How To Hire A Mobile App Development Company

How To Hire A Mobile App Development Company

The exponential rise in the popularity of mobile apps has made it inevitable for every business to have one. Staying ahead of competitors in today’s digital age means you need to present everywhere. And most importantly, you need to be exactly where your audience is found most frequently: their mobile phones.

But deciding to go for an app isn’t enough, for you need to find the right people who can make the right app for you. Although a mobile app is a necessity nowadays, it doesn't mean any app will do. So, today we will talk about how to find the right mobile app development company. Read along…

Stop Finding The Best Mobile App Development Company

Search for this exact term on Google and see how many claim to be the best. If everyone is the best, then who’s doing a bad job? And who’s best among the best? And most importantly, who is judging these companies?

Instead, look for companies with awards and recognitions. Look for companies that your competitors chose to get their mobile app. If you like the competitor app, shortlist the development company. If you don't like their work, you know where you don’t want to go.

Pay Attention To Reviews

With time, you’ll start observing a pattern that will help you filter honest reviews from paid and untrue ones. Look for a mobile app development company that has a mixed bag good and bad reviews. An honest company won’t be afraid of bad reviews. Talk to the reviewers and ask them what they liked or didn’t like about that company. Also, look for their recommendations on various portals.

Price and Quality

We understand finding an affordable mobile app developer is not difficult, but finding a good quality developer is a different story altogether. There are rare exceptions where you get exceptionally high quality mobile apps at highly competitive prices.

Never compromise on the quality of app due to budget constraints. You can go for milestone based payment so that you don’t have to pay a lump sum.

Choose The App Type

Whether you want to go Native or go for a hybrid app that runs on every mobile platform is entirely your choice. This choice also depends on your budget. If you are absolutely unsure of how your mobile app will stick with your users, go for a progressive web app. It will help you see how well your app performs in term of mass acceptance.

Support and Maintenance

The story doesn’t end with getting your mobile app ready. As a matter of fact, this is from where the journey of your mobile app and your business starts. Do make sure that the mobile app development company you want to go for also provides post development support and maintenance.

While a free app support for a year or so will be a good thing, not every mobile app development company provides the same. But you can always ask, may be the one you choose does.

Conclusion

The tips to hire a mobile app development company we shared above will surely be useful in your quest. And remember, whenever in doubt, always see what your competitors are doing right. Wise is the person who learns from the competition.

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Popular Mobile App Stores of 2019

Popular Mobile App Stores of 2019

Think of the term app store, and the first thought that comes our mind are Apple App Store and Google Play Store, in no particular order, right? And rightly so, after all, these two mobile moguls have swept over the majority of mobile app market. But is that all that’s there in the realm of mobile app stores? Surely not, for there are many alternative app stores available.

Many app developers and mobile app development companies are eyeing for mobile app platforms beyond that of Apple and Google. The case gets even stronger when you are looking for an app platform that resonates with your niche.

The past few years have witnessed many alternative app stores close down. But that should not demotivate app owners since high quality app stores are still active.

Today, in this blog, we’ll take a look at the most popular app stores available to us…

Google Play Store

The most popular app store known to mankind, Google Play Store boasts of 2.6 million apps and counting. The search engine mogul’s app store packs the same punch when it comes to searching for app. HOwever, many apps still struggle to be visible for a given search keyword.

So, it is advisable to invest time and efforts in app store optimization (ASO) and look for other android app market platforms too.

Apple App Store

With 2.1 million listed apps, App Store ranks second in this list of top mobile app stores of 2019. However, the fewer number of apps are compensated by Apple’s stringent quality and security policies.

The two giants collectively have about 5 million apps, a number too huge to beat. Also, as discussed above, such a huge number of apps also make it hard for your app to be visible among competitors. And this is where the alternative app stores come into the picture with various advantages:

• Quick app submission
• Efficient payment procedure
• Better customer service
• Fast exposure

So, let’s begin with the list of alternative app stores:

GetJar

Ilja Laurs and other developers founded a mobile testing platform for developers in 2004 and named it GetJar. 15 years down the line, it has evolved from a mobile app development company to a mobile app store.

