Tips to Provide the Best Website Experience, Page 20 of 25

What are the emerging trends in iOS mobile app development? That's a popular question as we start the new year. Some people have theories. Others point to bona fide examples of commonplace best-practices in iOS app development.

However, there are three clear "winners." Here are the popular trends you can expect to see emerge in iOS app development.

1. Development for wearables - Remember, the Apple Watch is coming to market in 2015. It will be one of Apple's first innovations that you'll see this year.

That means, quite simply, that there will be a flurry of apps developed specifically for the watch. Also, you can expect to see specific versions of apps that have already been produced for the iPhone and iPad now coded specifically for the wearable device.

However, it should be noted that, as of this writing, the future of the Apple Watch is uncertain. Some are predicting that it will go the way of the Newton, while others are saying that it will be another, but more convenient, iPhone.

Until its future is clear, app development companies will hedge their bets by producing code for the device. That's because they know that if they don't, they risk getting left behind if the product takes off.

2. Enhanced security - According to Gartner, 75% of mobile apps will fail basic security tests in 2015. That's going to be a problem during an era when people are especially concerned about online privacy.

iOS app development practices will ensure that app security is an integral part of the software. This is especially true for "social" apps that involve texting, messaging, photo sharing, and/or video conferencing.

3. Usage of beacon technology will increase - More retailers will use Apple's iBeacon technology for marketing purposes. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of beacon technology, it's an extension of the location service. It enables apps, usually produced by retailers, to notify a mobile device user of a sale or some other pertinent information when that user enters a very specific location (e.g., the shoe department). Retailers will leverage that technology to offer deals and maximize their sales.

If you'd like to learn more about mobile development trends, feel free to contact us. We'd love to hear from you.

Software as a service development

Software As A Service gives companies great options for affordable software and IT infrastructure. Often though, companies are left with multiple apps, multiple sign-ins, multiple control panels and multiple headaches. Software As A Service should be easier to use than a perpetual license, and more functional, but often it just creates problems. Your IT development should include these following solutions for your software.

Integrated Control Panels

Every window or tab your browser has open increases the load on your processor. Computer processors slow down by keeping track of multiple processes, including overloaded web browsers, multiple applications running simultaneously and graphic processing between control interfaces. Many desktop computers can handle all of these well, just a little slower. Many tablets and smartphones get thoroughly overwhelmed by running too many processes at once.

Additionally, the mental processes of employees and other users get bogged down by multiple control interfaces. Keeping track of hotkeys, mouse/touch interfaces, and other unique issues for each application lowers efficiency each time a user has to switch between interfaces. Do customers have two different applications for making orders and tracking them? This increases the time it takes for a customer to learn your systems and get satisfactory answers to their questions.

One control panel for multiple resources can give your employees and other users the ability to efficiently handle their workload. Additionally, integrated control panels decrease data loss from switching information between programs either manually or via spreadsheets.

Password Management

Many SaaS programs are dedicated to each user. This means that if you are not signed into the program, the program does not work. For people using multiple accounts on multiple platforms (Facebook, Google+, your company CRM, Adobe suits and more), they must manage their passwords to save time and increase security. Creating one password the employee remembers opens your business up to hacking, but employees needing to reset their passwords every time they log in does not create efficient work habits. The right IT development can manage your password using secure master passwords which prevent cross-account hacking and give your employees ease of mind from only having to memorize one password.

Development as a Service

Because of the ease of cash flowing powerful software systems, companies are increasingly moving towards SaaS products. Because of the unique problems caused by SaaS products, companies are also learning the power of Development as a Service. In these instances, companies are relying more on 3rd Party specialists to customize and integrate web and mobile apps with their software solutions. This leaves in-house IT to focus on troubleshooting hardware and software and training other employees.

For information on how custom development can improve your SaaS, please contact us. 

Studies show that mobile device use is increasing, a fact that affects advertisers since the platform and the methods used to deliver information to consumers are undergoing significant changes. A Global Web study showed that 80% of Internet users own a Smartphone as of 2015. According to a Monetate study, the conversion rate for Smartphones is around 4.70%, which is still below the 8.52% average conversion rate for desktops. However, the 102,062 millions app downloads (according to a Statistica study) and the fact that Smartphone users are spending more time using apps than browsing the web (according to a Nielsen study) show that mobile apps will soon become a must-have tool for advertisers. Here are three mobile app development trends you should be aware of in 2015.

