Category: SaaS

DevelopmentInsightsSaaS

How Is It Possible To Create A PHP Development Environment In Androids?

on January 10, 2019

Google offers the open wide space for the web developers to let them provide their applications on Google play for public downloads. However, in the case of Apple, it is totally under firm guidelines and there are many requirements to meet. However, people, most of the developers’ think that only ios can help them to do the best kind of coding. But what if Apple comes with a lot of restrictions whereas Google offers ease? One should prefer the option that comes with ease. All there is a need is to create an atmosphere which let the PHP develop enabled in Android applications.

Moreover, we all are well known to the fact that there are approximately 5 million web developers who are well-versed with PHP and can work with PHP at the utmost level. So, why to not to give it a try to convert those web developers into potential Android app developers by enabling just creating the perfect environment for PHP development in Androids. Besides that, while creating the environment-friendly for PHP you ought to have the software that is helpful for the coding. For instance- Termux that lets you run all the terminals.

Here are the few ways to create your android app using PHP

1. Editing the text is the mainspring

The foremost step is to choose the best text editor as it is the foundation for the developer’s community. Although, there is a presence of many text editors but finding the best is no so hard. But the most popular two are the Emacs text and Vi/Vim, which are often competing with each other. However, the most preferred is Vim due to its existence for a long time in the market.

Not just the existence decides everything when it comes to making a choice for the text editor. The other impressive factors comprise of reliability gained by the years of excellence, the charityware, and it highly customizable and extensible. Besides, due to its numerous plugins, it is highly handy to edit the codes on the text editor.

What can be expected from a text editor? In addition by all these valid features, it is way better than Emacs, so the editor war is of no use when the best is known.  So, use Vim for the androids where it is called as Vim Touch.

2. A help for PHP developers-

It is undeniable that Java has been and still continues to be the most predominant language for development of Android applications. Even though there are various ports present for app building like Python, HTML, and Ruby etc, but the Java gives outstanding performances that are not reachable by other ports.

But when it comes to using PHP in android, it will facilitate the best PHP developers who are keen to bring PHP into androids. Besides, it can compete with the development environment of Microsoft Windows 8 that has multiple programming languages enabled to build apps. Therefore, it will be really intriguing to see developers having a PHP enabled environment for native apps in androids.

3. Use lamp as server configurations

For your information, the lamp stands for the Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP which comprises together and make the LAMP. The lamp is really popular among the PHP web applications and PHP developers. However, you must choose the appropriate server like one is Palapa web server. The main perk of such a server is it handles the weedy CPUs very well and keeps their functioning top-class. Besides, all the constituent part must be current and up to date for the best experience.  While considering Palapa as the desired server, you will get a web interface that can enable to find out various aspects of web server eventually. Basically, you ought to find the best server just like one Palapa that comes with all the latest versions.

The inclusion of PHP in android is a perk for the system

Android apps can be developed from various way outs like python, CSS but why not with PHP? This issue was previously addressed well and solved now by the inclusion of PHP has done it. Moreover, it becomes so easy for the developers to take the app development by setting up the android app with PHP.

So, simply replace your Macbook pro with the Android device when you don’t want to carry something expensive or maybe some extra burden. Thus, it can be said without any confusion that PHP inclusion in Android is good and it can facilitate those upcoming or already existing more than 5 millions app developers for the whole system.

Author Bio

Gravatar A/c: https://en.gravatar.com/sonalmehta9

Sonal Mehta is a Content Lead at SoluLab, a leading Enterprise Blockchain, Enterprise Mobile Apps and Web design and development company, started by ex-vice president of Goldman Sachs and ex-principal software architect of Citrix. SoluLab Inc provides full spectrum, 360-degree services to enterprises, startups and entrepreneurs helping turn their dreams into awesome software products.

Social Profiles

https://www.facebook.com/solulab.inc/

https://twitter.com/ solulab

https://www.linkedin.com/company/solulab/

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107379179678816212221

MartechSaaS

How to Effectively Use WhatsApp for Your Business

on January 3, 2019

WhatsApp has taken over social media platform like nothing else. It’s revolutionizing communication by bringing in ease and flexibility, so much so that most of us now prefer to use WhatsApp for regular conversation and messages. All that you require is a stable internet connection like Cox internet and you’re set for smooth sailing. Furthermore, there is a new business application launched by WhatsApp for its consumers. It’s helping business owners around the world in generating profitable business solutions. This app is also extremely user-friendly and small/new ventures can utilize it for free yet effective marketing, making sure that they remain visible.

There are some glitches as its still new and new developments are continuously happening to make it more fruitful. Customers may expect immediate responses due to the mobility of WhatsApp and that may prove to be a hardship for any company/business owner. Regardless of all the pitfalls that one might imagine this app to have, it is the future of all communications. Some ways to effectively utilize WhatsApp to run your startup or running business are discussed below, with the hope that it may help optimize your dealings better than before.

1. Create efficient customer service

While it may seem like a nuisance that customers may need your constant attention but there’s no denying the fact that every business runs on good customer service. The more potent it is, the better are your chances of retaining loyal customers. Since WhatsApp is basically a communication tool, it’s all about connecting with people and that’s the edge that you can have, all for free. Create a company profile and you’re visible to customers everywhere who can view you and then easily get in touch as well. To make it a little hassle-free, there is the option of setting up automated responses that are sent whenever a customer has a query. You can simply give out a timeframe for a personal reply. Customers learn to trust your word this way and know that you are approachable. In short, there’s a lot that is customizable.

If you’re running a buying/selling business, you can create quick replies for whenever an order is received or delivered. Moreover, you can write up a quick policy that refers to the returning of an item and sends it as a “quick reply”, a new option that comes with WhatsApp business.

