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.
Delivering a great MVP
We have been providing complete end-to-end web and mobile app development solutions for our clients for over a decade. Lately, an increasing number of clients have been enlisting our mobile app development services for their niche business, often driven exclusively by the application themselves. In this competitive market scenario, there is always a concern among clients about their mobile app performance. Fortunately, the concept of MVP can enable developers to safely and accurately develop and test mobile applications.
So what is an MVP? It stands for Minimum Viable Product – basically a stripped down version of the final version of the app. Only the key functional aspects of the app are retained after which the client can choose to ascertain from selected users their valuable feedback. What it effectively does is bring down the risks and costs significantly by working on initial prototype feedback. Not only that, MVP also allows clients to focus on what customers want which can be implemented in subsequent iterations, thereby providing value constantly. In this blogpost, we will see on how to prioritise the most important features for an MVP. And before we forget, the concept of MVP is universal, be it Android or iOS or any other mobile platform.
Establishing App Vision
For any business, formulating a vision statement will help in steering it in the right direction. By vision, we mean what the business wants to achieve, who it wants to target and how it seeks to satisfy those customers and so on. For clients with business models tied to the apps, the vision is demonstrated through the MVP and app’s core functions in extension. Therefore, it makes sense for clients to be clear in their vision and goals and communicate exact requirements to the developer. It also helps developers to work on future iterations.
Prioritising App Features
Under MVP, the app is programmed to function at a nominal level, meaning it has the only basic functions. Surely clients would want to add more features, it is important restrict them and work on the essentials. To make this task easier, developers can prioritise the features with the help of a 4×4 matrix having urgency and impact (low and high) in the x and y axis respectively. The features can be mapped onto the matrix after discussing with the client. This matrix helps prevent scope creep, which has the potential to drain resources – both time and money.
Gathering Feedback
After launching the MVP, the developer must take measures to establish channels to get user feedback. These channels are great reservoirs of information that can be used to work on changes. Not only changes, it gives a quick snapshot of where the app is headed in the future – whether the current version is good enough with minor changes or the app functionality must change completely. Suppose a client wants to hire an android developer for designing her cake ordering app. Developers would do well to chart out the right metrics for measuring the MVP performance, especially if the client is just starting out – like in this case revenue, conversions, retention and churn. These metrics must be actionable, in the sense that it drives the business.
Final Thoughts
Developers must understand that an MVP works on the premise of delivering on needs rather than wants. This need based MVP must have a clear roadmap that has ample room for future modifications – in other words, flexibility. To further enhance the MVP, clients and developers can analyse the competition, like for instance browsing through blogs and customer feedback.
Are you looking to hire an iOS developer or android developer for building an MVP? Look no further and get in touch with our developer team today.
Upping the SEO game with Serpstack
Business promotion has evolved over the years from simple word-of-mouth strategies to search engine rankings. With greater internet penetration and customer adoption of smartphones and technology in general, the art and science of promoting business has dramatically changed. As experienced developers in the field and having worked on several Android and iOS projects, we have come to acknowledge the importance of promoting client’s websites. Many clients approach us to hire an android developer to develop a dedicated SEO strategy. Formulating an SEO strategy, however, is an arduous task requiring constant monitoring and commitment to stay ahead of the competition. After all, figuring in the top results of Google is not an easy task. In this blogpost, we discuss about serpstack – a free, real time and accurate Google search results API. Essentially, it introduces a bit of automation to search engine optimisation.
JSON REST API
JavaScript Object Notation Representational State Transfer, this API uses the HTTP protocol for all operations – create, read, update, delete and more. JSON is very easy to read and understand for both humans and machines. serpstack runs on the JSON REST API which enables it to bring all search engine page results (SERP) of the client’s website right to the dashboard. Its credibility is high enough that it is trusted and used by major global brands.
Scalability
Be it a few hundred searches or thousands of searches or even millions, serpstack has got the capability to deliver deep insights on such data in a timely manner without any hassles. serpstack also scores high on accuracy, thereby providing clients with the know how to find value in their sacred keywords and work on the same. In fact, as part of our mobile app development services, the developer team works with clients from different domains using serpstack to build and enhance their SEO game. This has led us to formulate multidimensional strategies for different platforms, which brings us to next point.