1 - User Experience

Due to the huge number of apps available to Smartphone owners, user experience is one of the elements that will determine whether or not an app is popular. A good user experience includes an app that is easy and fun to use but Smartphone owners are also increasingly pre-occupied about their safety and who has access to their data. This growing concern for safety is directly tied to recent headlines about hacks and it is probable that advertisers will not be able to connect with mobile users unless they develop a safe app. User experience can also be improved by state of the art design such as parallax layouts or customization options.

2 - Cloud Integration And Other Smart Devices

The Internet of Things is a relatively new concept but tech experts agree on the fact that the Internet of Things is the future. The Internet of Things (or IoT) refers to the connectivity of objects around us. A good example would be the new Smart TVs that allow users to stream movies and TV shows from a Smartphone or laptop or the Smart thermostats that can be controlled thanks to mobile apps. The Internet of Things should become more prominent in 2015 as consumers develop an interest for connected household items and wearable tech. App developers will have to catch up by focusing on cloud integration and by creating apps that can efficiently communicate with other devices besides Smartphones.

3 - Enterprise Apps

The demand for enterprise apps is growing for a number of reasons. Advertisers are relying on apps to reach out to their audience and make the shopping process easier, but enterprises are also using apps to train new employees, collect and make analytics more accessible to their sales team or to promote collaboration between employees. More companies will invest in app development in 2015 and there should be a focus on features such as safe payments for consumers as well as advanced analytics and cloud integration for employees.

Contensive offers custom solutions such as mobile app development, online integration or responsive design. Contact us to find out more about the services offered and to learn more about trends in app development.

Custom App Connects Trucking Companies With Loads Of Holiday Remembrance Wreaths For Delivery To Veterans’ Cemeteries Nationwide

Leesburg, Virginia–As part of its ongoing commitment to support worthy causes, Contensive recently donated the custom “Truckload of Respect” app to help the Truckload Carriers Association deliver nearly 250 truckloads of holiday wreaths. The remembrance wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves in more than 1,000 cemeteries across the country as part of the Wreaths Across America event on December 13th.

In addition to pairing loads of wreaths with volunteer trucking companies, the Truckload of Respect app also enables users to sponsor the cost of delivering a load of wreaths, and to donate or purchase wreaths to help support the veterans’ wreath charity.

The app’s responsive design allows users to access TruckloadofRespect.org from a smartphone or tablet device as easily as from a desktop or laptop computer. The trucking companies volunteering to deliver loads used the app to search for and select available delivery destinations to best coordinate with their existing routes.

“Given the fast pace of operations in the trucking industry, and the time demands of the holiday season, creating a web app to ease the process of volunteering and donating was a key element in the success of this important event,” said Contensive Founder Dwayne McGowan. “It was a great honor to help recognize our country’s fallen veterans.”

About Wreaths Across America & Truckload of Respect

Growing out of a program started in 1992 at Arlington National Cemetery, the annual wreath-laying event was formalized in 2007 as Wreaths Across America to continue and expand the effort to honor our military veterans. In 2011, the Truckload Carriers Association started its Truckload of Respect program as part of a commitment to ensure that every load of donated wreaths would be delivered to veterans’ cemeteries across the country. In 2014, the program delivered 720,000 wreaths nationwide, with 230,000 of that total placed at Arlington National Cemetery alone, one for each and every veteran interred at the site.

Let me start this blog by throwing a few statistics at you:

• 58% of all US consumers already own a smartphone (and the percentage is growing)
• Over 1.2 billion people access the web from their mobile device
• Globally mobile accounts for 15% of all internet traffic.
• Over 95% of smartphone users have searched for local information

and finally....

Google states that 61% of mobile users who land on a non-optimized site immediately leave the site and return to Google to find one that is more readable.

So, have I got your attention? The bottom line is--if your site is not optimized for mobile devices you are losing traffic. Google understands that users want to consume content in the device of their choice and more and more that means MOBILE.

According to Google, "Smartphone users are a significant and fast-growing segment of internet users, and at Google we want them to experience the full richness of the web".

That is why Google has implemented changes into their search algorithms that will prioritize mobile -optimized sites in searches performed by mobile devices. That of course means sites that are not optimized will be demoted in their rankings.

At Contensive when Google speaks we listen, and based on their recommendations, we have embraced the responsive design methodology when we develop new web applications and websites.

We recommend using responsive web design because it has many good aspects:

• Using a single URL for a piece of content makes it easier for your users to interact with, share, and link to your content, and a single URL for the content helps Google's algorithms assign the indexing properties for the content.
• No redirection is needed for users to get to the device-optimized view, which reduces loading time. Also, user agent-based redirection is error-prone and can degrade your site's user experience.
• It saves resources for both your site and Google's crawlers. For responsive web design pages, any Googlebot user agents needs to crawl your pages once, as opposed to crawling multiple times with different user agents, to retrieve your content. This improvement in crawling efficiency can indirectly help Google index more of the site's contents and keep it appropriately fresh.

