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How much does an on-demand mobile app cost?

Posted on by Pavel Tantsiura
In this issue:

Imagine that you came home after an exhausting day in the office. The only thing you are dreaming about now is a slice of pizza with double cheese. At the same time, you are too tired to cook it. In this case, many of us will order pizza via UberEats or another on-demand food delivery app. 

Thanks to on-demand mobile services, we can use mobile apps to hail a taxi, receive a consultation with a doctor, and even order medical marijuana delivery. The reason why on-demand service mobile apps are top-rated among users is that they save time and effort. Due to its flexibility, an on-demand business model suits any industry, from cargo transportation to dog walking. 

If you are considering developing an on-demand mobile app for your organization, you need to be aware of on-demand industry leaders, essential app features, and the development costs listed in this on-demand app development guide. 

But first, let’s put the record straight and find out what an on-demand mobile app is. 

What Is An On-Demand Service App?

Such mobile applications perform as a mediator to connect buyers and sellers. This means that, when a customer needs a particular service, one can find a necessary service provider, order service via the app, and even pay for it. Then, on-demand mobile apps charge a small fee on each order made via the app. 

How does an on-demand service app work? 

To explain how on-demand mobile applications work here’s an example of QuePro, an on-demand service app we recently developed.

 

  • A service provider lists skills and expertise via a Vendor account 
  • A buyer places a request with a detailed description of the service one is seeking 
  • A service provider answers the buyer’s request, which allows both parties to start communication via built-in messenger 
  • A buyer pays for the on-demand app services via a build-in payment gateway 
  • Also, a buyer can place a review and rate the service provider

Types of on-demand service apps

On-demand service mobile apps differ from the categories of sellers and buyers. Currently, there are three main types of on-demand app end-users:

  • Business to customer (B2C)

In this category, enterprises provide services to individuals. There are many examples of B2C on-demand mobile apps, including UberEats, Booking.com, and Netflix. 

  • Business to business (B2B)

Organizations connect with other organizations to seek profit. Such applications include transportation services, hiring, banking, etc. Good examples of B2B on-demand service apps are Catalant, Eventio, and Cargomatic. 

  • Customer to customer (C2C)

C2C on-demand mobile apps gather individuals who provide services to other individuals. Thanks to C2C mobile marketplaces, you can book someone to walk your dog via Rover or rent a flat via Airbnb. 

The most successful categories of on-demand service apps

Consider the following categories for your on-demand service startup:

Taxi-hailing

After Uber’s success, more and more tech startups want to enter the taxi booking app market and become successful. Despite the presence of big players, the market of on-demand taxi-hailing applications remains a good prospect for even young startups. To learn more about taxi-booking app development, read our previous article. 

READ ALSO:

UNDER THE HOOD OF UBER: THE TECH STACK AND SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE

HOW TO BUILD AN APP LIKE UBER: STEPS, FEATURES, AND COSTS

taxi booking app development

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Free E-Book on Taxi App Development

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Logistic 

This type of on-demand app provides businesses with an opportunity to find reliable transportation service providers. Since most logistics mobile apps include integrated GPS, organizations can track the location of their orders or commodity supply. 

UBER FOR TRUCKS APP DEVELOPMENT: ESSENTIAL FEATURES AND COSTS


GPS route planning app

[Our GPS route planning and navigation app]

Food delivery 

Recent research shows that the on-demand food delivery market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 27.9% and reach $16,605 million by 2023. Examples such as UberEats, GrubHub, and Postmates show that on-demand food delivery will remain popular among customers. You can find out more about food delivery app development and monetization strategies in one of our articles. 

food delivery mobile app development

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CASE STUDY – OUR SUCCESS STORY: 

Alfred Ibiza case study: How we developed a food ordering platform

Dog walking 

Also known as Uber for dogs, dog walking apps allow pet lovers to schedule a walk for their pets. The average price of a dog walking service starts from $15, while mobile apps charge a 5% fee per walk. The main industry leaders, Rover and Wag apps, generated $30 million annual revenue in total. When developing a dog-walking app, consider our tips from the article Dog Walking App Development Guide. 

dog walking mobile app development

[Source]

Medical cannabis delivery 

While many countries have decriminalized marijuana for medical and recreational use, an on-demand medical cannabis delivery app might be an excellent idea for your tech startup. However, to provide such services, you need to learn about your government regulations toward marijuana transportation and get the necessary licenses, unless you intend to break the law. In this blog post, we describe steps to starting a legal medical marijuana delivery business, and development stages. 

medical cannabis delivery app

[Source]

Telemedicine 

When looking for ideas for your on-demand service mobile app, don’t forget about the telemedicine industry. Telemedicine mobile applications, also known as doctor-on-demand, connect medical professionals with people who are seeking medical consultation. App users can find a necessary specialist, schedule an appointment, and receive a consultation via video call in the comfort of their homes. However, to make your app legit, you need to follow HIPAA and GDPR guidance concerning sensitive personal data. 

doctor on demand mobile app

[Source]

Considering Developing a Healthcare Mobile App?

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How to build an on-demand service mobile app: essential features 

From a developer’s point of view, on-demand service apps work as a marketplace with numerous buyers and sellers. Thus, your app will consist of three parts:

  • An app for buyers, where consumers search for the service they need, see reviews, pricing, and track orders
  • An app for service providers, where the companies list their services and communicate with clients
  • An admin panel that allows you to group the services and providers, manage feed, track payments, allow user access, etc.

Before hiring on-demand app developers, learn about the main features of your project. 

Feature 

Description 

Estimation in hours

User registration and profile

This feature is essential for your personalized on-point service. Not only will it continuously provide you with behavioral info from the user, but it will also help you to keep track of their activities.

Design – 10 h 

BackEnd – 24 h Android/iOS – 40 h

Map integration

For on-demand service, the location of its customers is another cornerstone. It’ll work for both the customer searching for service and service providers.

Design – 4 h 

BackEnd – 16 h Android/iOS – 8 h

Filters and lists

Being able to find the necessary service via catalog is a must. For better searching, add different filters. 

Design – 12 h 

BackEnd – 16 h Android/iOS – 40 h

Vendor profile and service page

Here is shown a detailed description of a chosen company, its services, customer reviews, and photos.

Design – 16 h 

BackEnd – 16 h Android/iOS – 32 h

Shopping cart and payment gateway

Allow app users to add a service to the shopping cart and pay for it via a built-in payment gateway.  

Design – 8 h 

BackEnd – 16 h Android/iOS – 24 h

Push Notifications

Inform users about order status, new messages, and other essential updates. 

Design – 2 h 

BackEnd – 40 h Android/iOS – 32 h

On-demand app development cost

On-demand mobile apps are complex projects with different user roles. This factor impacts the cost of app development. According to our previous estimations of on-demand service apps, it might take 8 months of development and cost from $70K per mobile platform. To receive a detailed estimate, use our project cost calculator. 

