Enhancing User Acquisition and Retention Strategies

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There’s no doubt that a central tactic for driving mobile app success is achieving user acquisition, engagement and retention. However, without an effective acquisition and retention strategy that keeps active users around, higher rates of downloads won’t yield any lifetime business value.

Mobile app engagement and retention are two critical metrics that give a clear and accurate insight into the success of any mobile app. Lower app retention and engagement rates are a sure-fire recipe for disaster.

App developers, brands, and enterprises must know that achieving sufficient app engagement and retention is difficult. For instance, Statista reports that only 32% of mobile users will return to a mobile app ten times or more after downloading. What’s even surprising is that a whopping 25% of users will abandon an app after one-time use.

Enhancing user acquisition, engagement and retention leads to an active user group that drives leads and sustains growth. The following tips for increasing user acquisition and retention will help you reduce your app churn rate and help your enterprise see the desired ROI and the results it anticipates from your app investment.

Let’s delve right in!

  1.   Efficient Onboarding

While it may seem simple to welcome users to your app, not all apps kick-start an efficient onboarding process. Therefore, it’s advisable to make your onboarding process as simple and as efficient as possible to initiate user acquisition and retention. The more difficult it is to use an app, the more likely new and existing users will abandon it.

Some of the ways to simplify the user onboarding process include:

  • Cut down the number of steps required to set up a new account — and capture multiple registration platforms (Facebook, Google, Twitter, and others)
  • Educate users throughout the onboarding process to launch the app’s functionality, but don’t overload users instantly.
  • Teach and educate through actions and pointers to show the main gestures in the app’s functionality.

An efficient onboarding process equals faster and easier user acquisition and engagement.

  1.   Track Data Early Enough

To accurately evaluate and measure data and improvements, you need to start tracking your app’s data early enough. Early data collection and tracking will give you what you need to evaluate performance. It will also help you fast-track which features and strategies affect engagement and retention.

  1.   Push Notifications Right Away!

Users who experience personalized brand interaction are reportedly more likely to return to a mobile app for ten or more sessions. To put it simply, if you walk into a retail outlet and you aren’t acknowledged, you’d most likely feel disgruntled. Consider app experience the same way.

An app interaction can be as simple as sending a push notification, thus providing valuable information as users leverage the app. Successful mobile applications use this approach to shape the customer’s journey. They’re strategic and thoughtful in how they access and engage new users. For instance, giving relevant retail deals based on user patterns and geo-location are clever approaches to promoting app retention.

  1.   Offer an Incentive Program

If your business model allows you to offer loyalty or a reward program, it’s vital to capitalize on this opportunity. Not only do reward and loyalty programs incentivize users towards the app, but they also make users feel recognized and part of the brand.

Realize that apps that utilize in-app purchases as a monetization approach, especially the quick router set-up (QRS) applications, offer time-sensitive discounts. However, freemium mobile apps can be incentivized with usage-based discounts instead of monetary benefits.

  1.   In-app Messages

The more disposed your app experience is with your users’ needs and preferences, the more likely users will continue using the product. Brands utilizing in-app messaging to communicate with users will see a retention rate within a month.

In-app notifications denote notifications that don’t demand immediate action or response but are altogether crucial in the customer’s engagement journey. These messages can capture notifications or warnings about version upgrades, app issues, or payment failures. Therefore, remember that not every notification you see is relevant to every user. Fragmenting your audience ensures the information you convey is relevant to their needs and expectations.

Contact NS804 to discover how your app can respond to new user acquisition, engagement and retention needs.

 

Best Language To Develop Android Apps

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Mobile apps are gaining popularity due to the rapid infiltration of mobile phone devices and the growing coverage of internet connectivity. The ability of mobile applications to connect people, support instant communications, and sustain social networks is what makes mobile apps a darling to many.

So, in a nutshell, smartphone applications are an integral part of our lives. They can pass information, create connections, obtain information, or have fun. And while creating a mobile application is fun, it requires more guidance, specifically in choosing the best programming language.

  1.   Kotlin

Kotlin is the official android language declared by Google Inc. since 2019. Kotlin is a cross-platform programming language used as an alternative to Java. Kotlin is the secondary official Java language. This programming language can interoperate with Java virtual machines. The only significant difference is that Kotlin eliminates the superfluous Java features like null pointer exceptions.

  1.   Java

Since it was established 25 years ago, Java remains one of the best programming languages among android developers. Despite all the new entrants that have made their mark, Java remains a frontrunner in android development. The reason Java is the most preferred by Android developers is that it’s easy to learn and get started with. In addition, there’s wide community support which is an added advantage to newbies or novice developers.

  1.   JavaScript

JavaScript is among the world’s leading programming languages. The emergence of frameworks like Vue, Angular, jQuery, React.js, and Svelte makes JavaScript popular. Even if you’re not using React JS or Angular JS, there are many other libraries (like jQuery) that are based on JavaScript. JavaScript also happens to be a superior option for client-side validation. The best thing is that it’s a full-stack programming language, you can create back-end servers, front-end GUI, and mobile apps.

  1.   C++

C++ can be used for android mobile app development using the android native development kit NDK. However, an app cannot be created using C++ and the NDK kit is used to implement parts of the app in C++ native code. While C++ is useful for android mobile app development in some cases, it’s difficult to set up and less flexible. It can also lead to more bugs because of increased complexity. So, it’s advisable to use Java as compared to C++ because it doesn’t provide more gain to offset the efforts required.