Aptoide

Many of Android apps on Aptoide have a user rating of 4 stars and above, making it one of the most widely used and reviewed alternative mobile app market.

AppBrain

Zurich based development firm AppTornado teamed up with Mathjis Vogelzang in 2009 to launch AppBrain, creating more than 30 in-house mobile applications since then. The most remarkable feat of AppBrain is that this alternative mobile app store has recorded over 50 million app downloads.

Baidu

The Chinese search engine that also happens to we world’s second largest search engine after Google had to follow suit of the search engine giant and launch their own app store. After all, Google apps can’t be purchased in China. Baidu grabbed this opportunity and launched a mobile app market that is flourishing marvously in China.

Final Thoughts

After Google Play Store and Apple App Store, the list of alternative mobile app stores we mentioned above are all cross platform. They cater to both iPhones and Android phones, making them a popular name in the global markets. Which one do you like to use the most?

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Start Of A New Era - Mobile First Is The Way To Go

Start Of A New Era - Mobile First Is The Way To Go

Have the desktop computers shrunk in size and comfortably sit in our side-pockets now? If you’re reading this blog on your smartphone, that’s exactly what you must feel like. Not long ago, mobile overtook desktop for driving the greatest share of internet traffic. It now commands 56% of all internet traffic and as per some reports, consumers are having twice as many interactions with brands on mobile than through any other medium.

What does that tell us? It’s the smartphone era and businesses need to opt for a mobile-first approach. Now what does that mean? Put simply, it’s an approach to a business’ design, development and marketing activities with mobile experience at the center of them all. So, you start by designing the screens and content for the mobile experience first and then move on to the desktop. You’ll find that it’s the opposite of the responsive approach that used to be followed earlier. 

There’s more reason for opt for a mobile-first approach. Not long ago, Google started penalizing websites that weren’t optimized for a mobile view. Websites that were solely created for a desktop view found themselves at a disadvantage and saw their ranking drop on the search results. With traffic from mobile devices continually on the rise, it may happen that Google will start ranking websites based on their mobile view. 

That’s a distant thought but businesses should remain conscious of it. That leads us to the question - how to become mobile first? 

How To Go Mobile-First? 

Well, the ideal place to start is really from your customer journey. Keenly observe the various touchpoint as a customer makes contact with your brand. That will allow you to create a map of their journey as they move from one step to another. Based on that knowledge you can go ahead and develop your mobile first strategy. It shouldn’t, however, be looked at as solely a design focused undertaking. It’s quite as much about marketing and product development strategies. It requires you to dig deep and carefully look at the elements that can obstruct and advance the overall mobile experience. Think about the loading speed and the ability of personal assistants like Google and Siri to look up your business details. Also, don’t forget to check if your ads are fully optimized for the mobile view. 

Conclusion 

The shift from desktop to mobile has really caught business by surprise. Companies have had to rethink their strategies of connecting with their customers. That effectively has impacted the modern approach to marketing, design and development. With the modern generation becoming more and more mobile-centric, it really makes sense now for businesses to devote more attention to offering a superior mobile experience. No doubt, the race to stay competitive also calls for cutting edge mobile apps. Make sure you opt for a two-pronged approach that includes both a dedicated mobile app and a website built with mobile first design. Seek the assistance of an expert mobile app development company when planning to develop a powerful mobile app for your business. 

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Uses Of Artificial Intelligence In Mobile App Development

Uses Of Artificial Intelligence In Mobile App Development

AI and machine learning have been the hottest talk of the digital town lately. Every digital technology based blog and article talks about artificial intelligence. It’s among the most trending topics for 2019, just the way it was the year before, and the year before. Many industries are benefiting from AI, and the world of mobile apps is no different.

Mobile apps of various niches, including travel, ecommerce marketplaces and education are thriving on machine learning and AI. Thanks to this technological marvel, we are now able to facilitate better decision making.

Here are some ways in which AI is able to mark its territory in the world of digital world, especially mobile apps:

AI Helps In Delivering Personalized Content

Delivering personalized content is by far the most important use of AI. As a matter of fact, happens to be the field where AI usage is most prominent.