A GUIDE ON HOW TO CREATE A TELEMEDICINE APP LIKE DOCTOR-ON-DEMAND

Conclusion

People will always need to get things done, and with the current rhythm of life, on-demand services may eventually become, if not already,  a complete on-demand economy. 

So, is it worth even trying to create an on-demand app? Definitely. To achieve this, choose one of the most prospective niches from this article, consider the app’s essential features and fill in our contact form. 

What solutions can we offer?

Find Out More

 

How to Create an iPhone App the Right Way From the Very Start

Posted on by Pavel Tantsiura
In this issue:

An iPhone application can help you enhance the utility of your phone. A well-developed application can be very useful both for your personal needs as well as for your business. You can even sell these apps. A customized app is of great value and this is why you need to develop it yourself.

Before you get down to make an app for the iPhone, there are things you need to know, things you need to have, and there are things you need to do. All these require some organization. There must be a chronology of action. Here is a procedure on how to make an app for the iPhone.

(Right off the bat, we should mention that if you’re thinking about an app for your business, rather than for leisure, it’s much more cost-effective to trust professionals, like the APP Solutions team, who have experience in app development.)

Do Research Prior to Starting Your iPhone App Development

The process of developing an iPhone app begins with carrying out some market research. Just having an idea is not good enough. You need to do your research if you are to successfully create your app because there are so many apps out there already.

Identify who you’re building iPhone applications for. Is it yourself, your business, or for a particular audience? What are some of the things you want your app to do? What mistakes did others with similar ideas as yours go wrong?

These are very important questions to guide you in your research. You can help yourself further if you go through apps in your area of interest at the app store. Have a look at what people have to say about them. You can also attend forums were necessary to get more insight on various issues concerning building iPhone applications.

Requirements for Making iPhone Applications

The first thing you need to have is your iPhone. You also need to understand the product’s functionality. A computer is also very essential. You will need a Macintosh or a Mac Mini in order to build a great iPhone application. Macintosh PC will enable you to effectively utilize its available development tools.

Better still, a Macintosh or Mac Mini PC will be of great benefit for you to place your apps in the app store. Another important factor to consider is that you need to be an Apple developer before you can begin to put into use specific tools of the Mac – that is if you choose to use the Mac. It is much easier to sign up with Apple. Just give them the information they need, read their terms and conditions. If everything is okay then say yes to their agreements and you are good to go.

You will also need an OS X operating system. OS X 10.8 can do. If you can get the latest version the better. This will help you ensure that everything works efficiently.

Software Requirements for iPhone App Development

Developing an app requires software. First of all start by downloading Apple’s Software Development Kit (SDK). Once you have downloaded it, install it. It is one of the most important for the purpose of iPhone app development. Apple’s Software Development Kit (SDK) comes with numerous forms as well as test codes. It is vital for writing iPhone applications.

Some of the software that you will need to write iPhone apps are Cocos2d and Xcode editor. You can download these from Apple’s developer page. They are free. XCode is a very important software for programming iPhone apps. It is a completely functional IDE. It also has a very charming work-flow. This is important since it allows for the revision of the source program code. It also has debugging techniques integrated into it as well.

An iPhone Simulator is also essential for you to properly develop iPhone apps. This will help you to test your application during the entire process of app development. In the entire process, you will also need Objective C. Apple’s Software Development Kit has made Objective C very easy to use nowadays especially for creating iOS, iPod, and iPhone apps. Objective C needs the knowledge of C programming since it is considered a cousin to C+.

Set Up Your iPhone App Development Environment

Step one

Download install and test the Xcode. It is the development of your app environment. It is where all iPhone apps are built. Xcode has numerous APIs. These will allow you to build your new app. With this, iCloud integration and Touch ID are also possible.

One thing you will note is that the Swift language has substantial changes. Changes that you will have to be very much aware of as you code the app for iPhone. Nevertheless, there is no more code-breaking especially with regard to the Swift language.

Xcode is a powerful tool. With it, you can get to build a very good app. Nevertheless, before you can even open your Xcode, it is important that you should first have your plan well-thought-out. A good plan will help you get a good app.

Without a good plan, your work will be in vain. Think about the features of your app design them well before you can open your Xcode. Your plan can include such things as your design document. This is a document that sketches all of the functionality of your iPhone app.

Plans for your user interface as well as sketches of the flow between your screens need to be in place. For this to work out well you need to have a basic idea of the sorts of systems that you will require. Once you have your design well laid out, stick to it during the entire process of your app development.

Step two

Download and Install a good text editor. It is possible to code very easily within the Xcode, however, it will be easier if you can have a dedicated text editor. Get a text editor that is specialized in programming syntax. This will make the work much easier. You can try out TextMate or JEdit, they are some of the best text editors you can use to make an app for iPhone.

Step three

Next, you can install a vector graphics program. This is very important especially if you have plans on building for your app custom arts and design. A program that can create vector graphics will be very important. Vector graphics are very important for a good looking app. They can scale without losing clarity. Some of the best vector graphics that you can use to make an app for iPhone include:

  • Xara Designer
  • CorelDraw
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Inkscape

DrawBerry is another important free vector graphics. It is not as powerful as the ones listed above but it’s still good especially if you are a first-timer. It is also good if you don’t want to spend money on vector graphics programs.

Alternative Options on How to Develop an App for iPhone

At times if you may not have an interest in learning Object C yourself (and often, this would be much less cost-effective than hiring someone else, who already knows the best practices). In such a case you can hire a programmer to handle this part for you. It is understandable, you may not have the knowledge of programming and moreover, you may not have the time to learn it.

The next step is to sketch the functionality of your app. This you ought to do before you can get down to create an iPhone app, consider how it will look, its flow, and how it will load. Think about the graphics as well as the sound. These are very important. Decide on the type of music to incorporate as well as the game to include. The most important thing to consider is your app’s practicality. It is best that you keep it simple.

The next and last step on how to build an iPhone app is very easy. Take time and create an iPhone app. You can use the templates at your disposal – those that you had earlier downloaded using Apple’s Software Development Kit.

You can also use Objective C to study the Cocoa software. Once you are done then make use of the iPhone Simulator to try out your app. With the Simulator, you can tell whether you have made a good app. This is how to make apps for the iPhone.

To wrap things up

The iPhone apps market has changed significantly. Many are making more apps and improving their businesses by coming up with practical apps. Success stories of those who have successfully developed iPhone apps are everywhere. You can join the league and become part of the movement.

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Artificial Intelligence and the Fashion Industry

Posted on by Pavel Tantsiura
In this issue:

Styling an outfit is an intricate process that involves theme selection, selection of the primary color, matching of clothing pieces, selection of accessories, and getting the right fit.

It is often said that you are what you wear, yet not many people are skilled in making the right decision when it comes to outfit choice. AI, on the other hand, is capable of driving a clothes swap app to precise decision-making.

From fuzzy logic to genetic algorithms, decision trees to Bayesian networks and neural networks, artificial intelligence software is conveniently positioned to make the work of fashion styling on a day to day basis quick and easy. Each of these AI methods has gained popularity due to their unique abilities gained from years of artificial intelligence development.

