Do you have the next great idea for a software product or mobile app but don’t have the necessary programming expertise to bring it to life? You are in luck. That’s exactly what the white label software development industry is all about – building your innovative concept for you so that it can be sold by you.
White label software developers are skilled programmers that build out entire software systems for clients that will legally own the platform, including all licensing. Your clients will never know that you did not create it in-house as it will be soaked in your branding, not the developers. Your Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) will ensure that your privacy and brand are protected.
Just what is the white label software development process? What can you expect from your developer as far as deliverables? What will be your ROI? All these questions and more will be answered in depth in the sections below as we discuss the ins and outs of white label software development.
White Label Software Development Needs.
You Get Paid, We Do The Work.
What Does “White Label” Mean?
Let’s start by discussing the basics. You may or may not have heard the term “white label” before. It’s a term that is used throughout the digital creation world as a way to describe paying someone who is not you – or your team – to create a product that you will then market as your own. It’s common in content and copywriting where it is sometimes called “ghost writing.” It is perhaps most prevalent in website creation where you pay an agency to build your website for you on which there will be no mention of the website creator. This same concept is applied to software development.
There are scores of highly successful companies that focus on nothing but white label services. Some offer the whole gamut of services from website development with copywriting included as well as software development. Others focus solely on one white label service. Some agencies are large with hundreds of website designers, developers, copywriters, and programmers. Others consist of just one talented individual with his trusted laptop.
What You Can Expect
Whether you go with a white label agency that does it all, or choose to work with a talented solopreneur, there are a few things you can expect as far as the process and the result.
A Signed NDA
For starters, you can expect the programmer you hire to sign an NDA. This is a contract that covers the legality of confidentiality between your programmer as the creator, and you as the client. Once this contract is signed, the programmer waves all rights to credit for building your software or mobile app. Under no circumstances are they to claim ownership of creating the software. Not on their website, their portfolio, and absolutely nowhere on the platform. They are not even allowed to claim that they created the software on social media. Breaking an NDA is grounds for legal action by you as the client.
Reasonable Estimate
Secondly, you can expect to know an estimate of the total cost of building the software or mobile app. It may be hard for your programmer to nail down an exact amount as the cost will be determined by the amount of programming hours which can vary depending on what features you want built into your platform.
While you may not receive a total cost upfront, you can expect that the estimate will be reasonably close to the final cost. Any overages that would make the final cost not reasonably close to the estimate should be communicated to you for approval with an accompanying explanation of why it will cost more and how it will benefit your software.
Projected Timeline
The third thing you should expect from your developer is a projected timeline of how long the development process will take from the initial design and first line of code to taking the platform live. Your timeline will vary depending on how extensive your software will be, how you want it to look, and what you need it to do. Like your estimated cost, you should expect a projected timeline that is reasonably close to the final amount of time it will take to complete the development.
Your developer may occasionally ask for your input on certain aspects of the development process, and require your approval before executing on building these features. Reviewing these proposals and providing feedback promptly can go a long way towards making sure your software is completed on time.
The Aspects of Your White Label Software
From your user interface (UI) to your user experience (UX), security, integrations, and support, software can be pretty in depth. You should be prepared to communicate with your white label developer what you are looking for within each aspect of your platform.
Here are some of the key areas that you need to consider before hiring a white label software developer. Having a good idea of what you need your platform to do and how you want it to look can help to ensure that the final product is what you had envisioned.
User Interface (UI)
The user interface is the face of your software. It’s the front end that your user will actually interact with. It’s where they will select those multiple boxes and filter their data from preselected or custom labels. The UI is more design oriented programming that ties in with the coding on the backend.
You will want to clearly communicate to your developer how you want your software to look to your users. Be it colors, box shapes, or embedded media like video tutorials. Do your best to hammer out any ideas you may have so that you can give your programmer a picture of how you want your software to look. It doesn’t have to be complete. A good white label developer can work with an outline for the UI and bring it to life in full technicolor.
User Experience (UX)
The user interface is the frontend programming of your software. It’s the gears that are assembled by your programmer to make your software do what you need it to do. While you may not understand the technical details of the UX, you should have a general idea of what you need each feature to do and how you want your software to function to serve its purpose. This can be as simple as “I need my software to be capable of applying a filter to multiple boxes via a dropdown menu.” This is likely enough for your developer to understand what you need from that feature to program it accordingly, or ask the right questions to flush it out in more detail.
Integrations
These days, it’s important to offer integrations for your users. Heck, it’s almost required to be successful in today’s software market that sees new players entering the software and mobile app markets almost daily. Integrations are especially important if you are building a B2B or SaaS platform. Your developer should have a good understanding which integrations could be a good fit for your software, but it’s a good idea for you to do your own research to seek out fellow platforms that you can combine with yours to make your user’s experience more enjoyable and productive.
Support
Support features are vital when it comes to building software and mobile apps. There are multiple ways you can handle your customer support system. You can offer a live chat box that is either fully automated or connected to a live human. You can also contract a third party call center that can help your users over the phone. Or you can keep it simple with in depth FAQs, and a user forum to help users help other users, and general customer service email. No matter what support route you go, you need to describe to your developer the support features you need your platform to have.
The Finished Product
Once your white label software developer has delivered the finished product, you then need to sell it. But before you start selling your new software or mobile app, make sure it is branded per your company criteria. This should include your logo, your brand colors, and copy that is on point with your company’s mission.
If you are satisfied with your developers work, it’s a good idea to keep them on a contractual basis to fix any potential problems, add new features, or edit current ones. Most large scale white label development agencies offer a continued support package for this exact reason.
Need White label Services?
Looking for white label development services? Conversion Pipeline has you covered. Get started on your next white label project.