App design & development

You have the idea. We build the app.

A sketch on a napkin is enough to start. We help you figure out what to build, show you what it looks like, and build it for real. From early-stage ideas to finished applications, you get a clear process and the scope and price in writing before any work begins.

  • Scope & price in writing
  • You own the finished product
  • Plain-English process
Start your app project See how it works

What we can build for you

Apps aren’t all the same animal. Some live on a phone, some live in a browser, some never face a customer at all. Here’s the range, in plain terms.

  • Mobile apps Apps your customers install on their phones. One build can usually serve iPhone and Android.
  • Web apps Runs in a browser, nothing to install. Good for tools your customers or staff log into from anywhere.
  • Internal business tools Dashboards, schedulers, quote builders: the software your shop actually runs on.
  • Customer portals A place for your customers to log in, check status, book, or pay, instead of calling you for it.
  • Apps that use AI Practical uses: drafting replies, sorting requests, summarizing documents. Useful features, not a chatbot for its own sake.
  • Fixes & additions Already have an app that stalled, broke, or needs more? We take over and extend existing projects too.

Choose your starting point

Three ways in, depending on where your idea is right now. Each one ends with something concrete in your hands, not a promise.

App Idea & Blueprint

For the idea that’s still in your head, or on a napkin.

$295–$495

One-time · fixed scope

What you get:

  • Requirements & goals review
  • Target audience & main use cases
  • Core feature list
  • User-flow outline
  • Recommended platform & technical approach
  • Feasibility assessment
  • Development roadmap & estimated budget range

A planning engagement, not a commitment to build. The Blueprint is yours to keep: build with us or take it to any developer.

Start with a Blueprint

App Design & Prototype

For the idea that needs to be seen and clicked before it’s built.

from $795

One-time · agreed scope

What you get:

  • User experience planning
  • User interface design
  • Agreed core screen designs
  • Clickable prototype covering the agreed flows
  • Visual design system
  • Development-ready specifications
  • Preliminary development estimate

Design work only, not working software yet. Covers an agreed set of screens and flows; bigger scopes get a separate written estimate.

Design my app

Custom App Development

For the project that’s ready to be built for real.

Custom quote

Priced to the scope · in writing

Every proposal puts in writing:

  • Features & functionality
  • Supported platforms
  • User roles & permissions
  • Data & backend requirements
  • Integrations & third-party services
  • Security & privacy requirements
  • Milestones, payment schedule & estimated timeline
  • Deliverables, exclusions & assumptions
  • Ownership & licensing terms

Nothing gets built until you approve a written scope and price. The quote covers what’s in it, no more, no less.

Request an estimate

Not sure which door is yours?

That’s the normal case. Most people can’t tell yet whether they need a plan, a prototype, or a build, and that’s fine. Describe the idea in the form below and we’ll point you at the right starting point, in writing.

And if your idea is really a website in disguise, we’ll tell you that too. A $445 website beats a $10,000 app you didn’t need.

How the process works

Five steps from idea to finished product. Some projects begin with a Blueprint or prototype; a well-defined idea can go straight to a scoped proposal. Your proposal says which path yours takes.

  1. Tell us about it

    The problem you’re solving, who it’s for, and what “working” looks like. Plain English is fine. Napkins are fine.

    No spec document needed.

  2. Define the product

    Features, platforms, and technical requirements become a written scope, sometimes through a Blueprint or prototype first.

    Not every project takes the same path.

  3. Review the proposal

    Scope, price, assumptions, and an estimated timeline, all in writing, before a line of code gets written.

    No work begins until you approve it.

  4. Design & build

    Agreed milestones with review points, so you watch it take shape instead of waiting for a big reveal.

    If the scope changes, we quote it and you decide.

  5. Test & deliver

    We check the agreed functionality works, then deploy it or hand it off exactly the way the proposal describes.

    You own the finished product.

What affects the cost

Websites come in standard packages because most small-business sites need the same pieces. Apps don’t. The price follows the scope, and the scope follows what your app has to do. Here’s what moves the number, in plain English.