Other benefits of responsive web design is that it delivers the same content pages from your current Contensive framework, so you don't have to manage two platforms. Also, if you are happy with your current design you don't have to start over to implement mobile, we can make the necessary design adjustments in your existing style sheets and templates, so implementation is faster.

If you are ready to talk mobile give us a call 571-291-3416 and we can show you how to quickly and painlessly position your site for the mobile world.

SEO strategies must regularly be updated since Google is constantly revising its algorithm for determining site rank for specific search terms. Below are links to recent articles that provide things to think about as you are updating your website.

Have you recently noticed that your site is not as high up in the search results for specific targeted terms or phrases? If so, take a look at the reason why you no longer rank for your keyword.

Do you have a lot of ads on your website? If so, you may want to revise your ad strategy after reading about how Google Updates Its Page Layout Algorithm To Go After Sites “Top Heavy” With Ads.

Finally, don't forget about mobile design, the shift of focus to quality content and other changes to SEO, which are highlighted in 20 SEO Tips, Trends and Predictions for 2014.

Last week, we had the pleasure of a visit from one of our more “famous” clients, Oscar Zeballos, from the radio team Big O and Dukes. Contensive developed the application that runs the back office and billing side of their online podcast site bigoanddukes.com. Oscar was here to review the progress of the new billing application we are building for his site, but the conversation quickly evolved into a discussion of the state of radio and podcasting. According to Oscar traditional radio has evolved to a point where the business model is driving the content thus stifling creativity and uniqueness of the radio artist.

Personality driven shows can be found on the radio, but there are fewer and fewer of them and those that remain are typically syndicated shows that spread the production costs across multiple markets.

As Oscar said, “We all got into this business to express our creativity. Unfortunately, the business side of radio has forced the content to become vanilla. It is much easier sell top 40 music than alternative rock, and easier to sell local sports talk than two guys who have a segment where they rate snack foods.”

This is one of the reasons that podcasting has become so popular for personality driven shows and non-main stream topic shows. The amount of money required by a traditional radio station to support a tower, electricity, staff, sales, and talent is astronomical compared the infrastructure expenses of a podcast. The smaller expense footprint allows podcasters time to build their loyal audience. A good podcaster can tell you with precision the number of plays that each podcast receives, and who is actually listening. And advertisers are staring to listen as well. Without the huge expense of “run of air” campaigns an advertiser can gain exclusivity to a podcast and know exactly who is listening and when. And when teamed with a good podcaster the call to action can be such that there is a measurable response rate.

Oscar, who also works in marketing promotions, states that he knows that a targeted podcast will outperform radio any day of the week, and advertisers are starting to understand that as well. This is just another example of how inbound marketing can replace and improve on traditional marketing. The trick is to find a podcast with a large enough audience that matches your demographic, meet with the hosts and work with them to integrate your marketing message into their content presentation and you now have another cost efficient arrow in your inbound quiver, replacing the expensive scatter shot gun of traditional marketing.

Note—“Big O and Dukes” podcasts can be found on iTunes and on their site www.bigoanddukes.com. They produce a weekly show to over 30,000 fanatical subscribers.

There are many components to an effective inbound marketing strategy. With SEO, blogging, social media, and even pay per click advertising, it can be a lot to get organized. Also, if not handled properly, it becomes very easy for any of these equally important components to fall through the cracks.

Instead of Inbound Marketing giving you that extra headache and making your life more complicated, why not make it easy on yourself? Its all about planning. There are several project management tools available that have proven to be highly effective. Contensive uses Intervals, which is an online project management program allowing you access from any location. As a project manager myself, I use Intervals multiple times per day, and do not know what I would do without it.

If your business does not have the budget for a project management program, Google Calendar is highly useful, easy to organize, you can share it with multiple co-workers and best of all, it is free! A tool like this is so helpful when everyone can look at and access the inbound marketing goals and deadlines. With a strategy laid out and organized on the table, inbound marketing can become an easily manageable system.

Hubspot is also a great online tool for inbound marketing organization. They offer many free and paid articles, videos and webinars. They even offer a blog posting calendar template to help organize your blog posting schedule.

Don’t let inbound marketing overwhelm you, organization is the key to success in many things. Instead, go easy on yourself, get organized, plan ahead and soon you will see your inbound marketing campaign as a well oiled marketing machine, and not a chaotic mess.