AI’s ability to process through tons of data quickly and making sense of it makes creating and delivering personalized content quite easy and quick. From understanding user preferences to deciphering their shopping behavior, AI does it all in a matter of few nanoseconds. The information at your disposal can help you make better recommendations.

At the same time, AI also helps you design a highly personalized marketing campaign. We all know the efficiency of generic marketing campaigns, or the lack of it for that matter. This is where AI kicks in and changes the game for business owners, marketers.

Personalized content has proven its efficacy times and again, and AI is a great help in sending a message that you care about your customers.

AI As A Responder

From chatbots to intelligent email autoresponders, every system that learns the most suitable reply based on a learning algorithm is powered by AI. AI powered retargeting emails have shown a massive click-through rate, helping the business owners focus on other important things.

If we talk about chatbots, AI takes some keywords from a user query and scans the preloaded answers for the most suitable reply. At the same time, machine learning has also made it possible for chatbots to be more conversational in tone.

The times when a reply instantly gave away that the response is from a bot are almost over.

AI Powered Voice Search

US based market analysis company ComScore has predicted that 50% of all searches on mobile phones will be voice searches by 2020. The evolution of AI has enabled many business owners to integrate voice search in their mobile apps.

Virtual assistants are the best example of this. The way Cortana and Siri give accurate results is a clear sign of how much AI has evolved since its beginning. And then we have Amazon’s Alexa, a highly efficient virtual assistant that brings you news, music and much more with just a voice command.

Image Recognition Powered By AI

Image recognition is the latest way of unlocking phones, but its power and efficacy extend beyond mobile screens. Medical science relies heavily on image recognition to diagnose certain ailments. At the same time, image recognition also helps in identifying owners through a vehicle’s license plates.

Conclusion

Artificial Intelligence has become a backbone of the digital age. No smart solution is complete without implementing AI. Talk to a mobile app development company to know how your business mobile app can enhance its efficiency through AI.

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Content Marketing - A Worthy Investment For Small Businesses

Content Marketing - A Worthy Investment For Small Businesses

The notion goes that Content Marketing is big firms’ affair. It’s based on the belief that small businesses simply don’t have a dedicated marketing arm, a research and innovation team to compete with the mega international brands. Spoiler alert here, the size of your business has no bearing on the ability to produce and distribute content in the age of Internet. On the contrary, the benefits of having a content marketing strategy are plenty. Read on to learn about them:

1. Content Breeds Trust

One of the most obvious and significant advantage of producing and distributing content to your target audience is trust-building. Provided the content is well-researched, authoritative and helpful, it’s bound to earn you a respectable readership. For businesses just starting to find their feet, every customer and advocate counts. Content is the best way to go about building that loyal customer base. 

2. Content Is The Way To Brand Identity


It’s no secret that from time to time established brands sway the buying decision of larger public. What allows them to carry such weight in their message is a reputable brand identity, backed by years of experience. If small businesses are to catch up with the established brands, they need to have a dedicated content strategy. The aim of this strategy should be twofold - firstly, to always offer an opinion on the industry trends and secondly, to work their way towards building a strong brand identity. Businesses can take advantage of various online tools, blogs, videos, podcasts etc. The stronger your message will be the more public recognition you’re going to attain.

3. Content - A Horses For Courses Game

Content strategies aren’t always set in stones. In fact, it’s an adaptive process. You start out creating and promoting your content in one direction. If results are good, you continue in that direction to taste more success, otherwise, opt for a different approach. There are scores of online metrics you can zero in to find out what’s working and what’s not. Over time, you’ll have figured out what’s the ideal content strategy for your business, which no doubt opens up oceans of possibilities to attract prospective clients and convert them into loyal customers. 

Conclusion

With the advent of internet, the marketing landscape has drastically undergone transformation. Big brands are no longer bullies who can market their products/services the way the want to. Digital marketing has given voice to countless small businesses with a chance to reach a global audience. By tapping into the benefits offered by Social Media, small businesses can establish as strong an identity and influence as large enterprises have been doing for so long. 

All in all, a content marketing strategy has a great deal to contribute to the growth of a business, not least small businesses that it would be naive to turn a blind eye to it. A content strategy works for both websites as well as mobile apps built by an expert mobile app development company.