2. Share promotions, sales, and giveaways

With the status feature, you can share any promotions and sales that you may have going on instantly. Because of its reply feature, customers can present any codes that you have previously given. This can help create excellent sale opportunities since it’s all happening live and customer interaction is on the on the spot. Similarly, you can have giveaways to promote a certain product. Customers/consumers may not need it or be interested but since they can get it free, they are involved in the promotion. After all, who hates a freebie! People will share the product to outside groups, this helps with the marketing and therefore higher profits.

Note that since you’re shifting from a casual WhatsApp usage to a more business-oriented one. Therefore a stable internet connection is a must which you can depend upon. Be sure to check out your local Xfinity internet to get some of the best options available to you.

3. Bring in outer influence through collaborations

Collaborate with other relevant businesses to create a bigger marketing arena. Those businesses don’t have to be ones selling the same products. Let’s take the example of a baking business. Look at a few decor companies that are interested in arranging personalized events. Promote them in your group by showing pictures of an event where you offered the food items with all the décor managed by that company. They can do the same for you in their groups. You both get the benefit of the collaborated efforts and it’s completely cost-free.

4. Receive instant feedback

We’ve all experienced the irritable calls from customer services that ask you a series of questions to help rate a product. Instead of all that hassle and financial investment, simply create a questionnaire or a series of questions that can help say yay or nay to a certain product or service. Send that in your groups and get instant feedback free. The customers may also get some fun out of it if those questions are creative and this helps with the privacy issue that most people have. No one wants an unnecessary invasion of their time; with life so busy, it’s simply not acceptable in some instances. However, if you create a little entertainment, your viewers/customers may be more than willing to invest time. This makes sure that your customers are always aware that they are important to you and makes for valuable relations.

5. Stay updated

No business can become an overnight success. You need to review your services or products constantly for optimum results and that can take time. It is absolutely necessary that you know where your business is going if it’s expanding or you need to downsize. An extremely essential part of running a successful business or company is having the statistics and data. Keeping a record of your sales, profits and losses go a long way in ensuring your chances of survival in a competitive business world. WhatsApp now allows the recording of data and tracking of your progress.

In the menu, go to settings, then business settings and then look for statistics. You can view all your messages, including delivered, read, failed and replied. This can help you improve upon the customer experience and understand what they require or do not like. Moreover, you realize the number of efforts required to bring about a change for better future prospects.

6. Get the better of two worlds

Since Facebook owns WhatsApp, you can use both in accord to broaden your marketing scope. Sending and receiving messages is far easier through WhatsApp so using them both together helps you deal with the not so good messaging option on Facebook. You can receive notifications on both simultaneously. Create an ad on Facebook, you can also choose any of the existing ones that you may already have. Select the boost advertisement option and remember to select “Engagement” as your primary objective to receive the send to WhatsApp button.

There is still a lot of available space for improvements but there’s no denying the fact that WhatsApp will soon become the go-to thing for more businesses in the coming years. Startups and small setups can especially reap these benefits because there’s no need to invest some very precious greens in the beginning years when you require financial stability to actually produce/deliver products and services.

DevelopmentInsightsMartechSaaS

Earn Millions by Becoming an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner. Here’s How

on December 26, 2018

When we talk about the leading cloud service provider, Amazon Web Services is an example that makes our mind tick.

These services act as building blocks to be used when building an application in the cloud. Since these services work in association with one another, cloud-based applications turn out to be organized and advanced.

The demand for AWS services has grown worldwide and, therefore, this realm has opened up new opportunities for cloud practitioners. If you really want to become an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, AWS Certifications are the best IT certification to scale one’s career. Though there are other cloud service providers, for example, Google Cloud Engine, Microsoft Azure, and Salesforce, AWS is the leading cloud service provider that involves a secure network of security.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Exam is all that you need.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is a certification exam for cloud enthusiasts who really want to unlock the potential of the cloud to global business. This exam is for practitioners who are aware of technicalities of cloud and can convey the complete discernment of AWS Cloud. This exam allows you to test how strong AWS concepts are so that you can plan on your career ahead. Moreover, the AWS CCP certification is recommended by cloud experts to excel in Big Data and Advanced Networking.

Eligibility Criteria

The right criterion is mentioned below to appear in the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification exam:

You should have a minimum of six months experience of AWS cloud concepts no matter in what field, for example, sales, managerial, technical, financial or purchasing, etc., you have been working in.

You should be aware of IT services and what the different ways are to deploy them to implement in the AWS Cloud platform.

Exam Pattern

You would answer two types of questions in the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Exam. First, the paper would consist of multiple-choice questions which have one correct option and three incorrect options that can distract you and the second type of questions is the multiple-response question which involves more than one correct response out of five options.

You can even select more than one response but make sure that both answer to your question well. Focusing on unnecessary topics of AWS can become your downfall as you may choose distractor options and lose your potential marks. What you need to note here is you can guess answers, and no negative marking will be there; however, if you leave a question unanswered then deduction of marks will be there.

Exam Objectives

Clearing this exam highlights your skills at

  • Understanding of AWS cloud and its infrastructure.
  • Well aware of account management, billing, and pricing
  • Convey AWS cloud values
  • Follow and implement the basic principles of AWS Cloud Architecture
  • Understanding of shared security model, security and compliance concepts
  • Need for technical assistance or documentation
  • Can deploy in the AWS Cloud

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Subjects

The AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification exam comprises four subject areas you need to study. Each of the subject areas includes particular topics.