Benefits of artificial intelligence methods that can be used in fashion apps

The previous section has enumerated some AI methods that have been used by companies using artificial intelligence. Here are the unique benefits to be obtained from using each of these methods in a fashion app:

  • Bayesian networks – they use probabilities to represent variables. They have the ability to infer existing relationships between current and future trends in fashion.
  • Fuzzy logic – makes use of approximate reasoning and uncertainty. It is the closest to a human brain regarding being able to interpret truthfulness and falsehood, indicating clear likes and dislikes of the user.
  • Artificial neural networks – they are capable of modeling complex styling tasks by modeling preferred outcomes.
  • Decision trees – logically allow decision-making.
  • Genetic algorithms – assign fitness values that enable the user to find exact solutions to an optimization problem.
  • Knowledge-based systems – reason out the existence of a relationship between features of style in fashion.

See also: How To Develop The Best Fitness App

Using artificial intelligence in clothes matching applications

A computer program that intends to use Artificial Intelligence to style its users would have to focus on three main areas:

  • Visual garment representation
  • Computational imitation of stylist behavior
  • The detection and forecasting of fashion trends

Under visual garment representation, the clothes matching app should be able to extract the images of desired outfits. Garments can be described by their unique features including shape, print, color, and fabric. The app would require computer vision techniques to recognize color, shape, and print.

Computer vision techniques automatically recognize color in a Red, Green, and Blue model which it converts into a Hue, Saturation, and Intense model. The same goes for shape as these techniques can extract the outline of the garment. In addition to this, the print is detected under the loudness of the garment (the frequency in color changes and locality).

The fabric would require a more specialized AI method as even human beings struggle to identify all fabrics online by sight alone. Stylistic semantic correlations would come in handy. They would entail having a system that relates certain attributes to certain fabrics to make a prediction. For example, casual T-shirts would be related to cotton fabric, formal dinner dress – to silk, and so on.

Next, this clothes matcher would require the ability to model human stylist behavior. Once the garment has been located, there would be a need for computational styling.  

The first aspect of styling is the color harmonization. An ideal app would be one that can take a standard color scheme and adapt it to the user’s preferences. Interactive artificial intelligence algorithms programming would be able to adapt such color scheme in real-time by using schemes that have additional labels such as “slightly,” “neutral,” “extremely” instead of plain colors.

The second aspect of styling would include the styling of shapes, prints, and fabrics. Many factors go into the personal preference of shape, print, and fabrics including the current fashion trends, the occasion, and the cultural background of the user. The ideal apps that help you choose your outfit would use a neural network model that converts the physical attributes of a garment into a sensation. For example, color into temperature, shape into fit, fabric into softness, and so on.

Thus, as a user, keying in the words “garment with a soft feel on a summer evening” into the application will automatically let artificial intelligence guess your preferred garment fabric and color.

Finally, this app should be able to track fashion trends. An ideal outfit picker would be extremely sensitive to past, current, and future fashion trends. This would require a combination of Bayesian networks and knowledge-based systems.

The Bayesian network would be used to model a human stylist’s trend proposals. Based on the knowledge of the past and current trend, the Bayesian network would be able to classify trends into binary target values which will then be proposed (or not) based on the probability of their reoccurrence.

In summary, the following applications of artificial intelligence would drive this app:

  • Use computer vision techniques to extract the desired image of the outfit
  • Use interactive genetic algorithms to match colors of different pieces
  • Use neural networking to select the desired shape print and fabric
  • Use Bayesian networks to select items based on future fashion trends

The pros of artificial intelligence technology

Many advantages assure the future of artificial intelligence applications in fashion and other areas:

  • It deals with tasks that humans would find boring to do on a daily basis.
  • It quickens the decision-making process, where one would take hours to decide on an outfit for the day.
  • It does away with the margin of error. When the right information is fed into the app to try on clothes, the outcome is accurate.
  • It takes the stress away from an individual. Using an app to make outfits with your own clothes would reduce by a considerable amount the stress that comes with choosing outfits daily.

FYI: Want to find out your web development cost? Try our web calculator.

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5 Tried and Trusted Cases When a Free Mobile App Can Promote Your Business

Posted on by Pavel Tantsiura
In this issue:

The concept of “product free of charge” has substantially transformed over the last couple of years. Until recently, it wasn’t much of an option but merely a necessity for a small company with limited resources and a lack of credibility. After all, every company starts with something and this something is usually given away for free in mostly vain hopes of getting through.

But things have changed. Not only the understanding of the concept had evolved but the very business opportunities of the free products had substantially transformed in a positive direction.

Today, free apps are not just a fancy bow wow wow – it is a powerful tool with many benefits for your business. And many businesses are realizing this trend. Check out the Google Android store distribution of free and paid apps (according to Statista), keeping in mind there are 3,708,107 apps in that app store alone.

Here are five ways free apps can be beneficial for your business.

Trying Out New Ideas

One of the biggest and most important benefits from the development of free apps are opportunities. The biggest opportunity of all is to try something different, something new.

The development of free apps gives a chance to test and flesh out new ideas and develop new approaches to the old ones.

Free apps can offer even more. It is one thing to try things in a controlled environment. It is a completely different situation when you try out something on real users. The sheer force of the market can keep an idea grounded. It can also show what works, what is not, and what can be improved through user feedback.

An insight that the market can provide to the perception of the concept and nuances of its reception is invaluable and can seriously improve the idea and make it more feasible with each successive iteration.

A Showcase of Skill

With testing, ideas comes another big benefit. Any way you look at it – making a free app is a fine showcase of skill for your development team. Plain and simple. Each project, each function adds, refines, and furthers the skills. It gives the team a chance to test their mighty expertise and make it appreciable.

The reasoning is justified by two facts:

  1. Free apps are more likely to be downloaded and used by common users. More downloads bring more users. That results in exposure. This leads to another important thing – feedback;
  2. Users usually don’t expect much from free apps. Because of that – there is always quite a room for wowing an audience and making a splash.

Because of that, the stakes are relatively low and losses are easily retractable. So it is definitely worth a try even for sake of trying.

The biggest takeaway from making free apps is the honing of the skills “on the real battlefield”. It gives a taste of the real market, gives an understanding of the customer behavior and its reaction to the product.

That gives invaluable insights that will greatly help you in future endeavors.

Build a Reputation and Presence via Free Apps

Another important gain from producing free applications is building a reputation and developing a brand presence through actual products and not just loud and fancy words. A succession of useful products targeted at various audience segments can do a fine job of establishing a brand in an audience’s consciousness.

There are several ways you can make the mark:

  • Deliver gimmicky applications for niche audiences – it will provide a short-term presence in the newsfeeds and attract users through the sheer power of curiosity. However, the abandonment level is pretty high and so you will need to provide frequent updates and new products;
  • Deliver useful common needs applications for a mass audience – it will provide a firm place in listicle overviews and will gradually attract users who just need the stuff to be done nice and clean.

Both ways require a lot of skill and effort (see above) but if done right – in the long run, reputational gains outweigh possible monetary losses.