  1.   Python

Python can be used for native android app development. However, Android doesn’t support native python development. Using python for native android app development can be done using various tools that convert python applications into Android packages that run on android devices. Python is a great programming language for android app development because it’s easy to read, learn and write. Python leads to improved productivity, is free and open-source, and has vast library support.

NS804 – Simplifying Android App Development

NS804 is a trusted service provider with proven excellence in android and IOS app development. With a rising demand for mobile applications, individuals, businesses, and organizations are using mobile applications to optimize their business processes – marketing, sales, brand positioning, and outreach. So, if you’re searching for superior android app development – look no further.

Contact NS804 for inquiries on mobile app development.

Android or iOS Development – Which Costs More?

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A report by Top Design Firm states that almost two-thirds of enterprises that developed a mobile app for less than $30,000 (63%) were exclusively for android applications, compared to 41% of companies that developed IOS apps. Top Design Firms surveyed managers and small businesses to determine the cost of developing both the IOS and android applications. The data shows that it is cost-effective and way cheaper to develop for Android than IOS. In addition, it was cheaper to outsource the app development services than to conduct in-house development.

The exact cost of android or IOS app development varies significantly based on each enterprise location and needs. Dawei Lei who’s the outsourcing director for Aloa.com states that developing for android provides massive cost savings while IOS apps have better inclusion in the App Store.

Below we examine why android and IOS app development costs differ and their respective cost drivers.

IOS Development

Apple’s flagship and iconic mobile operating system has inherent benefits. Granted, due to its reputation in the US and across Europe, your business can leverage returns on investment in these regions. The spending habits of this demographic guarantees a higher ROI.

Premium value

With IOS development, you take a bite of that juicy apple and enjoy a western audience. And while you’ll enjoy the value and thrill of a reputable brand, you’ll also be expected to spend substantially more on this inner circle. IOS apps can be written in Objective-C or Swift which both come at a premium cost. In some cases, IOS mobile app development costs can reach 15% more than their java counterparts.

Top minds

In every mobile app development exercise, skills are a must, together with tight app development requirements and considerable restrictions on what you can or cannot add to the IOS environment. Developers will need specialized software such as XCode. Not only does this app come at a premium, it runs exclusively on Mac. App software is such that if you’re looking to develop for iPhones, you will need another piece of technology to support this addition. So, IOS apps are considered well-crafted by highly skilled specialists.

Skilled but manageable condition

IOS has strict operating conditions but is possible to manage. As a first-time developer, you can face redevelopment costs when carrying out app launches due to errors in the production criteria. Missed production criteria can be due to Apple App Store’s tendency to reject applications deemed unusable or irrelevant. The benefit is that there is a limit to the number of software updates. With IOS irregular updates, it’s possible to gain traction with your creations and develop an app that’s relevant for a long time. Apple tends to reject support for old software, meaning that new apps must respond to the emerging needs of new users – nothing archaic!

Limited customization

IOS can present limitations in terms of how many updates it can support and how many features it can add. IOS can also present issues on the ability to customize an application’s interface. In this case, it’s impossible to apply additional features if they need interaction with third-party software. Ultimately, these unwanted limitations can be beneficial, which can shorten development time considerably.

What will you get with IOS app development?

  • Exploring western and US markets – If your business has a special interest in European and the US markets, IOS apps will be a clear winner here.
  • Monetization based on direct charges – IOS device users statistically spend substantially more than android users. If you’re planning to create a paid app or to monetize your app through in-app purchases – IOS is ultimately the winner. App Store’s revenue is much higher than Google Pay even though Google Play triumphs twice in app downloads.

Android Development

Android is the most popular mobile application and it spans the whole world, in any language. Among its most popular markets in Australia, Africa, and Asia. Android allows you to explore a wealth of opportunities worldwide, with flexibility and convenience in the world’s genuinely affordable OS.

Universally affordable

New mobile applications are developed using Kotlin, with Java still famous for carrying out long-running development projects. However, even long-running projects are migrating to Kotlin as transitions are difficult to undertake. With Kotlin, developers are expected to pay a one-time fee of $25.

Average expertise

Expertise is needed in android-supported applications, but without diving into complex projects. The versatility of working with android is thanks to the wide availability of free-to-use information, which keeps cost to a minimum. Google offers an extensive knowledge base to developers, including interactive materials, practical exercises, and the entire training modules for every level of developer.

Highly flexible

Kotlin and Java are versatile programming languages supported by Linux, Windows, and Mac OS. This allows developers to execute Android apps regardless of their machine’s OS. However, as there is a wide range of Android endpoints in circulation, you can encounter compatibility issues for specific technical functions. For example, apps designed with fingerprint scanners may not be featured in the device of end-users.

It’s important to note that this flexibility presents serious issues to some legacy systems. With Android offering support for software versions ranging back to 2012, your application may need adjustments to work with a long list of problematic software versions. This way, the cost of app development may go up as the need for continuous development arises.

Easy customization

Android extends a world of personalization to programs, thanks to market ubiquity. Android changes are due to the multitude of devices using Android. The drawbacks of this are a diverse set of specifications across multiple handset brands. With different screen sizes from different manufacturers, developers must support a list of consumer segments.

