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How to Design the App Notification Strategy to Increase User Engagement

The past two decades have seen a massive rise in the use of mobile phones worldwide. Billions of people now own a smartphone and enjoy access to the internet. An overwhelming majority of users also keep multiple apps on their mobile phones to access a company’s goods and services. Mobile marketing can be, without a doubt, the most effective way to engage your audience; however, there is a fine line between being engaging and downright annoying and unnecessary. If you want to see continuous user engagement, you will need to find new marketing tactics irrespective of the kind of business you have. You will need to adapt to new channels to keep your audience engaged. One such channel that has risen for app owners recently is the push notifications. Not only are app notifications effective to reach your customers and prospects, but they are also great to retain existing customers over longer periods. According to research, app notifications can improve user engagement by as much as 88 percent, if used intelligently. Since they provide a much easier way to put time-sensitive updates in front of the readers, push notifications can be a powerful tool for content publishers. In this blog, we will not only cover the benefits of app notifications but also help you design the right strategy to enhance user engagement. Why Use App Push Notifications? App notifications are indispensable for app developers because there is so much to be gained from them. Below are the key benefits that you can get from sending app notifications. Push notifications provide direct access to your audience. They do not even need to be in the app to read and know about your sales offerings, promos, and much more. App notifications enhance overall user experience. The New York Times succeeded so much with push notifications that they have hired a dedicated team to send notifications to subscribed users. App push notifications can also be used to increase the app retention rate by 3 to 10 times. App notifications provide a reason for users to open the app. If you use them intelligently, you can reap the benefits by prompting user engagement. Most of the time, users download an app but rarely use it. Push notifications can be used to increase the turnover of inactive app users. By employing the right app push notifications strategy to deliver insightful information, you can turn your users into loyal customers. App push notifications help you track user behavior and gather important data about them. It enables you to make sense of the complex analytics with data on open rates, open times, delivery receipts, etc. Another vital feature of app notification is that it allows you to target the right audience. After acquiring the data like age, gender, and location, you will be able to personalize the notifications for each user. Creating the Right Mobile App Push Notifications Strategy Building your app push notifications strategy is not as simple as it may seem. Here are the best practices you need to keep in mind when creating push notifications strategy. Identify your purpose The first step in creating the right app notifications strategy is defining your purpose. Define the problem that you want to solve or a goal that you want to achieve with push notifications. For instance, if you find out that users are leaving the app at a particular point in their user experience, you can use push notifications at that point to solve this problem. Leverage personalization A recent data science report found that app notifications that contain personalized content see an 800% increase in user engagement. For a successful app push notifications strategy, it is recommended to customize your message to individual users. This will also help app developers to build different content strategies based on individual profiles. Based on the user behavior and activity on the app, you will be able to determine the various phases the users are going through and find out their lifecycle. This data will help you personalize your notifications, depending on the phases your users are in. It can also help you create highly targeted messages that will make the users feel special – as if you are engaging with them in a one-on-one conversation. This will encourage users to open your app and find the latest content and offerings. Leverage users’ demographics Users’ demographics, including age, gender, location, etc. can be the most helpful types of triggers for push notifications. According to a push notification survey Localytics from 2018 of 1,000 smartphone users, 49% would us an app more if it sent them push notifications related to their hometown. 42 percent of users said they use an app more if it sent push notifications triggered by their present location. Such notifications can be the most convincing to users due to personalized content. So, if you aren’t yet using geofencing, now is the time to utilize it for targeting users with relevant content that serves a particular purpose. Send real-time updates App notifications can be a powerful tool to engage the audience with real-time updates. The updates will serve as reminders for the audience who are unaware of your brand and offerings. Push notifications are mostly text-based, but they can also be in the form of images and videos. The notifications appear on the user’s device, just like other device updates. You can send information like new arrivals, discounts, breaking news, traffic news, and stories with app notifications. What makes app notifications highly successful is the fact that users can swipe off the message in no time. Focus on the content of the message The content of the notification plays a vital role in the significance of the message. Make sure to keep them relevant, because irrelevant messages will have no value for the users. Use compelling headlines and try to craft a message that will directly communicate with the audience. Avoid unnecessary content that the users are not interested in. Once your users found that your

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How to Estimate the Cost of Flutter App Development?