Here are the four domains that the exam consists of:

  1. Technology
  2. Billing & Pricing
  3. Cloud Concepts
  4. Security

1. Cloud Concepts

The knowledge of cloud concepts is critical to passing the Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification exam. 28% of the exam includes cloud questions related to

  1. High Availability
  2. Fault Tolerance
  3. Elasticity
  4. Scalability

2. Security

No matter whether you have worked on infrastructure or not, security is always the main concern. Therefore, the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification exam usually tests the knowledge of candidates by asking questions about security, acquiescence, and culpable management. About 24% of the exam involves questions about different security models, DDoS Protection, IAM- Managing users, Password policies, MFA, etc.

3. Technology

When it comes to security, the exam does not refrain from asking highly technical questions. Being an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, it is expected of you to have a handful of knowledge of EC2, RDS, SNS, ELB, S3, Lambda, etc. Do not skip this section as it covers 36 % of this certification exam.

4. Billing & Pricing

Though the section carries 12% of the content, you cannot afford to take it lightly as you will be answering questions related to the business application of AWS that includes Billing & Pricing. Furthermore, your competence in general account information, AWS support, billing, cost calculation will be tested. Keep your pool of knowledge widen enough to accommodate other exam domains, for example, AWS Cost Calculator service.

Final Words

Using shortcuts for clearing the exam won’t make sense in the long run. It’s not rocket science to pass this exam; however, your sincere approach is critical to fill gaps in knowledge. Tons of books and podcasts are available online if you are a beginner and want to dive deep into AWS Cloud. Make sure you acknowledge each subject and solve test papers to know the level of your preparation.

Good Luck!

Reference: https://aws.amazon.com/training/path-cloudpractitioner/

InsightsMartechSaaS

Essential Social Media Metrics You cannot Afford to Ignore

on December 21, 2018

Statista predicts that the number of social media users will reach 3.02 billion by 2021. Therefore, not using these channels to connect with your audience may hurt your branding efforts on multiple levels. However, as the number of your competitors investing in social media marketing (SMM) keeps growing, just creating a Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter account for your business is not enough.

To rise above your rivals and improve your customer relationships, you need to set the right SMM metrics and track them regularly.

What are KPIs and why are They Important?

Do you know which social media marketing practices bring you the highest ROI? Statistics show that 90% of marketers don’t know what their most profitable SMM tactics are. This probably means that they either rely on the wrong KPIs or don’t track any KPIs at all.

Your social media KPIs (key performance indicators) are basically the values you set to monitor the performance of your campaigns. Focusing on engagement, conversions, and branding efforts, these metrics help you make wiser decisions, refine your tactics, and improve your ROI significantly.

Now, if you’ve hired a digital marketing agency to handle your social media campaigns, you’re golden. In this case, digital marketing professionals will track the right KPIs for you and build your campaign around the results they get. However, if you’re building your SMM campaign all by yourself, measuring its performance may be overwhelming for you. As there are numerous metrics to track, you first need to learn how to choose the ones that really matter.

This is the basis on which you will further build your success in the overcrowded social media landscape.

Brand-Related Metrics

When building your social media marketing campaign, your goal is to raise brand awareness and connect with the right people on a personal level. This is why you need to track brand-related KPIs, as they help you understand how strong your brand is.

1. Brand Awareness

Brand awareness tells you how many people know about you. To measure it, you first need to determine the timeframe within which you want to measure your brand awareness and determine the brand awareness metrics to track (mentions, shares, etc.) This is where social media monitoring tools can help you, as they let you find both @direct and indirect brand mentions.

2. The Reach of your Posts

This KPI shows how many users have seen your piece of content since it was published. As such, it heavily depends on the relevance of your post, as well as when it was published.

How to measure: (the reach of a post/the number of your followers) x 100

3. The Growth of your Following

This KPI tells you at what speed your follower base expands on social networks. It doesn’t focus on how many followers you attracted within a certain timeframe, but on how quickly you gained them.

How to measure: (net new followers/the total number of followers) x 100

Engagement Metrics

Relying on your brand reach is not enough. Having thousands of followers is purposeless if they don’t communicate with the content you share. To measure the true impact of your campaigns, you need to track your target audience’s engagement, too.

By engagement, many marketers mean likes, shares, and comments. However, these are vanity metrics that make you feel special about the performance of your posts but tell you nothing about how your followers engage with them. This is why you need to put them in a broader context by combining them with the following KPIs:

1. Applause Rate

Likes are important because they indicate how many of your followers have seen your post and liked it. However, monitoring the number of likes doesn’t tell you much about people’s engagement with your content. This is why you need to keep monitoring your applause rate that shows what percentage of your followers considers your posts relevant.

How to measure: (the number of likes per post/the total number of followers) x 100

2. Amplification Rate

Your social media shares tell you how many people consider your content valuable enough to share it with their network. However, what if one post performs significantly better than the other? What you can you conclude from these numbers, except that one is more popular? You’re right, nothing. This is why you need to track the amplification rate or the average number of shares per social media post.

How to measure: (the number of shares per post/the total number of followers) x 100

3. Virality Rate

What is better- a post with 15,000 likes but poor virality rate or a post with fewer likes but a higher virality rate? The latter one, of course. Precisely because of that, you need to measure the virality rate. This metric shows you the number of users that shared your post, compared to the number of its unique views.

How to measure: (the number of shares/ the number of impressions) x 100

Conversion Metrics

Calculating the engagement metrics is only half the equation. The other half is to understand how many of your followers are eager to convert. This is what conversion metrics are for. They are critical for the performance of your campaign, as they directly indicate the effectiveness of your social media engagement.

4. Social Media Conversion Rate

This metric represents the total number of conversions arriving from social networks. It helps you understand the effectiveness of your posts and see how well your social media content resonates with your target audience.

