Blog Category: Mobile App Development

You might have come across the term ‘API’ while discussing mobile or web application development. In layman terms, APIs are the language through which applications speak to each other.

Today, APIs serve as a foundation in the app development process and allow companies to grow their businesses by using services provided by external firms.

What is an API?

API is an acronym for “application program interface.” It is a set of routines and protocols that enables access to another party’s application or platform.

An API is a software-to-software interface, through which the applications talk to each other without any user knowledge or intervention.

Let me explain you with an example: When you buy tickets through a movie ticket booking application on your smart phone, the application uses an API to send your credit card data to a 3rd party application for verification.

The remote application then retrieves that data, interprets it, verify your card details and sends it back to the application. The application then interprets that data and confirm your tickets.

What is a SDK?

A Software Development Kit (SDK) is a set of software development tools that allows creation of applications for a specific development platform and software framework. Both SDK and API are related to each other.

Technically speaking, APIs are a part of a SDK and executes tasks when a call is made. Going little deeper, an API is a part of a build that is used to feed information while a SDK is a set of tools used to build an application.

Increasing Importance of APIs:

APIs, if referred to as the one of the most important technologies behind mobile application development won’t be an overstatement.

The increasing importance of APIs can be attributed to their role in defining the way developers build their apps as well as the ease with which they integrate various web services into them.

App users today seek various services on the fly to perform multiple tasks and APIs are the ones that make this possible.

Advantage of using API

• Saves Developer’s time

APIs can save considerable amount of time, as it eliminates the task of writing endless lines of code. There are pre-built APIs available from top web services which can be used to shorten the app development cycle and reduces the coding errors.

• Convenient

Today many apps comes with the functionality of social media logins. Without creating a need to sign up for the app separately, users can directly sign-in through their Google or Facebook credentials.

This becomes extremely convenient for users as they need not create a different username. This is done through the integration of APIs provided by respective social media companies.

• Ensures Faster development

Mobile apps today have a robust API backend which makes sure that the repetitive steps are eliminated by the using the existing web API services. By connecting the SDKs with the existing APIs, developers can get the app developed faster while ensuring high quality standards.

APIs eliminate the repetitive process, thus making sure the developer focuses more on core features of the app and help gain competitive advantage.

• Help Automate App Testing

With the help of APIs, developers can automate the app testing process and save the time which otherwise would have consumed in manual testing process.

Test automation feature makes sure none of the bugs remain undetected and thus help developers deliver an app which stands high on both – quality and user expectations.

Widely Used APIs

• Facebook API: The Facebook API is used to access the login database of Facebook.  It offers social plugins that display Facebook posts and “Like” buttons to your website. Facebook offers several APIs including Internationalization, Ads and Chat.
• Google Maps API: Google provide a set of Google Maps APIs that allows you to add maps feature in your mobile app. A user can use the app without leaving the app through JavaScript or Flash. You can various map functions such as embedding a Google Map, Static Map or Google Earth, adding Geocoding and Google Directions Functionality.
• YouTube API: YouTube provides several APIs that allows access to the engaging content on the platform. It allows developers to access the video analytics and channel data through two calls – REST and XML-RPC.
• Amazon Product Advertising API: The Amazon Product Advertising API give developers access to lots of Amazon data such as product listings, customer reviews, seller ratings as well product ads. Through Amazon’s Affiliate program, you can showcase product ads in the app and earn affiliate commission.

Conclusion

APIs serves as bridge for apps to interact with each other. By integrating popular APIs in your app, you can enhance the user experience and increase the popularity of your app. For developers, APIs help build apps faster by eliminating the need to code repetitively.

Mobile app development companies foresee the important role that APIs will play in creating a successful app and thus the importance of APIs in mobile app development will grow day by day.

We at TOPS Infosolutions use several API services in Mobile App Development to provide user-friendly, easily accessible apps for our clients.

For more information visit www.topsinfosolutions.com or drop us an email at contact@topsinfosolutions.com

The popularity of enterprise and consumer based mobile app development is dominating the market since last decade. App Store and Play Store is flooded with millions of mobile apps covering countless industries; hence for the upcoming Appreneurs, it becomes difficult to stand tall and bolster their branding with mobile app.

Choosing the right mobile app development platform and keeping up with the best strategies is not the only thing that makes a mobile app successful. Mobile apps are deemed successful by various parameters such user engagement, UI/UX, etc. But, how does that happen?

Sustainable mobile apps are built by strategizing before laying the first brick of pillar. Helping you to march ahead, let’s dive in deep to make the decision right for your business.