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How Mobile Technology Has Revolutionized Marketing?

How Mobile Technology Has Revolutionized Marketing?

Marketing in the past couple of decades has undergone a complete revolution. Back in the day, companies thought of giant billboards along the highways or TV and radio advertisements to get their message out into the real world. While these practices still survive in the modern world, they are by no means the only marketing channel businesses have at their disposal. The scene has changed and that’s made possible by the mobile technology. 

Reaching a global audience, staying connected with them 24/7 and all that at a nominal budget are but a few of the advantages all marketers enjoy today. Yet, it doesn’t end there, technology is all the time improving and changing our belief of what’s possible. Just consider Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality for instance. Both have redefined the user-experience in a number of industries. The great thing about all of this is that technology, as opposed to ruining the authenticity and trust of service, as was thought by the critics, is only reinforcing them. What does that mean for businesses? A shift to mobile marketing is not only reasonable but nigh-mandatory. 

Greater Accessibility to Mobile 

October 2016 was the first time when mobile internet usage narrowly surpassed desktop internet usage for the first time. This was a clear sign of the shift in the way people were using internet. In the economically backward countries, there are 4 times as many mobile users as there are desktop users. Given these countries account for a major share of the global population, it makes sense for businesses to concentrate their efforts on mobile marketing. Things aren’t completely reversed in the developed countries. There are significant desktop users in the US, and European markets but the number of mobile users is gradually going up. There’s very little guess-work needed here. Marketers have got to embrace mobile marketing and make the most of it while the trend lasts. 

A Wide Array Of Channels To Get The Message Out 

The great thing about mobile devices is that despite their comparatively smaller size to desktops, they are quite powerful in getting most of the things done and done quickly. The latter word quickly is of significance to every marketer, there’s precious little time they have to get their message across to the prospective customer. Not only has the message got to resonate with the customer but it needs to be conveyed in a subtle and effective way. Well, mobile marketing offers a variety of options to get your word across 

Social Media - 80% of Social Media traffic comes from mobile users. Popular platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc are quite the easiest and powerful means to spread your marketing message. 

Email - With 61% of email now opening on mobile devices, there’s never been a better time to make the most of email marketing. 

SMS/Text - Once your customer opts into receiving business SMS, the opportunities are immense to keep them attuned to your services, promotions, discounts, and other crucial information. SMSs are short and to the point and customers are more likely to open and read them. 

Video - Video content has soared in popularity in the recent past, thanks mainly to the faster and more affordable internet services around the world. Videos remain the most potent medium to connect with your customers and make a statement. 

Push Notifications - Push notifications are little reminders to your customers on what they might be missing out on. Once a user has allowed your mobile app the permission to send him/her push notifications, you can send a variety of reminders to get them to spend more time on your app.

Conclusion 

There’s very little doubt that the advent of mobile technology has changed traditional methods of marketing. Now mobile apps are the conveyors of those messages that once billboards advertised. But in spite of the mobile revolution, the marketing hasn’t got easier. It’s simply got more competitive. Marketers today have oceans of data to comb through and reach meaningful findings. As the mobile technology picks up more pace, the demand for a top-draw mobile app development company would only go higher.

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Mobile Banking - A Force To Be Reckoned With

Mobile Banking - A Force To Be Reckoned With

The advent of smartphones has absolutely changed the way we go about our day-day activities. Be it reading books, find routes or hailing cab/taxi we find ourselves using the smartphones almost every time. Why? Well, the answer is pretty straightforward, the smartphone’s way is quick, convenient, much easier. Almost all the industries of human-practice have undergone transformation due to the boom of the smartphone. Banking is no different really. 

Mobile banking has opened so many avenues to the regular customer that they very rarely come across an occasion to visit the bank personally. Anything that used to be done via listing the bank’s branch could now be performed from the comfort of one’s living room. Al they need is mobile banking. That includes depositing cheques into a bank account, applying for a loan or paying various utility bills etc. You must be thinking withdrawing cash is still done by visiting an ATM but with the global economy increasingly becoming more digital, that will soon cease to be an obstacle. 