Flutter – the open-source app development platform is setting new benchmarks and rising in popularity among developers. For those who want to choose a development platform that’s perfect, this one seems to tick all the right boxes. It’s fast, easy to use and serves the purpose to the utmost. Let’s discuss more about the incredibility of Flutter before we move on to the focus of this article – Flutter app development cost. Advantages of Developing a Flutter App A number of benefits of the Flutter app development are as follows: The platform serves the purpose for free. The platform is purpose-oriented programming language based and is easy to learn. A number of speedy and customizable widgets available. Free of compatibility issues with iOS as well as Android, unlike other applications. Flutter has a highly expedited development time. Is open-source and hence easy to learn and work upon and thus, improves productivity and efficiency. Backed by Google to ensure its credibility, acceptance, support, and benefits. Flutter is a hybrid platform and hence helps in providing a wider reach than other applications. The development is based on a single codebase and therefore, saves time in the process of testing the application across different platforms. Google has recently collaborated with Codemagic, a CD solution provider, to test, develop and package the applications built using Flutter. How Much Does It Cost to Develop Flutter App? The basic cost of the Flutter app development is constituted by the following factors: UI/UX Design Hours The services like designing and structuring the interface of the application are charged as per the time taken to be made. The number of hours increases the cost of the design process and thus, the overall cost of the app development. Development Time More is the time taken to develop the application, more is the cost incurred in the process of application development. The cost is determined by the number of hours taken to develop the application upon the platform. Backend Server The server cost used to host and support the application to function and thus to work upon the purpose to be served. The server needs to be strong and powerful enough to tackle the operations and the data stored in the platform. Developer Cost The cost incurred by the payment to the developer who’s working on the application development. The prices are usually charged by the developers according to the number of hours consumed in the development of the application. The stages of the development of the Flutter application that determine the cost of the development of the Flutter apps are: App Discovery Cost App Deployment Cost The factors that play an integral role in determining the cost of the Flutter app development are: The Complexity of The App The complexity of the development of the Flutter application basically is constituted of multiple aspects. These include the deployment of the architectural model of the app, admin panel development, third party integration, in-built features of the devices being used, as well as the integration of the enterprise as a whole. Some apps are easy to develop and some could be of medium complexity, while the others are highly complex applications. The work put in the application is dependent upon the skills and coding put in by the developer and hence would affect the pricing. However, the Flutter application development platform helps to resolve the problem to a great level and hence, decreases the cost of the development significantly helping the organizations to have great applications at lower costs. Hardware Costs The estimation of the cost of the development of the Flutter application is also dependent upon the number of hardware being connected to the application. More is the number of hardware connected, more is the cost incurred in the development process. Application Category Highly dependent upon the purpose that the application thus developed is going to solve and serve to. Each application has different features and has different uses and hence can be divided into categories. The broad and usual categories are e-commerce platforms that would require the user to create an account while also to transact, the learning portals that would require the users to create an account and access the data. While at the same time having enough storage to hold that data, and food ordering applications that would let users track, chat, and call through the platform. Flutter has a number of great and highly useful resources to ease the process and hence supports the development of the diverse and widely different kind of applications. Application Design The design of the application is one of the most important and intricate aspects of the development process. It is the first thing that the users are going to see and come across in your application. The simpler as well user-friendly is the design, the better is the application considered and gets success. The application design cost is, however, significantly low with the Flutter app development. Flutter platform’s hot reload helps you quickly and easily experimenting upon new things, build UIs, and add new features. It helps your users experience sub-second reload times, without losing state, on emulators, simulators, and hardware for iOS and Android. App Maintenance One of the most time-taking and regular processes while owning an application is the maintenance of mobile app. The application will need to be updated and kept up with the market trends continuously. This necessity is an important part of the Flutter app development service. The major changes and cost incurred during these changes are mainly application updates, changes in the design trends, and fixing the bugs in the application regularly. These factors are important to keep up the application in the competition and keep the customers intrigued. Fixing the bugs is a prolonged process that is meant to be worked upon throughout the journey of the existence of the application. Location of the Development Company The cost of the development changes highly based upon the location where the application is being developed.

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Top 18 Mobile App Development Trends to Watch Out in 2022

Things have enhanced beyond our imagination with the rise of smartphone technology. Very easily, smartphones have become our quintessential items. Alongside smartphones, numerous technologies have become a necessity in our lives. And you can’t ignore that mobile app development has given increased revenue also. By 2025, there will be a projected 7.49 billion mobile users globally. Henceforth, mobile app development trends started growing and materializing. Both app developers and users are responsible for this evolution. Nonetheless, these trends have simplified our lives in different ways. 2021 was the year of dynamism in terms of technologies– from progress in healthcare applications to fintech applications, we have witnessed a major transformation in technology this year. The emergence of COVID gave rise to many challenges in technology in 2020 but it remodeled the mobile app development industry in the coming years. And with the rise of smartphones, businesses globally are getting new opportunities now with a strong user base. Since mobile has the power to boost the visibility of a brand, every business owner is trying to reap its advantages. Moreover, the future of mobile applications also appears shinier than before. Thereby, let us find out which mobile app development trends will dominate the year 2022! Ruling Mobile App Development Trends in 2022 The mobile app sector keeps on remodeling every day. To maintain the never-ending client demands, you should bring the needed changes in the procedure. Thereby, only applying the right app development strategies will not assure you complete success. All you need is to include the latest mobile app trends. And to accomplish the utmost success, you also require a team of expert app developers. Here is a list of the top mobile app development trends that will rule the year 2022: Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence is already a known phenomenon. It is predicted that by the year 2024, the market for Artificial Intelligence will be at $191 Billion. Henceforth, more industries are seeking to combine the system with human intelligence. By now, the manufacturing and medical sectors have shown amazing efforts for promoting efficiency through artificial intelligence. This has been possible due to the high precision and capacity of capturing real-time events. The integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence is very helpful in crucial activities like mobile app development. Whether it is iOS app development or Android app development, it can learn the procedure of app building from earlier data, identify issues, and troubleshoot them in real-time. Moreover, it can learn complete user activities and behaviors through their daily usage patterns and apply required actions with no guidelines. With the combination of IoT and AI, you don’t require tapping your fingers to get tasks done. You can relax and simultaneously AI controls your devices, houses, automobiles, etc. itself. Some future AI trends are the following: Predicting user behaviors Integration of AI with IoT AI-enabled face unlock AIOps for automating IT functions Smart camera with subject identification Adaptive battery for more battery lifespan High app reliability for cyber security Language and voice translations Blockchain Technology Blockchain is a great technology that is beyond IT buzzwords and cryptocurrencies. And it has made its way to the mobile app development segment also. Blockchain is a decentralized database – the chain of blocks present on more than 1 PC at the same time. These blocks continuously build as new data is recorded. When new data are added, the old blocks are saved and everybody receives a copy of the whole database. It is evident that this technology prevents data breaching or creating fake documents. In case somebody makes an error, you can trace it. Several online wallets and smart ledgers depend on Blockchain technology. In case you are bothered to make payments via credit cards or reluctant to make cross-border payments, don’t worry! Just use a Blockchain-enabled mobile payment app. Some expected future trends of Blockchain are the following: Blockchain as a service (BaaS) Trading on cryptocurrency exchange Asset Tokenization Blockchain in anti-piracy Internet of Things Have you ever thought that the internet would be this much necessitous in our lives? If you think that the internet cannot control everything in our lives, you should just opt for the Internet of Things. Suppose you are outside and you just forgot to lock your home. Rather than going back to your house, you can lock your home from the location where you are currently. You just require installing an IoT app on your smartphone, and IoT powered lock system and an active internet connection. So, not just your house or workspace, but in the future, you can control nearly everything with the use of IoT systems. IoT items like August smart lock, August doorbell cam, Philips lighting system, and Amazon dash button have already won millions’ hearts. Many companies are already making a transition to IoT app development. According to Statista, forecasts suggest that by 2030 around 50 billion of IoT connected devices will be in use worldwide. Some expected IoT trends are the following: IoT in healthcare AI-enabled IoT devices Self-driving and smart automobiles Smart homes and cities 5G Wireless Technologies 5G wireless service is not just one of the top tech trends in mobile app development but also highly important in the forthcoming 2022. Undoubtedly, the speed of the 5G network will be 100 times faster than the 4G network. As per the prediction of Statista, in 2022, 5G subscriptions are expected to pass 1 Billion, reaching that milestone 2 years earlier than 4G did after its introduction. Apart from the high speed, the 5G wireless services also serve other functionalities like: 3D gaming Augmented Reality Data security Since the 5G services offer an extensive range of opportunities, the app developers should design the apps appropriately, so that all users can enjoy faster network speed for improved performance. EMM and APM Enterprise Mobile Management (EMM) and Application Performance Management (APM) are two basic components of the enterprise mobile app development procedure. Application Performance Management is the mobile metrics

