IoT Application Development [Step-by-Step Guide]

Have a business idea that requires IoT application development but struggle to understand the peculiarities of the process? This guide will help you understand how to create apps that offer security, flexibility, scalability, and robust features.

Having developed three of our own products and custom IoT apps for our clients, WebbyLab is here to share helpful insights on building IoT applications.

Key highlights:

• Core stages of IoT app development: planning, prototyping, development and deployment, testing and integration, and ongoing maintenance.
• Must-have IoT app features: device discovery/pairing, real-time monitoring and control, historical data collection and analysis, over-the-air updates, notifications, voice control, and remote admin tools.
• Tech stack for IoT app developers: Swift, Kotlin, Node.js, React Native, Google Cloud IoT Core, AWS, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ESP32, and beyond.
• IoT app development cost: The price ranges from $12,800 for an MVP to $32,400 and above for a custom application.

All examples and tips in this post will be backed up by our team’s practical experience:

• Our 2Smart Standalone framework for building complex IoT products, which includes a web application, a mobile app, backend microservices, and integration with third-party systems and various IoT devices.
• Our 2Smart Cloud platform for bringing IoT devices to the market, their management, maintenance, and control. It comprises two administrative web applications (one for device developers and another for administrators), a mobile app for users, and essential backend microservices to keep the system running smoothly.
• Our Propuskator ACS, which provides an admin panel for configuring access, resident and user management, and ACS controller settings. It also includes a mobile app for residents and all the necessary backend components to ensure reliable device operation and communication.
• Our client’s Ezlo platform integrates smart devices, connects cloud services, triggers, and updates third-party apps — everything needed to customize a smart home.
• Our client’s MyBox platform for users and administrators to connect, maintain, and utilize electric vehicle charging stations. It’s built based on our 2Smart Cloud product and includes the same components.

Discover more about IoT app development in the subsequent sections.

An access control system, Propuskator, developed by WebbyLab

5 Key Stages of IoT App Development

Before starting IoT application development, you need to define your app’s functional requirements and conduct competitive research. Our latest post explains how to do this.

Once you cover those initial preparations, move on to the following five steps that’ll help to turn your bright idea into a fully functional, successful IoT app. At WebbyLab, we successfully leverage all the approaches below to streamline and optimize the development process.

1. Plan the Framework of Your App

First, consider the most efficient delivery model for building an IoT application: developing from scratch, using SaaS platforms or their alternatives. The framework is a so-called “backbone” of your IoT app. It helps to understand better the project timeline, budget, and technical requirements.

At this stage, you need to plan your app’s data and network protocols, cloud architecture, open API support, and scalability. Consider the necessity of IoT device development, hardware support, firmware updates, and security mechanisms to make your IoT application reliable and safe for use.

2. Create the IoT App Prototype

Kostiantyn Oliynyk

Head of IoT at Webbylab

Helped dozens of startups create effective IOT products.

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In IoT, prototyping is one of the proven ways to allocate the costs within your project wisely, ensure it’s relevant, and provide all the functionality required. IoT app prototype development is a decent starting point for several reasons:

• It allows you to validate your IoT app business ideas and Internet of Things app features.
• It is a cost-effective way to test your ideas before investing in the entire development process.
• It helps you mitigate risks early on.
• It allows you to gather user feedback and work on possible improvements.
• It streamlines the further development of a full-fledged app.

During this stage, you’ll also explore various wired and wireless technical solutions to address specific challenges and establish seamless communication with IoT devices. Some of those include KNX systems and the Zigbee protocol.

Having created a well-structured IoT prototype, you’re safe to continue the development process.

3. Develop, Implement, and Deploy the IoT Application

Based on the prototype and project documentation, build a robust IoT app that works with your hardware best. At this stage, focus on the UX/UI components of the IoT application design and backend coding architecture. These processes will ensure your app is user-oriented, bug-free, and provides the highest value to your end-users. Then, you’ll be ready for IoT application deployment.

4. Mind the App Testing & Integration Stages

IoT apps become more complex and feature-rich. So, the QA process is a must-have stage in any IoT development. It helps identify and address various types of errors and consider adding other functionality that might improve your app’s performance. There are five different testing types used in the IoT QA process: security testing, performance testing, usability testing, compatibility testing, and scalability testing.

5. Maintain and Improve the Application

Once the IoT app is released, don’t overlook its further maintenance and improvement. Besides the marketing hustle, you’ll also need to process customer feedback to enhance your application’s performance and help get it into the top positions in the IoT software market. Additionally, analyze the firmware of IoT devices to keep it secure and up-to-date.

