Chinese App Developers and Mobile App Agency in Shanghai

QPSoftware is a digital agency in Shanghai whose Chinese app developers design, build and test iOS and Android apps for companies that target users in China and abroad. Since 2009, we have delivered more than 200 projects, including the earthquake monitoring apps of Mageba, the loyalty app of Montagut and an audit of The Economist’s Chinese app.

Our mobile app UI/UX design, iOS and Android app development and app testing services in China can cover a whole project or a single step, like the audit we ran for The Economist.

What our Chinese app developers build

• Native and cross-platform apps for iOS and Android, with the back end, the APIs and the web interfaces that run them.
• Features that fit Chinese users, such as login and sharing with WeChat, QQ and Weibo, or WeChat Pay and Alipay integration.
• Apps connected to your systems, from business intelligence dashboards to equipment in the field.
• WeChat Mini Programs, when your users are already in WeChat: a mini program opens inside WeChat, without a download from an app store. See our WeChat Mini Program development.
• Audits of existing apps, on Chinese devices and networks.

Apps we have built

• Mageba, earthquake monitoring. For this Swiss supplier of seismic protection devices and structural monitoring systems, we built a web app and a mobile app for its ROBO®QUAKE monitoring tool. The mobile app shows real-time and historic dashboards based on Microsoft Power BI, sends event alerts by SMS and email, and connects to equipment over Bluetooth for on-site checks.
• Montagut, loyalty program. For the French clothing brand, we developed an iOS and Android loyalty app with a store locator, purchase history, reward points and up to 20 badges earned through a gamification system. Read how we built Montagut’s mobile loyalty program.
• FamilyPlug, healthcare. We designed and developed a native iOS and Android app that plays audio messages, videos and pictures from families to unconscious patients, at hours chosen in advance.
• The Economist, app audit. In one week, we audited The Economist’s Chinese app: its speed, its adaptation to local networks and the features that would integrate it into the Chinese ecosystem, such as WeChat. The Economist then extended the project with a monthly audit.

How to launch an app in China

Publishing an app for users in mainland China takes four steps on top of development.

1. File the app before launch. Under a July 2023 notice of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), an app that provides internet information services in mainland China must be filed before it operates. The filing goes to the communications administration of the province where the operator is based, through its network access provider or the app store that distributes it. App stores may not distribute an app without a filing, and the app must show its filing number in a visible place. As our guide to ICP filing for websites and apps explains, a foreign company needs a local entity, such as a WFOE, to file its app.
2. Prepare the App Store listing. App Store Connect asks for the ICP Filing Number of apps that must be available in China mainland, and the app details should match the MIIT filing.
3. Publish on the Android stores. Android apps reach Chinese users through several local stores. In a 2021 notice on apps that infringe user rights, MIIT named the stores of Tencent (MyApp), Xiaomi, OPPO, Huawei and vivo for problems such as lax review of the apps they list, and required them to correct these problems. Each store has its own submission, so the release is prepared store by store.
4. Localize the app. Chinese users expect the interface in Simplified Chinese and local services, such as WeChat login.

How we work on your app

We run app projects with an agile methodology based on Scrum, with a certified Scrum Master.

1. Scoping. Goals, users, features and platforms, and the choice between a native app, a cross-platform app and a mini program.
2. Design. Wireframes, interface design and a prototype tested with users.
3. Development in sprints. Each sprint ends with a usable version that you can review.
4. Testing. Functional and regression tests on real iOS and Android devices, Chinese brands included.
5. Release and updates. Filing and store submissions, then new versions. We helped Montagut develop the next version of its loyalty app.

Further reading

• Native vs. hybrid apps: performance, cost and maintenance compared.
• Our app design tips, from the screens to the security of your app.
• How Redis speeds up an app’s API, with the method we use.