Finish your AI built app with a developer
AI tools can get an app to a working demo fast. The last stretch is different: security, login, payments, speed and store submission need careful human work. A developer can review what you have and finish it in milestones.
Last updated:
Tools such as Lovable, Bolt, v0, Replit and Cursor are named here only as examples of where people start. Names are plain text. ErdiBuilds has no connection to these companies, and nothing here is a statement about how any one product behaves.
Why demos feel finished and are not
A demo shows the happy path: one user, clean data, everything works. A real product must also cope with the unhappy path: wrong input, many users, failed payments, attackers and old phones. Code generated by an AI tool often covers the first and misses the second, because nobody asked for it. This is not a flaw in you. It is the gap between a prototype and a product.
The usual gaps
Secret keys in the wrong place
An API key belongs on a server. If it sits in code that runs in the user's browser, anyone can read it and use it at your cost. A review should check where every key lives and replace any that were exposed.
Open data in the database
Many AI built apps use Supabase. Its tables should have Row Level Security switched on, with clear policies. Supabase's own documentation says to enable it on every table the app can reach, and warns that a table without it can be read and written by anyone with the project's public key. A review should check this first.
Login and permissions
Sign up often works, but password reset, email confirmation, roles and logging out on shared devices may be missing. Check what each type of user can see and do, and that this is enforced on the server and not only hidden on the screen.
Payments
Taking a test payment is easy. Handling refunds, failed cards, subscriptions that renew and confirmation of payment from the provider is more work. Ask a developer to check that your app learns about payments through the provider's own confirmation messages and not just the success page.
Speed and cost
Pages that load too much data or repeat the same request can feel fine with ten records and crawl with ten thousand. If your app calls a paid AI service, limits on how often a user may call it protect your bill.
Deployment and ownership
Know where your app is hosted, who owns the account, how updates go live and how you go back if an update breaks things. Keep the code in a repository you own, and make sure there is a separate test setup, so tests do not touch real users.
App Store and Google Play
Mobile stores have rules for privacy, account deletion, purchases and design. Apps are sometimes sent back for fixable reasons. A developer who has shipped to the stores can prepare the listing and handle review feedback. See mobile apps for more.
How a developer takes over
Each milestone is funded before work starts and runs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 weeks. Milestones are from 50 to 2,000 each in your project currency. A good first step is a short review, so you know what you have before you pay for fixes.
| Topic | What you get | Example timing |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1: Review and secure | Findings report, exposed keys replaced, database access rules checked | One milestone, for example 1 to 2 weeks |
| Phase 2: Core flows | Login, permissions and payments made reliable, with tests for the main paths | One to two milestones, for example 2 to 4 weeks |
| Phase 3: Speed and structure | Slow parts fixed, code tidied so others can work on it | One milestone, for example 2 weeks |
| Phase 4: Launch | Hosting set up on your accounts, store submission if needed | One milestone, for example 1 to 2 weeks |
Phase 1: Review and secure
- What you get
- Findings report, exposed keys replaced, database access rules checked
- Example timing
- One milestone, for example 1 to 2 weeks
Phase 2: Core flows
- What you get
- Login, permissions and payments made reliable, with tests for the main paths
- Example timing
- One to two milestones, for example 2 to 4 weeks
Phase 3: Speed and structure
- What you get
- Slow parts fixed, code tidied so others can work on it
- Example timing
- One milestone, for example 2 weeks
Phase 4: Launch
- What you get
- Hosting set up on your accounts, store submission if needed
- Example timing
- One milestone, for example 1 to 2 weeks
Example only: the weeks are for illustration. Developers set the length of each milestone in their proposal, and each real milestone runs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 weeks.
Finding the right developer
Describe which tool you used, what the app does and what feels unfinished. Developers on ErdiBuilds are matched by help type, technologies, portfolio, budget fit and availability, and you see proposals sorted by a match score from 0 to 100 with plain reasons. Developers are independent professionals, not our employees. Ask them:
- Have you worked on code written by AI tools? What do you check first?
- Will you tell me honestly if parts should be rewritten?
- Can you work in the technology my app already uses?
- How do you handle secret keys and database access rules?
- Will you leave notes so I or the next developer can continue?
If the project is badly stuck, the rescue help type describes that path. You can also start with an advice and code review.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep using the AI tool after a developer joins?
Often yes for small changes, but agree on how work is shared. Two parties editing the same code without a plan causes conflicts. Ask the developer how they want to work.
Link to this answerWill the app need a full rewrite?
Not always. Many apps need targeted work on security, payments and structure. The review milestone tells you which case you are in.
Link to this answerCan I get my code out of the tool?
Most tools let you connect or download your code, but options differ. Check the settings of your tool, and keep the result in a repository under your own account.
Link to this answerIs my app safe to launch as it is?
That depends on what it handles. If it stores personal data or takes payments, have the key places reviewed first: secret keys, database access rules and login.
Link to this answerWho owns the finished code?
Unless both sides agree otherwise in writing on the platform, the rights to the result of a milestone pass to the client once that milestone is paid in full. Terms of the AI tool you used may also apply to the earlier parts, so read them. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Link to this answerHow do I pay the developer?
By milestone. Each is funded before work starts, and the funds are released after you approve the delivery and a short holding period.
Link to this answerRelated pages
- Rescue a Stuck App or Software ProjectYour developer disappeared or nobody can change the app anymore. See the first steps, a milestone plan and what to ask a rescue developer.
- Get Expert Advice or a Code ReviewA second opinion on your plan or code before you go further. Learn what a review covers, what to share and how to use the report.
- Hire a Supabase developer for your backendSupabase stores data and handles logins for apps. Learn what a Supabase developer does, what to ask, and how projects and matching work.
- Hire a Next.js developer for your projectWhat a Next.js developer does, which projects it suits, what to ask before you hire and how milestones and matching work on ErdiBuilds.
- Build a web app with an independent developerHow to plan a browser-based web app: common technologies, an example milestone plan, what to write in the brief and how to judge a developer.
- How to Hire a Developer SafelyHire a developer with confidence: pay per milestone, fund before work starts, keep payments on one platform, and get access to your code as you go.