The global software development market is expected to reach a staggering $507.23 billion in 2025, showcasing significant growth. It is a truly golden landmine for companies that are capable of treading the new digital wild, wild west. Yet, like any gold rush that means there is a catch.
The software development service provider you choose plays a big role in the final product's work, the speed of the development process, and how good it looks. A great dev team isn’t just a service provider. They can be your software development for a business best partner who knows exactly what you need and helps to achieve goals creatively. Easier said than done, we know it. Finding development companies that meet all your needs within budget constraints is a challenge. Therefore, let’s face it together: which company is best for software development?
Top 10 ways to find the right software development company
There are many talks about how to find a great software development company for your business. Yet, we’ll cover only the most effective ways. We brainstormed ten effective strategies to help you find the ideal application software development company:
1. Freelance Platforms
Platforms such as UpWork and Fiverr make it easy for freelancers to sell their services, making it easier for you to find highly skilled professionals for short-term or specialized projects. Thorough vetting of contractors on such platforms is definitely important, so take enough time to verify the authenticity of the app development information provided to you. You can check portfolios, reviews, and the work history of the company. However, it needs to be noted that at Overcode, we guarantee reliability as from the start a client gets in contact with a pre-vetted team of experienced developers. Also, freelancers offer a degree of flexibility in that you are not committed to paying a full-time wage, while still getting the job done. However, this flexibility means that freelancers may not be as focused on your project and can choose their own hours.
2. Job Boards
The second effective way to find software development companies is to use technology job boards like Indeed or even Linkedln. You post your project or vacancy to attract agencies or freelancers who match your criteria. Once you receive responses, you will need to set up a screening process, interview potential candidates, and select the company that best meets your objectives. If the number of responses is limited, most job boards will provide access to the CV database, allowing you to filter by region, experience, skills, and expertise of companies or developers to make the search process more targeted and efficient.
3. Tap into Your Network
Word-of-mouth recommendations from people you trust can be of immense help. Discussion regarding their experience, right from the development process to the quality of the final product can be pretty useful. Be sure to check whether the company's experience matches your project, tasks, and requirements. At Overcode, we never fail to build a long-lasting relationship that works wonderfully for project delivery and creates a strong referral system.
4. Review and Rating Websites
Clutch, GoodFirms, and other directories are for B2B service providers. They offer real reviews and case studies of work done. On these platforms, you can find a software development company that focuses on your industry, has good feedback from clients, and has a good track record. Keep in mind that the top positions may be occupied by companies that have paid to be featured. You can also learn from customer reviews and comparisons on platforms such as G2 Crowd or Capterra. Although ratings and feedback can give you a good idea of a company's performance, be wary of outdated or artificially generated reviews.
5. Social Media
Social media is indeed a goldmine of information: all relevant hashtags to your industry and groups, and engage with potential partners—information on company culture, team expertise, and project updates. However, Twitter is a powerful tool, where you can use industry-related hashtags to find communities of developers and real-time conversations about software development trends. Although, GitHub is like a social network because you can view developers' past work with open-source projects, skills, and coding standards. Finally, Facebook groups and subcommunities on the Reddit site offer additional places to connect with other developers and learn about them and their technical skills.
You can also keep track of relevant industry hashtags, and engaging with the group could help you uncover useful information that you can't get from a company website. See whether companies share their culture, team expertise, and project updates via social media. If a company regularly publishes informative blog articles relevant to trends in software development, that is indicative of a team that values its connection with the audience.
6. Search Engines
Google can be a powerful tool if you want to customize software and find a development company as it has a wide range of features to enrich your search. With Google Search, you can find company websites and more information about them. Using profiles on Google My Business, you can find out about the services offered reviews of the company and its general reputation, as well as some essential details such as office location and contact number.
Google Ads allows businesses to advertise their services, so you can find ads from specialized software development companies based on your searches. In addition, Google Maps helps you find development companies in specific regions, including reviews and directions. This is useful if you want to meet with a local company or find out more about their physical presence. Together, these tools give you a comprehensive way to evaluate potential partners and find a company that understands the unique challenges of your industry.
7. Industry Events and Conferences
Companies can showcase their expertise, establish various forms of partnerships, and meet directly with potential clients at events and organized industry conferences. These allow you to meet software development companies face-to-face, and understand their capabilities and how this experience could fit into your project.
Pros:
Face-to-face interaction directly with onshore software development teams.
In-depth discussions about project requirements and experience.
Opportunity to see live demonstrations of a company's work.
