Hiring an agency for a mobile app — does the development framework create vendor lock-in?

What agencies call a "custom framework" is usually just a sloppy template cobbled together on top of an open-source library. The day an OS update rolls out and that agency is no longer around, your app gets yanked from the app store. Stick to standard, widely adopted industry technologies.

We made this exact mistake two years ago. The agency talked up their proprietary platform endlessly, and we paid 140,000 TL. The following year, they tripled their maintenance fees. We showed the codebase to other devs, and they all said, "Nobody knows this stack, we'd have to rewrite it from scratch." We had to rebuild the whole system.

edit: typed from phone, sorry for typos.

Put a clear clause in the contract: "All source code shall be delivered to an independent repository, and no proprietary third-party licensed modules shall be used." Do not work with any agency that refuses to sign this and get the exact name of the tech stack in writing before paying a single lira of deposit.

How many live apps have actually been published using that agency's proprietary framework? Have you reached out to their reference clients to ask whether they had issues with updates or code handovers?

we fell into a similar agency trap back in the day even if they hand over the code no one can make sense of it. I mean stick to standard platforms everyone knows save yourself the headache.

Choosing open-source tech on its own doesn't guarantee independence either. If the developer writes spaghetti code and doesn't add a single line of comments no one will want to touch that project anyway. It's essential that you bring in an external consultant to audit code quality.

It is essential that intellectual and industrial property rights remain with your company. Clearly defining the complete transfer of code ownership, listing third-party dependencies, and outlining confidentiality provisions in the contract will prevent future legal disputes.

There are three things to check when doing this. People defend habits, not processes. Resistance comes from there.

Hope this helps.

absolutely but if I were to add anything: Trying to do this alone is the most expensive way.

just because everyone does it doesnt mean its right then btw if you have questions write them; Ill answer as best I can.

Here's how it went for us. If you don't write this down from the start, it leads to arguments later.

Proven by experience.

we experienced almost the exact same thing last year. people deffend habits, not processes. resistance comes from there.

thats all sorry if I went on too long.

There are three things to check when doing this. Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate.

If I were you, I'd go this route.

I went through the same thing.

Yes, that's exactly how it is with mobile app development environment. When we decide without measuring, we always end up in the same place.

Code without setup documentation isn't yours even if you have it. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I'll try it.

let me share my experience. the answer varies greatly by industry; there is no one-size-fits-all rule.

everything goes well for the first three months; problems arise in the fourth. hope this helps.

Let me share what happened to me; it might be useful. When you try to change everything at once, nothing settles.

Of course, it varies if your situation is different.

I completely agree. Start with a small trial; don't commit to everything at once.