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Steps to Follow to Use WebSockets in Golang

We usually send a message and receive an immediate response without refreshing a page. However, earlier, allowing real-time functionality was a big challenge for app developers. After undergoing HTTP long polling and AJAP, the community of developers has ultimately discovered a solution to develop real-time applications. WebSockets have come as the solution to this issue and made it possible to create an interactive session between a server and browser of a user. WebSockets enable a browser to send messages to a server and get event-driven responses. And there is no need to have to poll the server for a reply. Currently, WebSockets are the top-notch solution to develop real-time apps: tracking apps, instant messengers, online games and more. This step-by-step guide discusses how WebSockets work and how to build WebSocket apps in the Golang language. Let’s just read on! What are WebSockets? WebSockets are upgraded HTTP connections that sustain until the client or the server kills the connection. Through the WebSocket connection, it is possible to perform duplex communication that is an extravagant way to say communication is possible from-and-to the server from the clients utilizing this single connection. The best aspect of WebSockets is that they utilize one TCP connection and the entire connection is built over this single durable TCP connection. This extremely lowers the amount of network overhead needed to develop real-time apps with the use of WebSockets since there is no continuous polling of HTTP endpoints needed. How to Build a WebSocket App in Golang? Here are some important steps that you must follow to write an easy WebSocket echo server depending on the net/http library: Step-1: Setting up a handshake At first, you need to form an HTTP handler using a WebSocket endpoint: Next, run the WebSocket structure. The client always sends the first handshake request. When the server authenticated a WebSocket request, it has to reply with a response of a handshake. Remember that you cannot write this response with the use of http.ResponseWriter, because it will disconnect the basic TCP connection if you begin to send the response. Hence, you have to utilize HTTP Hijacking that enables you to maintain the basic TCP connection handler and bufio.Writer. This provides you with the scope of reading and writing data without preventing the TCP connection. To accomplish the handshake, the server needs to respond with the relevant headers. “Sec-WebSocket-key” is randomly created and is Base64-encoded. After accepting a request, the server must add this key to a fixed string. Suppose that you have the x3JJHMbDL1EzLkh9GBhXDw== key. In this matter, you can opt for SHA-1 for computing the binary value and Base64 for encoding it. You will receive HSmrc0sMlYUkAGmm5OPpG2HaGWk=. Utilize this as the value of the Sec-WebSocket-Accept response header. Step-2: Transferring data frames Once you complete the handshake, your application can read and write to and from the client. The Specification of the WebSocket describes a particular frame format that is utilized between a server and a client. The image below showcases a little pattern of the frame: To decode the client payload, use the following code: In order, these code lines enable to encode data: Step-3: Closing a handshake When one of the client parties sends a close frame alongside a close status as the payload, a handshake is closed. Spontaneously, the party that sends the close frame can also send a close purpose in the payload. In case the client initiates the closing, the server must send an equivalent close frame in turn. List of WebSocket Libraries Many third-party libraries simplify the lives of developers and amazingly aid working with WebSocket apps. STDLIB (x/net/websocket) This WebSocket library belongs to the standard library. It applies a server and client for the WebSocket protocol. You don’t need to install it and it contains good official documentation. However, on the other hand, it doesn’t have some features that can be discovered in other WebSocket libraries. In the STDLIB (x/net/websocket) package, Golang WebSocket applications don’t enable users to use I/O buffers again between connections. Gorilla In the Gorilla web toolkit, the WebSocket package features an examined and complete application of the WebSocket protocol and a consistent package API. This WebSocket package is easy to use and properly documented. And you can find its documentation on the official website of Gorilla. GOBWAS This is a small WebSocket package that contains a strong list of features, like a low-level API that enables to develop the logic of custom packet handling and a zero-copy upgrade. GOBWAS doesn’t need intermediate allocations during I/O. Moreover, it features high-level helpers and wrappers around the API in the WsUtil package, enabling developers to begin quickly without examining the protocol’s internals. Although this library comprises of a flexible API, it comes at the cost of clarity as well as usability. You can find its documentation on the GoDoc website. GOWebsockets This Golang tool provides an extensive array of easy to use features. It enables for setting request headers, compressing data, and controlling concurrency. It assists proxies and subprotocols for transmitting and getting binary data and text. Moreover, developers can either enable or disable SSL verification. The documentation for and instances of the ways of using GOWebsockets are available on the GoDoc website. Wrapping Up This tutorial has covered some of the fundamentals of WebSockets and how to develop an easy WebSocket based app in Golang best tools. Besides the aforementioned tools, some other alternative applications enable developers to develop strong streaming solutions. They include Package rpc, gRPC, Apache Thrift, and go-socket.io. The availability of properly documented tools like WebSockets and the continuous development of streaming technology make it simple for developers to build real-time apps. Blog Source- https://www.mindinventory.com/blog/how-to-use-websockets-in-golang/

