iOS I'm a Noob, getting app developed by freelancer

[beatles1993]

Hi,
I'm in the process of hiring someone from Elance to build an app for me. This is the first time I've done anything app related, and was wondering what the best steps are. The way I see it is that I:

1. tell freelancer what i want
2. freelancer gives me the source code
3. i buy apple developer license for $99
4. then i put the source code on my xcode, and save the app
5. then upload app under my name to the app store

does this sound correct? or can the freelancer upload it for me to the app store? any other legal things i need to do? anyone else have any other experiences with this? thanks

 

[xStep]

You are not given the source code unless you have agreed to that, preferably in a written contract.

The freelancer should go through a discovery process with you, usually charged for, then a design process, charged for, then only after you've agreed to the precise deliverables, would they code that up.

Since you know nothing about App Store submission, you'll likely also pay them to help you with that process. I'd have them use your account not theirs.

Oh, if your app gets rejected, that may or may not be the freelancers responsibility. For instance, using other people's or companies copyright media without permission could stop your app from being accepted. It would depend on which one of you made that decision. Plan for such an outcome and fiancial responsibility, and extra work to make fixes.

 

[PhoneyDeveloper]

Get your developer account soon. No reason to wait.
I don't notice any testing of the app. You need to test the app so you can accept it from the developer. You need to be able to say when it's done.
It's best if there's a clear written and/or image description of what features the app has so there's no miscommunication.
If the developer is being paid by the hour there's a little less need for the application spec.
It's best if the customer can build and upload to iTunes but the developer may need to help with that.
On recent projects with customers I trust I've placed the source code on a web-hosted git repository and the customer can pull the code from there for test builds and the final build. I've used bitbucket.org for this. This has saved me time as I don't have to do the adhoc builds. Some developers might be reluctant to do this until they've received some money from the customer.

 

[1458279]

You don't need a paid account to test the app, you only need it when you go live to the app store.

You should stage the payments so that a large chunk of the money doesn't get paid until you've had a chance to test the final product. They'll likely want to down payment, but many have paid most of the money before the finished product is complete.