What will you get with android app development?

  • Dominates Africa, Australia, and Asia – Android holders outnumber IOS holders worldwide, heavily dominating in Asia, Africa, and Australia.
  • Monetization is based on advertising – Android users have a lesser will to pay for mobile applications, partly because of overall income levels and payability. If you plan to design a free app and you want to monetize your application by advertising – Android is a solution here.

Android vs. IOS – Final Cost Verdict

While IOS offers a sleek development environment replete with rules of engagement, it has far less customization. Precisely, the skill set required raises development expenditure. However, later development stages can lead to lower expenses in the medium term, as the development environment is less prone to complications.

Android app development presents lower entry barriers, unlimited personalization options, and a wealth of development information. These factors are what keep the costs down especially in the immediate term. Where expenses diverge from the IOS, they can emerge in later development phases, involving re-development and testing to attain its substantial user segment.

Ultimately, both operating systems work out to be effectively the same. Each aspect accounts for the labor and time costs involved in developing the application. When looking to optimize costs, consider outlining your app’s objectives early and budgeting your time well. You may not be able to change your IOS or android app but your approach needs to be more proactive and profitable.

 

Android or iOS – which is the better MVP platform?

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Deciding between Android or iOS for your upcoming minimum viable product (MVP) project can be daunting. Both platforms are massively popular and have generated billions of dollars in revenue. So the answer should be simple, right? Why not release on both platforms? Yes, but only if it’s financially feasible and in line with your goals.  

 

But you could be wondering why financial feasibility plays a role at all. Aren’t MVPs supposed to be cheaper and quicker to develop than full-fledged apps? Unfortunately, that’s a common misconception when considering the funding and work required to complete MVP projects. 

 

There’s still a considerable cost involved, between $5,000 to $35,000 if you hire a company. It’s best to be prepared from the get-go to ensure that the project won’t run out of funding during development. Furthermore, it’s vital to understand what the development process entails and what you’ll need to consider when deciding on an MVP platform. 

1. Choosing The Most Feasible Platform For Your Project: Android or iOS

In the mobile development space, there are only two choices worth considering. That’s either Android or iOS, the two platforms that have redefined smartphones for more than a decade. And even with the emergence of Linux-based smartphones, these are too niche to make a dent in the market.

 

But must you choose between these two market leaders? Ideally, you should develop for both platforms for maximum reach. The benefits of making your app available in both the App Store and Google Play are immense. Both digital storefronts are established, organized, and quality-driven. Moreover, both facilitate the efficient and safe distribution of apps to over two billion users globally.

 

And while it’s wiser to release on both platforms, we understand that’s not always possible. Your team may not have the capabilities or resources to release on both platforms simultaneously. After all, cross-platform mobile app development costs could easily exceed your budget. Or perhaps, you’re developing a custom enterprise app that only needs to be made available on one platform.

 

However, it’s not necessarily a bad idea to target one platform when commencing a project. And this is especially true if you’re planning on developing an MVP. Your team may want to test an idea and deliver it to a territory where one platform enjoys market dominance. For example, your upcoming video chat app will do much better on Android if you’re targeting the Indian market.

 

Market forces will almost always play a primary role when deciding on a platform. However, there are other factors that you should also consider before coming to a decision. 

2. Apple’s Flagship Programming Language Saves Development Time

In most cases, your mobile app development costs will directly correlate with the amount of time it takes to complete your project. And if you’re a startup, it’s crucial to keep costs down to remain feasible in the long haul. So, you’ll want to target the platform that facilitates a speedy development process. But does one platform offer this distinct advantage over the other? Well, the answer is not as clear-cut as we’d like it to be, but we’ll aim to provide one.

 

Several years ago, you’d be hard-pressed to choose Android over iOS if development time was at a premium. And there’s a good reason for this, given how well-thought-out Apple’s ecosystem and development tools are, compared to its rivals. With Swift, Apple’s flagship programming language, developers can craft impressive native apps in record time. The language is modern and slick, making it easy for developers accustomed to object-oriented languages to pick up quickly and be productive.

 

And when compared to Java, the language commonly used for Android development, Swift seems like a breath of fresh air. That’s because Java feels cumbersome since it’s an older, more complex, and verbose language. Thus, Java developers often need to write more lines of code than their Swift counterparts to achieve similar results. From a productivity and time standpoint, the clear winner is Swift. At least, that was the case until now.

3. Google Moves Beyond Java

At Google’s I/O ’17 developer conference, the company announced that it would officially support Kotlin for Android development. And in 2019, Google took things further by announcing that Kotlin would become the preferred language for Android development moving forward. Undoubtedly, this news was met with much fanfare by Android developers, who welcomed the introduction of a more modern language.

 

And Kotlin is indeed a great alternative to Java because it’s far more expressive and allows developers to achieve similar results with less boilerplate code. Not only that, Kotlin is similar to Swift in that it offers an easy-to-learn syntax, plenty of built-in features, and a more functional feel. Moreover, both come with excellent declarative UI toolkits: Jetpack Compose and SwiftUI for building native UI quickly and efficiently. 

 

Ultimately, this means that the time and productivity gap between creating an Android or iOS app has narrowed significantly. The introduction of Kotlin has been a game-changer, and Android developers no longer need to lag behind their iOS counterparts. Therefore, choosing one development environment over the other is more a matter of preference than enjoying real productivity gains.

