After launch
App Maintenance and Support Services
Launching an app is the beginning of its life, not the end of the project. Phones get new operating systems, libraries release security fixes, payment and map providers change their requirements, and users find problems nobody saw in testing. An app that is left alone gradually breaks, slows down or gets blocked from receiving updates in the app stores.
- Dubai-based team
- Arabic & English products
- You own the code and accounts
Netmark SEO provides app maintenance and support services for businesses in Dubai and across the UAE, whether we built your app or you need someone to take over an app built by another developer. This page is about mobile apps and the systems behind them. For websites, our guide on maintaining a website covers the essentials.
After launch
Support for Your App After Launch
Most businesses come to us in one of three situations:
A recent launch
The app is live and you want reliable help with fixes, monitoring and the first round of improvements.
A developer has moved on
The freelancer or agency that built the app is no longer available, and you need someone to understand the code and keep it running.
The app is falling behind
Crashes have increased, reviews mention bugs, or the app stores have warned that updates will be blocked until the app meets new requirements.
In each case, the goal is the same: a stable app, a clear picture of its condition, and a predictable process for fixes and updates.
Overview
What App Maintenance Can Include
Mobile app maintenance covers several types of work. We agree which of these are included in your support arrangement:
| Area | Examples |
|---|---|
| Corrective maintenance | Investigating and fixing bugs and crashes reported by users or monitoring tools |
| Compatibility updates | Testing on new iOS and Android versions and devices, and fixing anything that breaks |
| Dependency and SDK updates | Updating libraries, payment, analytics, maps and notification SDKs |
| Store compliance | Meeting new App Store and Google Play requirements, such as target API levels, privacy declarations and build tool versions |
| Monitoring | Crash reporting, performance tracking and alerting |
| Backend and API maintenance | Server updates, API changes, database upkeep and hosting checks |
| Security patching | Applying security updates within the agreed scope |
| Small improvements | Minor content, text and design changes |
| Release management | Building, testing and publishing app updates with release notes |
Anything outside the agreed scope, such as larger new features, is quoted separately so the cost is always visible before work starts.
Overview
Taking Over an Existing Application
Taking over an app built by someone else is common, and it doesn’t need to be stressful if it is approached methodically.
What we need from you
- Access to the source code repository (or a full copy of the code) for the apps, backend and admin panel.
- Access to the App Store Connect and Google Play Console accounts, ideally owned by your company.
- Access to hosting, databases and third-party services such as push notifications, payments, maps, email and SMS.
- Any documentation, designs or credentials the previous developer provided.
If some of these are missing (it happens more often than you’d think), we’ll help you work out what can be recovered and what needs to be rebuilt or re-registered.
The technical review
Before committing to an ongoing arrangement, we carry out a technical review. It typically covers:
- Can the app be built? Confirming that the code compiles with current tools and that all dependencies are available.
- Code structure and quality, including how easy it will be to fix and extend.
- Outdated libraries and SDKs, and any with known security issues.
- Store compliance status, including upcoming deadlines from Apple or Google.
- Backend and hosting health, including backups, monitoring and security basics.
- Crash and performance data where available.
You receive a written summary with findings in priority order: what must be fixed now, what should be planned soon and what can wait. This gives you an honest picture of the app’s condition and a basis for deciding on next steps, including whether a partial rebuild would be more economical than continued patching.
Overview
Compatibility, Dependencies and Performance
Operating-system updates
Apple and Google each release a major operating-system update every year, plus regular smaller updates. New versions can change permissions, notification behaviour, background processing and screen layouts. We test your app on beta and new releases and plan the updates needed for your iOS and Android versions, so problems are fixed before most of your users upgrade.
SDKs and dependencies
Most apps rely on third-party libraries for payments, analytics, maps, login and notifications. These libraries release updates for security, new features and compatibility, and older versions eventually stop working or are no longer accepted by the stores. Regular, small dependency updates are far cheaper and safer than one large upgrade after years of neglect.
