Whether you're looking to hire a full-time, part-time, or freelance developer, it can be difficult to know whether they have the necessary skills before you bring them on board. While you can receive some vital information from a person's resume and portfolio, you likely won't truly know what you're getting until the first project is underway.

You can gain insight into a developer's soft skills through an interview process, but their technical skills won't necessarily be clear from a thirty-minute video chat.

How can you test your developer's skills before you hire them? What are the best ways to determine if someone is the right fit for the job?

Let's take a look at some methods you can use to identify the best candidate to work as a developer for your brand.

Why Should You Bother Testing Your Developer's Skills?

In many industries, it's common to simply ask candidates to fill out applications and send over their resumes. However, when it comes to hiring a developer, these aren't the best ways to find the right person for the job.

There are several reasons why this is the case. First, the best developers don't always stand out on paper. They might not be particularly well versed in selling themselves, and their skills might far outweigh what you would expect from looking at their resume.

At the same time, someone might look like the perfect fit on their application but then not be the right candidate. Hiring the wrong developer is expensive, frustrating, and will likely push your project launch back.

Another reason it's important to test your developer's skills before hiring them is that you can't always rely on their self-reported skills and experience. If you're hiring someone online that you'll never meet in person, the risk of getting duped by someone without the right qualifications increases substantially.

When it comes to finding the right developer, the proof is in the pudding. It doesn't matter what college they went to (or if they went to college) or how well they put together their resume. What matters is whether or not they have the necessary skills (both technical and soft skills) to complete the project in a way that meets (or exceeds) your standards on time.

How to Test Your Developer's Skills Before Hiring

There are a number of approaches you can take to test your developer's skills, and it's probably a good idea to employ several of these in your search for the right candidate.

Ask For a Portfolio (and Actually Look At It)

Any even remotely professional developer will have a portfolio they can send to show off their best work. For someone new to the world of coding, they might just have one simple landing page for a portfolio. If a developer cannot send a portfolio at all, this should be a major red flag.

That being said, don't let the fact that they have a portfolio give you the confidence to hire them on the spot. While it's a good start that they have one, you'll definitely want to dig into it to see what you can find.

Even if a person's portfolio is primarily just personal projects, it can help to show their skills in an invaluable way. You can get a good sense of someone's skills, development level, and career goals from a portfolio.

You'll want to look at the descriptions provided by the developers for each project in their portfolio. This can help you learn more about their process and give you an idea of how developed their communication skills are.

Depending on your own experience with software development, you might also take a look at the source code of some of their projects. Not only can this help you get a general sense of their abilities, but it can also give you the chance to ask custom-tailored questions during the hiring process.

Portfolios are also useful because they let you see if the developer has any experience that is relevant or similar to the project you're working on.

Evaluate Their Activity on GitHub and Stack Overflow

Another way you can work to understand your developer's skills before you hire them is to take a look at 

GitHub is a great resource for people looking to hire developers, as it allows you to see the open source projects your prospective developer is working on. 

If you don't have a technical understanding of developing and, therefore, it's not that useful to look at code, you can look for the following:

How many followers the developer has, which speaks to their level of reputation

The date that they joined GitHub, which helps to communicate their experience level

The number and type of projects on the candidate's repository

Stack Overflow, on the other hand, is a platform that exists to help people find solutions to coding problems of all types. You can look at the point system of your prospective candidate to see how many points they've received. You can expect that someone with more points is more trusted, thanks to the answers and comments they've made.

Since we're talking about how to test your developer's skills before hiring them, it's only natural that we would mention using tests.

A coding test will lay out a practical, real problem that could be encountered during the development process, and the candidates will have to code their way through it. If you're looking for a way to test your candidates objectively and efficiently, this is a good way to go.

There are also a number of platforms you can use to set up programming tests for developers. When you use one of these programs, the code of the prospective candidate is automatically analyzed, and you receive several performance metrics for each one.

Even if a person seems perfect for your developer's role from a 

 standpoint, it's important to make sure they have what it takes to handle the project you're handing over to them.

Also known as pair programming sessions, live coding interviews are a great way for prospective developers to show off their skills. While this might sound pretty stressful for the candidate, this can be an incredibly valuable window into prospective developers' skills, thinking processes, and communication styles.