With Smartphone and by extension mobile apps we find ourselves using the money in a much different and powerful way than any time in the past. There are scores of eCommerce apps out there, and we simply open these apps, look up products of our choice, make a selection, and place an order. We don’t reach out for the money at any time during this whole process. Our debit/credit card details are all fed into the smartphone. That’s how we access our money without seeing the face of our bank. Sounds quite amazing, doesn’t it? 

Various studies that revealed that customers feel a sense of accomplishment in the way they take charge of their finances using mobile banking. The increasing demand for banking apps keeps offering a much beneficial impetus to app developers around the world in coming up with new and advanced features to manage finances. 

App alerts and notifications are among the chief benefits of mobile banking apps. A reminder the moment you make a transaction or more importantly when your banking accounts hit a low limit is really helpful to keep an eye on one’s finances 24/7. This wasn’t possible in the past when one had to stand in a long queue, wait for their turn at the counter and have their query processed. 

Conclusion

In the end, we can all agree that mobile banking also makes an economic sense for financial institutions. Just consider the average cost of serving a client in a branch, which stands at $4 per visit. That comes down steeply in case of ATM at 48 cents, and even more remarkably just 4 cents via most mobile channels. 

Just hark back to the time of Global Recession in 2007 when there was growing pressure on the banks to reduce their overall expenditure. Well, anyone’s still looking for answers, they all lie in mobile banking. Through mobile banking, they can hit that perfect balance where both their shareholders and customers demands are met and satisfied with ease. I certainly feel this is a brilliant opportunity for anyone in the banking industry to develop and roll out their app if they haven’t already done that yet. Without fail, look out for a reputable mobile app development company to build your mobile banking app. 

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How To Get Your Big App Idea Funded in 2019?

How To Get Your Big App Idea Funded in 2019?

Of late, there has been a sudden change in the way ideas are brought to realization. That change is called funding. So this is how things work in the modern world - you’ve got an idea, you think it has the potential to revolutionize the world, all you need to do is head over to the people whose main job is to hand over the capital to you so you can bring your vision to reality. The mobile app development industry is no different. The best startups of past decade all sought funding in one way or another. So what are the various funding methods available to a startup founder? Read on to find out the answer: 

1. Friends And Family 

This has to be the most obvious and immediate means to raise funds. As per a popular crowdfunding platform Fundable, as many of 38 percent of startup founders look to their friends and family when trying to raise funds for their business. But getting your family and loved ones close to your personal ambitions brings its own set of challenges. You risk damaging that special relationship if things don’t work out as planned. The best way to make this option work is to establish a relationship with them as would with any other investor. Work out a formal business plan and clearly define how the money will be spent as well as the risks involved in the process. 

2. Crowdfunding 

If Friends and family aren’t something you want to count on, then Crowdfunding will come as a great option to get the funds you seek. Also, founders who want to negate the risk of being ousted by shareholders who have major shares in the business prefer this platform. Getting up and running with Crowdfunding is really easy. You create a campaign, wherein you describe your app idea and the funding goal - say a $50,000. The campaign is open to everybody, and all can chip in with whatever sum they see fit. This way the whole risk of procuring funds from the single investor with a major share in the business is negated. You do, however, have to pay a certain percentage of the funds accumulated to the platform that you use to create the campaign.

3. Angel investors 

Other than the aforementioned sources of funding, there’s a dedicated class of investors, called Angel Investors, who make their living offering funds to startups. They can join in as individuals or syndicates, bringing in sums anywhere between $25,000 - $100,000 and sometimes even more than that. But money is not Angel Investors have to offer. These people are vastly experienced and have a good memory of what makes businesses thrive and collapse. They can offer expert insight into key areas of your business and once you both start working on the same wavelengths there’s a good chance they’ll help in attracting other investors whenever there’s a need.

Final Thoughts 

Well, those are some of the means through which founders can secure funding for their app idea. Interestingly, an advanced mobile app development company can also prove beneficial. These entities have a long and reputable experience in the industry and have connections with major investors in the market. If you’re lucky, you may find all your app funding and development needs fulfilled at a single shop. 

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