Mobile Application Development Company

With the penetration of Mobile Internet Users increasing by the day, it has become vital for any company or organization to cater to this potential target audience.  As per a recent survey, about 40% of internet traffic is now through Mobile devices.  23% of users browse the Internet only via a mobile device. This is quite a staggering figure.  This percentage also points out quite clearly that why every company should have Mobile Users as a part of their strategy.

That said, it is also important to understand if it is really necessary to jump on the Mobile Apps bandwagon.  So, let us look at some of the key factors that may affect your decision :

A mobile app can be the best branding for your company.  Once a user downloads your mobile app, they will constantly see your brand logo on their screen.  This helps you to build a good brand recall.

You can use the mobile app as a means to communicate with your customers or clients, either as an overall audience or individuals using Push Notification services.  This can prove very useful if you wish to keep them updated about the happenings of your company or to promote your products and services.  You can also intimate them about new offers or festive discounts.

Your mobile app can also have interactive applications or games, depending on your domain, to engage your users.

You can have additional functionality like GPS, address book, internal chat, etc. for your users if it makes business sense to you.

You can provide data that can be downloaded and used in an offline mode as well like your product brochures or service catalogs.  You users can then browse through them at their convenient time.

Another benefit of having a mobile app if you sell products is that the user does not get a chance to compare your products with another competitor as that would mean they have to go out of your app and open another app or browser.

In the ever evolving world of Mobile Applications, the User Interface (UI) design and the overall User Experience (UX) that an end user has when using a mobile app has to be top notch. Think of the UI as roads and landscape (the hills, the rivers, the greenery and the like) around the roads that you take on a road trip to go from location X to location Y. This road trip can be compared with the overall UX of the app.  A user will only have a pleasant experience (UX) only if the interface (UI) they use is great.

In this article, we will focus on the Mobile UI design and talk about the top 5 best practices that we feel will help you deliver a great Mobile app.

Keep the design simple and minimalist - Due to limited space availability in view of varied screen sizes, try to keep the design as simple as possible.  Also, use only the elements  that really add value to that particular screen.  Avoid fancy elements just because someone else uses it.

Design keeping your user in mind - As is the case when designing any product, keep your end user in mind.  Think what they expect and like. Their convenience and expectation is the most important.  But, always remember who your target audience or end user is.

Follow the conventions of the platform you are using - Depending on the platform you are going to use for developing the mobile application, ensure that you follow the standard conventions related to that platform.

Easy navigation - This is one of the most important pointer that you should never ignore.  Make sure that the design allows the user to navigate through the various screens of the app easily and without making an effort to understand how to navigate.  Make your app's navigation as Intuitive as possible.

Use Loading Graphics - As different users use different types of internet connections, the speed it takes to fetch data from the server varies.  At times, even though the issue is with the user's internet speed rather than the app you have designed, the user feels that the app is too slow.  To combat this issue, it is always advisable to have loading graphics where you feel that the data may take a little time to load.  This improves the users' perception as they will see some activity on the screen.

Gone are the days when mobile application development companies were happy having a website for their online presence.  With the rise of the Mobile devices, be it phones or tablets, the scenario has changed drastically.  In the current world, having a Mobile app is not an optional thing, it is imperative to have one.  The number of users accessing the internet through mobile devices, be it websites or apps has grown exponentially over years.

The biggest challenge for any company or organization is to decide what type of Mobile Application Development should they go for and choosing the right Mobile Application Development Company.  In this blog, we will talk about the two most debated options for mobile app development.

The first choice for any developer is Native App Development.  There are a lot of reasons for native development being a natural choice.  The biggest reason for this is the Performance.  On any given day, performance of a native app is better than a cross platform app.  Secondly, the look & feel of a native app is much better than a cross platform app.  Third, but also a very important factor is the security of the app.  A native app is more secure than a cross platform app.

The second choice for a developer is Cross Platform App Development.  There are two major reasons that people opt for a cross platform app.  One is obviously the cost of development and the time-frame required to build a cross platform app.  Compared to a native app, a cross platform app is cheaper and can be developed in a shorter time period.  Second reason is that if you want to build apps for multiple platforms like Android, iOS and Windows and are not too worried about the performance, a cross platform app development can be your choice.

As a beginner you might not be aware of small things that you need to take care while developing your mobile app. There are some basic yet important things which should not go unnoticed and hamper your growth. Below are few tips for Best Android Development :

Research

It is essential to do a good amount of research that you need to feed in your application. A feature that might look very interesting to you might not be liked by most of the users. Do a research or conduct a survey so that your application goes in the right direction. Even after the app is released, make sure to acknowledge your users’ feedback seriously because ultimately you want the existing users to keep using your app and recommend to others too.

Reserve space

Since you have already planned about releasing your app at a particular time, go ahead and reserve your space in the android market well in advance.

Follow Android Guidelines

It is very important to follow the guidelines given by google play store for your app to be approved to go live. This will not only make your work easier but also make your app look standard and consistent with other apps.