5 App Development Trends To Expect In 2023

1. Target Audience

Before you invest in the mobile app development, do some research about the target audience. This will help you to get proper insight of the customer profile, preferences and what device they are using.

Moreover, put more focus on the geographical location of your target audience as platform varies widely by region. Identifying the target market in a right way plays a very crucial role while starting with your mobile app development process.

You can select the target audience by considering demographic factors such as education, age, socio-economic culture and occupation.

2. Native vs. Cross Platform vs. Hybrid:

Selecting the right platform for mobile app development leads to increased ROI, app retention and user-engagement. Before figuring out the best platform for your business, it is important to consider the user experience and user engagement;

the ideal platform is something that can offer optimized user experience and addresses the unique requirements for customer and business. You can consider the segments like user-friendliness, interactivity, reliability, responsiveness, app updates, customization and much more while selecting them.

#2.1 Native Mobile App:

Native mobile apps are developed in programming language which is native to the device & operating system and requires one specific app to create for one platform. To be precise, user can use the in-built features of the OS; for instance if camera support is needed in your app, developer can easily integrate app with camera.

#2.2. Cross-Platform Mobile App:

This refers to the mobile app development that is compatible with the single code base and can be used across multiple OS such – android, iOS, Windows. This enables the developers to reduce time to market, low development cost, code re-usability etc.

#2.3. Hybrid Mobile app:

Hybrid mobile app is also referred as cross-platform apps but renders the user-interface using embedded web browser, HTML, CSS and JavaScript. This helps with advancements and leads to reduced time in developing apps for individual platforms.

3. Development Cost

The cost of developing the mobile app largely depends on:

• Types of application
• Project complexities
• Resources required
• Technology Used

Moreover, application maintenance, upgrades and development efforts can vary significantly; it can be expensive and varies from vendor to vendor and there is always a hidden cost involved.

Open source tools can be an attractive option as it results into cost-saving but you need to spend hours in integrating them. Mobile app service provider can help in evaluating total cost analysis and estimate of the overall scope and timeline of the project.

4. App maintenance

Just because you published your mobile app, it doesn’t mean you are all set to earn profits. The world surrounding your app is constantly evolving and hence, your app also needs to upgrade from time to time.

If you want your app to sustain in the market, you always need to add enhanced features, test and host, deploy, and update UI/UX and much more.

Thousands of mobile apps are released each day; it is naïve to think that just because your app is wonderful, it will flourish. Be it on Android, iOS or Windows, there are many crucial things that you need to maintain your mobile app for long-term. You will need to

• Extend the features and functionalities of your app iteratively
• Enhance it on various grounds like performance, app store listings, user behavior and so on
• Keeping up with the latest UI/UX app trends
• Mobile app analytics for data driven improvements
• Providing quick bug fixes and security patches

5. Security

Opting for the mobile app development frameworks unofficially, exposes you to certain degree of risk as you are using layers of abstraction on decided platform and the coding language which is operating on it.

Additionally, you must make note of norms of industry standards, system monitoring and data encryption capabilities when building mobile app.

In-case, if you are using cloud services, you need to make sure that it complies with the rules-regulations and standard norms. Although it may sound easier to engage in cross-platform mobile app development, but getting highest level of security can be bit difficult.

If all the above points are taken into consideration, it can ensure a successful end product. TOPS Infosolutions’ team of developers makes sure to concentrate on all the above points and ensures your business growth while taking care of all technical requirements.

If you have got an app idea; it’s time to convert your idea into reality. Connect with us today!

By 2020, 30% of web browsing sessions will be done without a screen – Gartner

Gone are the days when you had access to the commands in mobile apps just by only tapping on the screen. The arrival of Siri – Apple’s personal assistant on iPhone 4S resulted in the rise of speech recognition on mobile devices and today, easy-to-use voice recognition technology is revolutionizing the way people interact and is about to take a giant leap forward.

The reason voice recognition is gaining traction these days is the level of hassle-free operations it provides.

A step-by-step process of how it is done:

• The user speaks some words by invoking voice recognition mobile app
• The spoken words are processed by recognition software and converted to text
• The converted text is then provided as input to the search mechanism which returns the results

Benefits oF Voice-Based Mobile Apps

• Easier and Faster: Delivering the command with multiple taps on the keypad was the only option before but with voice, communication is more natural, three times faster and hands-free mode is yet another benefit.
• Works precisely: Typo errors can be avoided and streamlined operations enable higher productivity.
• Security: Voice-dedicated processes are always secured; no one can interpret one’s voice and requires less training.
• Multiple uses: Voice recognition through mobile devices makes life easy and can be carried out on the move. For instance: The use of voice-based mobile apps while driving.

