity.
Working with a “yes man” team can be a liability. Your team should counterbalance you in the development process. If they are truly experts, they will provide their insights on the right path to choose. In the end, the decision is always yours.
For seniority, apart from tech skills, you should consider things such as communication, English level, willingness to provide value and speak their minds, willingness to collaborate, and more.
Technologies they master
Come SaaS development companies master a distinctive tech stack. If you can find experts in the technologies you are looking for, this can be a great plus for your SaaS. Instead of experimenting or learning along the way, your team will be following the best practices and knowledge they have developed throughout the years working with that technology.
You also want a team that knows their way around working with AI. This knowledge is key not only to implement it into your product, but also to make their work more efficient. In our experience, we have discovered that passionate senior developers have a huge interest in continuous learning.
Reviews and communication
Most SaaS development companies will have public reviews you can check in order to make an informed decision. You need to check their record with other similar SaaS products in order to ensure you are working with a legit committed company.
Apps like Clutch can provide you with a better understanding of their previous work. Moreover, their website should provide you with the right information to better understand their seniority and knowledge.
Having the Right Criteria for SaaS Development Companies
There’s this old saying about fast, cheap, and good. You can only pick two. And you need to decide which ones are the priority. It is key to find a balance between having the right development team working with you and avoiding an unmanageable burn rate.
SaaS development companies are a great way to build your product in a cost-effective way, leaving you time to focus on distribution, networking, and the core needs of your business. Since your dedicated team will only be focused on developing the product, you might gain in velocity as well.
Problems of choosing the wrong SaaS development company
Choosing the wrong SaaS development company can easily cost you a lot of money and time. With faulty development, wrong communication and misaligned expectations, what could’ve been a 3-month development of an MVP turns into a nightmare.
Moreover, you could face issues such as legal problems and have your IP stolen. When you work with an unethical company you could find yourself having your code held hostage. You need to make sure your SaaS development company ensures you are the sole owner of the code, app, and overall IP.
You can protect your company through NDAs, legal contracts, and more. When in doubt, seek counsel from a lawyer.
How we build SaaS products at Bixlabs
Throughout the years, we have been able to work with SaaS companies and help them in their journey to success. We prioritize long term, strong relationships over short-term projects because we prefer to provide value for the long run.
We have a team of Javascript experts following the technical best practices created by our technical leadership. You can learn more about the SaaS products we have created here!
Wrapping Up
Choosing the right SaaS development company is one of the keys to the success of your startup. Look for the right partner for your app to maximize your chances of creating a SaaS product for the ages!