App performance optimisation
Slow start-up, laggy scrolling, excessive battery use and large download sizes all lead to uninstalls and poor reviews. Using monitoring data, we identify the screens and actions that cause the most problems and improve them: optimising images and data loading, reducing unnecessary network calls, fixing memory leaks and improving how the backend responds.
Overview
Bug Fixes, Monitoring and Release Management
Crash reporting tools show which errors affect the most users, on which devices and operating-system versions, and in which part of the app. That allows us to prioritise fixes by real impact rather than by whoever reports a problem most loudly.
Bug reports are logged with steps to reproduce, device details and screenshots, then fixed, tested and scheduled into a release. Each release goes through regression testing, which re-checks the main user journeys so a fix in one place doesn’t break something elsewhere. We then submit updates to the App Store and Google Play, use staged rollouts where appropriate, and watch crash data after release.
A regular release rhythm, for example every few weeks, keeps changes small and predictable. Urgent issues such as a broken payment flow are handled as hotfixes outside the normal cycle, within the support terms we agree.
Features
Maintenance Versus New Feature Development
It helps to separate keeping the app healthy from making it do more:
Maintenance keeps the existing app working, secure and compliant: fixes, updates, monitoring and small adjustments.
New feature development adds capabilities: a loyalty programme, a new user type, an integration with another system.
Both matter, but mixing them in one undefined arrangement often leads to confusion about what is included. We usually recommend a defined maintenance scope plus separately planned improvement work, which can be scheduled in phases. If a request turns into a larger product change, our building a new app process (discovery, design, development and testing) applies to that feature.
Cost & scope
Support Scope and Communication
Every application support arrangement should state clearly:
What is included and excluded, and how out-of-scope work is quoted.
How issues are reported
for example a shared ticket board or a dedicated email address.
How issues are prioritised, with agreed definitions of critical, high and normal priority.
Response expectations for each priority level, set out in your agreement.
Reporting
a regular summary of work completed, open issues, upcoming store deadlines and recommendations.
Access and ownership
your company keeps ownership of the code, store accounts and services; we work with the access you grant.
We’ll propose response times and working hours that match the scope and budget you choose, and write them into the agreement so expectations are clear on both sides.
Cost & scope
Maintenance Cost Factors
The cost of ongoing app support depends on:
The size and complexity of the app, including the backend and admin panel.
Number of platforms
iOS, Android, web, or all three.
Code condition
a well-structured app with current dependencies costs less to maintain than one with years of deferred updates.
Number of third-party integrations that need monitoring and updating.
Release frequency and the amount of small improvement work included.
Response expectations for urgent issues.
Common arrangements include a monthly retainer with a set number of hours or a defined scope, or work billed as needed against an agreed rate. After the technical review, we’ll recommend the option that fits your app and how actively you plan to develop it.
Explore
Our App & Software Development Services
Every project is different. These related services often form part of the same product.
FAQ
App Maintenance FAQs
Can you maintain an app that another company built?
Yes. We start with a technical review of the code, accounts and infrastructure so you know the app’s condition, then agree a support scope based on what we find.
What if we don't have the source code?
A compiled app can’t easily be turned back into maintainable source code. We’ll help you try to recover the code from the previous developer or your accounts. If that isn’t possible, we’ll explain the options, which may include rebuilding the app.
How often should an app be updated?
At minimum, it should be checked and updated for each major iOS and Android release and whenever the stores introduce new requirements. Most actively used apps benefit from a regular release cycle every few weeks or months.
Is security included?
Applying security updates to dependencies and the backend within the agreed scope is part of maintenance. Formal security audits or penetration testing are separate engagements and would be scoped individually.
Can you also add new features?
Yes. New features are planned and quoted separately from routine maintenance, so you can see their cost and schedule them alongside ongoing support.
Do we have to sign a long-term contract?
Not necessarily. We’ll recommend an arrangement after the technical review, and the terms, including notice periods, will be clear in the proposal.
Request an App Review
Tell us about your app: what it does, which platforms it runs on, who built it and what’s going wrong (or what you’d like to improve). We’ll explain what we need for a technical review and outline the ongoing app support options that would suit you.
Email info@netmarkseo.com