You can see how the candidate performs in real-time when you have a live coding interview. Not only can you see what they're capable of with only their programming knowledge in their arsenal, but this is also an opportunity to get a sense of their communication skills. If you are putting on a collective interview, it's additionally a chance to see how they work with other people.

Screen sharing is typically utilized to make live coding interviews possible. You can give the developer a brief overview of the problem and process and then watch their screen as they finish the task you've given them.

During this time, candidates can ask questions to grasp the problem at hand better. You can glean a lot of information about the way someone thinks and solves issues just from the questions they ask.

The true benefit of this type of interview is to create a conversational and dynamic setting where both the interviewer and the interviewee can get a sense of what it would be like to work together. You might find that the person you believe is the right fit as your developer wasn't the one who produced the most pristine, clean piece of code, but the individual that you felt had the right skills and worked well with you.

How much does it cost to hire a freelance developer, anyway? This guide takes a look at the 

average hourly rate for freelance software developers

What Skills Should You Look For When Hiring a Developer?

Who you choose as a developer can majorly impact your entire brand. Whether you're hiring a developer to design a new app for your company, build databases for internal use, or something else entirely, the success and efficiency of your organization relies on the skills and abilities of the developers you work with.

Let's look at the skills you should keep an eye out for when hiring a developer.

Of course, when you're hiring a developer, you want to make sure they are technically capable of fulfilling their duties. It's important that you find someone who is up for the task of completing the projects you have in mind. Before hiring a developer, it's a good idea to identify the programming language you'll want to use and ensure that the person you bring onboard is well-versed in this language.

In the world of programming, developers are 

 running up against problems. The fact that there are problems isn't a problem in itself unless your developer doesn't have good critical thinking skills.

The right developer can see your bigger picture goals and break them down into smaller, simpler steps. They are resourceful and know how to use a multitude of different tools to deal with issues as they crop up. At the same time, they are able to deal with a number of different complicated issues relatively simultaneously.

Even though there is a stereotype of loner programmers, hiring a developer with highly-developed interpersonal skills is ideal. After all, they'll likely be interfacing with many different people while working for you, even if only in a freelance position.

Is there anything worse than a developer that gets halfway through a project and then disappears for weeks at a time? No, we didn't think so. The last thing you want is to hire a developer who ghosts you partway through the process because they're overwhelmed or simply because they're unreliable.

The developer you hire should have great time management skills and a solid work ethic. The more certain you feel they are capable of taking on the task you've assigned them, the less you'll feel like you constantly have to stay on top of them to ensure the job gets done.

A reliable developer will clearly understand how long a task will take them and keep you informed if they bump into issues that will delay the process.

Developers have to be able to constantly learn new skills, no matter how many years of experience they have. This is because the industry is always changing, and new tools can be used to keep your brand on the cutting edge.

Keep an eye out for candidates that spend a lot of time working on their professional development. You can also watch for signs of a growth-oriented mindset rather than a fixed one. A developer with a growth-oriented mindset will be much more willing to adjust their typical process to fit your needs and will be eager to learn new, necessary skills to complete a project.

Finally, communication skills are key when hiring a developer. If they aren't able or willing to clearly communicate with you about the status of a project, you'll be left in the dark about their progress and whether deadlines will be met.

When dealing with an issue, they should be able to describe it to you in a clear, understandable way, even if you don't have experience as a programmer yourself. They'll also need to collaborate with your entire team, which requires interfacing with individuals in a number of different roles. If you're constantly struggling to communicate effectively, it will slow down your process significantly, not to mention feeling like pulling teeth the whole time.

Once you've hired a developer, you might be faced with a new quandary: are they charging way too much? Check out this article to learn 

how to know if your software developer is overcharging you

Are You Looking For the Right Development Partners?

Hiring a developer can begin to feel like a full-time job in its own right. You find yourself spending countless hours digging through GitHub and Stack Overflow posts, even if you have little technical knowledge in the realm of programming. For someone that knows that a digital product will help their brand but also knows that their time is better spent on tasks other than learning how to code, finding an individual developer to get the job done often seems like the only option.

