The Burgeoning On-demand Economy
The on-demand economy is a relatively new phenomenon but one that is growing significantly especially in the past 5 years. Business people acknowledge that it was probably spawned when mobile development was gathering furious pace, especially with the launch of the original iPhone and the concept of app store. In addition to this, the development of high speed mobile networks coupled with advanced smartphones paved the way for the birth of new radical business models that centred on one crucial factor – convenience. In fact, convenience is the central theme of the on-demand economy and is here to stay for quite some time. As part of our mobile app development services, we design and develop and manage diverse set of applications that fulfil the client’s requirements and satisfy end user’s demands.
What is on-demand economy?
It is essentially the creation of digital marketplaces where goods and services are exchanged by virtue of online mediums and thrives on the smart analysis of massive user data. It is safe to say that most of us who own a smartphone must have been part of this economy either as a seller or a consumer – be it ordering food online, hiring a technician for household repairs, buying groceries and apparel online, booking taxis or cinema tickets online, planning trips online and so on. The e-commerce sector probably marked the nascent stage of on-demand economy. The greater adoption of the on-demand economy is because of empowering users more with the help of technology. It also exposes the user to a wide variety of choices than the conventional stores. Let us know dive into the specifics of the on-demand economy and see why this phenomenon is set to grow in the future.
On-Demand economy characteristics
Most of the key characteristics of the on-demand economy ride on convenience and informed decision making. But suffice it to say that all of this is powered by user data. For instance, being able to track the user’s online food order right from the smartphone is something else. Users can also choose when and how to pay securely – online transactions through card or internet banking or even cash on delivery. Everything is possible – and this also includes cancellations, again possible within a few clicks. Although sometimes it incurs a cost, the very choice to opt out owing to an emergency or change of mind is why on-demand economy thrives – Options.
But perhaps the most important feature is the ability of users to make informed choices by looking customer reviews and ratings corroborated with relevant media. Another thing that spurs on-demand mobile applications is the increased level of transparency. Users know beforehand how much they are paying after the several add-ons for the food they are ordering online. Add to this the proliferation of promo codes and referral codes and we got ourselves the digital equivalent of a capitalistic market offering various goods and services.
Mobile application development for the on-demand economy
The development of a mobile application catering to the on-demand economy is very much similar to developing a website. Clients can hire an android developer or an iOS developer for developing corresponding applications after doing intensive research on the target audience – this helps in chalking out a great app design and selecting the most important and desirable features. More specifically, what features pull customers towards using the app and what features prevent them using it. Thereafter, like any other web development project, selecting an appropriate technology and a good developer team is a must.
Some crucial things that developers must look out for while developing on-demand applications are: designing for compatibility with devices of different externals and internals, ease of use – it can make or break the client’s business, designing channels for getting customer feedback. The latter point is particularly important in the contest of the on-demand economy.
For any queries with regard to hiring developers, get in touch with us by dropping a mail today.
The Ultimate Testing Tools For Responsive Design
As a team of dedicated developers and programmers, we understand the importance of testing – one of the crucial stages in the software development cycle. Over the past decade, various clients from the U.S and other markets have time and again hired the services of coders working at HireIndianProgrammers. With that experience, we know that websites and business websites in particular cater to different segments of people. In addition to that, the proliferation of the internet powered mobiles mean that client’s website and applications must run efficiently across devices.
In this blogpost, our programmers seek to list out the top tools to test your application with ease. All these tools satisfy certain criteria in some or the other way and have different levels of user control. Experiment around and opt for the tool that is most suitable for your needs.
Screenfly
With Screenfly, programmers can test their client’s website on any screen size including desktops, tablets and mobile phones etc; Developers can also add any custom size they want. The provision of simple tools to rotate, scroll and click makes this tool an easy recommendation for us. What’s more? If you are working as a team of developers hired by a big client, you can share your designs across and work on it together in their browser itself.
Responsive Design Checker
This is a great tool for programmers preferring to manually tweaking the controls. It displays your creation i.e website into a window under different orientations without really having to changing the browser size – be it mobile or desktops. Developers will also find it useful to take screenshots for later assessment.