4. The Challenges Of Testing And Deploying On Multiple Devices

While Kotlin makes life easier for Android developers, they still have to jump through hoops when testing, profiling, and deploying on multiple devices. Unlike Apple, which produces a limited range of iOS devices and models, the Android ecosystem is an entirely different beast. A few brands that come to mind include Google, Huawei, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, and Xiamoi. Yet the actual list of manufacturers is much longer than that, pushing the range of Android models to the tens of thousands.

 

Undoubtedly, Android developers have their work cut out of them. It’s a Herculean task to test and deploy when so much device fragmentation exists. Furthermore, this can increase mobile app development costs significantly if not handled diligently. And the hard truth is that no developer will have access to every Android device in the marketplace for testing purposes. Fortunately, there are tools available that make testing and profiling possible without having all these devices on hand.

 

Android Emulator, Android Virtual Device (AVD), and Genymotion make it easy for developers to set up and run virtual devices of any specification available. And while these aren’t the perfect solution, they’re incredibly accurate at emulating real Android hardware. But this doesn’t mean that developers should skimp on testing on actual hardware, regardless of platform. Nevertheless, iOS is the better platform for a quicker and more hassle-free testing and deployment experience.

5. Deciding On An MVP Platform Based On User Engagement

Before settling on an MVP platform, you should consider a crucial factor, namely, user engagement. The level of user engagement of your app will play a critical role in its success. If too few users engage with your MVP regularly, it means that they don’t find it interesting enough to warrant extended use. And, you won’t achieve the goals and return on investment (ROI) that your MVP was supposed to deliver.

 

Therefore, you must minimize risk by focussing on the platform that has the most engaged users. In this regard, iOS is the clear winner with an overwhelming difference. iOS users are not only incredibly engaged, but they’re big spenders too. According to AppleInsider, the App Store earned a whopping $72.3 billion in 2020 — almost double the revenue generated by Google Play. And games performed impressively, managing to generate $47.6 billion throughout the year.

 

Also, iOS is the better performing platform for apps offering registrations, subscriptions, in-app purchases, and one-time purchases. But you may want to consider Android if your MVP is an anti-virus, utility, or performance app, as these often do better on the platform. And while both Android and iOS users love discovering new content, iOS users engage and purchase more of it. So, keep these factors in mind when deciding on an MVP platform that best serves your goals.

In Conclusion

Choosing to go with either Android or iOS for your next project will be a vital decision. It’s necessary to consider your goals and what your MVP is supposed to achieve before concluding. In many cases, choosing iOS seems like the obvious choice, given the benefits the platform brings to the table. Its tightly integrated development tools, limited range of target devices, and high-quality users make it a platform you can’t ignore. 

But Android is no slouch either, boasting a rapidly improving developer experience and an ever-growing user base. It’s also worth considering if you want to create an antivirus or utility app, which Android users download in droves. Whatever your decision, do consider teaming with a professional development studio for the best results. Contact us today to learn how NS804 can help you develop a phenomenal MVP on Android or iOS.

How Much Does It Cost To Develop A Social Media App?

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One of the most asked questions by businesses is how much does it cost to create a social media app. So, the average cost of designing an application like LinkedIn, Tumblr, and Facebook, can range from $15,000 to 50,000+ depending on app types, elements, features, design, complexity, and software development.

From Twitter to LinkedIn and Facebook to Instagram, all have become a social sensation that is booming the internet these days. Furthermore, with the projection that social media users will reach 4.6 billion by 2025 from 3.6 billion in 2020, it is fair enough to surmise that social media applications will take the world by storm. So, the existing social media platforms have revolutionized the way people communicate these days. And they are becoming an integral part of everyday life.

Cost of A Social Media App

In calculating the cost of a social media app, it is important to factor in three fundamental elements. These elements include; the complexity of the app, features, and the operating platform. The first level of complexity is the simple social media app. This level has embedded app features such as sign-in, text messages, profile editing, and push notifications. In addition, it provides access to in-device features like camera and storage. The simple social media app uses a single-platform operating system and costs $15,000+.

The medium app entails the following features: profile editing, sign-in, push notification, user profile, sharing stories, and video sharing, and costs $20,000+. The advanced social media app entails superior app features like text chat, voice notes, video sharing, push notifications, and more. The advanced app utilizes a cross-platform operating system and because of this, it costs $25,500+ on average.

Minimum Viable Product Cost

According to the best practices of mobile app development, it is important to start your project with a minimum viable product. The MVP will help you see whether your product meets the market demand because users interact with the minimum viable product. It provides an overview of how effective your marketing strategy is. The minimum viable product provides much output from the least input. As a result, developers and app owners can see the potential benefits, costs, and expenses of the social media app long before it is developed.

After determining the cost of the MVP, you can proceed to coordinate your marketing and development efforts with the results obtained from the MVP study. Essentially, an app MVP is a great tool for reaching out and keeping in touch with your intended audience.

This leads us to the question: So, if you build a minimum viable product for a social media app, how much will it cost?

Well, the cost will depend on a combination of factors like the set of features you want to implement. These features include; technology stack, deadline, project design, and the operating system. A simple ten-screen app is likely to be cheaper than a ten-screen application with a complex design.

