Mobile products users keep
Splitting work across several freelancers creates handoff problems. Keeping it with one accountable engineer or small pod protects both quality and pace.
Discovery stays short and specific: users, data, and risks. After that we build the critical path first and strengthen it from there.
We work best with founders who need a mobile app developer who want a partner that ships. Cross-platform mobile development with clean UX and reliable backends.
What you get
- Cross-platform mobile apps
- API-connected experiences
- Offline-friendly patterns
- Launch and iteration support
- One studio accountable for the result
- Design and engineering on the same schedule
- Support available after launch
How engagement works
As your mobile app developer, we run a shared backlog, design reviews, and engineering sprints, and you keep one point of contact throughout.
- 01
Discover
Goals, constraints, data sources, and success metrics, all settled before we touch architecture or prompts. Nothing here waits on a handover between separate teams.
- 02
Design
System design, AI/tool boundaries, interface direction, and interaction prototypes. On mobile app development projects we favour practical architecture over trendy defaults.
- 03
Build
Modern stack, clean architecture, evaluated AI behavior, and iterative demos you can react to. The work for teams in Manchester stays tied to the outcome you asked for.
- 04
Launch
Ship, monitor, harden, and keep improving models, tools, and product after go-live. You see progress on the critical path every week.
How we build it, and why
The stack is chosen per project, not applied from a template. For mobile app developer work these are the defaults, and the reason each one is on the list.
- React Native
- one codebase for iOS and Android, which halves the surface area you maintain after launch
- Expo
- over-the-air updates and managed builds, so shipping a fix does not mean waiting on app store review
- Node.js
- one language across the stack, so context does not get lost at the boundary
- Firebase
- auth, push, and realtime sync without standing up your own infrastructure first
- Stripe
- payments, subscriptions, and the tax and invoicing edge cases you do not want to build
What the first weeks look like
- Days 1-3
Context and constraints
Codebase, deploy path, and what "done" means for the mobile app development. Short, because the useful version of this is specific.
- Week 1
First shipped slice
Something real goes out in the first week — cross-platform mobile apps rather than a setup ticket.
- Weeks 2-6
Build to the milestone
Pull requests, reviews, and weekly demos. You see the work as it happens rather than at a handover meeting.
- Handover
Documented and transferable
Runbooks, architecture notes, and a walkthrough, so the work does not depend on us still being here.
Weighing up your options
There are three realistic ways to get this built. Each is the right answer for someone.
A solo freelancer
Cheapest per hour and fine for a contained task. The risk on mobile app development is breadth — one person covering design, backend, infrastructure, and launch usually means one of them is weak, and there is no cover when they are unavailable.
A local agency in Manchester
Same timezone and a face to meet, which genuinely matters for some teams. You are also paying Manchester tech scene needing full-stack and product support. rates for the whole team including the layers that never touch your mobile app development, and a local shortlist is a small shortlist.
Arcode
A small senior team. The people who scope the mobile app development write the code, you get weekly demos instead of status decks, and the engagement ends when the thing is live and handed over.
Work we have shipped
Dare To Donate
Mobile · React Native
Cross-platform blood donation app connecting donors and recipients with Firebase auth and realtime data.
Expo React Native app for donation matching with secure auth and cloud storage.
- · iOS and Android via Expo
- · Firebase auth and realtime DB
- · Donor/recipient flows
- · Secure cloud storage
React Native · Expo · Redux Toolkit · Firebase
Conference App
Mobile · Flutter · Zoom
Cross-platform conference app with Firebase auth, realtime data, and Zoom video sessions.
Freelance Flutter product covering authentication, realtime storage, and Zoom API video conferencing for event attendees.
- · Cross-platform Flutter client
- · Firebase authentication
- · Realtime event data
- · Zoom video conferencing
Flutter · Firebase · Zoom API
VIP Hires
Full-stack · Payments · UX
Recruitment platform with Stripe payments, workflow management, and polished motion-driven UI.
Hiring product covering job posting payments, candidate workflows, forms, and analytics.
- · Stripe payment flows
- · Recruitment workflow stages
- · Validated multi-step forms
- · Analytics charts and notifications
Next.js · Redux Toolkit · Stripe · Framer Motion · Zod
Working with teams in Manchester
Manchester tech scene needing full-stack and product support. We work with clients in Manchester remotely and keep overlapping hours in GMT/BST. We usually collaborate in English.
How we work with Manchester teams
Manchester is on GMT/BST, so we share a full working day rather than a couple of hours. Most Manchester clients settle into a short weekly call with written updates in between, which keeps the meeting load low.
What Manchester clients usually need
Manchester briefs are mostly growing businesses rather than funded startups: ecommerce platforms, booking and membership systems, and internal tools that outgrew the spreadsheet they started as.
Contracts, data, and compliance
Budgets here tend to be tighter than London's for comparable scope, so we phase work into releases that each stand on their own instead of one large build. We invoice in GBP and work under UK GDPR.