Why it is crucial?

By integrating voice recognition skills, you are not just limited to giving commands by tapping the keypad in the mobile app. Typing long statements is always cumbersome, but with voice assistance capabilities, you can make your mobile app independent and provide a hands-free interaction experience.

By adopting voice technology, mobile app developers will be able to increase user interaction, and user experience and the mobile app commands would provide a unique way to address UX concerns. Whether you want to avoid distractions or are unable to manipulate the touch screen, a voice assistant can be your best friend and can prove to be the easiest solution!

What Abilities Do The Voice Recognition Software Provide?

1. Personalized responses: Today, voice assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri are widely used and all of them can recognize different voices with integrated voice recognition skills to create a more personalized user experience.

So, mobile app developers will be able to build voice-based profiles in the mobile app to create a more personalized experience for the users. For instance, if you ask about your morning route, you will get info about your route and not your spouse’s; the same goes well for playlists, schedules, shopping lists, travel info, and much more.

2. Voice Push Notification: Generally, push notifications are in the form of text messages that usually do not disturb the ongoing activity of the user but with the voice push notification, the user gets distracted as it attracts the user’s attention.

There are pros and cons attached to it but voice push notification on mobile app offers a wide range of possibilities and is perfect for boosting mobile app engagement by connecting with customers when you want, wherever they are. Mobile app marketers need to make sure that the sent voice push notifications are relatively important and need to be timely done so that the users do not get irritated.

3. Pay by Voice: With the introduction of voice-driven digital assistants, voice-enabled payments in the digital banking solution has opened a new avenue for customers for on-the-go payment. The interface in the mobile banking system is completely voice-driven, hence giving the benefit of making transactions with a natural voice conversation.

Additionally, remembering the PIN number is not required and customers can use their own voice because of voice biometrics authentication which is extremely safe and secure. When it comes to product purchasing, Alexa searches the eligible items from the order history of Amazon-prime and makes the use of 1-click setting to make the payment.

4. Voice for Home Entertainment: Voice assistants have changed the way people interact with devices and not too far in the future; they will be the primary means to communicate in the home. For instance, in the connected home, the voice interface will discard the use of light switches, buttons, remote controls, and much more.

Your customers can ask their TV, set-top box to search for programs, movies, tv shows, etc. With voice recognition, customers can solve the problem of increasing device functionality without adding extra taps and displays to streamlined designs.

The Final Word

Voice recognition technology is the next big thing in mobile app development, tech companies like Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and many more are looking for unique ways to implement natural-language user interaction.

Because of its convenience and hassle-free operations, it provides to customers, integrating voice assistance can help to give the edge to your business. Looking to integrate voice recognition technology into your mobile app?

Feel free to reach out to our team and it would be great to engage with you in realizing the strength of voice-enabled mobile apps.

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often” – Winston Churchill

Today, with the surge of mobile app development, newer mobile apps are introduced in of play-store and app-store at the lightning speed. But does every mobile app get successful?

In this cluttered app market, it is challenging for every Appreneur to keep the app updated as per the current trends. It may not be able to hit the bull’s eye if not utilized at its full potential.

It is not only necessary to streamline the entire app development process but also to deliver the desired results within a short span of time. So, mobile app development Companies need to think of some process that makes the process faster and mainly focuses on flexible planning, customer involvement, risk management, and continuous evaluation.

To develop the app with such a process, agile methodology is the most perfect one as it is integrated with each factor necessary to design the final product precisely as per the user’s expectation.

What is Agile Methodology?

Agile is the product development approach where the complicated task is segregated into a series of development cycles and thus each sub-tasks become a separate module for a development team.

Respective experts are then assigned to each task which ultimately results in a faster development process. The use of Agile application development includes regular communication,

and constant interaction; achieving the maximum flexibility of the design in the process involved. This means, if the client raises new demand for the product, it can be changed as per the need without affecting the project as a whole.

Basic Ideologies of Agile Principles

• Continuous developer-client interaction and inter-team interactions lead to good collaborations and better results.
• Simple design
• Product delivered in a shorter span of time
• More room for modifications in the app at any stage of development
• Ensures maximum utilization of the resources by simply breaking down the methodology into manageable sprints.

Why you should use agile methodology for mobile app development?

The agile method helps in overcoming many issues that a developer faces using traditional app development methods such as assorted demands of users, seamless development, different operating system, an unexpected amendment from the client during project development, and much more.