Five stages of IoT app development

You may also be interested in how an IoT solution helps the precision farming industry.

What Features Does the IoT App Need?

Having learned the IoT app development stages, let’s talk features. Here are the must-have functionalities of any IoT application:

Device Discovery or Pairing

Linking devices to the app as well as the cloud and establishing stable communication is a fundamental function of any IoT application. 

Whether it’s a client app or a large BMS solution, both end-users and professional integrators face the challenge of establishing communication. Hence, it’s critical to refine and improve this flow to ensure user-friendliness. It’s because it will most likely be the user’s first interaction with the app performed for every device.

Real-Time Monitoring and Control

A dashboard for real-time device monitoring and control

Modern users perceive real-time interfaces as a must. Therefore, any IoT app should include convenient, fast, and responsive interfaces.

Historical Data Collection, Analysis, and View

A dashboard with historical data

One of the main goals of building IoT applications is to gather and analyze historical data from devices within the system and beyond. We consider this a mandatory feature of IoT apps because the need to engage with historical data inevitably arises, and it’s best to incorporate this capability from the outset.

OTA Updates

Once devices are deployed in the field, updating their software (firmware) can become prohibitively expensive or, in some cases, entirely unfeasible, particularly if end-users are involved. OTA updates are an integral feature that should be implemented at the very beginning to facilitate product development and address issues related to embedded software.

Alerts and Notifications

Flexible alerting and notification methods for users, integrators, and service personnel are the cornerstone of mobile app development for IoT. This ensures that users who interact with devices in real time receive notifications about significant system events, especially those that are worth paying attention to.

Voice Control and Smart Assistant Integration

Using Siri for device control in 2Smart Cloud

The ability to control devices or receive data from them via voice assistants on the phone or in the smart home ecosystem is a convenient and popular feature among consumers. Having access to these functions can often be pivotal for users when choosing smart devices.

Remote Admin Tools

For a business maintaining an IoT fleet of devices, having remote tools for administering all users and their devices is often critically necessary. This capability boosts service efficiency and reduces the need for offline servicing.

IoT Tech Stack & High-Level Architectural Issues

When learning how to create an IoT app, one of the crucial steps is understanding the components and technologies that make them up. The typical Internet of Things application includes hardware, software, cloud, and network integration. This setup ensures smooth communication between the end user and the device.

Overall, the IoT architecture comprises the following components:

• An IoT device with embedded software
• Cloud backend (MQTT broker), responsible for the communication and interaction with IoT devices in real-time
• Cloud backend, which ensures efficient user management through the frontend interaction
• Web interface, required for vendor support and management services
• The mobile app, responsible for user-device communication in general

A common IoT architecture

Maksym Lesnikov

Chief Technology Officer

Helped dozens of startups create effective digital products.

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Architecture planning largely depends on the final vision of the product and its expected tasks. It’s crucial to dedicate enough time to discovery and planning. It’s cost-effective and reduces the risk of failure or extra costs during development. In the context of IoT projects, this is even more critical because mistakes made in planning the architecture of device communication may be difficult, or even impossible, to correct.

Yehor Fedorov, IoT Project Team Lead at WebbyLab

Apart from this, another essential aspect to consider is historical data collection. In IoT, this process implies a real-time performance recording of different sensors and devices within the system.

Below are some key technologies essential for Internet of Things app development:

• Programming languages: C/C++, Python, JavaScript, Ruby, Swift (for iOS apps), Kotlin (for Android apps)
• Frameworks: Node.js, React Native, Angular
• Cloud platforms: Google Cloud IoT Core, AWS, IBM Watson, 2Smart Cloud, ThingWorx, Open Remote
• Protocols: WiFi, RFID/NFC, MQTT, AMQP, Bluetooth and BLE, Cellular, CoAP, DDS, LoRa and LoRaWAN, LWM2M, XMPP, Zigbee, Z-Wave
• MCUs (microcontrollers)  and SBCs (single-board computers): Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ESP32, ESP8286, STM32, Orange Pi.

Devices used in WebbyLab’s projects

IoT app development typically involves multiple stakeholders with distinct responsibilities — software developers, hardware developers, casing developers, installers, and support providers, among others. To ensure you get your app built and launched properly, designate roles and responsibilities from the outset. We recommend doing it with the RACI matrix.

Now, let’s consider the components of the IoT app infrastructure.