Customisation
Some clients come to hire developers for their android applications. Others specifically request to hire an iOS developer for enhancing their SEO for that operating system. This may be because their target market might be exclusively Apple users. Be it android or iOS, serpstack can get the job done. Not only operating system, but also based on the client’s business needs, serpstack can get SERP data for the same. It doesn’t stop there. With Google, the scope is wide and includes a bunch of data types like news, images, videos and even shopping results.
Robust
The core powering serpstack is robust enough to start getting data on SERP under specified criteria right away. Even in terms of support and guidance, serpstack is robust – a team available to assist with any relevant technical issues. The software also proclaims to be very fast, delivering on requests in milliseconds.What’s more? All data are protected using bank grade 256-bit SSL encryption which is always good news for clients concerned about the website’s integrity.
Finally, with an extensive documentation, serpstack is sure to entice developers and clients alike into trying their hands on it. Therefore, if you are a person who already has a website up and running or wants to hire a developer to enhance SEO, then serpstack can significantly help in upping the SEO game.
For further queries with regard to hiring a developer, contact us by dropping a mail.
React Native powers more mobile apps than you think
Few years back, Facebook launched an open source mobile application framework by the name of React Native. As soon as it launched, mobile app developers soon began adopting it for developing high end mobile applications on several platforms like Android, iOS, Web etc. Many new generation clients wanting to develop their business online have been on the lookout to hire an Android developer. Sometimes, the same clients are also looking to hire an iOS developer to cater to a larger market. In this context, there is scope for mobile app developers to develop innovative applications to solve critical problem statements, given that people are transacting online more on their handheld devices. Released in 2015, React Native quickly became popular amongst mobile app developers and is used widely to develop various applications. In this blogpost, we will take a look at some of the prominent mobile applications both in Android and iOS.
Instagram is the most popular photo sharing social media network out there. It was popular even before Facebook acquired it in 2012. Prior to acquisition, Instagram was essentially a native app which meant that there were multiple versions catering to different smartphones. With the coming of React Native, Instagram was able to transform itself rapidly to the extent it was deployed even on the web. The framework has helped the photo sharing network to add more features that hinge on customer satisfaction. All these resulted in the milking of one key metric – engagement.
Bloomberg
Most of us would be familiar with Bloomberg. For the uninitiated, Bloomberg is an online platform for all news across the world delivered in a highly unique personalised fashion. In fact, the current form of the app is attributed to React Native’s influence – enhancing interactions and engagement.
Skype
Skype is one of the most popular video calling applications that was launched even before smartphones emerged on the scene. It quickly asserted its presence in the mobile app store to leverage on the new front camera and convenient portability feature of the smartphone. But there was a problem. Originally developed by Microsoft using the UWP framework, it was initially only restricted to Windows 10 phones that weren’t that popular. However, with React Native, it was possible to design Skype for other mobile platforms.
UberEats
With increasing prevalence of food delivery applications, it only made sense for UberEats to utilise React Native’s powerful features to be the snappy, vibrant mobile application it is today. Prior to that, UberEats experienced problems of incomplete information. Nothing can be more frustrating for customers than not being able to order food online, right? Fortunately, the open source framework eliminated all such performance issues resulting in massive jump in downloads.
Airbnb
This online accommodation booking platform sensed that customers were booking more on their mobile. Due to paucity of resources for developing native apps, it adopted React Native framework early to develop multi-platform applications. Now the company is able to deliver a much richer user experience and also able to release new versions quickly. After all, this is exactly what is needed to stay ahead of the competition.
Clients are always looking to enlist quality mobile app development services to build high quality applications. But it doesn’t stop there. The real challenge is to keep updating their apps with evolving customer preferences and outside competition. While you may have glimpsed at some of the framework’s advantages – Open Source, Rapid Development, Multi-Platform and so on, finding the right developer with expertise in the framework is a challenge, given that the framework was launched only a few years back.
Vivaldi – A Stellar Browser
Many studies point to the increasing trend of consumers browsing more on their mobiles rather than desktops. Ever since the advent of the smartphone, customers have become accustomed to browsing intensively on their hand-held devices. Initially, many of them ignored it on account of lack of screen space or inconvenience of reading on a small screen for a long time and so on. But gradually, with greater mobile content and orientation, customer preferences changed. Mobile browsers too on their part have evolved significantly. There are numerous mobile browsers on the market now including Chrome, Safari, UC, Opera and many more. To this list, we want to bring to your notice a relatively new kid in the block – Vivaldi Browser.