  • Screens & flows More screens and more paths through the app mean more design and build time.
  • Accounts & roles Logins, permissions, and different views for customers, staff, and admins.
  • Data & backend What the app has to remember, where it lives, and who can see it.
  • Integrations Payments, maps, email, or the tools you already run, like QuickBooks.
  • AI features Features that use AI carry their own per-use service costs, separate from the build.
  • Admin tools The behind-the-scenes dashboard you use to run things.
  • Security & privacy Handling payments, health, or personal data raises the bar, and the work.
  • Platforms & launch Web, iPhone, Android, and each app store has its own release process.
  • Testing & upkeep Apps need maintenance after launch, like any tool that has to keep working.

Rough planning budgets

To help you place your idea before we ever talk numbers, here’s where app projects tend to land.

Under $2,500

Blueprints, prototypes, and small single-purpose tools.

$2,500–$5,000

A focused web app or internal tool with a small, clear feature set.

$5,000–$10,000

A multi-feature web app, customer portal, or first mobile app.

$10,000+

Complex builds: multiple user roles, payments, AI features, or several platforms at once.

These are approximate planning ranges, not quotes. Where a project lands depends on the scope we agree on in writing before work starts.

Costs that aren’t ours

Some running costs come from other companies, not from us: hosting and cloud services, AI usage, app-store developer accounts, and third-party subscriptions. Which of them applies depends on the project.

Your proposal lists what’s included in our price and what isn’t, so the full cost of owning the app is on the table before you commit.

Fair questions

How much does it cost to build an app?

It depends on the scope: screens, accounts, data storage, integrations, platforms, and testing all move the number. The planning budgets above give you a rough neighborhood, and every development project gets a written quote before work starts. If you want a real number early, that’s exactly what the Blueprint produces.

Can you help if I only have an idea?

Yes. That’s the most common starting point we see. You describe the idea in your own words, and the Idea & Blueprint turns it into a defined product: features, user flows, a recommended technical approach, and an estimated budget range.

Do I need to know how to code?

No. You bring the business knowledge; we translate it into technical decisions and explain them in plain English. You’ll never need to read a line of code, unless you want to.

Can you design an app before building it?

Yes, and it’s often the smart order. The Design & Prototype engagement gives you designed screens and a clickable prototype, so you can put the product in front of real people before committing to a development budget.

Can you build AI-powered applications?

We build apps that use AI where it’s genuinely useful: drafting text, sorting requests, summarizing documents, answering common questions. Two honest notes: the AI services themselves charge usage fees separate from the build, and if AI isn’t the right tool for your problem, we’ll say so and build it the plain way.

Can you build for iPhone and Android?

Yes, where it makes sense. One codebase can often serve both platforms instead of paying for two separate apps. App-store developer accounts and release fees are separate, and your proposal will say so up front.

Do I need a backend or database?

Most apps that remember anything (accounts, orders, saved work, messages) need one. A simple single-purpose tool may not. The Blueprint or proposal spells out which yours needs and why.

Who owns the finished application and source code?

You do. Same rule as everything else we build: your product, your code, your data. The ownership and licensing terms go into the written proposal before work begins, so there are no surprises after launch.

Are hosting and third-party services included?

They’re separate, because they’re not our services to sell you. Hosting, AI usage, app-store accounts, and third-party subscriptions may be additional depending on the project. Your proposal lists what’s included and what isn’t before you commit.

Do you offer ongoing maintenance?

Yes. Apps need updates the way websites do. Ongoing support and maintenance are available and scoped separately, so you only pay for the level of care the app actually needs.

What happens if my idea changes during development?

Same rule as our website builds: if the scope changes, we quote the change and you decide before we proceed. Changes are normal, especially once you can see the product. The written scope is what keeps the number honest.

Ideas welcome · Plain English

Have an app idea? Let’s define the next step.

You don’t need a complete specification or a pitch deck to get started. Tell us what you want to build, and we’ll help determine the most practical next step, even if it’s “start smaller.”

We reply within one business day. Your email is only used to respond to your inquiry.

What happens next

  1. We reply within one business day

    A real person reads what you wrote. Not an autoresponder, not a sales team.

  2. We talk it through

    A short call or a few emails. We ask the questions that shape the scope; you don’t need to know the technical answers.

  3. You get it in writing

    The recommended next step, whether that’s a Blueprint, a prototype, or a development proposal, with the scope and the price spelled out.

  4. You decide. No chasing.

    Move forward, take the plan elsewhere, or sit on it. We don’t do follow-up pressure campaigns. The plan is the pitch.

Prefer to skip the form? Call (706) 489-9849 or write info@theoryelemental.com.