Google Mobile-Friendly Test
SEO is no more a technical term. Tech savvy clients who are starting their online business are very much aware that their website must follow Google’s standards so that their page ranking may improve. Clients hiring dedicated programmers expect them to invariably incorporate it. With this tool, developers and coders can see for themselves the visibility of the webpages that they have developed. This tool is also useful for programmers in that it has the mechanism to recognise those issues and places where the website might be sluggish. It allows for easy fixes. However, it is limited to only mobile devices.
Responsive Web Design Testing Tool
The emphasis of this free tool is ease of use. This simple tool allows developers to type in the URL in the space provided and compare your output across orientations within a few clicks. Developers can also use this tool for testing in a set environment.
Lambda Test
With two versions of this tool available for programmers – the lite one and the paid one – LambdaTest is one of the better options in this list for the following reasons. In addition to making it possible for programmers to take screenshots, this tool can achieve a lot more. It allows the programmers to test in a holistic way checking all parameters – compatibility, user experience and so on in a real time scenario. The paid version enables programmers to debug errors, if any.
Designmodo Responsive Test
This tool is loaded with a lot of features and toggles. Another reason for developers to really check out this design testing tool is the clean interface. Programmers hired along tight deadlines will find this small thing to be a boon. The free tool also has colour accessibility options and bootstrap templates to improve the overall website design.
XRespond
XRespond allows programmers to check the consistency of their websites. This will be especially useful in cases where the client has a large base of customers of different kinds. For instance, suppose a client is hiring a programmer or hiring a developer to develop or improve an e-commerce website. Now, regular customers do online shopping from different devices, increasingly more of smartphones – be it android or iOS. In such a scenario, programmers would find it extremely useful to test their design responsiveness across devices at the same time.
Hope this article gave programmers of different calibre an idea on how to go about choosing a good tool for testing design responsiveness.
To hire our programmers for any web development projects, contact us here.
Web Development through the Ages
Every invention in human history has had such a profound impact in the evolution of its civilisation. All human inventions from fire, wheel to space exploration and the internet have continually raised the bar on what we can achieve.
Where it all started
When Tim-Berners Lee founded the world’s first web browser in 1990, almost 3 decades ago, only text could be displayed on a webpage. However, as we all know, web development became more sophisticated with the addition of new design elements such as images, media, gif, tables, frames and what not.
Programmers and developers who have been in the web development space for long, will readily acknowledge the massive developments that had taken place in the past two decades. From first gen software applications like Dreamweaver and FrontPage, we now have automatic drag and drop rich web design applications like Wix. It has made web design creation possible even for the non-technical people like marketers, bloggers, businesspersons and freelancers. It is now possible to develop websites in a short period of time – in other words fostering a do-it-yourself culture.
In the initial stages of web development, there was a lot of coding involved. Clients who hired programmers and coders had to wait for several days for their final output. Nowadays tools like Affinity designer or even buttons make it easier for developers to create good designs in an efficient way. This increased efficiency is the hallmark of today’s web development.
The Web we know today
The massive improvements in web development also spurred the shared hosting mechanism and several free website builders, providing a workspace-for-all scene. These kind of developments prove to be beneficial to the web development community as a whole. Then arrived the era of outsourcing and software as a service (SaaS). Experienced and skilled programmers, coders and developers could now be hired for customised packages at very affordable rates from developing countries. The advent of outsourcing and SaaS meant that more time could be devoted to maintenance with a consistent stream of revenue. Several web development firms that sought to provide 24×7 services of coders and programmers cropped up in the early 2000s.
At the same time, with so much perceived progress, there were also certain downsides with regard to this industry, mainly concerned with the negative aspects of the gig economy – not providing the needed benefits to employees. Overworking was massively prevalent amongst programmers and coders hired by virtue of a contract. Although, things have improved in recent years. As with any other industry, those in the web development field also fear obsolescence owing to the abundance of code-free web design tools.
Yet, programmers must remember that web design is a creative field and thus a market. With new businesses sprouting up and business people wanting to promote them in the most innovative or targeted way possible, there will always be clients to hire dedicated programmers and developers.
The key take away from this blogpost is that web development is here to stay for a long time, even though it may change forms occasionally.