In this blogpost, we would like to coax you into install and start using Vivaldi for reasons which we will discuss in the following sections. In particular, those clients who are looking to hire an android developer, may want to consider this star browser which we think is poised for transforming the browser market – one that has been dominated by the likes of Chrome or Safari for long. Without further ado, let’s get started.
Vivaldi – Empowering Users
Vivaldi was developed by former Opera developers. Being a cross-platform browser it claims that the user can actually take control of their browser. Targeted at power users, Vivaldi emphasises so much on customisations and user control and rightly so. It is packed with many thoughtful and innovative features. For instance, users can hop from one device to another and continue from where they left. Synchronising bookmarks, history and other relevant is no hassle. The best part is that these processes are all encrypted – only the users are privy to their data.
There is a lite mode feature that allows for higher data compression without affecting performance. This mode can be used whenever users run low on data. No more worrying about mysterious data loss. Yet another interesting feature which users will certainly find helpful is the page capture. You can either save whatever is visible on the screen or the entire webpage itself. In addition to it, Vivaldi has a dedicated reader mode that readers can enable to stay away from pesky distractions like notifications. Sync has been implemented extensively on Vivaldi and the notes feature is the best example of it. Users can now stay connected with their notes on whatever device at whatever time.
Perhaps, one of the less explored areas with regard to browsing is tab management. Every browser has its own take on it but our developers, in their experience of providing varied mobile app development services, find Vivaldi to have more organisation in its tabs. We believe it is still a work in progress though. The settings screen is where users can tweak and customise their browser settings in whichever way they want.
Final Thoughts
Throughout our time with Vivaldi, we found it to be distinctively helpful, convenient and gives more control to the user. But, perhaps, the best feature of Vivaldi that we loved was its incredible snappiness even on low spec devices. We have seen rival browsers struggling in such devices. Their attention to detail must certainly be commended. For instance, it is a nightmare browsing on one hand, especially on large screen phones. Vivaldi addresses this putting in place a button on the bottom screen that brings up the URL bar. Now, if that doesn’t excite you, we don’t know what will!
Contact us and hire an android developer today.
Tools For Optimising Mobile Applications
With the proliferation of Internet services around the world, the market today is flooded with all kinds of mobile applications serving on different platforms like Android and iOS. At the same time, there are a number of new-gen entrepreneurs who want to develop a niche market or sell a unique business idea through mobile apps. To achieve this, they hire an android developer or hire an iOS developer – depending on what platform they want to host.
Now, in our experience of providing varied mobile app development services, we have found that many a time clients hire an android developer without much thought. What ends up is a disaster of a mobile app – from design to usability. In this blogpost, the developers of this mobile app development company in India seek to alleviate some of the concerns of the developer community by listing out some great tools to optimise different mobile apps.
Applause
The first in our list for clients hiring an iOS developer or android developer is Applause. As the name indicates, this tool promises to do everything in its power for positive user experience with respect to a mobile app. Applause has various kinds of testing solutions performed by experts in real time environment in any country, configuration, combination. An exciting feature of this tool is the possibility of launching a beta app that makes it easy for clients hiring android developers to analyse the working of their app.
TestFairy
The second tool in our list is an easy recommend especially for big enterprises hiring android developers to streamline the development process and release better versions of their apps in shorter cycles. Endorsed by big companies like IBM, Deloitte, Vodafone this free testing tool works on the principle of inviting beta testers and generating reports inside the app itself. Yet another useful feature for providing greater mobile app development services is the provision of video recording of the testing.
Azetone
This tool is proclaimed as the ultimate personalisation tool for clients hiring iOS developers. It helps in performing simultaneous tests on different devices. As part of improving mobile app development services, this tool has an analytics mechanism that provide complete reports based on user actions and gestures inside the mobile app. With the mandate of boosting conversions, Azetone prioritises the customer for the client’s mobile app strategic vision.
Appsee
Appsee is a full-fledged analytics platform that gives insights to companies hiring android developers for developing android apps. The tool analyses user behaviour to gain clarity on the performance of mobile app. The analysis is in fact deep enough to pinpoint specific issues that cause different levels of user frustration. Any mobile app development company in India in the nascent stage can make use of this smart app to deliver optimal performance.
Testdroid
Finally, we have Testdroid that can be used for testing both android and iOS apps in real devices with option for automation or manual testing. With limited programming required, companies hiring android developers can make use of this app to test their mobile apps on a large scale and on multiple channels. What’s more? Companies can create a cloud account to try the tool for free.
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