How to measure: (social media conversions/the total sum of conversions) x 100

5. Click-Through Rate

The click-through rate (CTR) shows you how often users hit the CTA link in your posts. Similarly to other conversion metrics, its goal is to show you whether you’re targeting the right audiences and whether your posts resonate with them.

How to measure: (the number of clicks on a post/ the number of impressions) x 100

6. Bounce Rate

Calculating the CTR alone is not enough. You need to know what happens once a user lands on the page. And, this is where your bounce rate steps in. The bounce rate represents the percentage of visitors that click on the link in your social media post, land on the page, and leave it immediately, before taking any further action. If your social media bounce rates are high, this only means that you’re either targeting the wrong audience or that your landing page doesn’t meet their expectations.

How to measure: This is where Google Analytics can help. Choose Channels> All Traffic> Bounce Rate and the tool will rank your digital marketing channels by their bounce rate.

Over to You

Boosting your presence in the competitive social media sphere doesn’t happen overnight. To succeed, you need to choose the right metrics and track them regularly to measure the performance of your strategy. This will help you make wiser decisions and take your strategy to the next level.

What social media marketing KPIs do you track?

ProductsSaaS

Why Your Startup Needs A Test Management Tool?

on December 20, 2018

Testing plays an imperative role in creating a positive or negative brand image. Since a startup is in its very early phases, a startup cannot risk its brand image at any cost. Therefore, a tool is required to check the quality of the startup product.

Keeping this scenario in mind, we are presenting you the list of reasons why your startup needs a test management tool.

1. A Good Test Management Tool Has A Powerful Dashboard

This automatically finishes the requirement to message the individual team member regarding an update on the project’s status. A good test management tool’s interactive dashboard enables you to get a 360-degree view about the projects ongoing status. This will free you from the hassle of running after everyone to gather updates. It enables you to simply log in and see upgraded bug reports, test cases, test scenarios, and status reports.

2. It Offers Stress-Free Project Management

The dream of the tester is to have stress-free project management. An efficient testing tool enables you to manage your activities without getting disturbed by various documents. You develop your own testing project and synchronizing it with your testing requirements. In addition to this, you can define your testing team by making an addition of more users who can also see the outcomes and make status updates after fixing the bugs.

3. It Has Requirement Planning

Another benefit for startups from the test management tool is that it permits you to associate your test cases and test scenarios with your project’s requirements in just some clicks. You attain updates for each minuscule bit of information showing up because of traceability. You can also see which requirements have passed and failed.

4. It Covers Test Management Requirements Effectively

It enables you to create a detailed test plan, write test scenarios, create test cases and execute those test cases. You can also use the test cases in your regression cycles rather than allocating the majority of the time on a new one. It permits you to save work on word and PDF and utilize whenever you require it.

5. It Offers Defect Management

Bug identification is easy, however, organizing, tracking and managing them in one place is very difficult. If a test management tool that you use has a rich-information format, it can clear your line of sight by combining your configurations and activities in one place. Just record, manage and track your entire testing efforts in a very productive user-interface and gain access to your projects at your fingertips.

6. It Has Automation Testing

Flat design style modern vector illustration concept of teamwork consulting on briefing small business project presentation group of people planning and brainstorming ideas of company financial strategy.

A test management tool gives to freedom to automate your testing activities. You can only incorporate input-driven scripts into your tool and run them across selenium supported test environment with minimum human intervention.

7. It Provides Seamless Integration with Other Powerful Apps

A good test management tool provides flawless integration with numerous powerful apps to sync data and streamline workflow, providing you an improved experience which is powerful, adjustable and fast. It enables you to manage your releases and work together with your teams without missing out on any mission-related tasks without any disruption.

8. A Good Test Management Tool Also has Mobile Version Available

Mobile test management tool has been on the wish-list of every tester for very long. This is because it provides you with the convenience of working on-the-go. Whether it is rejecting or approving test cases, assigning and logging defects, it would assist you to create real-time test management with only some taps.

9. Its Interactive APIs Can Assist You Gain Competitive Advantage

You can integrate your current work-flows with test tool’s APIs. It will enable you to decrease disruptions and also adds value to the end-product. The interactive APIS will transform your business and attain competitive advantage.

10. It Has User-Friendly Interface

A good test management tool always has a user-friendly interface and provides intuitive performance and functioning that makes management more fun and engaging.

Author Bio

Ray Parker is an entrepreneur and internet marketer with over 9 years of experience in Search Engine Optimization, Creative Writer and Digital Marketing Consultant.

DevelopmentSaaS

How Scrum Became the Dominant Agile Approach

on December 19, 2018

The term “Scrum” was first introduced back in 1986. At the time, very few people suspected that what seemed like another buzzword would go on to blow other methodologies out of the water. And just so there is no misunderstanding: there is no shortage of other agile frameworks out there. So, what are the main reasons behind this meteoric rise?

The reasons are many and as covering all of them would take up an entire book, we will focus on the most impactful ones today.

Keeping it simple

One of the main selling points of Scrum is the fact that it has a very simple and fixed and limited set of roles, tools (artifacts), responsibilities, and events (ceremonies) that give structure to software development. For example, there are only three roles to begin with— Scrum Master, product owner, and development team.

It is actually quite interesting to find out that many Scrum naysayers mention how Scrum is too complex or rigid, when in fact it only provides a very limited number of guidelines.

Scrum has been consciously pared down to the very basic roles, responsibilities, events, and artifacts that interact so as to provide a framework for delivering valuable software. The teams are actually encouraged to build on this and to find the best ways to make Scrum work for them.