Brand Extension / Product Promotion

One of the most potent ways of making free apps work for your benefit is to use them as a part of a bigger scheme of brand extension and product promotion.

Let’s say – you have a Star Wars movie coming out and there is a big advertising campaign to raise awareness about its existence. How can you expand upon that?

  • You can make a mobile space flight simulator where you can play as a rebel fighter or imperial stormtrooper.
  • Or you can make available Chewbacca sounds pack because it is fun and can be used randomly.
  • Or R2D2-speak translator because interaction with droids might come in handy.

On the other hand, you can offer a different angle on the advertised product – with an interactive twist. For example, Fox’s recent VR campaign for “Alien: Covenant” where you can experience being a chestburster inside a human and in the process of bursting out.

Such little things derive from the primary product and further impressions of the users in various directions.

However, in order to pull this off, you need to have an established brand or association with an established brand first. Otherwise, an app will do little for your business.

One of the key elements of building a recognizable brand is making some sort of signature app. Let’s say you are providing some services

Monetization

While “free apps” are called so because they are free (duh) – it doesn’t mean they can’t make money. Quite the contrary. In fact, free apps are quite effective in creating sweet-sweet revenue.

There are several ways of how free apps can make money. However, they don’t have much effect on their own. It is better to use combinations. Let’s make a short rundown of the most viable monetization options:

  • In-app adverts – a little banner or pop-up inside the application which will present some product – usually another app;
  • In-app purchases – optional ability to buy additional functions for the product. Works best with transformative applications such as text or photo editors. A couple of elaborate filters are always in demand. Works best with timely occasions such as Halloween or significant cultural events;
  • Freemium model – an offer to extend and expand user experience with the bigger & better version of an application. It means – free version offers a basic set of functions completely capable of doing the job while for a little pay there is a significantly expanded version of an application that can do the same and much more. In this case – the free app serves as a teaser of sorts;

The Takeaway

Despite being a viable tool for making a profit – there is still a persistent impression that free apps are just that – free apps free of any positive business consequences. This and many other myths about mobile apps need to be laid to rest. And this article is a part of this “myth-retiring” campaign.

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The 8 Challenges of Virtual Reality App Development

Posted on by Pavel Tantsiura
In this issue:

It’s weird that Virtual Reality (VR) is still in the status of “barely there” “up and coming” technology. It’s been a part of the cultural conversation for decades and over the years there were many various daring conceptualizations of an idea — from mere extensions of everyday life to outlandish otherworldly experiences. What’re the virtual reality problems that stand in the industry’s way of skyrocketing?

Until recently it was all on paper or in early prototype stages — far away from the majority of consumers. Now things have changed, somewhat, but it is still hard to say whether it will actually stick in any lucrative manner. In other words — it is a rather perplexing moment for an industry. This is extremely problematic for anyone who is trying to do something substantial with it.

The good sign is that Augmented Reality has become a thing and there is more than one viable solution for applying AR for business. However, it doesn’t mean it makes the VR business easier to pull off.

Here’s a little bit breakdown of major challenges in developing high-quality virtual reality applications.

Read also: Challenges with AR App Development

 

The Price Tag

One of the major roadblocks regarding building a business in the Virtual Reality segment is the price tag of the whole affair. Development can cost you anywhere from $8,000 (for a very simple game) to $100,000 and that’s not the limit. A basic virtual or augmented reality e-commerce shop development would be around $15-25K, depending on the requirements you have.

The other part of the issue is headsets. Despite the fact that Google started selling cheap cardboard Virtual Reality headsets for $15, most consumers consider the gear very costly because they look at the Oculus Rift (that would cost around $599) or HTC Vive (quite expensive at $799).

Talking about the consumers, you need to analyze your target audience and ask yourself a question: would they invest their money into something the majority aren’t used to?

For example, if you are developing a custom VR e-commerce mobile app, would the people who use your app actually buy anything there? If your answer is yes, then great!

All in all, this is one of the things every new technology has to face. There are four major reasons for that:

  • Lack of competition on the market;
  • Investors concerns about the industry’s prospects;
  • Lack of widespread consumer acceptance (around 23% of consumers and businesses aren’t eager to accept the new tech);
  • Lack of excessive demand on the consumer’s side.

 

However, there is an upside. Despite the lack of commercial gain, developers of VR-content have time to get a better grasp on technique in order to deliver the goods when the demand will start to grow.

Have a Project In Mind?

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Content is King – Where is Content?

Is there any future for the technology that can’t offer anything substantial? Despite seemingly limitless aspirations and boundless ambitions — there is still not much to bring on the table in terms of quality VR content (we’re not talking about games here, those guys have been using VR/AR for years now).

Engaging, truly innovating content is the biggest challenge the VR industry is now facing. There is already a killer feature — virtual reality, interaction with anything you can imagine.

Now it is time for a killer app that will do it justice. At the moment there is not much compelling content that uses VR to its full potential. It is still at the point of figuring out the ways it can be done.

The gaming industry is still the most lucrative market for VR at the moment but there is untapped potential in other fields — most notably in art, science, education, military, and eCommerce.

The most distinct vision for VR is in retail. There are already numerous AR applications for eCommerce (think Sephora or IKEA) and it seems like VR will be a natural evolution.

It can be a literal marketplace with full-on service and demonstration. On the other hand – it can turn into a carnival of offers.

VR in education opens up a whole new chapter, for example, teaching science. With its help, one can depict chemical reactions, physical processes — break them down into elements to explain visually in more excruciating detail. On the other hand — it also may greatly help to model experiments.

Things get even more ambitious upon going into art territory.

  • Let’s take the simple act of reading a book. Imagine reading a book in VR-gear. What can it be? It can be a glorified children’s book with pictures come to life, jumping out at or sucking you inside to participate or something else entirely — like a literal journey through words with comments, variations, and permutations.
  • Or imagine a museum or art gallery where you can walk around through historical reconstruction or even take part in them or simply look at the digital copies of art pieces.
  • We can it a step further and construct wholly original spaces free of physical limits and common sense. Something like a bigger, better version of Second Life. Or experiences akin to the space-time travel sequence from “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
  • There is also another thing – much-despised advertisements – imagine getting into a torrent of all sorts of ads – surreal collage pop-art experience.

We can go on like this all day long – there are literally endless possibilities.

Public Acceptance (Besides Games)

Despite being well-known and rather popular in tech circles — VR is not widely accepted as a legitimate thing by the public. It is seen more as a toy.

Part of the reason for that is that it is out of reach for the target audience. Most people simply don’t understand what VR is capable of. Some people can’t even tell the difference between Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR).

Marketing can handle awareness, but true adoption can come only after consumers will be able to get a taste of it and form a habit. One of the ways of handling it is to let the public experience the thing on their own. It can be done in public places, expos, conferences.

In order to find a solution, we must look at how the situation was handled for touchscreen technology. It was a gradual exploration of the subject in baby steps — in a manner of “hey! Discover this? Great, huh?”.