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Android or iOS App Development: Which is Best for Your Business?

Choosing the platform for your mobile application is a major step towards its success. A majority of the population is working upon the digital devices and is a huge market for the organizations to serve. But, the population is diversified and distributed across a number of platforms on their devices and hence makes it important for the organizations to choose which platform to target and gain a larger market share for themselves. Two of the leading platforms upon the mobile devices of the people around the world are Android and iOS. They constitute the largest share of the market leaving all other operating systems aside. The recent statistics show that Android seems to be the most popular and tremendously used mobile operating system in the world with around 2.5 billion monthly active users. It makes it being used in around 87% of the mobile devices being used in the world. While iOS keeping no away from the race had a market share of around 13.% making it the second most popular and highly used mobile operating system in the world which seems to be growing continuously. The latest versions of the iOS platform are gaining popularity and continuously contributing to the growth of iOS. Things to Consider Before Developing an App A number of organizations look forward to going ahead with an application for both the platforms. But before going ahead with the development, organizations have to keep up with the following conditions: The application has to be beta tested. The market may like your application or may not. In case it doesn’t, going for both the platforms at the same time would be a setback for the organization. For the organization in their expansion phase, it’s important to manage their finances and keep them intact without any leakage. The cost of app development upon both the platforms would incur an extra amount to be invested in upon the various aspects of application development. Factors to Consider Before Choosing The Right Platform for App Development Choosing the right one may be a tough choice when you don’t know your market. When you know it, it’s not very difficult to take the right path and succeed. The choice may depend upon the given factors: Target Audience Finding the target customers and segregating the right potential customers from the rest is the first step to choose the right one for your organization. The right platform is the one that has the largest number of the target market for your product or your service to serve and hence lead you to success. Although Android may have a larger share of the market but still may not have the largest share of the target market in comparison to iOS. Although the size of the market matters, the size of the target market still matters more. App Downloads Android has a larger market than iOS and hence has a greater number of downloads than iOS. Android hosts a number of advertisements on its platform and hence, raises more money from them making a huge profit. This may seem to be a fair point in the decision to make choice but is limited to circumstances and areas related to the stream of the application service. Average Revenue The motto of every business is to earn profits after all. A large number of users may not bring in the desirable profits that a small number of users may bring in who have a better wallet size. Therefore, numbers are not the only game to play in the market, there’s a lot more. Android had an 82% increase in its revenue in 2016 but still lags behind iOS in the profits. App Development Cost While going through several factors, development cost plays an important role in the selection of the platform for application development. Organizations need to verify and see if the development cost of the platform is worth the market they’re looking forward to serving. The organizations need to seek revenue and returns and only then go ahead with the development. App Update Both the platforms release new updates at least once in a year. The impact of the updates upon the application users and the application downloads is often neglected but is of high importance. This can highly affect the success of the application and the service you look forward to providing with it. Advantages of Android App Development Android has a wider community base and hence has got wider assistance for the users as well as developers. A number of platforms serve to Android due to its large number of users and hence is easy to design and ready to go templates designed. Android apps are easy to use and release out in the market with good marketing support and broad strategies due to their abundance and highly compatible platforms. Disadvantages of Android App Development All Android devices are highly different and each device is developed with different things in focus. Android applications fail to keep up with the different features and aspects of different devices if are not developed properly keeping the points in focus. Android apps go through a complex process of testing due to the high variations in the devices and versions. This makes the testing process time-taking, recurring, and costly. Advantages of iOS App Development iOS has a higher stratum of users as their market and hence has a larger inflow of the revenue compared to Android. iOS is specially designed for Apple devices only and hence, can leverage the features and mobile prospects efficiently and effectively. Disadvantages of iOS App Development Apple store has strict and intact guidelines for the release of an iOS application at the Apple store. Hence the applications have higher chances of rejection due to a number of issues. iOS applications once developed have a complicated process to be customized and have restrictions. Both platforms have got their own benefits: iOS applications are good in revenue generation. iOS applications are less complicated to develop. Serves

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Is Flutter the Right Solution for Mobile App Startups?

