Tips to Provide the Best Website Experience

If your business is interested in having a mobile application developed, there are many traits that you should seek in mobile application development companies that you choose to work with. A mobile application is a big investment and it is imperative that you work with a company that understands your business, the industry you work in, and the needs of your customers who will be interacting with your company through the application. As mobile devices have become increasingly popular over the last decade, there has been a heavy shift toward mobile application development, with thousands of new development companies popping up every year.

A Shining Portfolio with Industry Experience

The first and most important aspect that you can look at when choosing a mobile app development shop is the portfolio of apps that they have developed in the past. Choose a company that creates apps with a style similar to your own branding, with the ability to create apps across multiple platforms if needed. The portfolio of a company says a lot about their ability to deliver a product that meets your expectations and performs well for your company, and you should put a lot of faith in their portfolio while realizing that it is likely that they are only showing off their highest quality of work.

An Understanding of Your Business

The company that you choose to develop your mobile application should have an understanding of your business and industry. Try to find a company that has worked with similar businesses in the past so that they do not have to familiarize themselves with your industry too much before getting to work on your app. They should understand what it is that your company does, what you are looking to achieve from the app, and what it is that drives your customers to choose your business.

Excellent Communication

Communication is key for any development companies, and any company that delivers excellent communication throughout the process (from initial contact to drawing up the contract) should have a leg up on the competition. Theyshould be clear about when and how they will be reaching out to you and providing you with updates on the development of the app, while being willing to meet you half way. Excellent communication is the hallmark of a high quality mobile app development company and should be important for any business that wants to stay in constant communication throughout the process.

Ongoing Support and Maintenance

A mobile app project doesn't end the moment that it is published. The mobile industry is constantly shifting, with new operating systems, devices and requirements being released all the time. It is important that you work with a company that will provide ongoing maintenance for your app to ensure that it continues to work seamlessly for years to come. Additionally, your app may require additional maintenance and bug-fixes post-release, and you do not want to have to go back to finding an app developer to work with a year down the road.

Clear Milestones for the Project

Mobile application development companies should provide you with a clear roadmap for the development of your app. Now, this isn't to say that there should never be delays or changes to deadlines, but those should be communicated clearly throughout the process. Work with a company that will provide clear and consistent milestones for the different phases of mobile app development.

If you are interested in putting together a high quality mobile application for your business, and want to work with a company that provides a superior service, please contact us today. We'll schedule an initial consultation and go over how we can help your business with its mobile needs.

In the early days of the Internet, the development of websites was a long and arduous process, and as such, any company that wanted a website had to hire a professional in order to get the job done. However, in this day and age, today's website development platforms are much more user-friendly -- WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal all seem to be designed for the "Average Joe" to create his/her perfect website -- and, as an end result, the same Average Joe believes that s/he doesn't need a professional website developer. In this blog, however, we're going to discuss why that simply isn't so -- why, even in this user-friendly day and age, you WILL in fact need to hire a professional web development company.

In addition, we'll also go over what to look for in a proper web designer, and what to look out for when hiring a professional.

Why do you need a professional web developer?

Think of your website as your business's online store front. It's the first thing that people are going to see when they research your company. It, then, is your primary responsibility to make sure that you present the best possible impression of your company. You cannot do that with an amateur website design.

Here, then, is a complete list of reasons why you should hire a professional web developer:

• Hiring a professional saves you time, which will inevitably save you money. Though you will have to expend money in the first place to hire someone to design this website, in the long run, it will save you money because it was done right the first time.
• Hiring a professional will ensure that your design is unique. Any amateur can download a template from a "free template" web database, but only a professional can create a unique website from scratch, no matter the platform.
• Hiring a professional will ensure a user-friendly website. A professional website developer will know when a design is "clunky," has photos that are too large, or the site is non-responsive (especially on a mobile platform).
• Finally, but no less importantly, when your website is professionally designed, it gives your business credibility. In this world of "big box" stores and major corporations, you have to position yourself as a worthy competitor...and the only way to do that is to establish your online credibility.

What are some of the warning signs you should look for in a professional web designer?

Not all so-called professional web designers are as great as they advertise. With that in mind, we've come up with this list of warning signs to look for when hiring a web developer:

• S/he has no experience with developing websites similar to yours.
• S/he has no experience with branding (if, indeed, that's what you're hiring the developer to handle).
• S/he offers no testimonials for his/her work -- or, the ones that s/he offers aren't easy to get in touch with or won't vouch for their credentials.
• S/he is undercharging for the service -- though it's not always the case, you get what you pay for.
• S/he doesn't give you a status update at least once a week -- communication is essential for any relationship, and it's especially important in a business relationship. If s/he is unwilling to communicate with you, don't hire him/her.
• Finally, but no less importantly, if your developer doesn't know what project manager software is -- or won't implement it on your website -- that's a definite red flag.