Another choice on the table, though, is hiring a professional development team that is comprised of top talent from around the world. If you're looking for the right partners to help you develop your new digital product, say 

When you're creating a core product or an app for your company, it's essential to hire experienced and reliable software developers to get the job done. However, if you've already started working with a software developer, it can be hard to know whether the amount they're charging you is reasonable or totally out of touch with reality.

One of the reasons it can be so hard to determine whether a developer's rate is fair is that the price range for development can vary enormously depending on the project's scale and the developer's experience. On top of that, the options of hiring a freelancer, an agency, or an in-house developer can make it even more difficult to figure out whether you're paying an acceptable rate.

While you want your digital product to be the best of the best, you also don't want to pay more than you need to for development. Let's take a look at how you can know if your software developer is overcharging you.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Software Developer?

 can range greatly, depending on a number of different factors. It can be tempting to focus solely on hiring someone with the lowest hourly rate, but it's important to not tunnel-vision on this one aspect.

For example, it doesn't do you much good if a developer with a low hourly rate takes twice as long to finish a product as someone with a steeper rate that can do it in half the time. Higher rates typically (though not always) indicate that the developer has more experience. This means that they will likely be better able to deal with any of the thousands of little disasters that can crop up at any point during the process much more quickly than a less experienced developer.

If you only focus on the up-front and short-term costs of hiring a software developer, it could end up costing you more in the end. While keeping costs low is important, focusing on hiring the individual with the lowest hourly rate can mean that you are missing other important qualities that would produce the highest quality product in the shortest amount of time with the smallest amount of resources.

When you're searching for software developers, you can choose to hire an agency, a freelancer, or an individual to join your in-house team.

Equally important as understanding the cost of hiring a software developer is understanding how long it typically takes for a project to be completed. If you're dreaming up a web app for your company or as a product in its own right, you can learn more about 

There is a huge range in terms of pricing when it comes to hiring a software development agency.

Enterprise-class agencies generally work with Fortune 500 companies and governments to produce projects with budgets as high as $500,000-$1 million. These companies likely have hundreds, if not thousands, of in-house developers and freelancers in their network.

On the other side of the spectrum, small-class custom software development companies typically have between two and ten employees and often work with local small businesses, startups, and regional mid-sized organizations. It's common for small-class developers to work on projects that range from $10,000 to $500,000 and charge somewhere between $75 and $175 an hour.

In the middle are mid-market class software development companies. Usually working with small and medium-sized businesses, these companies often have somewhere between ten and one hundred employees. The projects they work on tend to range between $50,000 and $5 million, and the hourly rate is typically between $125 and $175 an hour.

Hiring a freelance software developer can offer overall reduced costs compared to hiring an in-house team member and is appealing to many because of the flexibility and short-term commitment of the relationship.

You'll find that a freelance developer's skills, experience, and niche will usually reflect directly in their hourly rate. While it might be tempting to hire the developer with the cheapest hourly rate, it's possible that hiring a more experienced, faster-working developer will get the project done in fewer hours and ultimately be the more affordable option.

In North America, the hourly rate of hiring a freelancer generally ranges between $50 and $250 an hour. If you choose to outsource your software development needs to another country, you can pay even less to hire a freelancer. For example, the average cost of hiring a software developer in India ranges from $25 to $80 an hour.

It's worth understanding the potential downsides of focusing too much on saving money by hiring a freelancer, though. If you choose to hire someone in a different country, you can face issues having to do with the difference in time zones and cultural or language barriers.

How committed a freelancer is to your project can also be fairly hit or miss. In a worst-case scenario, a freelancer could completely stop responding to your emails or texts one day, disappearing with your code and leaving you to start over at square one.

For a more in-depth look at the cost of hiring a freelancer, check out our post about 

the average hourly rate of freelance software developers

Hiring an in-house team member is a more expensive approach to enlisting the skills of a software developer, but it can make sense in certain circumstances. 

Not only do you have to pay an in-house team member a salary, but you also have to incur the expenses of:

Hiring an in-house software developer can cost roughly $80,000-$200,000 a year, depending on your location and the specifics of the position.

How to Know if Your Software Developer Is Overcharging You

If you've hired a software developer and you feel like the price is a bit steep, you might worry that they're trying to pull the wool over your eyes. When you aren't an experienced software developer yourself, it can be hard to know what is "normal" when it comes to hourly rates and how many hours it takes to complete a project.