Flutter has continuously been coming up as one of the leading platforms in the tech world in recent times and is driving a revolution in the growing world of businesses. This Google-backed platform has everything to back you up with perfect tools and techniques to develop great mobile applications. A power-packed feature platform based on the Dart language of Google, Flutter can provide a strong framework for mobile app development. Thus, it has the potential to act as the perfect choice to develop good and powerful applications. The common and constant dilemma faced by startups and developers while developing mobile apps for the new and comprehensive customers is to choose between native applications and cross-platform applications. The tech world is moving ahead with a fast pace and is no more limited to just the two operating systems. Hence, it requires a number of more platforms to be served. The cross-platform capabilities of the emerging technologies have made it possible for the applications to serve different platforms with just a single development phase. Advantages of Flutter App Development Flutter has some of the key benefits that attract business owners as well as app developers to choose this framework. Let’s explain the major benefits of Flutter: Low Development Cost Simpler and easier to understand it is, lesser are the applications to be developed and lower are the costs incurred. While cross-platform applications suffice the need of every operating system with just one application, native application development requires a specific application to be developed for each platform separately, thereby increasing the cost of development by huge margins. Also, the developers have the liberty to work on the predesigned tools and code libraries provided on the Flutter platform, thus making the task even more efficient and effective. Lower Testing Time A single application developed on a single codebase takes less time to be tested and qualified as ideal than two or more different applications based on different codebases and tested on different platforms. Flutter app development eases the process further and makes it easier to do. Ease of Development As discussed earlier, Flutter uses a single codebase platform. It is easy with Flutter to develop applications because it has its code libraries and a wide community of developers already set up. This makes the platform easy to use and requires less effort by the developers to develop an application. The design tools and libraries set up by Google have eased the process even further making it suitable to work on compared to any other. Effective and Efficient The applications thus developed with the Flutter require less time to get created and helps developers to remain effective during the process. The time taken by the developers also decreases, thus making them efficient and better at wrapping up things quickly. This feature helps the application to reach the market faster and make up a perfect balance for the time to market for the entrepreneurs. Points to Consider When Choosing Flutter Although the platform is stuffed with a number of great features and amazing aspects that help in making up a great application, there are a few points to consider before going ahead with the app development process. The applications developed on Flutter seem to lack strength and compatibility. Such applications are not powerful enough to support highly complex tech intricacies and may be slow as they operate on code interpreter in place of compiled native code. These applications might not suffice the experiential demands of customers. As they are programmed with pre-designed widgets and buttons, the outlay of the applications thus developed would be highly different from that of the native applications developed, especially for mobile platforms such as Android and iOS. Also, a number of organizations fear or refrain themselves from going ahead with Flutter application development due to the platform’s freshness. Flutter is a new arrival in the market and comparatively less popular. However, it is backed by trustable names and global brands. Beyond this, time will definitely play a major role in contributing to its success. Flutter has been seen to be used in building some of the most prestigious platforms like Alibaba, Tencent, and Hamilton Musical. This has majorly improved the trustworthiness of the platform and reliability, thus clearing all doubts regarding its performance in the competitive tech world. Advantages of Flutter for Startups Flutter can provide a number of advantages to a number of small businesses and startups. Some of them are: Overcoming the Challenges of Cross-Platform Development Keeping in mind the major challenges faced by React Native and Ionic, including user experience and performance, Flutter has come up as a new ray of hope to give Cross-Platform products a new way and vision. Flutter seems to bridge the gap between the native app development and cross-platform development with perfection, thus enhancing the user experience in unimaginable ways for the mobile app startups and new businesses. Keeping the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Alive Entrepreneurship is based on the spirit of initiation and efficacy. Enhancing the two with productivity is a major challenge faced by new businesses. It is often seen that the businesses new in the market fail to balance the growth and continual approach to maintain thus affecting the efficiency of the entrepreneurs. Flutter platform is easy and quickly helps small businesses to be productive and efficient at the same time thus, making it a little easier for them to work on better things. Strong Backend Supported By Firebase The Google-backed Firebase is what backs the Flutter platform for its storage needs and space. With such strong cloud storage, real-time database management services, hosting, and authentication facilities, Firebase provides a strong backend for the Flutter platform to work efficiently and suffice the needs of the businesses at one go. Firebase is easy to use and is easy for developers to be automated which supports the team to fuel constant delivery of services. Future of Flutter Applications One of the hottest topics trending in the tech world is Google working on

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6 Reasons Why You Should Track the Performance of Your App After it Went Live!