Features of a Minimum Viable Product

Research shows that a minimum viable product with a basic feature set could feature the following functionalities:

  • Sign up
  • Private messages
  • Post feature
  • Personal profile
  • Feed
  • Search
  • Comment feature
  • Group

So, as you embark on your journey, remember that creating a successful app is not easy. Luckily with app development experts like NS804, you can take your shot. The world has witnessed small ideas materialize into great apps, your story could be similar. Visit NS804, your app development partner, to know how much it costs to create a social media app.

An Appreneur Guide To The App Store

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Understanding The App Store Leads To Stronger Appreneur Performance

In every industry, there are techniques, tools, and tactics that form the foundation of operations within that industry. Therefore, any professionals starting a journey into a new career need to learn the applicable fundamentals. For instance; in the world of app development, the app stores and various markets that connect developers to users are beyond vital.  The app stores are important for an aspiring appreneur to understand because it’s where users find your app. Even apps with the strongest designs need to be positioned properly, and if they aren’t, users simply won’t find them.

This is important to realize because of the simple truth that no matter how good your app is; it still needs users to thrive. By understanding the app stores you, as an appreneur, can leverage stronger marketing techniques, speak directly to user needs, and ultimately climb the metaphorical leaderboard.

Key Distinctions To Note Between the Apple Store and Google Play

Now, before moving too far along, it’s important to know the differences between the Apple app store and the Google Play store. These two marketplaces have a lot of the same offerings to present to appreneurs. However, they also differ in distinct ways that alter the strategies and tactics successful appreneurs apply.

One of the most important differences between these two markets is the programming languages. In the Apple app store, applications run on a programming language, Python. Python is the language of the Apple operating system and is most well known for its rigid rules and strength in security. By creating an entire app store with a universal coding language; the applications that exist within that market come with a bolstered level of security. Additionally, this makes it easier for users to get an idea of the function and feel of your apps before they’re even downloaded. By standardizing the programming language, developers also benefit.

Developers benefit from the standard programming language because it creates universal understanding. In other words, programmers and developers working in the Apple app store have a slight advantage as they only need to learn and work with one programming language.

Getting Into Google Play

The Google play store comes with its own set of advantages as well, though. For instance, while the defining feature of the Apple app store is a universal coding language; the exact opposite is true of the Google Play store. The Google Play store thrives on creativity and flexibility. While this is often positive, it also brings with it a few drawbacks. One drawback in particular when it comes to the Google Play store and its flexibility in the programming language is that it opens up the door for a much higher percentage of faulty, bug-ridden, and less secure applications.

Since the coding is so much more flexible in the Google Play store, appreneurs don’t have to follow as rigid of programming rules. While this acts as a catalyst for innovation, technological exploration, and creativity in design; it also opens the door to higher security threats and a higher rate of finished apps that are full of bugs.

The App Store and Niche Markets As an Appreneur

The Apple app store and the Google Play store both represent app markets. By that, these are full marketplaces with a wide spectrum of industries and fields of practice. Think for a second about the wide range of apps that are available; from health and wellness applications to budgeting apps, to apps for pure entertainment, there’s an app for almost everyone doing almost anything. This means that as these markets continue to grow, advance, and evolve, applications will emerge for every niche market available.

For an appreneur, this is great news. As society further integrates technology into more and more aspects of everyday life, more and more opportunities for appreneurs will exist. However, it’s important to realize that, just like with traditional stores; the game changes completely when it comes to niche markets in mobile app stores.

When it comes to marketing your application in a niche market; it’s absolutely vital to conduct your due diligence in order to gain some insight on successful trends that already exist within that niche market. By discovering and implementing successful marketing tactics for your niche market application you’ll put yourself a step above the competition before you even launch.

Learning From The Competition

Watch, listen, and learn. This is a basic principle that applies to almost every aspect of life. By being still and observing carefully, you can learn mountains of helpful information without the risk of making mistakes yourself. Learning from the competition isn’t a new concept, not by any means. It’s a long-standing strategy that business professionals and innovators use to re-create success seen by other entrepreneurs.  By borrowing successful tactics and strategies from a wide range of sources you and your team have the ability to create a comprehensive launch and marketing plan that’s fast-tracked toward success.

Address App-Store Reviews

In the same vein as learning from the competition, another huge resource pool for appreneurs is app-store reviews. In today’s virtual world, consumers have more access to better information all-around. This puts a lot more pressure on sellers because consumers hold such a low tolerance for negative experiences. In other words, after a single negative experience with a company or application, most users are more likely to switch providers or companies altogether, rather than give them a chance to make it right.

As such, app store reviews are a rich reservoir of consumer insights: both good and bad. As a crafty appreneur, then, you can mine app store reviews for potent insights to apply to your own applications under development. You can see what features excite users about applications they love, and reviews will also pinpoint areas of failure and aspects desperate for improvement. All-in-all leading you down a pre-paved path straight to the top of the app store.

App Stores, Appreneurs, and Algorithms

It’s no secret that app stores run algorithms constantly. These algorithms, while seemingly random, are actually extremely precise. However, even the algorithms that the app stores themselves are using undergo rapid evolutions and reiterations. As such, it’s incredibly difficult to get an accurate reading of how these algorithms are built and run. However, you and your team can track patterns.  The patterns illuminate what types of apps are continually reaching the top of the charts. This information can then be used to inform the development process of applications you and your firm are working on launching.