Cons:
Can be very time-consuming, sometimes involving travel
Restricted to certain times and places, which may further limit the number of opportunities
The costs of attending events or exhibitions can be high.
8. Developer Industry Events
To meet prospective partners, you can further network at industry events such as AI & Big Data Expo, CES, and MWC. By attending such events, you have the opportunity to meet company representatives and learn about the companies as well as meet new people.
Generally, events provide insight into a company's culture and how well your values align. However, each industry conference provides a lot of useful contacts and opportunities. In such a place you can find a good custom software development company, but it may take you more than one event.
If we have a chance, we participate in all kinds of industry events to keep up-to-date on the current trends and establish relations with potential clients and partners.
9. Coding challenge websites
When people spend their free time coding just for fun, it is a real passion and skill. For this reason, websites dedicated to coding challenges are a good place to find potential team members. For example, HackerRank and Codewars are some of them. You can browse the rankings and contact the ones that stand out directly with a personal message. Most, if not all, of these sites offer other options for finding developers, such as job searches. They even filter challenges by programming language to make it easier to find developers.
10. Dev blogs and publications
You can also find a software development company through different developer blogs or publications. There are many of them, for example, Medium, DEV Community, and Hackermoon, as they are some of the most popular platforms. There companies and developers share their knowledge, discuss industry trends, or publish technical articles. You can easily access a wealth of information from these communities. There are filters for the content that allow you to keep the focus on your topics, especially on software development. Oh, one more thing to consider. As well as providing valuable content, these sites also act as networking platforms and can give you direct access to developers who are actively contributing to the community. If you are looking for your next team, these platforms can be a great place to start making connections.
10 Tips to Choose a Software Development Company
Selecting the strategic software development partner will impact the outcome and the project's success. Here are 10 essential tips on how to choose the right software development company and guide your decision:
1. Note the expertise
Industry expertise: The firm should have experience in your corporate sector or technology area.
Portfolio: Think of a company's portfolio as its artistic calling card. Just like an artist wouldn't show you only sketches, a good software development company would show you the most impressive of their creatures in their portfolio. Some firms have gone so far as to provide detailed case studies that share the problems and solutions they delivered for prior clients.
Reviews: The website's thoughts are good but do not limit yourself to them. To find more objective reviews, we advise turning to Clutch, GoodFirms, or specialized forums.
2. Technical stack and availability of related services
Always check the software development company's tech stack and its relevance to your project. They will need to demonstrate experience in working with tools and platforms relevant to your web, mobile, or cloud-based services. They must also be able to integrate their technologies with other systems required for your project, such as APIs.
This will allow you to build an adaptable tech stack. Moreover, it will be much easier to update and change later on. Of course, if they offer additional services such as design, content creation, or testing, this will save time and keep everything under one roof for a smooth, easy project from start to finish.
3. Explore the company's working potential
Here is what you should keep in mind:
Company Size and Structure: You must know who they are, and what kind of people they have within their team. Ask for their CV and information about projects they have worked on. It is worth knowing the size, structure, and company experience so that you can imagine the team, which may include developers, designers, or project managers.
Soft Skills: Soft skills are just as important as technical know-how. Better communication, problem-solving, and adaptability will ensure better collaboration and quicker responses to challenges. Visualize that these skills could be exactly what makes the whole process more effective and guarantees better results.
At the start of the process, you should have an idea of who will be available and meet the potential team in advance. We also advise you to schedule a series of interviews to learn more about their experience and cultural fit. Not all processes are perfect, and the team may not have worked on the most relevant projects in the company.
4. Timeframe for work execution
After interviewing potential candidates, ask for a detailed quote, including hours worked, and provide a roadmap with deadlines. In fact, the exact dates are very important because one company may complete 500 hours in six months with one part-time specialist, while the second company may complete in 1.5 months with two full-time developers.
5. Is pricing right for you?
Confirming your pricing within your budget range is a must. Choose between the business software development charging per hour, or implementing a fixed price model. Take into account such parameters as payment schedule and the criteria for accepting completed work.
In time and material, take into account the regularity of invoicing and whether the company provides any guarantee that it will deliver the product within the estimated amount and time. You need to ask what happens if this project goes over an estimate in time or hours, where is over-acceptable, and what the contract says.
The rates provided for the services at Overcode are reasonable for the quality of service we provide on the market.
Who to Avoid:
Reviews. Companies without or with a significant number of negative reviews may handle their tasks irresponsibly. This can easily and negatively impact your project.
Registration and Licenses. Avoid companies without official registration and licenses. Without a legal agreement, you can't get support if things go wrong. By clearly stating obligations and expectations, you ensure transparency and resolve conflicts.