To figure out whether your software developer is overcharging you, you'll need to consider the baseline price and the supplementary attributes the developer brings to the table.

For a quick and easy way to get a ballpark sense of whether your software developer is overcharging you, you can request quotes from several different comparable developers and see if what your developer is charging you is reasonable within the same range.

For a more thorough analysis of whether you're being overcharged, let's take a look at the formula outlined in Ben Liebert's book 

How to Know If Your Software Developer Is Trying to Kill You

When you strip away all the attributes and characteristics of the specific developer you're working with, you're left with the baseline price.

Basically, you'll want to conduct an online search for developers that:

Work in the same country as the developer you hired

Build software using the language and platform you chose

Quote prices based on similar services to those you hired your developer for

Now it's time to pick up the phone (or fill in online quote request forms) and call some software developers to grab quotes for the project you're working on. When you've collected several, take the two highest quotes and average them. Then, take this number and halve it. This is the baseline price we will begin with.

Next, it's time to look at the attributes that are specific to your developer to find a reasonable price.

The first element we'll want to look at is experience. Developers with more experience will charge a higher hourly rate, but that doesn't necessarily mean you will incur a higher overall cost. This is because experienced developers will build your software more quickly and with fewer bugs, as well as the fact that they will be more likely to make design choices that save you money down the road when you expand your system.

For every year of experience a software developer has, you can add 2% of the baseline price up to a maximum of 20%.

The next aspect is reputation. The better reputation a software developer has, the more they will charge. Finding a software developer with a solid reputation can help give you peace of mind that they can and will do what they agree to do.

If you can't find anything about the developers you hired online, don't add anything to the baseline price. If you hired them thanks to a word-of-mouth recommendation, add 10% to the baseline price.

If more than 80% of the feedback you find online about the developers is positive, add 20% to the baseline. Lastly, you can add 30% to the baseline price if more than 80% of the feedback is positive 

 you know and trust the people (or companies) that offered positive reviews.

There are benefits to having a number of developers working on your project, including potential cost savings. However, hiring a team rather than an individual developer means that the hourly rate will likely be higher.

For an independent contractor that works alone, don't add anything to the baseline price. For companies with less than five people on staff, add 10%. Add 15% to the baseline price if there are five or more people on staff at the agency.

If your developer works from a home office, add 5% to the baseline. For a team with a modest office, you can add 10%, while a super snazzy office means you should add 20%.

Additional important factors will influence how smoothly the development process goes and how low you can keep your costs. These include communication and responsiveness. For example, the value of a developer that charges an extremely low hourly rate is significantly reduced if you can't reliably get in touch with them when needed.

Based on your interactions with the developer, you can add anywhere from 0% to 15% to the baseline price.

Once you have made your final tally, you can look at whether your assessment of how much the developer should be charging based on the baseline and additional attributes lines up with how much the developer is actually charging you.

When you're trying to determine if your software developer is overcharging you, there are a few more factors you'll want to keep in mind.

Firstly, you'll want to know the potential for price escalation

. Some developers will give you an initial low price with the expectation that they can increase these rates over time as they become more involved in your project.

Second, it can be a good idea to ask your developer for a breakdown of how their time is spent if they are charging by the hour

. It's common for developers to use time-tracking apps, so this isn't an unusual request. However, it can be best to ask for this information at the beginning of the relationship.

' as partial payment for development services (i.e., paying developers in interest or shares in your company), it's important to consider the drawbacks of this route

. For example, they might tend to prioritize other clients that are paying full price upfront. Additionally, the more invested they are, the more they may want to have a say in how the product unfolds. Sweat equity as payment can also become an issue if you replace the developer down the road.

Are You Ready to Turn Your Software Idea Into Reality?

Choosing a software developer to turn your idea into a reality is a huge decision, and there are a lot more considerations to keep in mind than cost alone. At the same time, the last thing you want is to learn that you hired a developer that is overcharging you compared to other developers with similar experience and skills.

At Planetary, we follow three basic rules when working with our clients, whether they're a startup or a Fortune 500 company. These are:

Through the application of these principles, we've been able to create the highest-quality products that achieve the goals of both the customer and the company.