How it plays out in practice

Furthermore, Scrum increases team velocity, collaboration, and creative thinking. It equips you with everything you need in order to face practical issues and shifting requirements that arise during the project. Change is not only accepted but embraced and planned for. Meetings happen on a daily basis and progress is openly discussed. In this stage, it is common to see team leaders using visual tools such as Scrum boards and visual charts.

Scrum also values transparency over everything, allowing the entire Scrum Team full insight into how they are doing, whether there are areas in which the team can improve. Through inspection and adaptation, the team can find new ways of doing things and identify parts of the product that no longer hold any value and that can be put on hold or abandoned altogether. This significantly reduces waste in the development process.

Along the similar lines, incremental software releases also help in tackling different problems on the go. Namely, Scrum lays the groundwork for early and continuous delivery of software releases and encourages heavy user involvement. Feedback is gathered not only from end users, but stakeholders and customers as well. As a result, developers are able to assess product performance and see how well it matches market needs and expectations.

Moving out of software development

While Scrum began its life in software development, over the years, it has been applied in a number of different industries and business fields – from manufacturing to marketing, from healthcare to HR and more. In fact, if you want to run a business more efficiently, Scrum can be something that you can try out for fit.

This is enabled by Scrum’s underlying structure which is based on common sense and pure empiricism which can be applied to any kind of a team and organization. Scrum simply provides you with certain mechanisms to inspect your work and adapt how your team operates based on those findings.

In other words, Scrum is great at shining light on areas of your organization that might require improvement. This applicability of Scrum to industries other than software development has also contributed to its ever-increasing popularity.

Still not a silver bullet

It should be obvious by now that Scrum is no fad. It has an impressive track record for teams as small as several developers, but also organizations with hundreds of employees.  If you do not believe us, check out a huge body of documented use cases. Likewise, note that you can tap into a whole ecosystem of standardized certifications and educational resources to overcome the learning curve. Additionally, you can take advantage of free scrum software like VivifyScrum that can help support your team.

That being said, Scrum is not for everyone. It may take a while for newcomers to grow accustomed to Scrum and those who are used to “command and control” culture are likely to find themselves on unfamiliar ground. Therefore, you need to know what you are getting yourself into (read the Agile Manifesto) and ensure this methodology suits current work styles and flows.

Conclusion

For better or worse, Scrum is the king of agile approaches. This coveted position has been secured largely thanks to a fine blend of performance and simplicity.  Ready to use right away, this methodology features fixed-length iterations (sprints) and a limited set of rules. Among other things, it allows you to juggle a variety of priorities, track progress, improve collaboration, and receive invaluable feedback.

Development teams are able to exhibit a high level of flexibility and communicate openly and regularly without compromising the end result. Everyone is on the same page, has a sense of real progress, and is focused on the set goals. Consequently, the organization as a whole benefit and becomes versed in accommodating changes impediments.

InsightsSaaS

List Of The Most Desirable Apps For 2019

on December 17, 2018

You require a certain degree of seriousness before you decide to start your mobile business application. If you can amass it, then the time is perfectly ripe to begin, as app development offers profound business opportunities. According to analyses conducted by relevant bodies, the sales of smartphones are increasing day by day. It further explains that the number of people involving in digital interactions on a regular basis is also increasing continuously. However, before contacting some of the best app development organizations, you have to think about the type of application that will bring in profits and revenue, while engaging more users in a short period.

  1. Transportation applications

Traveling is essentiality that people want to be sure of before stepping out of the house. Your mobile app development company in India can help users decide on the right public transportation mode. The selection can be according to convenience, economy or time-saving facilities. Offline services attract more users than online ones, and you can exploit that feature to draw in customers.

 

  1. Dating applications

Researches are pointing out that the smartphone is the reason behind people becoming lonely. With a mobile application that allows a user to communicate with likeminded and interesting people, your business can race past others in no time. Your app can import users from some of the existing media platforms via a system that lets two people search out partners based on compatibility.

 

  1. Task management applications

If there is an application which users can utilize to manage tasks and make plans, then it allows the user to maintain motivational levels. A unique app like this one will remind the user of daily chores like setting up alarms, informing about housework, examinations, workouts, and others.

Source – Pixabay

 

  1. Food delivery applications

When guests are only a few kilometers away from the doorstep, preparing meals in time gets tough. That is why food delivery apps are so much in demand these days. If you can create an application for grub delivery, then there is a possibility of it achieving success in an instant. Users always appreciate applications that ensure fast delivery of food from renowned and favored restaurants.

 

  1. Job hunting applications

A rather unusual idea for an app but has the potential to succeed, job search applications are essential in today’s time. It will be a marketplace where employers and job seekers can come face-to-face. Go to an application developing agency for the creation of this dream smartphone application. Entrepreneurs also use online platforms to hire full-timers or freelancers.

Source – Pixabay

 

  1. Emergency applications

A sudden and unpredictable emergency can ruin a day at any time. So, a disaster, terror or emergency warning app can be a brilliant idea. There are already multiple apps regarding coverage of unforeseen and unfavorable situations. These apps have an alert function which prepares you to face a disaster or inform relatives and loved ones. Such an application can also notify the police, fire departments, hospitals, and others.

 

  1. Gifting applications

The busy and hectic life of today doesn’t allow a person time for purchasing gifts for loved ones. An application can let you send flowers, gift cards, toys and other goodies with a single touch. It will be quite a surprise for the recipient or receiving a gift without any prior information. A user can connect to the application and select gifts, flower bouquets, chocolates, and other special items.