We, at HireIndianProgrammers, provide a range of web development services across platforms. If you are starting a new online business or want to expand your online presence, you have come to the right place. You can hire a programmer or hire a developer, depending on what platform (desktop/ mobile) you want to cater to. Feel free to check out our portfolio in our website. Drop an e-mail and our programmers will get back to you as soon as possible.
Are we heading towards a Single Browser Web?
The advent of the internet in the 90s saw the rise of the first gen web browsers like Lynx, Mosaic, Netscape, Internet Explorer and many more. Long story short, until the last decade, there were a number of browsers catering to end users. However, fast forward to 2019, programmers and consumers are stuck to mainly 3 browsers with a significant market share namely Google Chrome, Apple Safari and Mozilla Firefox. Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge have a paltry share.
Anyone in business would acknowledge that competition is desirable, encourages innovation and brings out the best in everyone. But, given the current scenario, it looks like Google’s dominance is here to stay. So, where does that leave programmers and developers and what does it entail for them in a single browser world?
For a long time, Microsoft was ruling the web. Then Mozilla’s Firefox and Google’s Chrome happened and it literally changed the browser game. These two browsers prioritised speed and ease of use and consequently became a haven for web designers, developers and hard-core programmers. Companies providing a wide array of web development services preferred these browsers that provided the latest features. End users almost always turn a blind eye to the default buggy Internet Explorer and use it only once – just for installing Chrome or Firefox. Things took a dramatic turn with the boom of smartphones and the not-so-gradual shift of consumers towards mobile browsing.
Given that Google bought Android and Apple pioneered the touchscreen, it was show-time thereon for both these companies. While Chrome was the default browser on android phones, Safari was the default browser on iphones. When it comes to browsers, users and developers, tend to stick with the default option provided by the Operating system, representing huge entry barriers. This is especially true with mobiles.
Developers must be aware of the problems posed in such a scenario, where one huge player dominates the market – case in point Google. It does not augur well for a truly open web. Tying the browser with the OS reflects a practice of anti-competition. For webdevelopers, this means that they have to design for one major entity and bend their designs as per the directions of the player.
On the other hand, having just one browser means easy work for developers, right from design to testing and maintenance. If there were a large number of browsers, they would have to deal with each one of them, leading to more time consumption for things like browser testing.
However, things are bound to change in a market. There might be a new player in town, posing a serious challenge to Chrome or Firefox itself could rapidly re-engineer themselves or Microsoft may be able to finally deliver on the Internet Explorer we really need or Google could fall prey to any legislative policy changes. Anything might happen and programmers must be on the lookout for such signs. They must be able to quickly adapt to the new browser – the one end users are likely to shift to. Developer forums could of be of use to individual developers because they will stay connected and be aware of the current trends.
Looking to hire a programmer to initiate your online business or develop a new rich website from scratch? Our programmers at HireIndianProgrammers provide a range of web development services covering the software development life cycle in its entirety. Having been in the field for over a decade and a half, we guarantee that you will be satisfied with our output delivered by our dedicated programmers. Proceed to check our space to know more about us and our previous projects.
What You Must Know About Progressive Web Apps
With the emergence of smartphones in the past decade, internet traffic has seen a major shift. Smartphones command more than half the internet usage – meaning more people access the internet from their mobiles than other devices. However, statistics also show us that this doesn’t necessarily translate to more engagements and conversions.
As any person conducting business online including those who making a foray into mobile apps would know, engagement and conversion rates are very important and without it, the purpose of developing mobile apps, be it android or iOS, becomes irrelevant.
In this blogpost, our developers at HireIndianProgrammers make a case for Progressive Web Apps and why both android and iOS developers must readily make a transition and incorporate it into their future mobile app development services.
What are Progressive Web Apps (PWA)?
Progressive Web Apps are fairly new to the internet scene and they can be best thought of as a bridge/ link between mobile web and mobile apps. You need to be aware of just 3 criteria with respect to PWA. First, you need to be running under HTTPS and secondly you would need a web app manifest, app shell and thirdly a service worker. All these in conjunction would enable you to develop what is called a Progressive Web App.
The best thing is you can virtually convert any website into a PWA using the above three criteria.
Here’s why companies providing mobile app development services must make a beeline for PWA:
Doesn’t depend on Connectivity – This means that you grant users the boon of accessing your business products offline too – a possible game-changer for businesses due to the addition of new customers located in remote areas.