Listed below determines some of the benefits of the agile approach in the mobile app….

• • Reduces Risk:

    The traditional waterfall model has a high risk of failures such as late delivery, scope creep, lack of information, budget shortage, and much more. But, agile development calls for a parallel testing model enabling you to track the various task in mobile application development with the increased information and reducing the risk from the beginning. Other than that:

  • Early and frequent integration of code mitigates the risk of late integration
  • Early and frequent testing of software mitigates the risk of late discovery of errors
  • Early and frequent delivery of software to customers mitigates the risk of late delivery

Having such high clarity followed by the scrum management process provides accurate insights eliminating the problem of later-stage quality issues.

• Delivers great user experience: Agile keeps business analysts, designers, and developers on the same page and is accountable for the success or failure of the project. The UX designer starts its development even before the Sprint and works closely with stakeholders to scrutinize the software behavior and dig out the mobile app design requirements.

  Additionally, due to the different screen size and limited bandwidth in the mobile app, things like session duration, app download rate, and in-app behavior becomes the prime factor to consider for the mobile app owner.The agile approach enables testing with these entities to adjust the design and features of apps for delivering a quick and seamless experience. Other than that, a small change in the design can lessen many issues and the agile process will quickly respond to the changes due to the iterative process where all the changes are always welcome for achieving business goals.

• Ensures error-free and on-time delivery: The best thing about the agile approach is, it reduces time-to-market and provides on-time delivery of the project to the great extent. Due to its iterative nature, developers need to release the features of the first milestone and then add further features in the later milestones.

  With such a process, the project follows the proper schedule making it possible for the mobile app development company to deliver the final product on time. Additionally, with this iterative approach and errors recognized at the early stage of the development, minor errors can be easily fixed without letting them affect the entire project and this in turn gives the filtered version of the mobile app to the users.

• Seamless Project Management and Enhanced Productivity: Iterating the development of the mobile app into different modules, the agile methodology enables the management of the entire project with ease and aids the product managers to get an idea of the team’s productivity. As a result, there is a tracking of each task that enables the provision of realistic deadlines and helps to report the issues instantly during frequent deliveries.In the traditional approach, it may happen that, the designed blueprint doesn’t come out with what was expected and the client may confront it after the months of project commencement. But, agile, deliver milestones in sprints providing tangible solutions to mitigate these circumstances. At every sprint, you can get feedback for the same and developers can continue to make improvements until an expected end product is delivered.

Wrapping it up

Considering the fierce competition in the market and the dynamic nature of mobile software, it is the right approach to choose an incremental agile methodology to overcome the challenges of mobile app development.

With this methodology, you will not only experience faster decision making but the app will surely hit the market at a faster pace. Wish to create a mobile app that can help to reach your business goals and deliver an exceptional user experience for your customers?

TOPS Infosolutions can help! Our mobile app and software development service brings the idea of your mobile app to the life.

As per the research by Delloite, it was revealed that in 2017 respondents earning $100,000 or more expect 57 percent of their spending will be online and 39 percent in-store. They also added up that as holiday retail spending is bucking trends this season, online spending is expected to exceed this year for the first time.

These predictions can become true at least when Amazon is concerned. Amazon’s e-commerce sales are expected to grow 32 percent to $196.8 billion dollars in 2017 in the U.S., or 43.5 percent of total e-commerce sales. This figure represents gross merchandise volume data, which includes sales made by third parties on Amazon’s marketplace.

Here the question arises – What can brick-and-mortar retailers and small business owners do to compete with the trends of online sales?

How would they get a larger piece of the retail pie? One answer lies in location-based marketing using geofencing technologies.

What is Geofencing all about?

Geofencing is a feature that uses Global Positioning System (GPS) or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to access their customer’s location by establishing a virtual fence around a specific area.

An area can be a precise location of your business, a larger region around your business, or even the location of your nearest competitors. You can send push notifications or text messages or display relevant ads on the browser or social media feeds whenever any of your customers enter or leave the geofenced area.

Customers are typically identified by:

• Using your business’s mobile app
• Social media profiles
• Browser and search history

But businesses are not just limited to retail or using their own locations!

• The cafeteria can trigger a notification when a customer walked into another cafeteria
• An event planner can trigger notifications when fans visit birthday parties, weddings, etc, and can offer helpful tips

The possibilities are quite broad – if used correctly, geofencing can revolutionize your business and offer you many perks. Let’s consider some of the benefits:-

• Cost-Effective Marketing

Today, the cost of creating ad campaigns is sky-high and it’s not easy for every product owner to match that budget. But, with geofencing, you can cut down your cost and still produce the desired result – since it only focuses on targeted customers and these customers are surely going to profit from you.