READ ALSO: How to create a social media app

Lack of Tried-and-True Business Strategies

Let’s address elephant in the room — at this point, there are no viable cost-effective development plans for any VR-oriented company. There are two reasons for that:

  • the industry is too young (besides gaming);
  • the market segment is too small (but growing steadily).

VR suffers from the lack of vision thing that would tie it all together. There are simply not many examples of any business strategies not to mention a successful one.

While there are some really effective ways of applying AR for business — most of them are barely usable in VR. The technologies might be similar, but the approaches are vastly different.

The challenging part is that in order to come up with a successful strategy you need to do a rather uncomfortable “try — fail — try again — fail better” routine. This may be an option for a corporation but usually not something that a low-key development company can afford.

Lack of Viable Monetization Models

Next in line of the money-related challenges is rather a severe thing. One of the key factors in healthy growth and competition in the industry is a wide variety of ways to make money out of technology. If one can’t generate revenue out of his venture — then it is unlikely to go anywhere. That is the case in the current state of the VR industry.

However, that is more of a question of time than a real problem. VR technology is slowly but surely moving towards the mainstream. And judging from the growing amount of content — at this point, it is more of a marketing challenge than anything else. There is a need to explain the technology and its capabilities, overcome bad press, and trend fatigue.

What About Security?

We live in a strange moment of time. While users are at an all-time high of digital immersion, they are also at an all-time high in terms of exposure to incoming dangers. Cybersecurity and data privacy is a sensitive issue in every industry. Because of its novice state — it is especially critical for the VR industry to come up with an effective solution.

Stakes are high — a couple of high-profile hacks or cyber-attacks can derail the entire industry and throw it back a decade or so in terms of audience acceptance and investors’ trust.

And that is where the challenge comes. While there is a set of precautions regarding known dangers — there is also a vast realm of the unknown regarding security issues in VR. Even more so — to quote Mr. Rumsfeld there are too many unknown unknowns.

Will Virtual Reality Affect Our Health?

There are challenges and then there are industry-crushing challenges. The question of how VR-gear affects health is one of the most critical to the development of the entire industry. If there is even the slightest bit of danger — the industry will be slammed into oblivion by public opinion and then most likely by legislation.

To make matters worse — research on the subject is still too scarce, inconclusive and because of that rather insufficient.

VR’s long-term health effects are barely known. And what is known is not certain to be claimed as a fact. This problem is twofold. One is physical. The other is mental.

Regarding physical effects — there are some definite facts about temporary side effects. If you take Oculus Rift’s health and safety document — you will find a list of potential after-effects.

Basically: if you use a VR-gear for too much — you may experience a headache, queasiness, and blurred vision. But that is something that can be also said about reading a book.

It is far more complicated with the effect on mental state. There is evidence that there might be a transformation of behavior due to prolonged exposure to ultra-realistic virtual reality environments. Such bleedthrough may have a certain effect on everyday behavior and can seriously affect social interaction and even perception of reality.

The Batteries Have Their Limits…

The most obvious challenge for VR applications is a power-based limitation. While that might be not much of a problem for desktop-based gear — it is definitely something to reckon with in the mobile realm. Batteries simply can’t sustain prolonged immersive experience the way desktop-based gear can.

Batteries have their limitations and you need to remember that VR/AR (or any graphics-intense) apps have high energy consumption. That means these limitations must be taken into consideration during the design phase of developing an application.

The problem is multi-faceted and it directly affects the perception of the entire industry. The basic purpose of any content is to deliver some kind of experience. If the gear can’t handle it in full — it limits the experience and muddies the impression. That is bad for business.

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So, what’s the future of VR?

In many ways — VR is the new undiscovered country. There are still no rules, no code of conduct, and barely any strings attached. As Brion Gysin said, “Nothing is true, everything is permitted”.

The current position of VR is very much reminiscent of the Schrödinger Cat paradox — it is there but it is not there but it is definitely there but definitely not very much at all and so on and so forth.

The situation can be best described by a couple of lines from Leonard Cohen’s “Democracy” — “It’s coming’ from a feeling that is ain’t exactly real or it’s real but it’s ain’t exactly there”. Or if cutting the crap — just good old “it’s complicated”.

But simply thinking about all the possibilities is breathtaking.

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Android App Development Cost

Posted on by Pavel Tantsiura
In this issue:

Did you know that iOS is going to disappear from the Asian market anytime soon?

Android apps become more popular in Asian market

Despite the enormous number of Apple gadgets throughout Asia, users here differ a lot from Americans – loyal lovers of i-devices. The trend is decreasing with iPhones – from 72% of all gadgets in 2012 to 50% in 2015.

Asian citizens got used to seeing technologies changing rapidly and they observe a lot more interesting technologies around than Apple. They also tend to prefer phablets for multiple purposes. Apple is not something special for them anymore, not to mention, it’s much more expensive than a huge variety of Android-charged gadgets.

Why ios apps become less popular

But anyway, it’s not the objective of our discussion today. Just to let you know that picking Android for mobile app development is the right choice. What’s more, Google Play Store is coming back to China this year, not to mention – it dominates in the Asian market even now.

Google Play returned to China in 2016

If you ask me, how much would it cost, even roughly, to build an average Android app, the answer would be – I have no clue really. That’s why I’ve been digging for precious bits of info to put together everything that builds up the price of a typical Android app. So here is a checklist of what you’ll know after reading the article:

  • what’s the current situation with Android apps globally;
  • peculiarities of Android mobile app development;
  • what features are trendy in Android apps among mobile application developers;
  • factors that influence your Android app’s price;
  • and finally, elements that build up the final cost of your mobile application.

I’m positive that you’ll become true experts of the Android apps world and will be able to calculate rough budgets for your future Android app projects. So let’s dive right into it!

SEE ALSO: How Business Applies Sentiment Analysis

What’s the hype about Android apps

There basically is a range of reasons why Android apps are more beneficial than iOS ones. Let me just leave one figure here for a start:

Android apps become more popular

The following features make the Android app more profitable to build:

  1. Java – this powerful coding language is a universal tool, which makes Android mobile applications highly portable to other operating systems such as Ubuntu, Symbian, and Blackberry. This can also become a deciding success factor of, say, a small startup, short on budget;
  2. Availability – apps published in Google Play Store are ready to download in a couple of hours after their launch unlike iOS apps (can be previewed for weeks before approval). The same with updated versions – they can be uploaded multiple times a day in response to feedback or complaints. Another benefit is the ability to publish a beta version of the app and provide access to a limited number of testers. That’s a cool and dynamic way to improve an app on the initial stage and then release it all polished and complete to a wide audience;
  3. Favorable entry-level – as far as iOS is a kinda closed network, it always requires more permissions to pass, payments to submit, and all that jazz. For Android it’s more user-friendly and easier: you can build an Android app on Mac, Linux, or Windows, whereas iOS apps – on Mac only; to register as a developer – one time $25-payment for Android vs monthly $99 for iOS;
  4. Profitability – currently Android apps become as profitable as iOS ones (even more rewarding in some cases), despite existing prejudice that iOS is used by richer, more open to paying, users. And again, thriving market share is the reason for that – almost 2 billion devices with the Android engine on hand for the year of 2015, according to Statista.