You thought thinking up a killer idea was challenging. And then, developing a functional app was tough. But now, it’s up and running. So that means you can sit back and relax, right? Think again! The app market is competitive. Statista.com has the numbers. As of the third quarter of 2019, there are nearly 2,470,000 apps on Google Play and 1,798,000 apps on the Apple App Store. So you’re going to have to keep fighting to get noticed- that too, in a good way. You want billions of people across the world to use- and continue using- your app. Well, then you’ve got to keep pushing at making your app excel, boosting visibility, and retaining customer attention. You know that apps are beneficial to online businesses. Setting ambitious goals for delivering an unforgettable experience for your customers is part of your job description. So this means that you must quickly and efficiently investigate any issues to keep the responsiveness and performance of your app topnotch. And that can only be achieved through monitoring. Utilizing the appropriate tools to gain accurate and up to date insights is an ideal way to get ahead of the competition. How Can You Track Your App’s Performance? This is where app analytics comes into the picture. It captures data from mobile apps by identifying unique users, following their journeys, recording their behaviors, and providing reports on an app’s performance. Mobile analytics can be used to improve conversions by using data to create a better mobile experience. There are three uses for mobile analytics: Performance analytics- helps monitor an app’s efficiency Marketing analytics- tracks marketing campaigns In-app analytics- helps understand the mobile app user Why Should I Track the Performance of My App? Just last year, only 0.01% of all consumer mobile apps became financially successful, stated startupgrind.com. Scary, right? Well, that only enforces the fact that you cannot afford to let your app fail after all the hard work you put into launching it. There are several ways to keep tabs on your app. But before we get into that, here are the essential reasons why every developer needs to invest in keeping track of their app. Remain relevant to your customers Smartphones are a necessity, and brands are ignoring their importance. Through mobile apps, businesses are engaging with customers and empowering brands with extensive amounts of data. Tracking an app’s performance helps provide in-depth analytics on its adoption and usage as well as the user’s demographics. Using mobile analytics ensures that a brand remains relevant to its business goals and customers. If an individual doesn’t derive real value from an app, it will either be deleted or abandoned. Therefore, having the correct real-time data about customers is crucial for success. Do you know, 43% abandon the app a week after install, and 71% churn within 90 days? By monitoring changes in trends and preferences, a brand can maximize its efforts and continue to provide an app that is unique and valuable. There is always room for improvement Mobile analytics helps you assess consumer engagement and app performance. It is an integral part of the software development life cycle (SDLC). By gathering feedback and metrics, any brand will have the knowledge required to improve their current app. Developers have the power to make data-driven judgments about UX/UI, design, and content. This should be a continuous process so that the app can improve user engagement, increase user retention, and enhance the overall UX. Satisfy customer demands It’s always been- and will always be- about pleasing the customers. People are busier than ever. They want apps that can provide solutions to their problems while on the go- not get entangled with an app that keeps crashing. Apteligent stated that one in four users abandon an app after a single poor experience. Striving to achieve a 100% retention rate is unrealistic. But aiming to increase engagement and downloads is plausible. This will, in turn, gain more customers and attain growth. Therefore maintaining mobile app intelligence can help you highlight issues and rectify them as soon as possible. Apps need to optimize user experience and meet their expectations. Knowing what they are will keep you ahead of the curve. Gartner revealed that by 2018, 75% of organizations had redirected their investments to customer experience innovations. Get better than the competition There is a cutthroat in the digital world. Others in the same niche are ready to take as many customers as they can. Analytical tools can help you measure the performance of your business as well as others. So, depending upon the category that your app is designed for, consider monitoring the metrics of your competitors. From building brand awareness to communicating with your customers to getting viewers to take action, you now have the adequate tools to get ahead of the competition. You’ll know how the audience is engaging with your app and how they are interacting with it. Collecting the results daily, weekly, monthly, and annually will help you analyze trends and implement the right campaign for your business. In addition to app performance and behavioral metrics, you must also analyze industry data. Knowing how your app performs relative to others with respect to key app performance measures is vital for success. Utilizing reliable benchmarks for crash rate, app launch time, network latency, etc. can help analyze how your app compares with industry peers. The statistical analysis and insights can promote proper resource allocation, thereby improving your business. Allows brands to remain profitable Whether it’s through reviews, feedback, or analyzing data, determine what is making customers unsatisfied. By tracking the right metrics, you’ll be able to identify issues quickly and stay profitable. Engaging users and attracting new ones will help generate revenues. That’s why focusing on what’s driving ROI is essential. Buildfire claimed that 71% of app users churn within the first 90 days of downloading an app. By measuring metrics such as retention and churn, you can find out what’s causing these users to uninstall.

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How to Start iOS App Development With an Android Background