Backend

A robust and reliable backend system is the backbone of any successful IoT application. Having it on the cloud side is even more preferable. Cloud-based infrastructure is scalable and flexible, which allows your IoT app to handle large amounts of data from connected devices. At WebbyLab, we typically leverage Node.js and microservice architecture for the backend and Docker for rapid application deployment in the cloud.

Communication with Devices and Data Exchange

Apart from the client backend, seamless communication and data exchange with IoT devices is essential. In our experience, we have found MQTT to be a core communication protocol for IoT devices. MQTT offers lightweight and secure data transfer, making it perfect for various IoT projects.

Data Collection and Analysis

Collecting and analyzing data from IoT devices may not always seem critical, but it’s the IoT system’s lifeblood. It allows your IoT apps to function correctly and, speaking of the business side, optimize processes and make better-informed decisions. WebbyLab uses time series databases such as InfluxDB for data storage and Grafana for data visualization.

Challenges in Developing IoT Applications

The major challenges of IoT application development are mostly connected to four key aspects: security, reliability, privacy, and tech inconsistency. Let’s review the specifics of each.

IoT Security

IoT security should be implemented in the initial stages of IoT app development. It reduces the risks of breaches and inconsistent performance. For example, in a charging station created by WebbyLab, there is an option to pay for charging via the app. It’s essential to ensure the app can’t be breached to prevent unauthorized charges.

Based on our experience in IoT optimization, we suggest adding multiple security layers encrypted and embedded to the devices’ ID numbers at the production stage. Additionally, to secure the station from third-party access, you can add a “dangerous activities” entity, which needs manual confirmation from the administrator to perform certain actions.

Data Privacy

Wearable, home, and many other IoT devices often collect personal information and sensitive data. For instance, biometric data, personal preferences, users’ behavior, or any other data hunted by frauds. The hacking methods become more tricky and severe, so the IoT engineers must create a robust system with an advanced security level and consistently update it (including IoT device updates) to minimize the risks of data compromise.

That is why, for instance, IoT home devices require regular mobile app updating from the official vendor to ensure the highest level of personal data security.

IoT Reliability

Ensuring your application is reliable is one of the IoT app development challenges as well. You can provide the high reliability in several ways:

• Grandfather-father-son backup (GFS) — the approach in which there are three or more backup cycles, such as daily, weekly, and monthly. It helps to update the reserved copies of your data timely.
• The 3-2-1 backup — implies having at least three copies of your data: two local (on-site) but on different devices and at least one copy off-site. It ensures high data storage security and minimizes the chances of its loss. 
• Software encryption — the approach in which the data is stored and can be accessed with the encrypted key only. It prevents sensitive data leakage and its further use by criminals.

These options allow you to efficiently reduce the risks of system compromise and ensure a smooth performance of your IoT app from the long-term perspective.

Technological Inconsistency

Lack of standardization has become one of the most notable technical IoT challenges on the market. Company-developer needs to combine different Internet of Things protocols integrated within a single IoT application. In most cases, the IoT app developer defines the possible ways to connect the basic MQTT protocol — Message Queue Telemetry Transport — with other protocols used within the target system.

How Much Does It Cost to Build an IoT Application?

The overall IoT app development cost can vary depending on different factors, and we’ll share the estimate according to WebbyLab’s experience. The factors influencing the final price include the project’s type (prototype, MVP, or full IoT product), its complexity and development approaches, company rates, and many more. On average, the cost to develop an IoT application for your business starts from 15 thousand dollars and higher.

There are two approaches to custom IoT app development:

• Creating the app from scratch — enables the creation of more customized and feature-specific applications. However, it requires building servers and a well-prepared team for system support.
• Utilizing the specialized platforms for IoT development — is perfect for rapid growth. It implies getting the required functionality from ready-made templates. It can greatly reduce the delivery time and simplify the overall development process without sacrificing the app functionality.

What to keep in mind if you’re developing custom apps from scratch? Consider various processes, from product planning and development to release and maintenance.

Luckily, today, you no longer need to hire in-house experts to deliver the IoT project you need: there are many authoritative vendors, such as WebbyLab, ready to build a functional, robust app at the most reasonable cost.

Below, you can learn the average rates and delivery time for IoT app development services at WebbyLab, depending on the project type and processes performed.

As for building IoT MVP, our team provides the development services of the IoT hardware, software (web or mobile app), and an IoT platform. The overall development price for such a project starts at $30,000. It can be delivered in as fast as 12 weeks.

We at WebbyLab understand the problems of modern entrepreneurs and try to help them launch their own products as quickly as possible and start receiving income from them. This approach not only benefits the business owner but also ensures comfort for their contractors, enabling them to envision their project’s future and respond to market challenges.