A Brief Overview of An Appreneur Guide To The App Store

The world of application development is busy and bustling. Over the past year specifically, our society rapidly advanced into an era dictated by technological integration. Each and every day there is new technology and new innovation happening all around us. As a determined appreneur, understanding the app stores, how they function, and how to make them work for you will bring you a significant advantage in building and delivering top applications across markets.

For more information on app development or mobile app development specifically, keep browsing the NS804 content library. NS804 is the one and only proud application developer for the everyday appreneur.

MVP Development: Competitive Analysis and Feature Sets

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Developing a Successful MVP

Before developing a minimum viable product (MVP) developers conduct their due diligence to make decisions about the MVP prior to releasing it. That ensures the MVP includes vital features that display the core functions of the app. While there are many aspects to consider, two are especially crucial. Firstly, there is the competitive analysis.

The Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis is a way to determine the specific competitive advantage of the mobile app. In other words, the comparison of mobile apps in the same market. Mobile app developers find valuable insight from these comparisons. Insights that highlight differences between mobile apps.

These differences then become differentiating factors. Enough of these factors form a competitive advantage. A comprehensive competitive advantage then informs the marketing strategy.

Another important aspect to consider when conducting a competitive analysis is the product-market fit. The product-market fit helps determine exactly where in the marketplace any specific app fits. Thus, leading to important insights that the marketing team leverages into different marketing tactics. In turn, forming the overall marketing strategy.

Feature Sets

Feature sets are also incredibly crucial in the development of a successful MVP. The feature sets of an app are the high-level pillars of what makes the app viable. In other words, feature sets make up the core skeleton of the app.

Another way to look at the feature sets of a mobile app is to define what solution the application offers the end-user. Essentially, what purpose does the app serve?

Defining the feature sets of the mobile app is an important step in the MVP development process for a spectrum of reasons. One of the most crucial is that some to many of the aspects defined as a feature set need to be included, to some capacity, in the MVP.

Moving Forward With The MVP

After determining the feature sets of the app the developer can begin designing and building the core of the application. Once the development process is a little further along, the app will be ready for the competitive analysis. Between these two components, an MVP is born.

While the MVP is being built behind the scenes, the marketing team surely is surely not sitting idly by. Once developed, the MVP needs groups ready to test it. These groups often include early adopters.

After the MVP undergoes testing, and the competitive analysis is complete, a mobile app is ready for it’s home-stretch.

At this point in the process, there is plenty of data readily accessible for mobile app developers to complete the app. Insights garnered from conducting the competitive analysis and the product-market fit. Additionally, extra aspects of feedback offered by test-groups from the released MVP.

Develop an MVP with NS804

NS804 is the mobile app developer of the people. NS804 brings mobile app development services to the everyday person with a good idea. With experience that spans the entire mobile-app marketplace and a team of expert developers and designers, bring your mobile app idea to life with NS804.

Benefits of Custom Development in Enterprise Apps

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Custom Development in Enterprise Apps

There are many way s to go about developing an enterprise app. However, there is no one-size-fits all solution. There are pros and cons to each of the different available avenues. Two of the most popular avenues to develop an enterprise app are to commission a custom development team, or to purchase an ‘off-the-shelf’ solution. While a pre-packaged enterprise app can be a quick-fix with a smaller price tag, there are significant benefits to choosing custom development for your enterprise app. 

Some ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions include providers of CRM softwares. Plus project management solutions. Lastly, communication solutions, and even marketing automation software. Any vendor that has pre-made applications to address various business needs can be considered ‘off-the-shelf’, pre-made, or non-custom enterprise apps. 

There are certain instances that going with a non-custom enterprise app solution makes sense. For companies that are just starting out, or companies that don’t need extensive or unique solutions for their various functions. However, there are some crucial benefits to choosing custom development for enterprise apps. 

Unarguable Benefits

Before choosing a premade enterprise app solution, or going with a custom developer, conduct an internal review. It’s important to understand your company’s needs before making a final decision. 

You Get What You Pay For –

As is very often the case, “you get what you pay for.” In other words, the amount invested into an enterprise app, is going to reflect the ultimate product that the company receives. Custom enterprise development is likely going to be a larger upfront investment. Yet, the end result will be more powerful. Additionally, the solution will be more to specific to your company, than an out of the box solution.

Not to mention, while the upfront investment for a custom enterprise app to be developed may be hefty, there is likely going to be less year-after-year cost associated with a custom enterprise app. Meanwhile, a premade solution comes with subscription and various other annual fees. In other words, choosing custom enterprise app development could actually save your company volumes in the long run.

More Customizability For Unique Cases –

One of the strongest cases for custom enterprise development is the simple factor of customization. In springing for a custom enterprise app, the company is able to dictate the stipulations and design from top to bottom. This results in a software that more accurately and definitely assists a company in achieving their goals, and covering their needs.

Brand-Specific Experience –

Delivering a unique and stand-out brand experience is growing in importance in today’s market. As the era of information and the age of the appreneur continue to advance, customers and professionals are eager for new experiences that still feel somewhat familiar. A custom enterprise app can deliver this exact experience, and help differentiate your brand from the competition. 

NS804 has experience across industries, technologies, and the entire breadth of the app development marketplace. Dedicated to making development services more accessible to the everyday appreneur, and helping companies achieve their biggest and brightest dreams, look no further than NS804 for all your app development needs.