CHECK OUT MORE: IOS vs Android app development

Android in-app trends – what features to rock

Mobile technologies skyrocket on a daily basis and fresh trends continue appearing in the apps enhancing the user experience, productivity, and reliability of the app.

More security

Security is something taken for granted and absolutely expected by users. That’s why this aspect is given much attention recently and for a good reason. The thing is that for Android hacking issue is very actual and there are multiple cases still registered.

Want it or not, companies pay attention to this aspect religiously, coz alternatively, it can lead to a significant loss of the business.

A convincing example is online transactions. As they are getting more and more use within mobile applications, Android is working out powerful security solutions to ensure the full defense of personal user data.

Latest solutions allow building separate business environments for applications in order to protect any important data. This is expected to grow the number of enterprises adopting this OS starting from 2016.

Less time for development

Despite the well-known fact that Android apps take more time to be built (details will be broken down further in the article), the overall trend is still about shortening the time for building. The reason for that is shifting to a simple, clean design and interface of the application. “UX goes first” is trending and became a major focus for developers. And this trend is well-known mostly for its’ simplicity and minimalism.

READ ALSO: How Long Does it Take to Develop an iOS or Android Mobile App

Businesses want their apps built

Most companies already do their businesses online. As the majority of people spend most of their time on the phone, corporations must adapt to that swiftly. Enterprises decide to build specific commercial applications to stay in touch with their customers, not to mention, they also enhance consumer’s experience within the company. A positive and effortless user experience always equals loyalty, right?

Massive

Multiple surveys confirm that by the year 2018 smartphone payments will reach the point of almost $ 120 billion internationally. And it will be more than 50% of all online transactions. These figures speak for themselves. Just implement this feature and make your customers pay in a matter of clicks.

Assimilation of wearables

Smartwatches, smart bracelets, fitness trackers. More and more simple people change their conventional watches to some smart accessories. Companies integrate them to increase business productivity.

The best part is that Google provides a range of guidelines for Android Wear software and a lot of manufacturers implement it for their gadgets gratefully. This only means that most Android users will get some sort of smart wearable device sooner or later. And you wanna be armed for that.

What it takes to build an edgy Android app

Now that you know the Android app is a good deal, it’s time to outline the major peculiarities of the Android app development process. This will also influence the price of the application at the end of the day.

One prime statement for Android app development is that it usually would cost you somewhat more expensive than one for iOS. Let me unpack what’s so special about Android mobile development, which leads to a longer time to implement an application compared to the iOS one.

Number of lines

Yes, as easy as that. According to our analysis of QuePro and SpotNews Android apps, built by our team, it takes about 40% more code to complete an Android app than the iOS version. It’s not necessarily all hand-written code, part of it is auto-generated, but still, developers read it, debug and maintain.

 

[The App Solutions Project for All Square]

By the way, a trendy “clean architecture” requires even more lines of code because of the highly-structured coding approach.

Total of hours

Obviously, such a large difference in the volume of development work results in increased working hours for them. And it’s almost the same difference – up to 30% more time compared to iOS development hours.

Slower emulators

A significant factor that slows down the rhythm of Android development is the operational speed of Android emulators – they seem to be quite crawling against iOS emulators and you can’t fight it yet.

High fragmentation

Have you ever tried to calculate the number of all Android-charged gadgets?

Correct, it’s getting closer and closer to a range of impossible tasks. Whereas, iOS devices are on everybody’s A-list. And the range is quite thin. So again, it takes much more effort and time to test and fix issues for every screen.

What about all versions of Android operating nowadays in the global market? About 50% of iPhone owners adopted the latest version of iOS in 4 days after its’ release, while Marshmallow 6.0 is run hardly on 1% of Android smartphones.

Android versions adoption

Android app development cost

Pricing model

Now we know that the cost of the app in most cases depends on the number of hours spent to build it. This is a scenario majority of app development companies usually follow – the so-called Time & Material payment model. This one is very flexible and you are able to make changes and improvements along the way, at the same time optimizing tasks for developers and reducing the cost for inconvenient features or tasks.

On the other hand, there is a Fixed Price model. Here you agree on the final product from the very beginning and it’s much more difficult to implement changes because the development process here works in a different way – not with short iterations, but just delivering a complete project on time.

Both of these schemes will result in different prices. Usually, fixed price tends to be higher as the development company adds various risk factors to it.

Dedicated team

Another important component that builds up the price of your app is members of the team. A little disclaimer here! These are not only mobile app developers, who are creating your product.

An ultimate list of professionals whom you need to craft and polish your application:

  • Project manager – a professional who heads the whole team, communicates with you as a client, suggests some handy technical solutions, joins up the squad, and assures of delivering the project on time;
  • Senior developer or architect – this is a leading developer and a person who creates the whole strategy of the upcoming app;
  • Android coder(s) – guys who are implementing your idea into a unique piece of software;
  • Designer(s) – these are wizards of UX/UI design, they make application user-friendly and appealing to watch and use;
  • QA Engineer(s) – people in charge of final testing and debugging application, making it go like clockwork;
  • Technical writer – a person who creates a script of the whole idea and implementation of the app: from logic to changing screens and functions of every button.

This looks much like a skeleton of the dream team you need to build an Android app. Depending on the complexity of the desired product, the number of people can vary, but virtually all functions are distributed among these experts.

Kind of application

Table-based app – simplest among applications. Enables you to display information, provide options and redirect to additional materials.

Database app – more complex ones, good to present a wider range of data. These are usually connected to various websites or any other online services and broadcast requested information from there, which makes them more complex to build.

Dynamic app – very similar to a previous type and differs only by not really connecting to outer resources, but extracting info from them with the help of API.

Gaming app – known as most complex to craft. They can vary by functionality and integrated technologies, at the same time they are the most costly among all applications.

Among other, minor, influential aspects might be the business model of your app (or simply how you’re going to earn money with your app) and the complexity of the design.

Now it’s time to go ahead and look for the best app developers to entrust your important task to. You might look for your people in various regions of the world and hourly rate will differ of course:

  • USA/Canada-based dev teams – $50 to $250/hour;
  • Western Europe – $30 to$170/hour;
  • Eastern Europe – $20 to $150/hour;
  • Australia – $50 to $150/hour;
  • India – $10 to $80/hour.

Once a choice on mobile application developers is done, you can discuss all functionality of the application and get a rough estimation of the required number of hours to build it. Afterward, you simply add all hours of your team and multiply these on the hourly rate!

Concluding thoughts

As you can see, Indian mobile app developers will charge you the least out of all regions’ representatives. Just make sure you check the portfolio of the particular squad along with looking through the entire reputation. After all, famous rumors around Indian development “story” going on for a reason.

Eastern European professionals are famous for their high professionalism together with moderate pricing, so they are worth considering for sure.