Geofencing is like the extension of your local store or restaurant. With geofencing, you get the chance to pinch the user with the best offers on your product at the right time when they need it.

For instance, Taco Bell – Geofencing is a very important tool for the marketing plan of Taco Bell. Its mobile ordering feature attracts users to download their mobile app and simply pick up their order from the outlet without waiting.

When their customers download the app, the restaurant uses geofencing capabilities to alert the customer when they are near and can serve hot and fresh food. Additionally, they are using push notification services to target people under 30 years old whenever they are in the locality of Taco Bell.

With the right tools at a right time, you can grow your business by sending alerts with just location-based functionalities in your mobile app. Isn’t that cost-effective enough?

• Driving-in customers

Apart from marketing the brand, it also provides the reasons for the customers to visit their stores. Although they are nearby your business, that doesn’t mean that they are aware of all promotional offers you are running –You need to tell them. You can use variations in your approaches – let’s say you can geo-fence your competitors’ locations and deliver the ads and push alerts promoting your business when they are in the vicinity of your competitors.

The North Face – one of the top outdoor product companies in the USA producing coats, fleece, shirts, footwear, etc. started trials of geofencing in 2011 by sending text messages about deals and discounts on the new arrival but eventually started expanding with the alerts about weather condition or logistics for ski competition. A difference in the approaches can always attract the users to draw customers in and in turn, can increase engagement.

If you feel hesitant enough to approach your competitor’s customer, you can opt for co-marketing geofencing campaigns. For instance, travel companies target wedding planners’ customers. If you constantly overwhelm your visitors, they are likely to opt out of your service, but if you offer value and convenience with a well-timed strategy and different approaches they are likely to visit you. Based on demographics and interests, you can apply a filter to reach a specific group of audiences and ultimately grow your business.

• Business Intelligence

With the help of geofencing, your business can gather customer data to know their buying habits, buying motivation, etc. By analyzing the customer’s data carefully, you can generate a more detailed segment of your customers, by targeting them with social media posts, ads, and push notifications that are related to the customer’s behavior and interests.

Walgreens is looking to develop location-based software to understand the behavior of customers and ultimately improve customers’ experience. When customers enter the store, Walgreens wants them to check their point balance, and store specific information before they purchase certain products.

Today, customers come across many offers and discounts, but they tend to respond to what is convenient to them and are tailored to their interests and behavior.

Hence, geofencing can be used as the best tool to gather customers’ data to further process them for business analytics.

Few other use cases…

Keeps the track of construction, vehicles, tools, materials

Today most Construction Company uses GPS facility to keep track of their construction fleets by installing the technology in their types of equipment and providing alerts to any unauthorized entry to the construction site. The manager can receive push notifications when equipment has crossed its radius, so you can determine whether your equipment is stolen or moved to any specific location.

Another important use of geofencing is in the fleet-management system. When the fleet delivers any material, your crew can be notified so that they can make any arrangements to reduce waiting time.

Few Examples of Leading Companies that thrive Business by Geofencing App Development

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Uber
• Zomato
• Starbucks

The Conclusion

Today geofencing is gaining momentum in all industry verticals and if used effectively at the right place and time, it can drive more conversions and boost your brand. Looking for application development that facilitates geofencing?

Tell us your requirements and we assure you that our experts will surely accomplish them.

• 1887 – You had 4-5 mates from school and neighbor
• 1997 – You had 15-20 friends connected through mobile phones
• 2017 – You have 2017 friends, followers, and fans

The connectivity among people has increased due to the presence of social media; you have all your pals connected via social media platforms Research says that the number of people active on social media is approximately 2.46 billion and every year more than 1 million active social media users are added; Isn’t that something very huge?

From teenagers to adults, businesses to non-profit organizations; all agree that social media is one of the most important mechanisms that enable us to connect with the world.

Key Essential Features of a Social Media App

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Whatsapp are some of the social media apps which have been dominating the app charts for a long and to develop such apps it is necessary to comprehend user experience and significant features.

To be precise, sharing, commenting, finding memories, topics of interest, etc. is what fascinates users on social media.

Here are 6 key features every social media app should have:

#1: Sign up and integrate with existing social media 

To start with, you must provide an easy and convenient way to access your service. Integrating with existing social media accounts can speed up the process and makes the sign-up process a smooth ride. It is very tedious for any user to fill out the forms as they may have done already.