How to Build an App That People Want (in 8 simple steps)

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It’s official: most online users have an attention span of fewer than 8 seconds; that’s less than that of a goldfish. People want a solution to their problem and they want it now, like an impatient child at the toy store. It’s why Uber, Doordash, and Airbnb are so ridiculously successful because it takes mere seconds to make a booking and get stuff done!

All three apps reduce otherwise long and drawn out processes into a relatively straightforward booking; whether it’s a long commute, food cravings, or renting a place to crash for the night. The biggest indicator of success for any idea is instant gratification; because who has the time to wait?

So if your app can satiate the growing demand for instant gratification, then you have a market. But not all mobile apps become instant sensations. Users adore some apps and despise others. So, how can you build an app that people will want to use? In this post, we’ll unravel the thought process that goes into designing and building an app from the ground-up.

How to Build an App that People Want?

Step 1: Come Up with an Idea

Every good app must start with an idea. The app doesn’t have to be clever or reinvent the wheel. As long as it builds and improves upon an existing solution, it will resonate well with the target audience. Bonus points if it leverages instant gratification and speeds up an existing process.

Use a pen and paper to draw up a rough sketch of your app and what it should look like. Next, prepare a list of features for the app and divide them into ‘must-have’ and ‘nice-to-have’ categories. The ‘must-have’ features are essential for your app. The ‘nice-to-have’ features serve as a plus point, but they are not crucial to the overall user experience.

Step 2: Create an MVP

Once you have determined which features to include in your app, you can create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The MVP essentially focuses on the problem-solving features and the overall functionality of your app. All other items can be stripped or let out of the MVP to gain market exposure and gauge user demand. The MVP is the most basic concept of your app and lets you collect feedback early on. This will save you time when planning your next move.

Step 3:Design a Functional Prototype

It is good practice to make mockups or functional prototypes of your app to test with users on their phones. Simply put, a mockup contains the user interface, layout, and navigational flow of the app. It does not contain UI elements or complex color schemes. It merely gives you an idea of what the final app should look like without creating any distractions.

At NS804, we always use prototyping to help clients gain an idea about user journeys and to deliver a preview of what a final product may look like. No matter the scope of your project, having a functional visual reference makes life a lot easier. We often use Adobe Xd, Invision, and Balsamiq to create high-fidelity prototypes that look and work exactly how you envisioned.

Step 4: Get into Graphic Design

Once your project kicks off, it’s time to give more serious consideration to UX and UI. Both of these are often confused together in terms of app design. Simply put, UI stands for ‘user interface’. It is the graphical layout of your application and consists of the buttons users will tap to get from point A to point B, the text, images, text entry fields, sliders, and everything else the user may interact with.

This includes transitions, animations, layouts, and every tiny interaction on the app. This is mostly the job of UI designers who decide what the app is going to look like. They brainstorm ideas for the color scheme and button shapes, line width, and font size used.

In other words, UI is all about aesthetics.

UX stands for ‘user experience’. It defines how users interact with the app and all its assets. Is it a smooth and intuitive experience or clunky and cluttered? UX designers make sure that people efficiently accomplish the tasks they want to achieve without struggling. Success really comes down to how intricately woven the UX is with the UI – in other words, how easy or difficult it is for users to interact with the UI elements that the designers have created.

Improving UI and UX means going out of your comfort zone and investing time and money into graphic design. Your app should have high-quality graphics, crisp visual details, image assets, and even motion design- if needed. If you’re not very comfortable with graphic design, consider hiring an expert or using a graphics template.

Step 5: Hire an App Developer

Now that you have laid the groundwork for the app, it’s time to start building it. You can build iOS apps with Xcode to code in Swift or Objective C. You build Android apps with Android Studio. Consider using cloud-based servers like Kumulos Firebase to store data. Alternatively, you can seek a development company that has the right team to help you bring your ideas to life.

Step 6: App Analytics

Use Kumulos app analytics to measure your app’s performance. App analytics improves ROI in every aspect of performance because they allow you to create personalized, customer-centric apps. How users engage with menus, the time they spend on your app, the services that they like best, etc will help you optimize your app to drive up user engagement. There are many free and paid analytical tools that let you measure different user metrics such as the total number of downloads, app usage, bounce rates, etc.

Step 7: Conduct Market Research for the Perfect Launch

Like all products, your app will need a detailed analysis of your target audience. You’ll need to learn about their spending pattern and preferences. Even the most extraordinary of all apps will be of no use without if it doesn’t have an audience. Here’s what you need to ask yourself:

  • Who are my competitors?
  • Are there any alternative apps for potential customers to use?
  • What should I charge for the app?

Once you have the right information, you can optimize your app around your users’ pain points.

Step 8: Launch the App, Get Feedback, and Update

Prepare a suitable title for the app and submit it to the App Store and Play Store for review. Once Apple and Google approve your app, you go live. Now, your potential customers are ready to download and install it.

However, this isn’t the end of your app’s journey. You will still need to promote the app on social media and through PPC campaigns. Also, take user feedback into consideration and update the app accordingly. The best way to obtain feedback is by conducting surveys and interviews.

Building an app is an on-going journey and you will run into your fair share of ups and downs. The important thing is to stay on top of the latest trends and optimize your app based on user preferences.