Standing out in the growing pool of mobile app developers is quite challenging. A single slip in the algorithm can result in the collapse of your whole strategy. Yet if you know how to get past the roadblocks, you can achieve the desired status for your app. Besides the general information, you must also know how to move forth in the selected platform. Usually, the vast majority of developers port their iOS apps to Android at some point. The opposite route, that is, porting from Android to iOS, is not so common. Even as a developer, you must work on expanding your tech skills if you want to obtain a competitive edge in the market. Currently, 2.5 billion devices are running on Android, while there are 1.4 billion active iOS devices. Hence, you cannot hide from the fact that you are losing a considerable number of prospects by choosing one platform only. When switching to iOS from Android app development, there might be potential hindrances. Such as difficulty in implementation, lack of funds, and time. Also, you may stress out during the process, as learning new skills is sometimes overwhelming. But on the bright side, this will be great news for your developing career. It adds authority to your resume, and you can capture more clients in the future. Keep in mind; iOS app development is not difficult. Just different. How to Start iOS App Development? I have listed some helpful tips for our readers if they are thinking of making the transition. Let’s get down to them: Learn the language You can use two languages with iOS, Objective-C or Swift. Although there are other options, these two stand as most famous. For Android, you are fairly aware of Java. And in iOS, Objective-C is the typical language used. The alternate language, Swift is easy to learn, and it has a similar syntax to Objective-C. This syntax will enable you to catch the speed instantaneously. The difference between the languages used in iOS and Android is that of programming terms. Java uses words like “this, extends, implements,” and iOS languages use terms like “delegates, objects, inheritance, subclasses, etc.” Pick the correct IDE After being on the Android development sector for a long time, you may feel it tough to select an IDE. Know that the Apple landscape uses a user-friendly and speedy IDE that goes by the name XCode. All you have to do is download it from the App Store. There are no other complexities involved. Pay attention to User Interface The design and presentation of UI are different for iOS and Android. The Android Studio makes use of XML files, and Xcode has Storyboards. These Storyboards help you to connect ViewControllers and coordinate transitions. You can move and play around with the interface components, which is not possible in Android. With Android, most of the UI comes through writing more than 95% of it on the XML sheets. And in the case of Storyboards, there are some irritating concepts like Auto Layout that always end up breaking. Regardless of that, if you get the hang of it, you will find it quite simple. For App Screens Select Activity = ViewController. For Transition between screens Use startActivity(Intent) = Segue Segues bring similar functionality as launching an activity through the intent. The best part is, you can transition between screens without writing new code. It saves you the trouble and time that goes into designing new codes each time. Understand the List Functionality Create a TableViewController or simply the TableView to have a similar list functionality that you have been using with Android. Making use of ListView/RecyclerView = TableView helps you to populate each item the same way as in Adapters of Android. Android makes use of lists for RecyclerView, ListFragment, and ListActivity. Meanwhile, iOS uses lists for UITableView and UICollectionView. After knowing the differences, you should start learning how each of the lists works. Consider Dependency Management Android mainly makes use of Gradle’s dependency management. But in iOS, CocoaPods offer the same functionality. You have to add your dependencies in this file. Then it handles the installation and upgrading of those packages on its own. Things to remember Try these codes when you think that moving forward is tough: APK = Archive Interfaces = Archive Emulator = Simulator As mentioned above, shifting to iOS is going to be a road to new learning. You have to explore deeper to ensure that the apps you design won’t be a mess. The Pros and Cons of iOS App Development It is also quite essential to endorse the pros and cons attached to the iOS app development. These will allow you to make an informed decision. Pros of iOS There are no diverse device fragmentations in iOS. This facilitates the process of development, making it stable and reliable. It has authentic toolkits to ensure app development. With iOS, the chances of revenue generation are pretty high as users often make in-app purchases and buy apps more The development of interface consumes less time Cons of iOS App standardization process makes it difficult to stay distinct in the market Customizing an app is daunting due to restrictions Only accepts fully-functional apps Acquiring approval from Apple takes time Learn how to build and learn Android apps are simple to build. You have to select the device, build, and you are good to go. The same happens with iOS, except one difference. That is, building and running the simulator is faster on iOS than Android. However, Google recently introduced the latest emulator version, which seems incredible and promising. When going for release, things are easy on the Android platform. There are a few basic steps involved in signing a package with the selected Keystore. Most of the time, you can also go for a test release on an Android device to know how well it operates. On the other hand, iOS has a couple of initial formalities to take care of. You have to

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How to Create an App Design That Works?

Flurry Analytics states that in the US, 90% of a consumer’s mobile time is spent on apps. With over 4.5 million apps to choose from, every app developer has his eyes set on the most significant slice of cake. But creating an app requires a lot of dedication, time, and money. However, it isn’t impossible. Often the most difficult tasks are the ones that are the most rewarding. So if you have your hopes set on launching an app, or you already have one in the pipeline but need to tweak it a bit, then you’ve come to the right place. But before we get started, let’s get a few questions out in the open. When we talk about mobile app design, we are discussing both the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). While app designers are responsible for making an app look good, app developers’ focus on making it work correctly. App design encompasses the overall style of the app. This includes aspects such as the color scheme, page layouts, typography, the type of buttons, etc. More importantly, it focuses on creating a functional app. What is an App Design That Works? If you think about it, the answer is quite simple. You are designing an app for people. So if your app: appeals to the users solves a problem simplifies life for people Then, well done. You are the proud owner of an app that works. As for app design, it should not only look good but should operate smoothly. With a focus on UI and UX, you need to provide an intuitive experience to satisfy your users. Considering that 60% of apps have never even been downloaded, and 25% of apps that are downloaded are used only once, you need to create a delicious app that users don’t merely want to sample. Apps must meet user expectations for them to keep coming back. Surprisingly, according to report, 28% of apps are deleted after 30 days. So to remain profitable, you not only need to retain customers, but you must also continue to attract others in order to expand the user base. How to Design an Impressive Mobile App? You want to know the secret recipe to increase mobile app engagement and reduce app abandonment? It all starts by creating an exceptional app. Without any more delay, let’s start creating an impressive app design: Step #1: Write down your goals Just like starting a business, if you do not have clear goals in sight, it’s going to be quite challenging to succeed. Write everything down, beginning with your idea of how you plan to market your app. Remember, set realistic goals. It’s not advisable to bite off more than you can chew. Once you have an idea, understand its stance in the current market by looking at the competition. More importantly, research the target audience and define the customer persona. Step #2: Select a platform Before you start designing an app, you need to select the platform you intend to develop the app for, whether it’s Android or iOS, or maybe both. But that depends on your idea as well as the reason for creating an app. Since each OS has its design language, you need to follow the design guidelines for that platform. App designers need to consider the different navigation patterns and button positions that Androids and iOS have. It often dictates font selection, placement of UI objects, and much more. Evaluating various aspects beforehand will ensure that the app looks, feels, and functions appropriately. This is essential for success because, 62% of users will uninstall an app that doesn’t work well. So keep in mind that Android uses the Material Design System while Apple’s iOS heeds to the Human Interface Guidelines. Utilizing these instructions can help: Create an app that is consistent with the way the mobile device operates. utilize GUI components that the app will need designers can create a better UX with enhanced usability and accessibility users will feel more comfortable while using the app on their devices Step 3: Illustrate your ideas It’s time to present your thoughts visually. Begin by creating sketches about the information architecture and navigation of the app. This helps to envision the structure and logic. Moreover, these simplified designs focus on flow and usability. Next, create wireframes. Wireframes are often described as the blueprint of an app that schematically portrays essential features, functions, and content. They typically show: space distribution content prioritization available functions intended actions relationships between screens Wireframes communicate visual ideas that facilitate the development of various detailed aspects later on. At the moment, visual design is not the main criteria. At this stage, utilizing wireframe tools, such as Sketch or Adobe XD, can be particularly useful. Wireframing is an important step: They are visual and straightforward, thereby giving a clear idea of what the app will look like and how it will function. Promote communication with the team. Allow designers to see if various aspects are progressing smoothly between pages. Highlight any inconsistencies or issues. Changes are easier and cheaper to implement at this stage. If any technical difficulties arise, reflect, and revise your wireframe to make adjustments. Step #4: Add the visual aspects The design of an app needs to have an instant impact on the mind of the user. According studies, 94% of first impressions are related to design. Visual appeal and website navigation are at the top of the list when it comes to features that influence a user’s first impressions. And since a good first impression can take your app to greater heights, invest in a design that will pull your users in. Remember that while looks are paramount, you need a great UI to boost the overall perceived quality of your app. So while UX enhances customer satisfaction by optimizing the app’s usability and providing a smooth experience, UI defines how the app will look and behave visually. This includes elements such as fonts, colors, icons, etc.