So, to provide a better user experience, it is necessary to provide several ways to export data like first name, last name, etc. Generally, the most user uses Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter on the go, and integrating feature like ‘sign up with Facebook, Instagram, etc.’ will enable them to sign up with the account in seconds.

This is a hassle-free way to import data and contacts and the best process to increase the number of your social media app users as users always look for user-friendly navigation with advanced functionality.

#2: Select the best platforms

To develop social media app, you should choose the platform in order to accelerate the process of software development. With such intense competition in the market, it is necessary that your app is supported on all platforms, especially iOS and Android.

You must select the platform that provides built-in support for developing the best 2D and 3D graphics which helps to bring more user engagement. Choosing the best platform and testing on different devices is important as it would increase the global reach, enhance the credibility of your brand in the IT services market and make your app picture-perfect.

Both iOS and Android platforms have authenticated levels of security and so it makes sure that your app doesn’t get crashed and delivers the best app performance.

#3: Self Expression

Once the user has logged in to your social media app, the most important thing they look for is their presence, as they want to feel unique, and show the world how creative, extraordinary, and out-of-the-box they are.

So, every social media app should provide customization of the profile, backgrounds, interests, preferences, location, number of followers/friends, and recent activity. This would help the users to enhance their credibility and improve their identity.

Moreover, mobile app developers can also provide customized fonts and attractive write-ups to make the app interesting. You must develop an app that has a plethora of options for profile personalization.

Most successful social network app provides the following:-

• Tools that make user-generated content look unique
• Simplify the process of sharing content
• Target specific audiences

For instance, Instagram has awesome filters that make the app attractive. Flickr is a big photo-sharing app that is targeted only at aspiring photographers.

#4: Build a network – Invite and connect

Any social media app makes sense only if they have friends and interesting people to look for. So, your app must have an algorithm that maps friends and people with common interests and enables them to connect/ follow in a single click.

To connect with each other, the user typically needs to approve this action, and to follow something is a one-way process. Some apps even offer you to connect with people from the other connected network.

Additionally, the connection can also be in the form of groups, events, social networks, etc. Groups are the community through which the user is indirectly connected to various people with shared preferences and interests.

#5: News feed

This is exactly what users look for when they open social media applications in the first place and continue to use them. In order to stir up your social media app, you need to feed the user-generated post that includes stories, status, pictures, videos, etc.

Features like comments, likes, favorites, etc. help to communicate with other users and provide them with a platform to express their opinion. Not having such curated content is like driving a car without fuel.

It all depends on how you want to show the content – you can display the feed in chronological order or use algorithms to generate the feed from most important to least important. Some apps also use machine learning algorithms to display the feeds as per users’ preferences.

For instance: Facebook and Instagram are arranging their feed from important to least important. But it is best to offer the arrangement of a news feed that suits the specifications of the social networking app.

#6: Search + Messaging + Notification

Your social media app must be designed in a way that it can search the user by hashtags, names, last name, location, etc as this helps the user to make newer connections in an easy way.

You can also provide suggestions to make new connections as per the information in their profile. Most social media app has chats, group conversation feature, calling as well as conference calling feature which makes the conversation more personal.

You can also use third-party services to develop real-time chat applications in your app. Push Notification is something that delivers your message instantly. Outline your algorithm that makes the subscription to the push notification much easier. Push Notification creates more user engagement than email lists and is also less disturbing and highly cheaper than traditional SMS.

Search, messaging, notification are the powerful tools of social networking that make your app stand tall amongst competitors.

Wrapping It Up

Today, in the IT services market, developing a social media app is the most happening thing but it needs expertise and experience from the technical perspective to make it successful. If you are looking to develop a robust, reliable, and result-driven social networking app, a professional mobile app development company is what you need.

Being one of the top social media app development companies, we have experts that can season your app – in and out.

Undoubtedly, mobile app development is one of the actively expanding sectors. As per the research, 74.7 billion applications will be downloaded by 2021 in the USA itself.

Today apps are developed for myriad different platforms like connected TVs, smart homes, IoT-enabled devices, and many more.

With such diverse platforms, the mobile app development space holds a lot of importance and provides big opportunities for both companies and consumers.

5 Trends that will Shape the Future of Mobile App Development

1. Wearable Technology

There is no doubt that smart wearable devices are their presence felt in the market at the lightning speed. With the current surge in the use of mobile apps, smart wearables are becoming the apple of the eye to the top mobile app developers and more & more brands are using wearable technology to influence user behavior.