Get in touch with the app development pros at NS804 to learn more!

 

The Risks And Benefits Of Offshore Software Development

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We live in an age of burgeoning technology – in an age where rockets are re-useable, cars drive themselves, and watches keep track of our pulse, it’s easy to imagine that developing a mobile application by partnering with an offshore development team would be easy to manage.

With VoIP technologies like Google Hangouts, instant communication platforms like Slack, and project management tools like Trello, it would seem that we’ve reached a truly global era in business and the development of products.

And in many respects, this is true – plentiful and vast industries exist today either due to the existence of global production and supply industries, or rely on the global market that fuels today’s global economy for resources, customers, or both. Many of the rare earth metals that make phones, watches, laptops, or virtually any electronic device come from regions in Africa or Australia – without a global supply line, none of us would have phones – or be reading this blog, for that matter.

What I’m trying to convey is that we do live in the future – it just isn’t to the point where we can collaborate on the level that mobile app development requires, while communicating on a global scale.

The myth of offshore development

There’s plenty of misinformation about offshore development – the main one being the quality of code. A good developer is a good developer no matter where they are or what language they speak (but they’d better know their programming languages) – offshore developers aren’t bad at what they do.

While it’s very true that applications developed by offshore companies can lead to unsustainable codebases, low-grade products, or un-deployable platforms, developers in India or Ukraine can be just as experienced (or inexperienced) as developers in Japan or the US.

The problem isn’t people – it’s the communication of ideas.

Complicated ideas and concepts are difficult enough to understand when they are presented to us in person – just think of how many companies today struggle with disseminating and promoting company culture amongst their own employees – communicating the “feel” of a company’s mission is a challenging task.

And with the addition of different time zones, and distances measured in the thousands-of-miles, communicating the high-level, detailed concepts that are crucial to the decisions of app development can become a nightmare.

So if you’re in the UK, hire a UK development team – and if you’re in Bangladesh, hire a Bengali development team. The most important preliminary step to a successful app is a throughly-vetted development partner; a company that you can trust to deliver a full-fledged product, and trust to understand the mission of your app.

risk and reward of offshore mobile app development

Research the risk & reward of offshore development

The benefits of offshore development

There are benefits to making use of offshore development companies:

  1. Cost: Development companies almost universally charge based on an hourly rate. Developers in countries with a lower cost of living will report lower hourly rates than high-cost-of-living countries. While a developer’s rate in the US may range from $100 – $150, a developer in Asia would range from $20 – $50. If managed properly, this can lead to significant savings.
  2. Quality: “Quality” could just as easily be listed in the “risks” section of this blog. By hiring an offshore developer that lives in a country with a lower cost of living, you stand the chance of getting a high-quality product for a fraction of the cost of a highly-skilled developer in your country.
  3. Cultural insight: This is the most substantial benefit to hiring an offshore development team. If you are targeting a market in Sri Lanka, you should hire a development team from the region. The insight the team will bring to the design choices of your app will help your app feel familiar to your specific audience, and increase its chances of market penetration.

The risks of offshore development

Despite these benefits, there are many more opportunities for the risks associated with offshore development to take hold.

  1. Hidden costs: While offshore development does come with a lower hourly rate, this is more often than not negated by the fact that development will usually take twice as long. The main reason for this is…
  2. Communication: Couple language barriers with high-latency internet connections and having a verbal conversation with your team in a different country, and communication can become a real challenge. Communicating the technical aspects of an issue a developer is working on can be downright impossible sometimes. For systems that require integrated maintenance provided from your own IT department, clear and efficient communication is a necessity.
  3. Management: For many of the same reasons as communication, managing an offshore team can be an organizational nightmare. It is recommended to hire a project manager that is local to your offshore team, and will work to bridge the time difference your development team and your company will experience.
  4. Data privacy, security, and governmental regulation: As unfortunate as it is, it’s necessary to be wary of IP theft when dealing with offshore developers, which makes it especially vital to throughly research your development partner. If a developer in another country steals your intellectual property, there is very little recourse available to you. Security and privacy are two other pressing concerns when utilizing offshore codebases – some countries’ intelligence agencies will work with developers to include backdoor access in order to extract users’ personal data for means of cyber espionage. 

Hourly rate, time, and scale

These are the variables to the equation for determining the cost of your app; the more time it takes to develop, the cost rises… the higher the hourly rate, the cost rises… the larger the scale of your app, again, the cost rises.

hourly rate time and scale to develop a mobile app offshore

Consider hourly rate, time and scale

When comparing the cost of developing an app using an offshore developer versus an onshore developer, the key factor is time. While an offshore developer’s hourly rate will usually be lower than an onshore developer, developing an app with an offshore developer is a longer process – sometimes adding two or three times the amount of total hours to develop. This discrepancy in development length is usually exacerbated by communication issues and time-zone differences, and in turn, significantly reduces the savings of the lower hourly rate of offshore development. 

By increasing your time to market, your app’s chances of success will lower, and by increasing the chances of miscommunication, your app’s codebase has the possibility of being less robust than an app developed onshore – leading to the necessity of almost immediately updating your app as soon as it hits the App Store or Google Play.

With these factors in mind, the cost of developing an app offshore or onshore usually even out – and while either option comes with their own benefits, the risk of miscommunication is a factor every CTO or team lead should consider when deciding between offshore or onshore app development.