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6 Features That Guarantee The Success And Growth of a Travel App

The tourism industry trumps most sectors in terms of growth and popularity. People nowadays are more interested in exploring the hidden mysteries of the world than ever before. Its expansion is evident in the fact that the global travel and tourism sector grew at a rate of 3.9% in 2018. It recorded a revenue of $8.8 trillion and ended up creating 318 million jobs, as per WTTC survey. Given the numbers, it is plausible to assume that there must be some factors that triggered its growth. And while we can go on for hours about universally changing perceptions about tourism, there is one element that holds the biggest credit. That is – technology. How Technology is Changing the Face of Tourism The days of guidebooks, paper maps, and compasses are over. Instead, we have the interactive technical equipment and mobile apps which tag along with numerous functionalities. You are no longer required to sit for hours to set up the itinerary. Just install an app and let it handle all the tedious tasks. These days, almost every traveler carries a smart device with themselves. So the mobile apps carry a benefit for them as well as the developers. The latter will be earning money through the app if they design it as per the needs of the market. Travel application development is a field that has sparked the interest of many aspiring developers. Its Return on Investment (ROI) beats most other app categories. What Makes a Successful Travel App? All you need is to have: A brilliant idea A fully structured, strategic plan Scrutinize the market to know what people are looking for. You will find a whole list of pain points that you can address through your application. For your insight, we have listed six essential features for the growth and success of a travel application. Let’s scan through them: Geolocation Tracking Services Once a tourist reaches their destination, they want to check in to a hotel or relax in a cafe for a little while. That is why every travel app must have a geolocation feature. It will help the travelers to track their location and find viable places nearby. They can wander about the new place without depending on any local guide or tour services. Google provides Google Maps SDK for Android and iOS to implement this feature. It helps to add the map in your travel app along with the navigation and routing options. Even though the addition of this feature will raise the overall development cost of your app, but when you ignore its integration, the chances of failure are pretty high. Itinerary Generator The biggest hassle for tourists is to manage all operations of the itinerary. Planning where to go first and how to move ahead in your journey needs careful attention. Travel apps can relieve the users of this trouble. These apps only ask the user about the places they wish to visit on their trip. Then they automatically design a travel plan that befits their requirements. According to Travelport’s 2018 Digital Traveler Survey, 64% of the travelers in the US use apps to view their whole itinerary in one place. You can seek assistance from apps like TripAdvisor and TripHobo. Each of these apps informs you about the hidden gems in the country you are visiting. They allow the users to enter the attractions they want to visit and craft a map that will work according to their schedule. Curating an algorithm for all of these functions is not simple. You can choose to leave this feature and add up the others. However, with this function in your app, you can turn your app into a highly useful tool for travelers. But make sure that the itinerary generator is helpful for the entire target community. Weather Forecasting A study shows that 51% of the US leisure travelers use travel apps to check on the weather of the places they are about to visit. It allows them to pack accordingly. Also, some people pack up in haste without paying attention to the climatic conditions. Travel apps must have a real-time climate forecast feature. These will allow them to stay alert of the weather and make sure they avoid the natural calamities. One app that is quite famous for its expert forecast capability is, AccuWeather. People can always install this app and check the weather of any place they want. Having a weather feature in your app makes sure that the travelers won’t be moving towards any other application to check the weather. It should give them a thorough review of things like expected wind speed, the possibility of cloud formations, humidity, etc. Booking Services Besides itinerary, the most important thing on the mind of all travelers is the place they are going to stay in. Every one of them is looking for a place that is affordable, secure, and relaxing. For this purpose, you must integrate a booking system within your application. It should help users to compare prices, categorize places, set reminders, and receive notifications about hotel offers. A study conducted in 2018 revealed that 61% of the travelers in the US used smartphones for booking and payments. And now that we are about to enter in 2020, this number has surely multiplied exponentially. You must make sure that your app makes the process of booking easier for the users. Add a search engine and smart filtering feature. You can also partner with hotels and airline companies to offer exclusive deals and discounts to travelers. Or you may offer referral and joining bonus to the users. The point is, try your best to get more users on your side. But play fair. Social Media Sharing The integration of social media buttons is the feature that you cannot choose to ignore. People love to share and flaunt their experiences with their friends on social media. A survey found that 70% of social media users share pictures and update their status when they

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