 

  1. Reservation applications

You aren’t always in a mood to go out for dinner, and when you have it, you can’t afford to spoil it. Most reputable and renowned restaurants remain full almost every day, and prior reservations are the only way to grab a bite. An app which allows a user to book a table with multiple options can be successful in no time. It is one such app that will have a design to meet necessities of unexpected dinner outings.

 

  1. Holiday planning applications

Now that the internet is bestowing uninterrupted knowledge and information, many people utilize holidays by planning trips. You can think about app developers to prepare an application for you that will let a user plan vacations. Such an application can contain reliable audio information that anyone can listen to. It can also have facilities like searching for restaurants, bars, taxis, buses entertainment modes, etc.

 

  1. Fitness applications

As mentioned before, the internet is the all-knowing digital partner of everybody currently. As a result, many people are finding out the pros of fitness and good health. Just as it is difficult to go to a shop to purchase a gift, finding out time to visit gyms is also negligible. For that reason, fitness applications of today are one of the favorite choices of youngsters. These apps encourage users to pursue goals of fitness, health or bodybuilding.

 

  1. VR/AR applications

There are mobile apps that companies develop based on a VR system. A user can click a picture of the interior that will undergo revamping and then compare the different objects, colors, backgrounds, or for adding an amenity like furniture. With an AR app, a user can scan a room with a smartphone camera and place the selected items to decide on the style and compatibility.

Source – Pixabay

 

Best ideas

Given above are some of the best ideas for applications in the upcoming year. As mentioned before, more and more people are relying on smartphones with every passing second. It is quite understandable that a significant number of users will join in the squad in the upcoming years. For people who find mobile applications puzzling, this article should clear everything up. After all, without knowledge of different application types, it will be almost impossible to start the business you wish to open. This topic will expand your understanding of the multitudes of applications that are flooding the smartphones of users. You also have to consider going for such applications that the customers are currently seeking. The wrong one can lead to a complete waste of your investment.

DevelopmentInsightsSaaS

Top 5 Amazing IDEs for .NET Developers

on November 19, 2018

Great variety of wide-known companies works with .NET. Among them are Dell, Accenture, HCL, Epic Systems. What is .NET and why is it so beneficial to create a product on this platform? Efficient and successful software development framework .NET is a platform for easy desktop and web application engineering. This free platform used for many various types of application providing environment for programming connected to most software development phases.

.NET goes well with business, as it involves a great range of tools like web-based services, desktop software, and cloud infrastructure support. The .NET can be divided into three branches: .NET Framework, .NET Core, and Xamarin. The whole group of these implementations is called .NET development platform. The .NET can work with C#, VB.NET, C++, F# programming languages and ASP.NET tool, which is among of the best web development tools for building web pages and websites with HTML, CSS, JavaScript and server scripting. 20 years have gone from the time the very first .NET was launched and this platform keeps gaining its popularity with companies’ to hire .NET developers for in-house or outsource work – find more information.

.NET Implementation

Fast forward and we’ve got three types of .NET implementation. Each of them has its features and kinds of products that can be created on these platforms.

The .NET Framework is the origin embodiment of the platform with three main app models – Windows Forms, WPF and ASP.NET Forms.

.NET Core was presented in 2016. This cross-platform is a rebuild of .NET Framework. Products from this platform can be used on both Linux and OS X, so they are not tied only to the Windows family. ASP.NET Core and Universal Windows Platform are also included in .NET Core.

Xamarin is the third implementation for mobile applications and Mac products development. From the very beginning, this platform was designed independently from Microsoft, but in 2016 the company made it a fully open source branch.

For simple and complex data, the structure of the .NET platform has a huge collection of class libraries. Hundreds of written codes by other developers are there, altogether with specific libraries for security, encryption, and database access.

IDE’s for .NET Development

IDE is an Integrated Development Environment that helps to facilitate the development of an application. There are some very useful and popular tools for .NET developers to advise:

Visual Studio is integrated with .NET including the specifics of language environments, from its earlier versions (VS 6.0). It is one of the most commonly used development environment as it provides single IDE for all .NET applications. Editing, compiling, debugging are available for a multiple-document interface. You can make your design up-to-date by placing the controls in the layout the display of the application. Visual Studio .NET supports Intellisense and code refactoring. Plug-in architecture helps to add tools for domain languages.

Visual Studio (for Mac) is newly created .NET IDE for Mac. It was launched as Xamarin Studio with a lot of additions. It is planned that the IDE will have precisely the same centerpiece code of editor like Windows VS has. Text editors will be easier to work with – for instance HTML, CSS or Razor. Unique Mac user interface and user experience altogether with Mac icons of Visual Studio native app will impress you. You can develop there with Xamarin and cloud development with .NET Core and ASP.NET Core.

SharpDevelop is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for .NET Framework applications. The IDE supports the creation of applications written in C#, Visual Basic.NET, and IronPython. It is in free access and provides code completion, code generation, project templates, and a form designer. It can be also compatible with Visual Studio Express if to use the same solution file format.

.NET Reflector is the class browser that explores and analyzes bugs through your application to see where the problem is – whether it is your own code, aside libraries, or components used by your application. With the help of this IDE, you can look inside the assemblies of any third-party platform to see the way they working.

Quest Comparison Suite for SQL Server Increases productivity and reduces costs protecting your data. You may simplify performance management and centralize administration. The IDE helps you to manage single/multiple database platforms.

Learning the .NET Framework

Microsoft gains a lot of credits for is how to learn .NET in an easy way for programmers as Microsoft Developer Network site has many resources for developers with documentation in details and sample code on different languages for using. It can be videos on Pluralsight for learning both the language and the web/mobile and Windows application code. Get acquainted with C# Yellow Book. This is a must-read for a solid base in programming. But practice goes at once, so the best way to get started is to take a project and start building.