Today, they are anticipated to be used by organizations and businesses in order to improve efficiency and productivity. Sports, Fashion, Health, Education, etc. are focusing to provide a better user experience through the use of wearable devices. Smart wearables like Microsoft’s HoloLens and Apple Watch point towards a revolution in computing from basic to smart wearables.

The wearable device will deliver information in an innovative way by integrating with your Smartphone. Thus, wearable devices connected to smartphones will influence the next generation of mobile app development strategies.

2. Progressive Web Apps will gain traction

Progressive web apps have gained a lot of significance because of the ease of mobile app development. The progressive web apps, it pushes the mobile web forward, bringing parity to web and native apps and helping mobile developers to reach more users.

Progressive web apps describe the collection of technologies, design concepts, and Web APIs that work in tandem to provide an app-like experience on the mobile web. Because of such a significant increase in the mobile browser audience, progressive web apps are expected to rise considered one of the major mobile app trends.

Progressive web apps can help with better user retention and performance using the mobile app’s key characteristics.

3. M-Commerce

As mobile app users increase day by day, m-Commerce helps to scale up your business. Digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and Samsung Pay has made online transactions extremely convenient and efficient and give businesses that integrate this technology a competitive edge in the market.

Other than that, m-commerce is pushing vendors and retailers to invest in mobile advertising to promote their brands. Also, it helps in providing personalized services such as location-based marketing which enables the vendor to promote products based on the location of the customer.

With m-commerce, predictive analytics and data collection become easy and wearables will also play a significant role in the future of m-commerce and customer loyalty.

4. Beacons and Location-based Technology will continue to rise.

With the increase in smartphone penetration, the availability and use of GPS on mobile devices, and location-based service will evolve more and more to provide real-time information of whereabouts, interaction, and revenue generation for app developers and businesses. For example, LBS can be implemented to:

• Show users nearby attractions or services, along with reviews and directions
• Show users location-based advertising and real-time offers

Enormously personalized services like Precise indoor location sensing, combined with mobile applications, will enable a new generation of extremely personalized services and information. Major tech giants including the retail & hospitality sector have already packed up with huge investments in the LBS space.

The use of beacons helps retailers to bridge the gap between the in-store and online experience. They help to accumulate important in-store data, send push notifications, and gather traditional in-store metrics. Personalization in mobile app development has become more important than ever, which is a major cause why beacons are gaining traction as engagement tools to improve the overall customer experience.

5. Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)

EMM is the collective set of tools, technologies, processes, and policies which are used to manage mobile devices and mobile computing services to simplify the business. The main feature consists of mobile application management, security, enterprise file sharing, and synchronization.

To be precise EMM is the mixture of Mobile Device Management (MDM), Mobile Application Management (MAM), and Mobile Information Management (MIM). Through mobile application management, the delivery and administration of enterprise software are done on the user’s Smartphone. Mobile information management (MIM) keeps the data sensitive to an organization encrypted and allows only approved applications to access it or transmit data through it.

The most important objective of an enterprise mobile application is to help you reorganize, rationalize and run vital business processes on the go. In the business context of mobile app development, it addresses the increasing trend of mobile and handheld devices used in routine business operations.

Mobile Application Development

has become an integral element of the digital world, Without the best tactics, the attention span of users decreases dramatically and because of such a shift in user behavior, mobile apps must contain a set of features that entice users to return to your mobile app.

Have an awesome idea? Let’s convert it into the next-generation mobile app. Get in touch with us now!

“Recently, I, along with my mates, was having a gala time watching the Super Bowl – the annual championship game of the National Football League. Watching Pittsburgh Steelers pleasing the NFL Super Bowl was like beholding an olden time.

But, in such scenarios, we skipped our dinner time and no one was in the mood to get out and stalk for food. Suddenly, one of my friends bumped up aloud ‘Cheese Hamburger … anyone’? Our silence turned into affirmation and again she shouts – 15 minutes guys… dinner will be held before the ceremony starts.

And I was like ‘what heck you just did? She simply replied ‘Zomato app girl; ‘this just doesn’t stop here, she sent me a link on WhatsApp and asked me to add a referral code to avail of discounts. I am like, ‘Cool… Sounds great buddy!!!’

This is The Magic of On-demand Apps!!!

Living in a digital world, everyone is busy with their tight work schedules, difficult to find time to get everything we want. Before the internet, smartphones, and mobile apps, people had to pull themselves to diverse stores to buy their preferred products. But today, as we have moved out of traditional times and with the arrival of on-demand apps, it has now become moderately easier to get everything delivered to your doorstep.