Very Secure – Because they run under HTTPS, mobile developers and business people alike can be rest assured that PWA are generally more secure than mobile websites. What’s more? PWA are also much faster and battery efficient than conventional mobile apps.
Ease of Use – PWAs remove the need for app stores giving users the option to install and add them right to the home-screen, ultimately giving more control to the user. The high responsiveness of the PWA means that users will prefer them over mobile apps or sites any day, thereby leading to more conversion rates. No irritation, whatsoever.
One step ahead of Mobile Websites – Developing websites, both for the desktop and mobile to provide a seamless experience can prove to be a challenge. PWAs on the other hand have the capability to integrate with the user’s smartphone through push notifications. The existence of the app shell boosts the look significantly. They also provide app like interactions primarily navigations making it easy for the user.
Higher Engagements – Because they are far easier to share with the outside world – a one click process, Progressive Web Apps are sure to crank up the engagement for businesses.
Conclusion
All of the special features of Progressive Web Apps enable them to become much more desirable for mobile app development service companies to create ground breaking applications, thanks to its checking of several boxes – speed, security, convenience and so on.
Are you looking for any mobile app developers to develop exciting mobile applications? Look no further, you can now hire mobile app developers at HireIndianProgrammers and acquire our expert services without any messy contracts.
How to Build A Strong Relationship with Clients
So, having just started your business, you successfully bag an exciting project from a new client. Next, you proceed to work on it sincerely with an extraordinary dedication and deliver the said project on time. The client is thoroughly satisfied and you also end up happy. Does your working relationship end here? Absolutely not. Most people in the software business fail to realise the importance of maintaining a robust and continual relationship with their clients. We are not just talking about the occasional maintenance that you may have promised in your contract for a fixed period.
At HireIndianProgrammers, reliability is the order of the day. Our Clients keep coming back to us and hire our programmers and developers for this reason. We constantly do everything in our power to keep the relationship positive and continuous.
Why go to all lengths, you ask? To build loyalty amongst your clients. They will gain respect for you and most importantly, they will come to you for future projects without second thoughts. All of this will ultimately help in growing your brand equity.
What all must one do to build and sustain a solid relationship with her client? We see exactly that in this blogpost.
Don’t beat around the bush
If you are starting out new, this is one of the first things that you must follow, period. Why? If you beat around the bush, clients will quickly lose interest. Time is of the essence. Don’t talk too much technical or too much layman. Strike a balance between the two. Our developers at HireIndianProgrammers, irrespective of client expectations, fully understand them and quickly put to rest any lack of clarity from the client’s side.
If there is any issue in the project, explain to the client about the reasons/ what can be done, in a language she is able to visualise. Being concise in your work will take you places.
Honesty is universal and liked by all
We all are familiar with the saying – Honesty is the best policy – and it still holds true. Especially, when it comes to the workplace. A hint of lying sensed by your client will permanently tarnish your image. It will also hinder your future projects.
Imagine a negative testimonial from a very profitable client!
Keep them in the loop
Clients pay money for your services. So this is a complete obligation from your part. No excuses, whatsoever. Moreover, no client likes to be held in the dark. Initially, when you are just starting out, there may not be difficulties in keeping your clients informed.
But the more clients you get and the bigger the project gets, this can virtually become a nightmare for you, if you don’t prioritise your schedule and projects. Even if there have been some minor issues or missed deadlines, by all means, inform your clients about it. A continual ‘keeping them in the loop’ will give more brownie points for you.
Taking Initiative
Don’t be rigid in your work and just stick to the project given to you. This also depends on the client and nature of project. Often, taking initiative in your work, will rub your clients in positive ways. Initiatives can range from giving bold suggestions to hosting informative webinars that will ultimately benefit the client.
Moreover, by taking such initiatives, you will project a positive image in the client’s mind.
Finally, whether there is an ongoing project or not, ensure that you always stay connected with your clients by all means. This can be done by providing the usual maintenance and support or some kind of passive activity, like newsletters. All this will enable the client to remember you often. And, that is always good news!
Many of our clients have been with us for a long time owing to the services of our programmers at HireIndianProgrammers.
Feel free to contact us here, for any queries.