Prices. Companies offering their services at prices significantly below market rates might be cutting corners on development quality and service delivery.
Experience. Lack of experience in your niche can also pose risks to the successful completion of your project.
Other information. If a contractor does not provide clear information about their team, development processes, and working conditions, their service quality can be low.
6. Communication evaluation
Language Barrier: Clarify their language skills to make sure the interaction process is effective and free of language barriers.
Geographical Location: Take into account the time difference and its effects on the communication and the time constraints of the project.
7. Information security
An important aspect is to ensure that you have signed a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that is strong and can easily protect the intellectual property for the work done and other sensitive and not least important data. We value the sensitivity of our client's data and maintain a non-disclosure policy.
Security Practices: Analyze if the particular company follows some of the standard procedures known in the security of the software development such as OWASP guidelines.
Data Protection: Check that the project architecture and database are built by professionals who can predict all possible uses for the project. User intellectual property must be encrypted and it should not be possible for any user to access other users' data to prevent reputational scandals. In this case, our technical leads at Overcode directly oversee the projects to ensure that all products developed meet our high-quality standards.
SSL Certificates: The software dev company should use SSL certificates to encrypt the communication channels. Overcode will help you choose the right type of certificate and connect it to your domain.
Code Ownership: Before work begins, clearly outline and document who owns the mobile app code and who controls the code produced during the project. Include in the contract that the rights to the code are transferred to the client on payment, and that the company and developers will not use or copy the code in other products, thus giving the client full control of the code. By the way, with ownership, we provide great freedom when choosing to use the products or services of a business.
8. Access and control of workflows
Know how you will get updates on the projects, control revisions, and monitor the completion of tasks. Overcode has a clear workflow and engages in the use of project management tools in a way that makes the client understand what is going on.
9. Development methodology
Explain their system development life cycle (Agile, Waterfall, or a combination of the two) and if it will be suitable for your project. Anyway, ask the potential partner what methodology they will use for your project and why. By understanding their system development lifecycle, you will be able to determine if this is the right fit for your project or not. In turn, we propose any development methodology for delivering software solutions to suit a project.
10. Follow-up support and maintenance of the software
Development support of the software is an important part of the post-release. There might be some bugs, and user feedback might lead to new features. It is good to leave the updates to the same team that worked on the MVP, as they know the project inside out and can make these changes quickly. Still, ensure the company can provide support and other types of service packages after the development that keeps your software going.
What to look for when hiring a software development company? - 6 red flags
Nowadays the market is saturated with software development companies and many of them offer you vast benefits, but you must be careful when choosing the right one. Here are some red flags to watch out for:
Non-Functional Portfolio Examples
You see samples of their work, but with closer inspection, they are not functioning correctly or are not very refined. For example, a portfolio full of past projects that are either buggy or represent the pet projects (concepts) is a red flag. If you check the portfolio that includes software developed using old technology, this may indicate negligence in advocating for innovation or the pursuit of industry-related trends. OVERCODE's manual and automated QA processes ensure that every one of our creations is functional, user-friendly, well-tested, and simply perfect.
Negative Reviews/Absence of Independent Reviews
Their website is full of excellent reviews, but on Clutch, or in industry forums, you can't find company reviews from any other people. This might suggest that the reviews testimonials are fabricated. We've built a strong reputation because of client satisfaction. Therefore, we have a 5.0 average rating and more than 10 verified reviews on Clutch.
Unrealistic Promises & Ultra-Low Quotes
An extremely low estimate is usually an indication of low quality and bugs or the possibility that the development budget will be exceeded; it is therefore just as risky as an over-estimated budget. Overcode offers transparent pricing and realistic timings based on the complexity of the project. We believe in building long-term relationships with our clients, and that starts with honesty and setting proper expectations.
Communication Barriers
It can throw off a project because of language barriers, significant time zone differences, or just plain non-responsiveness. We believe the key to avoiding this and any other issue that might pop up during the development lifecycle is effective communication. Our team is known for its clear and concise touch. We always provide flexible feedback channels and double-check that you are well up-to-date at every step.
Lack of Transparency
Be aware of companies that are hesitant to share any information about the development process, their team, or prices. Transparency forms the basis of trust and a successful partnership. We believe in open communication and collaboration. We will gladly answer any questions you have and always give very clear insights into our development process.
Poor Cultural Fit
While technical experience is important in and of itself, the cultural fit might turn out to be even more important. Find a company that shares your values, communication style, and work ethic. We take the time to learn about your company culture and adopt an approach to blend perfectly with your group.