Australian and American app developers are paid the highest out of this range. No need to worry about the quality and all the procedures in this case.

Just a hint for you, guys, – these will be in most cases East Europeans relocated to the US or Australia sitting there 🙂

Now congrats! You got good food for thought on the subject of developing your baby! A cherry on top – you can invest in a project in parts, so it’s not crucial to have the whole budget from the very launch of the project.

Try our calculator to figure out the cost of Android app development.

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How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Mobile App for Local Business

Posted on by Pavel Tantsiura
In this issue:

There are a lot of businesses nowadays, which aim at reaching local communities more than international markets. These are mostly on-demand services, food and flowers delivery, dining spots, printing or cleaning services, etc.

Also much has already been saying about digital marketing for businesses shifting mobile. Here are the statistics about the world mobile economy:

How the mobile app will help your clients and your business

When making a rather heavy investment, it’s important to determine the benefits you’re going to bring to your audience, as well as the profits you expect to gain from this affair.

Should I consider building an app for my business?

The major question, which will initiate the preliminary stages of the project. The answer is that most local businesses can benefit from the mobile app if only crafted correctly and fulfills the needs of the visitors. Either it’s reaching out to your customers 24/7 or simplifying the overall shopping routine making it fun and engaging contact.

How can I improve the customer experience for my folks?

Customer queries stats will surely help you see the gaps in different aspects of the business. That is the best weapon on your way to enhancing interaction with the service.

Deploy socializing tools and allow users to share their experiences and directly ask you questions. Engage them with some nice perks and a loyalty program, because people like to get a special status within the company. Believe it, they will keep coming back for your new badges.

There is a wide range of approaches, which nurture your visitors and build loyalty within a mobile channel. Be sure, you’ll find something matching for your particular business.

How my business will benefit from a mobile app?

Basically, the answer is clear – the better the experience you provide to your customers, the more they want to stick with you and recommend it to friends. It’ll surely take some time to return this investment, but in the long term you are legging up on the competition by improving the quality of the entire business – presentation of all items or services, communication, delivery, customer support, etc.

  • The first gain out of the mobile app for your business is Larger Profit – besides the major monetization way for your business, a mobile app opens other streams of income like ads or in-app purchases;
  • Reaching out to a bunch of new customers – go viral with your sharp and user-friendly mobile app. Extend the audience through promoting it;
  • Your app is your business ad – being a tool for earning money, use the mobile app as an object of your advertising – say it out loud what perks this software brings to initiate even more downloads.

What factors will influence the pricing for the local business mobile apps

Of course, there is a wide range of minor, absolutely different circumstances that potentially impact the concluding price of the mobile app.

Here we’ve picked out a list of the most influential factors for local biz mobile app development:

Development model choice

Mainly, there are two approaches to mobile app development organization – outsourcing and dedicated team.

Outsourcing – a whole remote team running the project led by the project manager; the same people handle tasks on other projects of the outsourcing company they’re hired by;

Dedicated team – a specific limited number of specialists hired for the project; usually controlled by the customer representative; employees work solely on the particular project.

Essentially, the major difference between the cost of outsourcing app development and a dedicated team is the number of involved specialists. And as a result, the number of hours you pay for.

Project phase

Depending on what you got on hand at the time of starting the project, the price will also fluctuate.

If you already got a concept, ready-to-go prototype or MVP, consider some scope of work is done. Depending on this, you’ll need to complete what’s left – code review, planning, development, testing, publishing.

Type of the app

Talking mobile applications, in most cases, the choice will fall between traditional native and cross-platform versions. The web app is also built by default along with mobile apps.

Imagine a typical local business mobile application – Restaurant Finder in the area. There are two groups of users – people looking for a nice dining place locally and the restaurants themselves placing info about the spot. The web app is used by businesses to work with the platform. And potential clients of these businesses will usually exercise with the mobile app.

  • Native mobile app – full device integration, better security, easier monetization, BUT more costly, intense competition on the market;
  • Cross-platform app – faster and easier to build, lower cost, simpler maintenance, BUT limited graphics and features, moderate device penetration, speed issues.

MUST-READ: How To Develop a Shopping App Like WISH?

Choice of platforms and their number

Which one of the platforms will best resonate with your audience usually depends on a number of conditions:

  • your target region;
  • desired functionality;
  • your budget for the project, etc.

Statistically speaking, an iOS mobile app can be in all ways more rewarding than an Android one. But wait up, it still depends.

If the majority of your target audience is located in the transition economy regions (a.k.a. Android addicts), it’s a no-brainer that an Android app is the best way to go as most people own Android gadgets here.

Otherwise, if you aim at getting international recognition overall, then surely go for the iOS app – cheaper, quicker and chances are the most PR and opinion leaders use Apple devices.

Variety of devices

Even if you’re set on one platform only (for example, Android), you also should take into account that each device has a specific screen size to which you should adapt your local business app.

For instance, have you ever tried to calculate the number of all Android-charged gadgets and screen sizes with them? It’s really getting close to a range of impossible tasks. Whereas, the range of iOS devices screens are not as numerous and more standardized. 

So the more devices you choose, the more time is needed to adapt the application to the screen resolutions, hardware specs, etc. Not to mention various versions of OS installed on the device.

Critical features you want to include in your local business app:

  • Registration/Account/Login – a fundamental function that helps personalize the approach of the user to the app, withdraw useful data to use in further engaging strategy;
  • Admin Panel – adding content, maintenance of the service, managing users, viewing stats – all this is managed here;
  • Geolocation & maps – crucial for showing location, path and time to reach it, etc.;
  • Lists and filters – both searching for items and filtering a list of displayed items are powerful tools if designed and done right;
  • Push Notifications – a personalized communication and marketing tool for engaging users in the app and, at the same time, helping satisfy their needs;
  • eCommerce – mobile payment provides maximum convenience to the shopper – paying without cash by integrating their billing information into the app;
  • Feedback & Rates – tools for communication, feed, and self-expression are totally expected by users in the majority of markets;
  • Loyalty Program – make your users feel special, provide them with different gifts, bonuses and they’ll keep coming back.

CHECK ALSO: How To Integrate Payment System Into the Existing App

How much does mobile app development for the local business cost?

Now, when you know what can influence the overall price of the app and what features to include to make it top-notch, let’s talk hours. Hours of all professionals involved in your project.

Obviously, hourly rates for IT teams will differ from region to region. Among the most common choices of the team would be US-based, ones in Eastern Europe or in India.

The averagemobile app development cost for Indian developers will usually be the least out of all. Just make sure you check their portfolio to assure reliability. After all, rumors around the Indian development style going on for a reason.

Eastern Europe specialists are famous for their high professionalism together with moderate pricing, so they are worth considering for sure:

Specialist Hourly Rate (USD)
UI/UX Designer $25+/hour
Frontend Developer $35+/hour
Backend (PHP) Developer $30+/hour
Android Developer $35+/hour
iOS Developer $37+/hour
QA Engineer $20+/hour
Project Manager / Business Analyst $25+/hour
DevOps Engineer $30+/hour

Australian and American app developers are paid the highest out of this range. Just a hint for you, guys, – these will be in most cases East Europeans relocated to the US or Australia.