Our strength is in our extremely talented team of engineers, analysts and designers. We practice an agile scrum development process that allows for total transparency (cost, time, development and review), in addition to complete life-cycle support. We want to be your online partner going forward. We stand behind our work with user support and training. For more information about us and our services, contact us today.

Software as a service companies have become quite popular in recent years, and for good reason. They provided a streamlined service that can be useful to both consumers and businesses alike. They create recurring income that help to fuel growth and keep things moving in a positive direction, even during slow times. But, finding a company that can deliver a polished and highly valuable Software as a Service development team that will work well with you and communicate effectively can be quite difficult. There are many things that need to be taken into account when you are evaluating software as a service development teams in your local area. Take these traits into account when you are speaking with these companies:

An Excellent Portfolio with References You Can Speak To

Before choosing a company to work with, take a look at their portfolio. What kind of companies have they worked with in the past? Have they developed complete software as a service system in the past? How did it turn out, and did it lead to a positive return for the company that had it produced? You should seek out a company that has expertise specifically in developing monthly software as a service platforms, rather than your typical software development company.

An Understanding of your Business and Vision

Does the company that you are working with truly understand your vision for the project? Do they understand how it will affect your business and what you need the software to do for your customers? Make sure that you are working with a company that understands your industry and preferably has worked with similar businesses int he past while delivering excellent results.

A Plan for Communication, Milestones, and Ongoing Maintenance

In all likelihood, your piece of software is going to require a lot of communication throughout the process. Not all details will be able to be ironed out before you sign on the dotted line and unforeseen issues will constantly arise. Work with a company that has the entire process planned out as much as could be, from initial communication and meetings, to post-delivery bug fixes and reporting. It is important that you work with a company that will stick with you throughout the process of launching and taking suggestions from your users.

Excellent Communication Skills Throughout the Process

One thing that you always need to take into consideration when looking for a SaaS development company is how well they are going to communicate. From the moment that you talk to them and begin the pre-sales process, they must be able to communicate effectively since that is such a large part of a successful SaaS launch. If they are not able to communicate effectively during the pre-sales process, you shouldn't have a lot of faith that they will continue to do so moving forward. Choose companies that communicate with you effectively.

Experience Within Your Specific Industry

Perhaps the best quality that a development company can possess is a load of positive experiences within your specific industry. If they already understand your customers and their needs, that means less research is required to deliver a high-value product. Try to find companies that have delivered solutions to other companies within your industry an ensure that they can provide you with a consistent return.

Launching a software as a service project is a huge investment. You don't need a development company, you need a partner who will work with you to ensure that you receive the best possible outcome. If you would like to speak with our SaaS experts and see if we would be a good fit for one another, please contact us today to schedule your initial consultation. 

Content is engagement. To engage with a customer you draw them into an interesting ongoing relationship, a relationship which keeps them returning to your website on a regular basis. Without dynamic content, your website may be superficially interesting, but it only holds the customer's interest for a limited period of time. Content as engagement means that the customer wants to return to your site because they receive something of value every time that they do.

Whether you sell a physical product or a service, you have a lot of competition online. Ask yourself what distinguishes your site from the competition, and then ask yourself whether you will even have the opportunity to show your stuff to the potential customer or whether your site will never even be looked at. There are tools such as search engine optimization (SEO) and to be sure, being at the top of a web search is valuable and worth pursuing. However, it is not enough to be high in search engine rankings.

While potential customers will search for a product on the web if they have to, before they even take that step, they search their own recollections and experiences. If they can recall a vendor who has captured their imagination, they will never even do the generic web search, they will look for that resource that they already know. A successful content as engagement strategy means to become the resource that people already know rather than the result that people search for.

It's not enough that a potential customer has seen your site a single time. Compare this to driving by a billboard advertising a plumber a single time. You have seen the advertisement, but by the time that you need a plumber in a year or two years, you have also seen a million other things. Now consider driving past the same billboard every day on your way to work. You are constantly reminded of this plumber, and though you still may not need a plumber for the same year or two, when you do need one, you will be more likely to think of what you have been seeing every day as you drive past it.

The same idea holds true of websites. Just because someone browsed your site a single time a year ago does not mean that they will remember you when they need your services. As with the commuter, the web user is bombarded with an ever-increasing amount of information, and if nothing stands out about your site, there is no reason that the customer will think of you first.

Content as engagement means that the customer will voluntarily come back to your site before they need you. They will remember that you exist out of the thousands of your competitors. Essentially it is stockpiling goodwill against the day that the customer needs a vendor like you. When that day arrives for the customer, you want to be the thing that the customer knows rather than the thing that the customer searches for.

Content as engagement obviously must change, be current, and develop continually. No matter how impressive your site is or profound your original blog entries, if there is no change in content, there is nothing to make potential customers come back to visit again and again. This increases the chance that they will forget you before they need what you provide. With dynamic content, customers come back just to see what you have to say and what you think. You become one of their sources of information, and that keeps you in the forefront of the potential customer's mind.