How do you evaluate a software company?
While finding the most fitting software development company may take some time, a well-defined selection process will work wonders for your success rate. This approach enables you to make a more detailed comparison but also to make sure the selected company will be a good fit with your project and organizational culture.
Here are the crucial criteria that will be considered during the evaluation of the best software development companies to work with:
Strategic Partnership: A truly good software development company doesn't think about code only but analyzes your idea from every angle. They may contribute a lot to what you are making by adding valuable insights to make the project even more unique and functional.
Proven Experience and Transparency: Trustworthy companies have everything transparent, with clear communication, using modern tools like JavaScript, and access to management tools.
Unwavering Security and Scalability: Data security will be treated as paramount in the course of web or mobile app development. Herein, the backend developers make sure that compliance with ISO standards is met, setting up best security practices personalized for your project.
Dedicated Project Manager: A project manager from the company will organize everything, handle communications, and ensure quality.
Development Methodologies: A company with Agile development is flexible; hence, the possibility of continuous improvement to accelerate value delivery.
Post-Launch Support and Maintenance: A good company will provide involvement in a long-term partnership in ongoing support after the launch of the product, updating, etc.
Industry and its influence on identifying the right Development Partner
The selection criteria for a software development company depend on the type of business of the company. Here's how some key considerations shift focus based on specific sectors:
1. Healthcare
Data Security: HIPAA is required for data protection strategies. You should choose the best company with proven expertise in delivering scalable and secure solutions, to guarantee robust data protection and compliance.
Integration Capabilities: A number of healthcare software applications must interface with Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems and other related software.
2. E-commerce
Scalability and Performance: Most e-commerce apps have a large amount of traffic which must be managed optimally while in the provision of services. You might have noticed that the e-commerce industry has been growing rapidly and has an impact on dynamic businesses. Prioritize companies that focus on creating highly sustainable and efficient e-business solutions.
Payment Processing Integration: Integration with various types of payment methods is also essential with secure means of working with the payment gateways. You should consider contractors with prior experience working on platforms like Shopify and integrating a variety of payment solutions. Overcode, for example, is a certified Stripe partner.
However, let’s see why choose us as a software development company for these industries:
Overcode has been working with SaaS, AI, IoT startups, and successful companies in various industries with a proven track of 8+ years.
During this time, we have learned to identify the needs of our clients, which vary from industry to industry. We have extensive experience working with clients in Healthcare, E-commerce, and AgeTech — explore our case studies.
Our specialized staff is certified by our partners, which makes our expertise stronger. We have an internal documentation of best practices to better understand how to make a project more efficient.
We can guarantee quality realized work and this is confirmed by independent reviews from our clients on Clutch. Our company's mission is to increase the availability of technology and innovative solutions for each client. That is why each project receives special attention and a detailed strategy for implementation.
How to hire a software development company
We at Overcode want to make the process as efficient as possible. Here's a roadmap on how to hire a software development company:
Read our case studies
We showcase real-world projects completed for clients in various industries. Read these to understand our approach, the challenges tackled, and the successful outcomes achieved. Look for case studies relevant to your industry or project type.
Read our client testimonials
Don't just take our word for it. Hear firsthand experiences from satisfied clients on platforms like Clutch or our website's testimonial section. We pay attention to what clients value most about working with Overcode.
Fill out the registration form and leave your project details
Fill out our simple online form to provide basic details about your project. This will help us understand your needs and business goals better.
If you don't have an existing product but have an idea and a desire to create it, we can provide a free 40 minute consultation.
Schedule an online meeting to meet the team
Schedule a free online consultation with our team. This is your opportunity to discuss your project in detail, ask questions, and assess if Overcode is the right fit for you.
Sign a contract for custom project development.
Once you're confident in our expertise and approach, our customized software company
will work collaboratively to finalize a clear and comprehensive legal contract outlining project scope, deliverables, timeline, and costs.
Receive a fully finished working product
We'll develop your software solution based on the agreed-upon plan, keeping you informed throughout the project development process. You'll receive a fully functional and rigorously tested software product.
Share your feedback about working with the Overcode team
We care about what you think! Your experience with Overcode comes first. As soon as we cross the finish line on your project, we'd love your thoughts. Yes, sharing your feedback isn't just doing us a favor, it's a chance to actually help shape the future of Overcode! Your insights will continue to help us innovate and raise the bar in service delivery to all our clients. Let us know what wowed you, and if there's anything we could have done better. We're all ears and willing to learn!
