Businesses around the world hire development teams in India for websites, mobile apps and custom software. Most of these projects go well. The ones that go badly usually fail for the same few reasons, and almost all of them can be avoided before any work starts.
This guide is written from our side of the table, as a development company in Coimbatore that works with clients in India and abroad.
Time zones are an advantage if you plan for them
India runs on a single time zone, IST, which is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of UTC. In practice:
- UK and Europe: your morning overlaps with the Indian afternoon, so a daily call is easy.
- Middle East: almost a full working day of overlap.
- US and Canada: little overlap, but work can progress while you sleep. Agree on one short call window, early morning in the US or late evening in India, and handle the rest in writing.
- Australia and New Zealand: your afternoon overlaps with the Indian morning.
The key is agreeing on how quickly messages are answered. We reply to every enquiry and project message within one business day, and agree on regular check-in times at the start of each project.
Get the scope in writing before work starts
Most disputes are not about quality. They are about what was included. Before you pay anything, you should have a written scope that lists:
- Every page, screen or feature that will be built
- What is not included, such as content writing, photography or hosting costs
- How many rounds of design changes are included
- The milestones, what you will be able to see and test at each one, and the dates
- What support is included after launch, and for how long
A fixed, written estimate protects both sides. If the scope changes later, the price change can be agreed in writing too.
Make sure you own everything
This is the point we would ask any client to check most carefully, whoever they hire:
- Source code: you should receive the full source code, and the agreement should say it belongs to you.
- Accounts: your domain, hosting, app store accounts and analytics should be registered in your name or your company’s name, with the developer added as a user. Never let a developer be the only owner of your domain.
- Passwords and access: keep a list of every service the project uses, and change shared passwords when the project ends.
At CloudBridge, clients own the source code of what we build for them. It is one of the first things we put in writing.
See real progress, not just status reports
Ask to see working software early and often. A clickable design prototype before development starts, and a test version you can open on your own phone or browser at each milestone, will catch misunderstandings while they are still cheap to fix.
Pay in stages tied to these milestones rather than all at once.
How to check a team before you hire
- Look at live work. Open websites and apps they have built, on your own phone. Are they fast? Do they work properly?
- Look at their own website. A development company’s website is the one project with no client constraints. If it is slow or broken, take note.
- Ask who will actually do the work. Will you speak to the developer building your project, or only to a salesperson?
- Ask about after launch. Who fixes bugs, how fast, and at what cost?
- Check that they are reachable. A real address, a phone number that is answered and a business profile you can verify.
Warning signs
- A price given before they have asked any questions about your business
- Reluctance to put the scope or code ownership in writing
- Requests for full payment upfront
- Your domain or app store account registered in their name
- Weeks without anything you can see or test
How we work with clients abroad
We work the same way with every client, wherever they are: a fixed written estimate, one point of contact who is building your project, regular demos you can try yourself, full ownership of your source code and support after launch. You can read more on our process page, or tell us about your project and we will reply within one business day.