Battery usage

Your app should not drain the battery out of your phone. Users are likely to uninstall your app solely for this reason! Below can badly affect battery usage:

Regular wake-ups for updates

Frequent Data transfer via EDGE and 3G

Textual data parsing, regex without JIT

Consider all device sizes

The fact that there are lot of devices available for an android phone is something that should be kept into consideration. User experience should not be affected by this. You must set your graphics such that they render correctly in all devices and the app runs smoothly in mobiles as well as tablets.

App Optimization

Do not miss on this feature no matter how great your app is. The size of your app plays an important role as not all users use phones with good amount of memory. In the final stage, revise your app by optimizing heavy graphics and removing unrequired variables and objects. This is reduce the garbage collection and hiccups.

Understanding the huge market of mobile apps, many companies have ventured into the same. It is important to avoid the myths that are very commonly heard but not true. Here are some of them:

1. All details should be discussed in the beginning

Customers have a misconception they will have to list out each and every detail to the app development company before starting the app. It is a huge myth. Mobile app developers are quite smart to fill up the gaps in the app, if any even if they are not instructed.  

2. Mobile Application should be funky app to get 5 star rating

This myth is completely false. At times developers work so much on making the UI attractive that they miss out on the basic data flow. The app has to look good and at the same time serve what it has promised in order to get 5 star rating.  

3. Getting new installs will help to grow

For most of them, the basic focus is to make the application popular and get as many installs as they can. Well, mobile app should focus on the quality first. People at times do not even remember the apps they have downloaded. If you app is useful to the user only then it is going to be actually used. It is important that you reengage the existing user on your app. The focus should be on quality and not on quantity.

4. Once the app is launched, its over!

Most of the companies believe that once they have launched their app and it is live, all work is done. That not true! Despite of a good testing done, it is possible that some bugs might arise or you might have to make few edits in the app depending on the user feedback. Maintenance of app is important and mobile application development company must consider that while estimating the time and money in the initial phase.

Have you ever thought want went wrong with your last application that you got developed? Possibly your application failed to fulfill few basic things despite being feature rich. Below are 3 common mistakes that commonly occur during mobile application developed and should be avoided at primary stage it self :-

Stuffing too many features

Today’s smartphones come up huge features but it is not necessary that a developer has to take advantage of all of them in the app. The app should only concentrate on its core stuff and make it compelling as using all the features of the smartphone might not be a great thing for the end users.

Complex design

A mobile developer should understand that end users are not as smart and as technical as him. They can only understand laymen stuff. It is all on the developer to channelize his vision in the right direction

and see from user’s point of view. Creating complex, over-the-top designs and navigation can at times confuse the end users and they may end up frustrated. Each screen of the app should be clear and and convey what it is supposed to.

Take care of screen sizes

At times mobile application development is carried out keeping only few screen sizes in mind leading to distortion of graphics in some mobiles. A mobile developer should research on the screen sizes first and then make sure his coding standards are such that the app renders correctly on all mobile devices.

As we all are aware, Android is Linux based operating system. In the field of mobile application development, popularity graph of Android operating system continues to expand globally in recent times .

The demand Hiring Android Developers for the development of the robust application is going to be on boom these days. So any Android app development company should find out:

Some of the vital things must be considered for hiring a better Android developer. Let’s have a look at few simple yet unbeatable tips.

Experience with the latest android updates:

Technical knowledge most likely takes the center stage when the query is about the efficiency and skillfulness of a android developer. Ensure that developer needs to be up to date with enhanced quality of Java. Experienced developers can add the much needed detailing in their work and also they can add a professional touch to whatever they do.

   Effective Team Player:

Android application becomes a time consuming affair if developed independently. So team-working is the only effective way to deliver projects on time. Developer has to be in synchronization with the team and must be clearly aware about his role and responsibilities as a part of the team.

   Cost:

A good organization will normally attempt to spend less money without compromising on the quality. You will have to always hire developers that have the expertise and are not overly paid.

   Survey the previous work:

Survey the previous work of the organization in which they have made apps before. Check the amount of knowledge such as graphics quality, functionality, standards, time taken in development, user comments, reviews, number of downloads , etc. You can also find the details of their portfolio from Google play store. It provides all important features related to the apps that are published.

   Require completion within a specified time frame:

If you strive for quality, you would like to search out an expert who constantly follows the specified time frame and submit the projects before deadline. The availability of app at the desired time will have an effect on its popularity.

   Eager to learn:

With technological improvement in Android at every point i.e. Lollipop released few months back to support the user as well as the developers, it becomes necessary to get familiar to each new feature that can be given to end user with app. Optimized use of available resources should be made by the app developer to give best results in the form of applicability.

   Hire experienced organizations:

The most effective result you will get solely from the reputed organizations. So it is advisable you choose someone who has experience working within different projects, developing variety of apps. Don’t try to hire a freelancer or individual developer until you find them extraordinary.