For more inspiration, check out the best practices of mobile apps for local business:

  • NUWBII – an innovative service for finding appropriate businesses in the neighborhood;
  • QuePro – a platform for connecting specialists of all sorts with clients in order to get professional advice.

Concluding thoughts

Here you have it – a solid cheat sheet on what shapes the price of the mobile app for local business. Mind first what exactly is needed to improve your service, transform it to features in your mobile app and go ahead craft it step by step – on your own, with the help of a single developer or a team – the choice is yours.

The above calculations are based on averages.

Mobile App vs Mobile Website: What to Choose?

Posted on by Pavel Tantsiura
In this issue:

Mobile app vs mobile website: It is a big decision that many business operators are making as they struggle to determine what method is the best way to reach out to, connect with, and serve their customers.

One of the most important things that impact this choice: cost-efficiency. There are other factors to consider when making a comparison between app or website setup that may be overwhelming for a business owner who simply wants to connect with his or her target audience.

In our article below, we’ll talk about the differences and unique features associated with a mobile app and a mobile website. Armed with this information, you will be able to answer the question: “Is it better to use an app or website for my business?”. You may even find that it might be good to develop both a mobile app and mobile website to reach your customers and give them easy access to your products and/or services.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO DEVELOP AN APP: DETAILED FEATURE BREAKDOWN

The major difference between a mobile app and a mobile website is that the mobile website is accessed by the user via the Internet (therefore requires being online) and the downloadable application is a separate app installed on the phone and can be accessed both online as well as offline. To create such mobile apps or websites, we suggest outsourcing an app development company.  

While both options have some remarkable visual similarities, there are some major differences in terms of features, the purpose of the app/website, budget factors, and the size of the audience you can reach with each option.

WHAT TECH STACK TO CHOOSE FOR YOUR PROJECT

mobile-app-vs-mobile-site

What is the Difference Between an App and a Mobile Website?

Let’s talk about definitions:

  • A mobile website is a website for the design of which has been scaled and optimized for mobile devices. Typically, it features smaller fonts, fewer page elements, and less white space (compared to traditional desktop versions.)
  • The mobile app is a separate program stored locally on your phone that uses the device’s hardware and software features and usually creates a better, more intuitive, and faster user experience.

The main question you need to answer: what do you want it to do? What actions do you expect your mobile app or mobile website to perform?

  • Want your users to be able to read your website on their mobile devices? Choose a mobile website.
  • Want to raise brand awareness? Use a mobile app.
  • Don’t need any special features, mainly content-oriented? A mobile website.
  • Want to make videos or integrate the app with the device’s hardware? Use a mobile app.

A mobile app is available to the user through a downloadable file either from various Android app stores or the Apple store. Once downloaded, the app installs on the person’s device automatically and doesn’t need the use of a mobile browser to access the content.

At the APP Solutions, we recommend creating native mobile apps, i.e. the app is designed for one platform: Android vs iOS (or, if you’re creative, BlackBerry). Yet, you can also create a cross-platform app that would work with more than one operating system.

HOW TO MAKE AN APP: LIFE CYCLE OF MOBILE DEVELOPMENT

A mobile app may offer content to the user that is downloaded onto the mobile device in its entirety or it may pull some material from the Internet while the app is in use. (Keep in mind that the latter case would require the user to have an active Internet connection.)

Mobile websites are not downloaded but are something a person can access using a browser to view content online. A mobile website is basically your usual website (that people access via desktops) but the design is adapted so that the user can easily navigate the website using touch and all elements would be of adequate size on a smaller screen. If accessing the Internet with a mobile device, the user will need a 3G, 4G, or WiFi connection and an Internet service provider.

HOW TO OUTSOURCE MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT

So what is the difference between a mobile website and a regular one? Simple: The mobile website is created so that it presents on a mobile device with the appropriate size and resolution graphics. Just like a traditional website, a mobile website is entirely capable of displaying video, images, data, and content. The mobile site can even access click to call and mapping (based on Google maps) mobile features.

Build Your Own Dedicated Team

Mobile App or Website: Which One Should You Use?

Your goals will ultimately define whether you want to use a mobile website, a native app, or both. For example, consider a game app like angry birds: The app is entirely downloadable and can be installed on a mobile device. If you plan to develop mobile games, mobile app users can download is your best bet.

In contrast, if you have a website online already, you may want a mobile website to act like your existing website and even duplicate the content you offer online. You can offer content that is mobile friendly without having to have an entire app coded for the purposes of doing so.

KOTLIN VS. JAVA: WHAT TO CHOOSE FOR AN ANDROID APP?

Of course, there are situations where you will find you can benefit from both options. This option is ideal if you have a website before you get a mobile app. For the most part, the most logical order of things when it comes to establishing your mobile/online presence is that you have a mobile web presentation first.

Then, you can offer a mobile app as a secondary, useful application your customers can use for specific purposes that one might not otherwise be able to complete through a traditional Internet browser (for example, if your project requires recording a video, therefore needing a camera and microphone access – which, for example, mobile Safari doesn’t allow.)

apps-and-websites

Native Apps and Mobile Website Benefits Comparison

Native apps and mobile websites each have their own set of advantages. In fact, a mobile website has several inherent benefits when compared to native apps:

  • You get a greater outreach
  • They are ideal for public communications and marketing endeavors
  • They cost less than a mobile app
  • They offer greater device compatibility (because you only need a working browser and Internet connection)

When it comes to mobile websites, there is no waiting to gain access to content, product, or service information. In today’s culture, where it is just as hard to get the attention of a web user as it is to keep the user engaged, immediate website access is really preferred. With mobile websites, the user does not have to take the time to download or install anything, and while most mobile downloads take mere minutes, in those few minutes you still run the risk of losing the interest of the user downloading a mobile app.

What’s more, you do not have to worry about having separate mobile apps so users of different devices can access the mobile website. Whether the user has Blackberry, Android, or iPhone, as long as the user has a browser on their phone, they can view your mobile content.

READ ALSO: Mobile App UX  

Upgrading a mobile website is something that can be done with immediacy, as you can make your website changes and then publish the content. When it comes to upgrading a mobile app, you will have to make updates to the application and push the new updates to users so they can download it before such updates become useful.

Granted, that’s all nice in case you simply need a copy of your usual website for people to access on their phones (which, in our day and age, is sort of a must.) When you need more complicated things and you have greater plans for your app than simply copy the content on your website, a standalone mobile app is a way to go.

FUNCTIONAL VS NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS: MAIN DIFFERENCES & EXAMPLES

Mainly, it’s all about user experience (UX). Whatever you do, think of your user and his/her journey through your website or app. For example, your website might present general information about your project and your app will be tracking the person’s running workouts or streamlining the shopping process in your eCommerce business.

We hope this was helpful to you. In case you have more questions, ask away in the contact form and we’ll be glad to help you with choosing the best option for your web browser or mobile project.