The typical setup for a .NET application uses Visual Studio as the IDE. Editing, compiling, debugging are open for use in this IDE. Visual Studio for Mac is in process of development, but it’s already available with a variety of peculiar features of the iOS system. SharpDevelop creates applications in C#, Visual Basic.NET, and IronPython languages. It is in free access and provides code completion, code generation, project templates, and a form designer. A web developer can facilitate the process of programming and check on any bugs their application to see where the problem is. The last but not least IDE for .NET developers in this top 5 is Quest Comparison Suite for SQL Server. Controlling productivity and evaluating of data protection is available with this platform. Microsoft provides the variety of useful IDE’s for a developer that mean even bigger possibilities for getting involved in .NET development.

SaaS

Know how much you should spend on a mobile app like Uber

on November 19, 2018

So, planning out to start an online taxi and car-sharing business, or you already have one and looking out for a mobile app for the advancement?

Regardless to say, Uber will be the first name that would come in your mind for the references to research about the procedures and would want to know about it.

Along with the process, you would be more keen to know how much would it cost you to develop a mobile app like Uber, am I right or am I right?

Well, today I will be discussing in this complete article about the process and cost of development of a mobile app that functions like the one for Uber does.

However, before we start discussing the cost, let me focus on whether or not you want to build an app highly functioning like Uber. Here we go!

Uber – Mobile Application

While thinking about mobile applications for taxis or car hires, what makes Uber the first one to come to our minds?

Well, it can be its brilliant services, the vast variety of features or the functionalities of the mobile application itself.

Uber, along with the services on the road, provides the best user experience on the app comprising of the highly efficient app functionalities.

It uses high-end functionalities like GPS tracking, Payment gateways, and Fare calculator which may not be functioning well with a weak or bug-full app backend.

Further, it is available on both the major platforms – Android and iOS.

The APIs related to the functionalities and their integrations is a different process in both the platforms.

Also, they come up with superb updates enhancing the riding experience and app’s user experience much better every time.

The app comes with a robust backend as the scaling, and the features of the application do not make it a heavy load on the user’s Smartphone.

Thus, when you are planning to create an app like Uber you need to justify with your app features and its robustness and yes, the service of course.

Then, how much does it take to create an app like Uber?

Here we come to the title topic what I started writing this article for.

The complete Interface of Uber, if considering the car sharing one only, includes a minimum of two platforms:

  • The driver’s app
  • The passenger’s app

Let us review the list of features each app may require.

Features for a Driver’s App include

  • Registration
  • Booking
  • Notifications
  • Map Navigation
  • Fare Calculator
  • Reporting
  • Messaging
  • Support & Contact Center

Also, to manage the complete schedule and circulation of the drivers from a center point, an admin panel will be required too.

Features for a Passenger’s App include

  • Sign up / Login
  • Booking Interface
  • Tracking
  • Fare Calculator
  • Payment options
  • Push Notifications
  • Messaging
  • Reviews & Ratings
  • Booking History

Looking at the list of features mentioned above, we can understand that a solid base of developers and technologies is sure to be required.

Uber, being thoughtful to this requirement, has disclosed its API to the public and the developers on its website to help them tailor-make their taxi hiring mobile app.

However, while considering its development, a company should be thoughtful enough not to consider hiring an offshore mobile app development company just by cherry picking the lowest cost one.

One thing you need to tie the knot in your head that developing a taxi hailing mobile app is not a one time task and it is never finishing the development.

Its development and maintenance will be termed as an on-going project only since the day you start planning and preparing it.

Thus, be prepared that you are going to get a dent, wait, not a dent but a bottomless pit on your bank balance while developing a correctly functioning taxi app.

Now when you know that you can’t outsource the project, you need to find and hire the best mobile app developers, both for iOS and Android and give them the in-house job roles on a full-time salary.

The complete development of an efficiently functioning taxi app may take up to 4500 to 5000 hours. You can count up to 12 months to launch it to the public with complete functions to use.

The Cost of Development

The cost of developing the complete app is broken into the phases of development each thing.

For iOS –

  • Backend Development – $5,000 – $6,000
  • App Development – $12,000 – $14,500
  • Frontend Development – $9,500 – $11,000
  • Testing – $6,500 – $8,000

The total of above development elements sums up to $33,000 to $39,500 for developing a basic taxi app for iOS.

For Android –

  • Backend Development – $5,000 – $6,000
  • App Development – $13,000 – $15,500
  • Frontend Development – $12,000 – $14,500
  • Testing – $8,000 – $10,000

The total of above development elements sums up to $38,000 to $46,000 for developing a basic taxi app for Android.

Total cost for both platforms

The total cost for developing a basic taxi app functioning on iOS as well as an Android platform will sum up to $71,000 to $85,500.

This is an estimate of a basic taxi app development, but as and when your business grows you would need to add up more features in the app and maintain it from time to time to keep it bug-free.

Its maintenance has its own cost. It would help if you instructed your team of developers to keep a timely check on all the features.

This particular category of application requires high maintenance of bug testing as it deals with the personal details of the users.

Further, if you are planning to outsource the project because of lack of skilled people in your locality or because you can’t keep a check on this aspect and want an experienced brain to look after the complete management or whatever the reason may be, you can count the cost adding up a few more thousands.

Talking about Uber

When we are looking at the development cost of a taxi app and referring to Uber, we need to see how much did the peer pay.

Back in 2016, the company had over 1200 engineers on the desks working over the app which probably would have touched the count of 1800 to 2000 by now and each costing the company around $270K to $350K a year on an average.