Kostiantyn Oliynyk, Head of IoT at WebbyLab

When choosing our IoT development services, you can also include the customization features to the final IoT app, like integrating IoT cloud services with third-party devices, specific data metrics, analytics, etc., which will add to your product’s functionality and value. The pricing for the add-on features is calculated individually for each project. 

Building an IoT Application: Mobile or Web?

If you’re determined to start IoT app development, you’ve got another critical thing to consider. Which application to build: a mobile or a web one? Let’s go through the benefits that each platform offers.

Why Build a Mobile App?

iFLO, Propuskator, and 2Smart Cloud mobile apps

• Better user experience, as mobile applications offer intuitive navigation, touch-based interactions, and device-specific features like GPS and camera
• Greater discoverability, as you can develop IoT applications for multiple mobile app stores like Google Play or Apple App Store
• Enhanced security, as your IoT mobile app goes through robust checks before appearing in an app store
• Offline access, as mobile apps can store data locally

Why Build a Web App?

2Smart Cloud, 2Smart Standalone, and iFLO web apps

• Cross-platform compatibility, so you don’t need to develop separate IoT based apps as in the case of mobile platforms
• Visualizing loads of data is relatively easy, which is suitable for building customized monitoring and maintenance interfaces
• No download is required, as web apps work directly in a browser
• Instant, real-time updates and ease of maintenance
• Quick launch, as web apps don’t need app store approval

Modern technologies enable the use of hybrid approaches in client application development, such as progressive web applications (PWAs) or WebView apps.

WebbyLab has created a client application for smart device consumers using WebView. This tech allowed us to build a unified web app that is accessible from any browser. We then used it in the IoT mobile app development of React Native apps for iOS and Android, incorporating specific native functions unique to each OS. 

This approach optimizes product development in the long run and streamlines the process from the beginning. Changes and new functionalities are seamlessly added in one centralized location within the code rather than multiple places. However, implementing this approach demands expertise, skill, and time for the initial setup of the framework to ensure smooth operation and efficient development.

Kostiantyn Oliynyk

Head of IoT at Webbylab

Helped dozens of startups create effective IOT products.

Get a Consultation

It can often seem that you need to make both a web and a mobile application to ensure accessibility for everyone. This is a mistake. A product should consider the characteristics of its users and simplify their user experience rather than providing a multitude of tools. Simpler is better.

Kostiantyn Oliynyk, Head of IoT at WebbyLab

Besides choosing the technologies, it’s crucial to consider the end user’s goals. The consumers of a smart outlet will ideally complete their tasks through a simple and accessible mobile app — while the BMS system’s operator needs a fully functional IoT monitoring dashboard with access to all devices from one place.

How to Find IoT App Developers?

Recognizing a reputable developer who really knows how to develop IoT applications is crucial for your project’s success. That’s why we’ve prepared several tips to help you find and hire IoT developers:

• Clearly define your project’s scope, including required technologies and niche expertise.
• Look for developers with a background in your industry and hands-on experience in IoT application development.
• Use online platforms like LinkedIn, Upwork, and GitHub to locate IoT developers worldwide.
• Review developers’ portfolios and client feedback to assess their expertise and reputation.
• Evaluate developers’ technical knowledge through interviews.

Yet, searching for a reliable IoT app development service provider on your own can take time and effort. The good news is you can always connect with trusted IoT experts at WebbyLab.

Building an IoT App Solution with WebbyLab

WebbyLab has a profound background in Internet of Things application development. We build IoT based apps that benefit businesses with streamlined processes, higher profits, and improved services.

Our IoT app developers have delivered plenty of successful projects, including 2Smart Standalone, 2Smart Cloud, Propuskator, and Ezlo. The application we created for our client, MyBox, deserves special attention. 

MyBox is an EV charging station manufacturer and supplier that needed to develop a cloud-based ecosystem for managing private and public EV charging stations. WebbyLab helped them create a stable and secure custom application for the remote configuration, maintenance, and management of numerous EV chargers with various user flows and hardware.

A MyBox IoT app developed by WebbyLab

And that’s just one example. Want to see more? Feel free to check out our portfolio.

Conclusion

At first, it may seem too overwhelming to build an IoT application. Of course, each of the five stages we mentioned has its challenges and peculiarities. Still, the task is manageable if approached properly.

One way to create your app easily is by reaching out to professional IoT application developers. Luckily, WebbyLab has plenty of those. Feel free to contact us anytime and get a quote on your IoT app.