It's possible that we're the partners you've been looking for to help you create your next app or digital product. Drop us a line today and 

How to Know if Your Software Developer is Overcharging You

It finally hit you: the perfect idea for a new app. While coming up with a concept for an app can make it feel like your hard work is over, turning that idea into reality requires that you complete many complex steps.

Before you start hiring people to design your app, the first step will be a validation process. It's worth trying to redline your concept from every angle before you start investing money in the project.

Once you have verified that an audience is ready and waiting for your new app, you can start the development process. While it can be disappointing to have an app idea shot down in the validation phase, it's much better than finding out there isn't an audience for your app once you've dumped a bunch of money into it.

Are you wondering what steps you must go through to make your app idea a reality? Stick with us while we take a look at what you need to know.

When you first develop a great idea for an app, it's easy to assume that everyone will want to use your new app. You're smitten with your idea– how could anyone 

 is essential to creating a successful app. Think about the idea you have and what problem it solves. What type of people have this problem and care enough about solving it that they will seek a solution and potentially even pay for one?

Once you start to look at the process this way, you can begin to come up with an even more specific definition of your intended users. The more information you can gather about the people you expect will want to use your app, the more you'll be able to tailor the app to their needs and the more on-point your marketing can be.

When you have a fairly firm grasp of who you expect will want to use your app, it's time to do some more research.

You'll want to thoroughly look into other companies already working to solve the problem your app intends to solve. Unless you have a truly novel idea, there's a good chance that you have competition out there that you'll need to know about.

The fact that similar apps exist isn't a reason to scrap your idea and return to the drawing board. In reality, realizing that you have competition only shows that your initial idea was valid since other people have already created a digital product to try and solve the same problem for a specific audience.

By looking at other companies with similar apps, you can learn a lot. Take the time to understand the ins and outs of your competition thoroughly. What works well about their app, and what needs to be improved? How many users do they have, and what marketing strategies do they use?

When you have an idea for an app, it can be tempting to dive right in and start making prototypes. The more market research you do, the better you'll be able to make the right digital product the first time.

You've already had a great app idea, and that's awesome. You've worked hard to identify your target audience and do thorough 

Now, it's finally time to start fleshing out your app's purpose and goal.

When you're in the initial creative stage of dreaming up an app, you probably had all kinds of innovative ideas about what the app could do and how it could perform. Now that you're starting to turn it into a reality, it's important to zero in on the essential aspects of your app.

What is your app, and what purpose does it serve? What problem does it solve?

Additionally, what is your goal for the app? Do you want to earn passive income with the app, or are you offering it as a free tool that you hope will direct users to other money-generating projects you have up your sleeve?

Is this app a passion project you want to run forever, or are you hoping to build something salable?

Outlining your app's purpose and goal can help you make better decisions down the road that help you achieve your desired outcome.

If you're making a mobile app, you'll want to understand the difference between the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. While more people use Android globally, the median income of Apple users is higher than those that use Android. Depending on the target audience you've already outlined, you'll want to consider which platform your primary demographic will most likely use.

It's also worth knowing that there are fewer barriers and restrictions to launching an app through the Google Play Store than the Apple App Store. At the same time, building an app for the Apple store tends to be faster and cheaper.

Of course, nothing stops you from using both platforms. It's more expensive to do – code isn't easily cross-compatible – but it's not uncommon to launch one while working on a version for the other.

As you can see, there are many different elements to consider when choosing which platform to launch your app. At this point, you'll want to ensure you understand which platform your target audience is more likely to use so that you can reach them where they already are.

Though it can be pretty annoying to start talking about dollars and cents when you're working on manifesting a brilliant idea into reality, it's a necessary step in the process. Developing a mobile app can cost anywhere from a few thousand dollars to a few million dollars depending on the functionality and features you're looking to incorporate into the app.

Working out just how much you can invest in this project is important to help you create a plan that will work for you. Make sure to factor in additional costs such as marketing as well as maintaining and updating the app after you launch it.

There are several monetization strategies out there, including:

Offering a free and premium version with additional features

Maybe you're making your app out of the kindest of your heart for the betterment of humanity. If so, that's great! Most people, though, will be expecting to earn some form of income from the app or at least use it as a marketing tool for other money-making projects. Understanding your monetization options can help you make decisions as the process unfolds.