As per the Harvard Business Reports, the on-demand economy is attracting more than 22.4 million consumers annually in $57.6 billion spending. All these on-demand services include retail services, freelance services, home services, transportation, food & grocery, health services, and other similar services.

Do you think the trend of on-demand apps will fade away? The answer is a BIG NO!!!

This new list of on-demand app-based services is making the lives of urban elites more ingenious by offering convenience:

• From cleaning your home to making your everyday laundry
• From gratifying beauty services to amazing photography
• From dog sitter to babysitter
• From pizza delivery to Liquor
• From home decoration to maintenance services

Hence, many entrepreneurs are keen to invest in such services that can meet the expectations of customers within their price range as well as can be easily available to them at their convenience. Considering Uber or AirBNB – the top on-demand services company strives to carve out a niche out of the traditional market space.

The on-demand business model has a remarkable goal – to complete a customer’s demand with the instant provision of goods and services. The on-demand apps are giving curves to millions of entrepreneurs and have taken over several industries. With a winning on-demand business model merged with a user-friendly mobile-based platform, you have the secret blueprint for building millions of dollars.

The sole key is to take the on-demand services to a large audience and the below tactics can help you to do the same.

• An undisturbed User Interface

It is said “First impression is the last impression” and this is definitely true for mobile applications as well! The USP of any mobile app is the simple and easy user experience which must be the sole goal for any appreneur. To simplify let’s consider on-demand apps in the retail industry – Amazon, eBay, etc. It is integrated with:-

1. Cart information on every page
2. Options to remove the product from the cart
3. Showing related products
4. Filter option to choose the products based on personal choice
5. Integrated with various third-party payment gateways

Easy navigation in the mobile app will help users to fetch information easily and since it is transparent, it will urge the users and clients to trust you which will ultimately help to grow the business.

• Talk with the customer and ask for feedback

It is very crucial to have regular touch with the user of the mobile app, as customer feedback can make or break your business. With on-demand apps, you can send promos, offers, and discounts which help to keep them hooked. Seamless communication helps in handling their queries or accepting their feedback which is the stepping stone for an on-demand business model.

To collect feedback:-

1. You need to track the right metrics
2. Use In-App Net Score Promoter surveys
3. Savvy Support Communities
4. List the app in some Feedback websites
5. Call to Action on every page
6. Regular updates of the app and other social media handles

• Personalization and Customization

Undoubtedly, personalization in on-demand apps is always appreciated by users. Offering the personalization settings evidently is a win-win situation as the customer will simply pick up your app over other similar apps. Flexible settings like the dashboard, color, themes, fonts, and sizes will help the customer to build up a positive emotion towards the app and will unquestionably prefer and refer to the app. Customization enables the users to craft their personal choices about what they crave to see or locate preferences for how information is prepared or displayed. This ultimately enhances user experience because it enables the users to control their interaction.

For instance: Zomato – A food-ordering app

• Zomato immediately lets the user know this page is personalized for them
• Personal Hello and link to the user’s account
• Understands the user’s location and shows the nearby location
• A list of places, users who have been there, followers, photos, etc. everything is personalized

The rise of these companies has shaped a competitive market which resulted in remodeling the slow-moving industries with technological innovation. Take into consideration some of the ground transportation, laundry, grocery, and food industries. These industries are the leading examples of how mobile app technology redefined these industries with the advent of on-demand apps and the efforts of mobile app developers. Here, a large part of the growth is because of how the application of new technology added value to the already existing infrastructure.

Major factors create a niche for the on-demand apps market:

• Ease –People look for services that they find suitable and that can deliver quickly
• Nearby accessibility–They have a preference to get the services within their reach to access it quickly
• Value of product –Fast and excellent services triumph over the expectation of people
• Cost-efficiency –Products and services must meet the affordability of common people to become more popular
• Swift and Easy Payment Mode –Trouble-free payment option increases the user experience in buying products or services, gratifyingly
• Awareness of Services –People should be aware of the convenience of on-demand services in order to increase their reach among people.

How on-demand apps will impact your business?

The on-demand economy is here to stay for a long. The time people spend on mobile apps depends on the kind of experiences they get and their interests. Additionally, the customer does expect a personalized experience, which is why on-demand app development is a trend that every appreneur needs to pay attention to. However, you must also analyze your competitors and make sure your mobile app provides the services in a more simple way for the users to purchase them.

Being, one of the best on-demand mobile app development companies, TOPS Infosolutions is aware of all technical aspects and their implementation which is important for crafting box on-demand apps. Having years of experience in developing on-demand apps in various domains, we would strive to provide your with business on mobile to give your customers ease and convenience.