Moreover, looking at the services and the functionalities encompassed in the application, we can nod to yes that the investment of such a tremendous amount of development is making an asset to all, not the company alone.

Uber takes utmost care of all the features of the app such as the Geo-location feature, Payment Gateways, and others.

It keeps on working towards more and more integrations to various platforms such as combining to social media and maps which ease the lives of people on the go.

So, how much to spend on such an app?

Well, concluding this piece, we see about here that the referring platform is the one that has drawn the eyes towards itself for years now and to develop a same kind of app is a shoulder bending task.

Further, if you are looking forward to it as one of your business goals, you must give your hundred percent to its development and well-functioning.

The features in tech are never-ending, and if you want to walk head to head in the competition, you need to be up on your toes to stay updated about the tech and use it to make users’ lives better.

The above written are just the basic numbers as I mentioned earlier in the paragraph, but when you want to excel, you must try to invest as much as you can.

Also, the development of the app is not the only thing you need to do to make millions out of it.

You need to invest in the marketing of the app and your services related to that.

For marketing, you must consider hiring an excellent digital marketing specialist with great market experience and knowledge of the trends.

 

Author bio:

Manan Ghadawala is the founder of 21Twelve Interactive which is one of the best mobile app development company in India and the USA. He is an idealistic leader with a lively management style and thrives raising the company’s growth with his talents. He is an astounding business professional with astonishing knowledge and applies artful tactics to reach those imaginary skies for his clients. Follow him on @twitter
SEO Process Diagram
DevelopmentInsightsSaaS

SEO Basics Small Businesses Should Know

on November 17, 2018

The market nowadays is highly competitive and crowded with various businesses. Small businesses that are new to the market will have difficult times competing against other companies that have already built their presence on the market and are favoring good incomes. However, just because something is difficult, it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. There’s always a way for small businesses to outrun even the more-developed competitors. A good example of this is search engine optimization (SEO). SEO allows companies to establish their online presence, visibility, and awareness, among other things.

Simply put, SEO helps your website become more visible and accessible on search engines, such as Google. The main reason SEO is important is that, as mentioned before, the online market is highly competitive and overcrowded, which means that your business needs to find a way to stand out and cut through all that noise. Moreover, aside from being a cost-effective marketing strategy, SEO provides many more benefits to businesses. However, it takes a bit of time before the results kick in. That being said, here are a few SEO basics small businesses should know.

The importance of keywords

Every small business must know how important keywords in SEO are. Keywords are the core of every SEO effort. They are words or phrases that match the content on your website and individual pages to that of user intent on search queries. Ranking for the right keywords will bring you closer to your target audience. For instance, if you own a small business that focuses on dog food, you’d want to rank for keywords that have “dog” or “food” in them.

You must also consider long-tail keywords most commonly used by your audience when searching for dog food online, such as “the best dog food” or “affordable dog snacks”.  Comprehensive and detailed keyword research is simply a must for your SEO strategy. That includes conducting a competitive analysis to determine which keywords your main competitors are ranking for as well. The more you understand which keywords to opt for, the more successful your strategy will be.

Local SEO

Many small businesses are mainly competing on their local market before they grow enough to tackle the global one. That’s where local SEO is crucial. Local SEO strategy slightly differs from a regular one, as its primary focus is on your local market. You must adapt content, keywords, your business information, and other factors to match the needs of local customers. For example, you must update your business information, such as location, phone number, address, work hours, etc. on Google My Business listings feature.

It’s also important to sync that information with other local business listings. For instance, if your small business is in Hong Kong, you must ensure your local SEO strategy is optimized for local customers and that you have your business information on every local business listing. However, Hong Kong is a big and busy place, so you might consider opting for SEO services in Hong Kong to help you with creating a local strategy. Once you’ve established a good presence on the local market, you can aim for expanding your dealings to an international or country-wide scale.

Content is king

Yet another SEO basic every small business must know about is content. Content is king and there’s no doubt about it. The main reason content is considered as the most important factor in SEO is that it delivers value to your customers or target audience through information, entertainment, and education. Content is crucial for SEO both on your website and outside of it. Website content helps you provide relevant information to visitors while helping you include keywords your rank for into it, in order to boost rankings for your pages and your website in general.

Moreover, content is vital for your off-page SEO activities, such as guest posting and link building, as it helps build authority, credibility, and exposure. What’s more, content is the number one ranking factor alongside backlinks, according to Google. In short, there’s no SEO without good-quality content. However, not just any content will do. In fact, when developing content for either your website or off-page activities, you must ensure that it’s top quality and highly relevant to your target audience.

Website performance

Every business these days needs a website, small business included. Without a website, you simply don’t exist in the online world and you certainly won’t need SEO. Most of your SEO efforts are regarding your website. However, all of that is in vain if your website isn’t performing well. In other words, you can simply say that website performance is a ranking factor as far as search engines are concerned. But what is that? Simply put, customer satisfaction on your website is a ranking signal and there are plenty of performance factors that influence customer satisfaction in the first place.

For example, website speed is a factor for both SEO and customer satisfaction. Sluggish websites won’t rank well on search engines because most consumers aren’t patent enough to wait for your pages to load. In addition, mobile friendliness is also an important factor. If your website isn’t responsive or mobile-friendly, you won’t have good rankings. Other factors include navigation, security, user-friendliness and so on. For website security, install an SSL certificate that encrypts the information pass between browser and server. Therefore, if you want your SEO strategy to succeed, you must ensure your website is performing well, to begin with.

Every small business must know about the basic rules regarding SEO. If you don’t understand how it works or you don’t understand its purpose, then you won’t be able to utilize the full potential of SEO.

1 … 11 12 13 14