Another essential ingredient for successful apps is branding. People are subtly influenced by a multitude of factors when they are creating an impression of your brand, whether they realize it or not. In a crowded digital space with millions of other competing apps, you must create a great first impression.

Creating your brand encompasses everything from your logo and color scheme to your typeface and copy. You'll want to outline your brand's entire personality and ensure that everything you produce aligns with this personality.

When you're building a brand image and personality, you don't want to just go with what you think looks and sounds good. Instead, you'll want to tap into all the research you did about your target audience and understand what appeals to them.

You'll also want to consider what is appropriate, considering the purpose of your app. For example, should it be formal and professional or casual and laid-back? Should the colors be classic and timeless or trendy and vibrant?

When you don't have a consistent brand image, it makes it less possible for people to remember who you are and what you do. It can also create a lot of undesirable confusion from the standpoint of building a loyal audience.

Building an app is time-consuming, and assembling a team to work on it with you is probably a good idea. While it's possible to build an app on your own, there will be a pretty big learning curve unless you already have a lot of skills in development, marketing, branding, and more.

Depending on the scale of your project and its complexity, the size of your team will vary. Here are some of the basic specialists you will likely need to build your app:

On top of that, you might want to enlist additional people to help with your branding, business plan, and marketing.

Now that you're almost ready to build a prototype, you'll want to pin down precisely which features you want your app to have. Once you have this and a software requirements specifications document (SRS document), you're ready to move on to the next step.

Are you interested in building an app similar to the popular Clubhouse app? Check out t

In the app development cycle, two of the most important steps are wireframing and prototyping. By taking all the time you need in these steps, you can ensure that you don't spend more money than you need to further in the development process.

A wireframe can be a very rough sketch of your app, while a prototype is a more sophisticated rough-draft version. Creating a prototype can help you validate your idea and receive initial feedback from others about the app's functionality.

If you're looking for investors for your app, the prototype also plays an essential role in pitching the idea.

Is your idea best manifested in the form of a web app rather than strictly a mobile app? Check out some of 

the best tools to wireframe and prototype

If you want to create a successful app, creating an MVP is an essential part of the process. Short for Minimum Viable Product, an MVP is a bare-bones version of your app with all of the essential features.

This doesn't mean that the app is low quality and offers a subpar UX. Instead, the idea is that you aren't adding every bell and whistle you intend to have in the final product. This is just a basic version of the app's most important capabilities to test and receive feedback before launching the finished product.

To learn more about testing and building a great UX design with an MVP, check out 

Once you've tested your MVP and are ready to move forward, it's time to make the final additions and adjustments to your app. When you have tested and tweaked your app repeatedly, you're ready to launch.

Unfortunately, you really can't get away with simply launching your app and walking away. There are millions of apps out there, and you'll need to get the word out about yours to ensure your target audience can find it.

You can use social media marketing and content marketing to help spread the word about your new app. Stay tuned in to the feedback you receive so you can make any changes if necessary to provide the best possible user experience.

Are You Ready to Turn Your App Idea Into a Reality?

No matter how simple or complex your app idea is, turning it into a reality is quite the project. While it's possible to do it yourself, having a team to help you create your app can make the process faster, easier, and more straightforward.

At Planetary, we build custom digital products for companies of all sizes that have an idea they want to bring to life. We have worked with the likes of General Electric, Buzzfeed, Google, and Amazon, but we also love working with small startups that are just beginning their journey into the world of digital products.

Are you ready to turn your app idea into reality? Drop us a line today and 

A Step by Step Guide to Turning an App Idea into Reality

One of the challenges of modern web-based applications these days is how to visualize data so that complex ideas can be communicated beautifully and cleanly. Unfortunately, when you start researching which data visualization JavaScript library to use for creating fancy graphs, the sheer number of options (and the range of price points) can be completely overwhelming.

All of the major libraries are in a constant state of evolution and improvement, and there are a plethora of options when you're looking for a library to make excellent visualizations.

With the right library in your arsenal, you can vastly improve user experience by creating incredible-looking dashboards in your web app. All you have to do is plug in the data and be amazed by the visually appealing graphs that emerge.