For assistance developing your business social media presence, please contact us.

In recent years we have seen the sudden rise of software as a service. These software tools charge a monthly rate for access to highly powerful tools that might help you to expand your business or automate processes within your industry. There are many opportunities that software as a service businesses can provide to entrepreneurs. There are many benefits to choosing this route over some of the more traditional software sales methods.

1. SaaS Turns Developers into Decision Makers

In software as a service models, developers have been able to take on larger roles within their own organizations or as valued team members. Since most SaaS models run on a monthly subscription model, developers must find ways to provide continued value to their audience in order to keep them subscribed.

2. User Experience Design Becomes Increasingly Important

When your customers are paying a monthly fee to gain access to your software, user experience development takes on an increased role in your day-to-day operations. When your customers are paying a monthly fee to access to software, they are expecting a higher level of commitment from the develop, and issues in the user experience could cause cancellations from your customer base. Many businesses underestimate how important user experience truly is. It can make or break the success of a software as a service platform.

3. Offer Several Packages

You will find that your customers fall within a range. Many software as a service development companies start by offering a free option that allows their user base to make an account and try out some of the basic features that the software provides for free. This will help your customers to see what they could potentially get out of subscribing to the software and also allow them to get a feel for the basic features that you make available through the free package. Of course, not all software types are suitable for a free package, but there should always be a series of stepping-stones that a customer can take toward your largest package. Make sure that your software has several upsells and account upgrades available to those that are using your smaller packages.

4. Find API and Integration Opportunities

One of the traits possessed by many software as a service businesses is the usage of API's and integration. By allowing your software to connect with third-party software and platform, you add many new uses to your ecosystem and allow third-party developers to piggy-back off of your work and extend the functionality of your program. By seeking out other developers in your industry, you will be able to find a range of new opportunities that can get your software in front of a completely new audience that otherwise would have never known your software existed.

5. Measure, Analyze, Improve

There are many actions that can be tracked within the SaaS model. Track everything that you possibly can. Know who is logging into your software and when. Know how long the average customer interacts with your software each time that they use it. Determine which features are actually being used by your customers and which features need to be placed on the back-burner for future development. A/B split testing will allow you to determine how you can encourage your users to utilize all of the awesome features that you make available.

If you are interested in running your own software as a service development team, please contact us to schedule your free initial consultation. We'll walk you through the process of designing your platform, make recommendations that can help you to grow your business and put together a plan for moving forward. 

Having an effective website can be a huge revenue booster for any small business. As the web becomes more ingrained in our daily lives, not having a website or having an outdated, ineffective website can have a negative impact on your business. There are a few traits of effective business websites that every business should try to replicate in their own designs, or when working with a business website development company. Try to keep these traits in mind when having a new website designed.

Clean and Readable

Although web design might seem like the appropriate time to get artsy and really try to impress your customers, resist that temptation. A clean and readable design is the most important traits of any effective business website. A good website should catch the eye of the visitor without sacrificing readability. It is critical that the information on the page is easily digested by your audience as it plays the most critical role in their decision to purchase your product.

Although "screen real estate" has always been a focus for web design companies, recent web design trends have shifted toward leaving more white space within the design. This helps to space out the design elements of the website and allow for easier reading and digestion of the information on the page.

Simple and Straight-Forward Navigation

Although your homepage might be the main draw to your website, all websites have several other critical pages that customers go to for information and to learn more about your product or service. Making it easy for them to navigate from one page to another is important for nudging them along toward making the purchasing decision. A good rule of thumb is to try to ensure that every page of your website is no more than 3 clicks away from the homepage.

Original, Informative Content

When your customers have questions about your product, service, or industry, you want them to come to you for their answer and not a competitor. Having high quality, informative original content on your website can be a huge draw for new customers. Many businesses opt to publish a weekly blog, with each post covering a different aspect of their industry each week. This helps to establish your business as an authority while helping to educate your customers. Try to publish original, informative content on a regular basis.

Brand Voice and Personality

Every business has its own unique voice and personality. It is important that your businesses' brand voice is accurately portrayed on your website as well. Don't be afraid to include pictures of your team, or go against the grain when comparing your own website to your competitors'. Try to convey the unique traits that your company has on your website.

Responsive Designs for Mobile Users

In 2014, mobile usage overtook desktop PC usage online. Around the same time, Google announced that they would be giving increased exposure to mobile-ready websites in their search engine. For these reasons, all businesses should have a mobile-ready website to cater to those users. Responsive technology has come to the forefront as the most popular mobile web design technology and is an excellent choice for any business. Responsive technology is ideal because it doesn't require separate web designs for separate users, it simply re-sizes your current website to fit well on mobile screens.

If you would like an effective website for your business, please do not hesitate to reach out an contact us today. We will examine your current web presence, identify where it could be improved and put together an initial action plan during your consultation. We love working closely with businesses to improve their revenue and help them reach a wider audience.