Depending on your needs when it comes to customization, cost, capabilities, and more, one library is likely more suitable to your needs than others. Let's take a look at a range of options, including free, open-source libraries as well as powerful libraries for commercial use.

 library that is well suited for developers and teams looking for basic charting capabilities. Fast and lightweight, this charting library uses HTML5 Canvas for optimal performance and rendering, regardless of which browser is being used.

Fans of Chart.js love that it's easy to combine different datasets by mixing and matching bar and line charts. On top of that, it's responsive and will redraw the chart depending on the size of your window.

This is a great choice if you're looking for a free and open-sourced library. It has many simple examples to back up its detailed documentation, making it user-friendly regardless of your experience.

On the downside, though, there aren't a ton of customization options, and there are only eight different types of graphs you can choose from. It isn't ideal for nonvector formats because it's canvas-based. All that being said, it's a powerful and impressive tool considering it's completely free.

If you polled developers across the world to ask which data visualization library they use, you'd probably receive a lot of "D3.js" responses. Flexible, robust, and data-driven, this is an extremely popular tool for using data to manipulate documents.

You can use D3.js to build maps, pie charts, and, yes, fancy graphs. If you're looking for a fast and lightweight library with extensive capabilities, you'll want to check this one out. It supports interactivity, animation, and data-driven plots and also has support for declarative programming.

Some other things developers love about this library are that it has great community support and is easily customizable. However, it's not nearly as easy to learn as Chart.js and requires that you are fairly experienced in web development. Otherwise, there will be a steep learning curve.

If you're interested in building graphs for web-based stock and Forex trading applications, TradingVue.js lets you 

This is another open-source, free JavaScript library that can help you visualize data. With a responsive option, you can use TradingVue.js on devices and screens of different sizes and let you zoom in and out for optimal visualizations.

Open source and free to use, ChartKick allows you to use very minimal code to create impressive and visually compelling charts and graphs. One of the best features of this library is that it supports libraries in multiple programming languages. That being said, it isn't ideal if you're looking to have tons of customization options or you want to create intricate and complex charts.

No matter which data visualization library you choose to help display fancy graphs on your app, one step you won't want to skip in the development process is stress testing. 

 takes a deep dive into the what, where, when, and how of stress testing web apps.

While it's not cheap, FusionCharts Suite is a powerful tool that offers a huge range of mapping and charting capabilities. With more than two thousand maps and one hundred charts you can work with, you'll struggle to find a more comprehensive data visualization library.

If you want to have a lot of freedom when it comes to customization, FusionCharts Suite has you covered. Suitable for web and mobile platforms with decent performance and comprehensive documentation, this is probably one of the most complete solutions.

Also working in its favor is how easy it is to integrate with other tech stacks and how simple it is to learn. You'll find that making graphs, charts, and maps is straightforward and intuitive with this library.

The downside, though, is the price tag. The basic package for a single developer suite costs $499 per year, while the pro edition will cost you $1,299 for five developers and $2,499 annually, respectively. The pro edition supports five developers, while the enterprise edition supports ten.

For larger organizations, there is also an enterprise+ edition. The pricing isn't easily available for this option and must be requested.

Another data visualization library that lets you build visually appealing charts with a minimal amount of code is Victory. Designed specifically for React and React Native, using this library is intuitive and simple.

With over 9,000 stars on GitHub, Victory allows for simple cross-stage graphics by utilizing a comparable API for React Native and web applications.

A truly light data visualization JavaScript library that can create smart, beautiful outlines, Recharts uses D3 and is very simple to use. Created for React users, the library provides a lot of useful examples, and the charts are easily customizable.

This is a great choice if you're interested in making static charts. There are also built-in chart tools, including labels, legend tooltips, and more. That being said, it can be a bit slow if you want to incorporate large datasets or a number of animated charts on the same page.

It's worth noting that you can find a higher-than-usual number of unsolved problems when searching on GitHub. While this might not be a problem for experienced developers, new users might be frustrated by the lack of support from the creators. If you end up running into an issue, you might have to take matters into your own hand to figure out the best way to troubleshoot.

CanvasJS works with plain JavaScript in addition to jQuery, React, and Angular. This commercial tool doesn't have an endless supply of chart types, but it is capable of creating stunning graphs and charts across different browsers and devices.

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